International Crisis Group urges all parties including US to re-establish a baseline level of trust
Taiwan’s presidential election in January is a window of opportunity to resume dialogue between Taipei and Beijing, reduce tensions and lower the risk of conflict, an NGO has said.
A war over Taiwan is not inevitable but “the current trajectory is dangerous”, a report by the International Crisis Group says.
Continue reading...Tax audits and land use inquiries follow company founder announcing run for Taiwan presidency
China’s tax authorities have launched multiple investigations into the company that makes the iPhone, months after its billionaire founder announced he would run in Taiwan’s presidential elections.
Foxconn faces tax audits of its operations in China, as well as investigations into land use in two Chinese provinces, according to reports by local media.
Continue reading...Defence minister says consequences of a conflict over Taiwan are ‘so grave’ and says status of island must be ‘arrived at peacefully’
A war between the United States and China over the future of Taiwan would be “so grave” that Australia cannot be “passive bystanders”, the defence minister has said.
Richard Marles pushed back at the idea advanced by some commentators – including the former Labor prime minister Paul Keating - that Taiwan is “not a vital Australian interest”.
Continue reading...Heavy rain and strong winds force schools and businesses to shut and leaves thousands without power
Typhoon Koinu made landfall in southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, reaching the country as a category 4 typhoon on the Hengchun peninsula as the storm’s eye crossed over Eluanbi for about five minutes. At this stage, the maximum sustained winds were recorded at 135mph, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
By Thursday afternoon, the storm was 62 miles off the western coast of Eluanbi, with maximum sustained winds of 89mph. Despite weakening, Koinu is expected to reach coastal areas of southern China this weekend, and the city of Guangzhou has already cancelled some flights and trains.
Continue reading...Windspeed measuring device was destroyed as category four cyclone hit, injuring nearly 200 and creating waves up to seven metres high
A category four cyclone has produced one of the strongest wind gusts ever recorded worldwide, and injured almost 200 people as it crossed the southern tip of Taiwan early on Thursday.
Typhoon Koinu brought wind gusts of up to 95.2 metres per second, or 342.7km/h (212.9mph) when it crossed Taiwan’s outer Lanyu (Orchid) island on Wednesday night. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) told the Guardian it was the highest wind gust recorded in Taiwan since the organisation was founded in 1986. The gust destroyed the island’s anemometer, the CWA said.
Continue reading...Increased frequency of Chinese drills has raised the risk of events ‘getting out of hand’, the island’s defence minister said
China’s government has said that recent drills near Taiwan were aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces, after Taipei reported a rise in military activity in recent weeks, including exercises on land facing the island.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory – a claim Taipei rejects – has said this month that it had observed dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby.
Continue reading...Chen Siming posts video from Taoyuan airport saying he is seeking asylum from political persecution
A Chinese dissident known for regularly commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square has fled to Taiwan where he pleaded for help in seeking asylum in the US or Canada.
In a video posted online on Friday, Chen Siming said he was in the transit area at Taoyuan international airport to escape Chinese political persecution.
Continue reading...Taiwan’s defence ministry said that since Sunday it had spotted 103 Chinese military aircraft over the sea, a number it called a ‘recent high’
Taiwan’s defence ministry has urged China to stop “destructive, unilateral action” after reporting a sharp rise in Chinese military activities near the island, warning such behaviour could lead to an increase in tensions.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has in recent years regularly carried out military drills around the island as it seeks to assert its sovereignty claims and pressure Taipei.
Continue reading...Measures include making it easier for Taiwanese people to live and work in China, but the plan comes amid major military exercises
China’s government has unveiled a “new path towards integrated development” with Taiwan, including proposals to make it easier for Taiwanese people to live, study and work in China.
At the same time, it sent the largest number of warships to gather in years to the waters on Taiwan’s east, in what analysts said signalled a choice between peaceful “reunification” and military violence, just months out from Taiwan’s presidential election.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands of homes left without power and more than 7,000 people evacuated after storm makes landfall
Typhoon Haikui moved across Taiwan on Sunday, unleashing torrential downpours, accelerating winds and plunging thousands of households into darkness after the first big storm to hit the island directly in four years made landfall.
More than 7,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas, while hundreds of flights were cancelled and businesses closed in preparation for the storm.
Continue reading...Category 3 storm causes extensive flooding in south-east US, while heavy rain and winds also hit France and Italy
Hurricane Idalia struck northern Florida on Wednesday, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain. It made landfall near Keaton Beach on Florida’s Big Bend during the morning as a high-end category 3 hurricane, bringing sustained winds speeds near 125mph (200km/h) and a storm surge of 16ft along Florida’s north-west coastline.
