Category Archives: Taiwan

Jimmy Lai trial: key points from media mogul’s testimony on first day

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Detained pro-democracy activist spoke for first time about charges against him under Hong Kong national security law

Jimmy Lai, the detained pro-democracy activist and media mogul who is the target of Hong Kong’s most high-profile national security case, took the stand in court on Wednesday. For the first time since he was detained in December 2020, Lai spoke publicly about the charges against him, for which he faces spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Four years after his arrest, the 77-year-old seemed older and not as strong as he used to be. His first words – swearing an oath on the Bible – were delivered hoarsely.

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Anger in Taiwan over reports SpaceX asked suppliers to move abroad

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Taipei says it is paying close attention to reported request by Elon Musk’s firm

Taiwan’s government says it is paying close attention to reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX asked Taiwanese suppliers to move manufacturing to other countries because of “geopolitical” concerns.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that SpaceX’s request to suppliers in Taiwan’s multibillion-dollar industry appeared to have prompted some to shift locations to Vietnam, Thailand and other places. In response, Taiwan’s economic affairs minister, JW Kuo, said the industry was strong and “should be able to cope”, but that the government was monitoring the situation.

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Karaoke and Kong-rey: Taiwan sings through biggest typhoon in decades

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A ‘typhoon day’ has come to mean one thing for many – a chance to indulge their favourite pastime

The winds of typhoon Kong-rey howled through the streets of the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, inside a brick and glass building people similarly wailed down the corridors of a branch of the Partyworld karaoke chain.

Through the poorly soundproofed door of one room voices warbled a song by the Taiwanese rock band Mayday, and through another came the sounds of a song by Coldplay. In room 330, someone made an exasperated search through the song list – “where is Kylie? What the hell! ” – as friends screamed lyrics from a Linkin Park track.

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Typhoon Kong-rey: biggest storm in decades wreaks destruction in Taiwan

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People warned to stay inside because of high risk of storm surges, flooding and landslides as typhoon crosses island

The biggest typhoon to hit Taiwan in decades has crossed over the island, leaving behind a path of destruction but minimal reported deaths or injuries.

Typhoon Kong-rey was the largest in size to make landfall in Taiwan since 1996, and also struck later in the typhoon season, which typically stretches from May to October, than any other typhoon since record-keeping began in the 1950s.

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China vows to take ‘countermeasures’ over US and Taiwan $2bn arms deal

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Package includes Nasams air defence system that Taiwan says will help it in the face of China’s frequent military manoeuvres

China will take “countermeasures” to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the government said, lambasting a $2bn arms sale package by the United States to Taiwan.

The Pentagon on Friday said the United States had approved a potential $2bn arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced air defence missile system battle-tested in Ukraine, including advanced surface-to-air missile systems and radar. The deal awaits approval by Congress.

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David Lammy raises human rights and Ukraine in Beijing talks

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Foreign secretary discussed China’s treatment of Uyghurs and support of Russia as well as ‘areas of cooperation’

David Lammy pressed his Chinese counterpart on human rights concerns and China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during talks in Beijing, the Foreign Office has said.

The foreign secretary had been under pressure to take a tough line on a range of human rights issues with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, when the pair met on Friday during Lammy’s first visit to China since taking office.

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Taiwan to have satellite internet service as protection in case of Chinese attack

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Coverage with UK-European provider will be in place by end of month, says island’s main telecoms company

Taiwan is expected to have access to low earth orbit satellite internet service by the end of the month, a step the government says is crucial in case a Chinese attack cripples the island’s communications.

The forthcoming service is via a contract between Taiwan’s main telecoms company, Chunghwa, and a UK-European company, Eutelsat OneWeb, signed last year, and marks a new milestone in Taiwan’s efforts to address technological vulnerabilities, particularly its internet access, after attempts to get access to Elon Musk’s Starlink service collapsed.

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‘Hi my sweetheart’: China’s love-heart propaganda labelled creepy in Taiwan

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Image dispersed during Monday’s military drills likened to sexual harassment or abusive partner

A Chinese propaganda image dispersed during Monday’s military drills around Taiwan was supposed to send a positive message to the island’s people, but instead has been decried as weird, creepy, and akin to “sexual harassment”.

On Monday China targeted Taiwan with major military exercises, surrounding its main island and outer territories with planes and ships to practise a blockade and attack. Alongside a record number of warplanes, dozens of navy and coastguard vessels, and cyber-attacks, China also launched a torrent of propaganda.

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China conducts military drills around Taiwan in warning to island’s president

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PLA and Chinese coastguard approach Taiwan by sea and air in move linked by state media to ‘separatist’ National Day speech

Chinese military and coastguard personnel surrounded Taiwan’s main island on Monday for a day of large-scale drills that Beijing said were a warning against “separatist acts”, in the wake of a recent speech by Taiwan’s president.

State media linked the drills to a National Day speech last Thursday by Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, in which he repeated that the People’s Republic of China “has no right to represent Taiwan”, but that he was willing to work with it to maintain peace and stability.

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Foreign Office ‘asked for UK visit by Taiwan ex-president to be deferred’ to not anger China

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Exclusive: Request to postpone Tsai Ing-wen’s trip came before ‘goodwill visit’ to China by David Lammy next week

The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) asked for a visit by the former Taiwanese president to be postponed so as not to anger China ahead of a trip by David Lammy, the Guardian has learned.

