Lee Meng-chu from Taiwan held on state security charges after going missing weeks ago
China has detained a Taiwanese man on state security charges after he reportedly distributed photos of Chinese troops massing equipment on the Hong Kong border.
Lee Meng-chu was being investigated after he “allegedly engaged in illegal activities that endanger state security”, said a spokesman for mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, without elaborating.
Continue reading...Pacific nation is one of the few countries that recognise Taiwan, but this may soon change
The Solomon Islands intends to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan and align itself with Beijing, the leader of a high-level government team representing the South Pacific archipelago has said.
The switch, which still needs to be formalised, would be a prize for China in its bid to peel away allies from what it considers a wayward province with no right to state-to-state ties. Only 17 countries now recognise Taiwan.
Continue reading...China has said it will impose sanctions on US firms involved in a deal to sell $2.2bn worth of tanks, missiles and related equipment to Taiwan, saying it harmed China’s sovereignty and national security.
The Pentagon said on Monday the US state department had approved the sale of the weapons requested by Taiwan, including 108 General Dynamics Corp M1A2T Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger missiles, which are manufactured by Raytheon.
Continue reading...Public acceptance is improving, but in some cases Chinese authorities are moving in the other direction
It was a landmark moment for LGBT rights. When Taiwan passed a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, crowds in Taipei erupted into cheers, chanting: “First in Asia”.
For those watching from across the Taiwan strait in China, where gay couples do not have that right, the moment was heartening but also profoundly sad. Matthew, 27, an LGBT activist in Chengdu, spent the day following the proceedings online on his own. A few days later he flew to Taiwan to watch two male friends register their marriage after 14 years together.
Continue reading...By refusing to expel a Taiwanese diplomat, the Prague mayor has joined the ranks of local politicians confronting contentious national policies
Zdeněk Hřib had been Prague’s mayor for little more than a month when he came face-to-face with the Czech capital’s complex entanglement with China.
Hosting a meeting with foreign diplomats in the city, Hřib was asked by the Chinese ambassador to expel their Taiwanese counterpart from the gathering in deference to Beijing’s ‘one China’ policy, under which it claims sovereignty over the officially independent state of Taiwan.
Continue reading...Fewer than 30 of 879 villages built to house nationalist KMT soldiers and their families remain in Taiwan. After a lengthy battle, Daguan is to be demolished this week
At 22, Cynthia Tang was one-third the average age of the other people crowded into the abandoned Taipei storefront that served as the office of the Daguan Anti-Eviction Movement.
Looking fervently through the frames of her large round glasses, Tang, a student at the prestigious National Taiwan University, addressed the small crowd. “Two of our student activists have been arrested,” she said. “Now the government is suing them. This is not only their problem – this is everyone’s problem.”
Continue reading...Defence minister Wei Fenghe said China would ‘fight to the end’ on trade issues but was open to talks
Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe criticised the United States on Sunday for its support for self-ruled Taiwan and for naval operations in the disputed South China Sea, but said conflict or war between the two countries would be a disaster.
Wei told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier defence summit, that China would “fight to the end” if anyone tried to split China from Taiwan, which Beijing considers a sacred territory to be taken by force if necessary.
Continue reading...Parliament became the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage last week
Taiwan’s first official same-sex weddings kicked off on Friday in a landmark moment for LGBT rights in Asia and the culmination of a three-decade fight for equality.
Shane Lin and Marc Yuan, a couple who fell in love at college, were the first to arrive at a government office in downtown Taipei.
Continue reading...Conflict in Syria, shocking pink fashion at Cannes, and a seal pup making a splash – the last seven days, as captured by the world’s best photojournalists
Continue reading...Thousands of LGBT rights supporters gather across Taiwan to celebrate the passage of legislation giving gay couples the right to marry. Taiwan is the first of any Asian state to legalise same-sex marriage, a move that will allow gay couples to enter into 'exclusive permanent unions' and apply for marriage registration with government agencies
• Taiwan becomes first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage
Continue reading...Supporters uneasy ahead of parliamentary debate on marriage equality bills
Two years ago, Taiwan’s constitutional court made a historic ruling, declaring the country’s civil code, which posited that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, unconstitutional.
The court gave Taiwan’s legislature two years to pass a law that would give legal recognition to same-sex marriages, or else they would automatically become legal. On Friday, one week before the court-mandated deadline, lawmakers will vote on three draft bills, one put forward by the cabinet, two submitted by anti-LGBT groups.
Continue reading...Destroyers William P Lawrence and Stethem transited through the waterway on Sunday as Pentagon ups the ante with Beijing
The US military has sent two navy warships through the Taiwan Strait as the Pentagon increases the frequency of movement through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China.
Sunday’s voyage risks further raising tensions with China but will likely be viewed by self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from the Trump administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing.
Continue reading...Small insects known as sweat bees were found after woman complained of a swollen eye
When a young Taiwanese woman named He took herself to a hospital this week complaining of a swollen eye, she expected to be treated for a simple infection.
Instead, the 29-year-old and her doctor were horrified to discover four bees living under her eyelids, feasting on her tears.
Continue reading...The environmental education association Re-Think has launched The Guidebook of Marine Debris to highlight the 101 most commonly found plastic items washed up on Taiwan’s beaches. From Hello Kitty toys to cigarette lighters from thousands of kilometres away on the Midway Islands, Re-Think photographed the items in a bid to educate young people on the extent of the problem. The project took a year to complete with the help of beach clean-up volunteers around Taiwan and the Society of Wilderness.
The oldest piece of waste was a military food pack found in Kinmen dated 1988. It still carried the slogan: “Unite against the Communists and promote love for our compatriots.”
Continue reading...Chinese leader calls for reunification and says independence would be a ‘disaster’
Taiwan independence would lead to “disaster”, Chinese president Xi Jinping has said, pledging efforts for peaceful “reunification” with the self-ruled island but warning China would not renounce the use of force.
Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the 40th anniversary of a key Taiwan policy statement, Xi said reunification must come under a one-China principle that accepts Taiwan as part of China, anathema to supporters of Taiwan independence.
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