Due to very warm sea surface temperatures, the storm strengthened rapidly over the Gulf of Mexico to category 4 status, before weakening to category 3 as it made landfall. It brought extensive flooding as it passed through and damaged power lines, leaving thousands without electricity.
Continue reading...On trip to Beijing, James Cleverly says Britain is ‘clear-eyed’ about its disagreements with world’s second largest economy
James Cleverly has defended his meetings with senior Chinese government members, saying it would be a mistake to try to isolate China, during the first visit to Beijing in five years by a UK foreign secretary.
Cleverly said he believed China genuinely cared about UK views on human rights, following his meetings on Wednesday with China’s vice-president, Han Zheng, and foreign minister, Wang Yi. However, there was no indication of a change in Chinese policy such as the lifting of its sanctions on British parliamentarians, the test for the trip set by the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy.
Continue reading...The billionaire has touted his business experience, saying it was the ‘era of entrepreneurs’ rule’
The billionaire founder of tech giant Foxconn, Terry Gou, has announced he will run for president of Taiwan as an independent candidate, pledging to fix cross-strait relations and boost Taiwan’s economy.
At a press conference on Monday, Gou – a well-known and outspoken businessman – announced what he called “the era of entrepreneurs’ rule”.
Continue reading...Chinese state media says military exercises involving planes and vessels were intended as a ‘stern warning’ against colluding with ‘foreign elements’
China launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a “stern warning” after voicing anger over a stopover in the United States by the island’s vice-president, William Lai.
Lai – the frontrunner in Taiwan’s presidential election next year and a vocal opponent of Beijing’s claims to the island – returned on Friday from a trip to Paraguay during which he stopped briefly in New York and San Francisco.
Continue reading...Propaganda video shows troops running past anti-landing barricades similar to those that dot Taiwan’s coast
China’s army released a propaganda video showing soldiers preparing for a conflict in what appears to be the Taiwan strait.
The one-and-a-half-minute video, published on the Eastern Theatre Command’s official WeChat account on Thursday, is titled “Reading the Strait” and shows soldiers in combat gear doing press-ups under crashing waves, a tank battalion driving into the sunset and troops running up sandy shores past anti-landing barricades, similar to those that dot Taiwan’s coast.
Continue reading...Pictures appear to show 600-metre runway on South China Sea’s Triton island, which is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan
China may be constructing an airstrip on a disputed island in the South China Sea that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, satellite images suggest.
Pictures of Triton Island, one of the major islands in the Paracel group, appear to show the construction of a runway of more than 600 metres (2,000ft) long, according to analysis by Associated Press. This would be long enough to accommodate drones, but not fighter jets or bombers.
Continue reading...William Lai issues global appeal during US stopover after China denounces him as a ‘troublemaker’
Taiwan’s vice-president has urged the world to stand up against the “increased threat from authoritarianism” and reiterated a willingness to talk to China, in a speech made in New York during a brief US stopover condemned by Beijing.
William Lai, a frontrunner to be Taiwan’s next president at elections in January, said in New York on Sunday: “If Taiwan is safe, the world is safe, if the Taiwan Strait is peaceful, then the world is peaceful,” according to a read out from Taiwan’s presidential office.
Continue reading...‘Chasing Dreams’, an eight-part series aired on state TV, features testimony from dozens of soldiers
China has released a new documentary about the army’s preparations to attack Taiwan, showcasing soldiers pledging to give up their lives if needed, as Beijing continues to ramp up its rhetoric against the self-ruled island.
“Chasing Dreams”, an eight-part series aired by state broadcaster CCTV last week to mark the 96th anniversary of the People Liberation Army (PLA), features military drills and testimonials by dozens of soldiers, of which several express their willingness to die in a potential attack against Taiwan.
Continue reading...Police had asked the 13-year-old to assist them in an undercover operation by meeting a man she had accused of blackmailing her
Two Taiwanese police officers are under investigation after a teenager was assaulted by a man she had accused of blackmail, while taking part in a police sting operation to catch him.
The incident took place in November 2020, when the then 13-year-old told police in the northern Taiwan city of Taoyuan that she had been threatened by a man on a dating app, who tried to coerce her into sex by threatening to publish explicit photos of her online.
Continue reading...After years of deepening economic and military mistrust between the superpowers, they were finally back in a room together
When Janet Yellen left Beijing on Sunday after four days of talks, the US treasury secretary in effect admitted that the delegation achieved its main objective simply by sitting down with top Chinese officials.
After years of dangerous and deepening separation between the people running the world’s two biggest economies, they were finally back in a room together.
Continue reading...