Lammy is due to travel to China next week for high-level meetings in his first trip to the country as foreign secretary.

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Communist China not the motherland, says Taiwan’s president, because our republic is older

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Lai Ching-te argues the reverse may be true because the Republic of China – the mantle that nationalists carried with them to Taiwan – predates the People’s Republic

It is “impossible” for the People’s Republic of China to become Taiwan’s motherland because Taiwan has older political roots, the island’s president has said.

Lai Ching-te, who took office in May, is condemned by Beijing as a separatist. He rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying the island is a country called the Republic of China that traces its origins back to the 1911 revolution overthrowing the last imperial dynasty.

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Typhoon Krathon hits Taiwan, killing two people and wreaking destruction

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Several missing and more than 120 injured after storm makes landfall in Kaohsiung, with authorities pleading for people to stay inside

Typhoon Krathon has made landfall in Taiwan, bringing destructive wind and rain to the island’s second biggest city.

The storm has killed at least two people, with several more reported missing and more than 120 injured.

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Typhoon Krathon: one person killed and two missing in Taiwan

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Seventy reported injured as schools, offices and financial markets shut and people urged to stay at home

One person has been killed, two are missing and 70 injured in bad weather from a typhoon approaching Taiwan, which grounded flights and closed all schools, offices and financial markets for Wednesday and Thursday.

Typhoon Krathon reached super typhoon status in recent days but movement stalled overnight and its intensity has weakened as it moves slowly towards Taiwan’s south-west. Authorities warned the threat of strong winds and storm surges remained for coastal and low-lying communities on the densely populated west coast, and the mountainous areas remained at high risk of landslides and torrential rain.

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China test launches intercontinental ballistic missile for first time in decades

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The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched into ‘high seas’ of the Pacific Ocean

China has announced the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the “high seas” of the Pacific Ocean, flying over the northern point of the Philippines in what is believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s.

The launch of the missile, which the defence ministry said was carrying a dummy warhead, comes at a time of growing international scrutiny of the country’s nuclear arsenal, and prompted statements of concern from several nations.

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Pagers in deadly attack on Hezbollah ‘made in Europe’, as Middle East braces for reprisals

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Taiwanese company Gold Apollo says a company in Europe made the pagers used in extraordinary attack in Lebanon that Hezbollah blames on Israel

The Taiwanese manufacturer linked to pagers that exploded as part of a deadly and unprecedented attack in Lebanon against Hezbollah has said the devices were made by a company in Europe, as the militant group blamed Israel and vowed revenge attacks.

Potentially thousands of pagers were remotely and simultaneously detonated across Lebanon, killing at least nine people and wounding almost 3,000 on Tuesday. Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, said a young girl was among the dead, and that more than 200 people had critical injuries.

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If China wants Taiwan it should also reclaim land from Russia, says president

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Lai Ching-te highlights Beijing’s contrasting approach to territorial loss during ‘century of humiliation’

If the Chinese Communist party truly believes it has a territorial claim to Taiwan, then it should also be trying to take back land from Russia, Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, has said.

Lai made the remark in an interview to local media on Sunday, noting Beijing’s very different approach to two similar historical moments of territorial loss.

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Pacific Islands Forum communique taken down after Chinese envoy calls Taiwan reference ‘unacceptable’

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‘Visibly angry’ Qian Bo demands correction of Taiwan’s ‘development partner’ label despite its use for more than three decades

A summit of Pacific leaders has ended in drama after China’s regional envoy demanded the scrapping of language about Taiwan, with the communique later republished without the offending paragraph.

The Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) summit in Tonga this week brought together Australia, New Zealand and 16 Pacific island countries or territories, only three of which still have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

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‘Hyper-violent’ Typhoon Gaemi was made fiercer by climate crisis, say scientists

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Researchers warn Asia will become an increasingly dangerous place to live until fossil fuels are replaced

The “hyper-violent” Typhoon Gaemi was made fiercer and more likely to strike by the climate crisis, scientists have found. They said “Asia will become an increasingly dangerous place to live until fossil fuels are replaced”.

The typhoon hit the Philippines, Taiwan and Hunan province in China in late July, with floods and landslides destroying homes, killing at least 100 people and affecting millions. Winds reaching 145mph (233 km/h) sank two large ships, while floods in Manila were as deep as a one-storey building.

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Nancy Pelosi rebukes former Australian PM Paul Keating over ‘stupid statement’ on Taiwan

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In return, Keating chastises former US House speaker for her ‘recklessly indulgent visit to Taiwan’ in 2022

A war of words has broken out between the former Australian prime minister Paul Keating and the former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi over Taiwan, after the prominent Democrat accused Keating of making a “stupid statement” about the territory.

Keating was quick to hit back on Tuesday, suggesting Pelosi had “very nearly” sparked a military confrontation between the US and China over her “indulgent” 2022 visit to Taiwan.

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China lists Taiwanese independence supporters it wants people to denounce

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Beijing website asks for information about supposed ‘crimes’ of ‘secessionist’ current and past Taiwan officials

China’s government has called for people to denounce “diehard secessionists” and give information about their “criminal activities” as it intensifies its legal and rhetorical intimidation of Taiwan.

The Taiwan affairs office and ministry of public security this week launched new webpages with lists of 10 current and former officials in Taiwan who have been named as “diehard” separatists.

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