Taiwan's Tsai welcomes retired US admiral for China talks
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday welcomed the former head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, who had warned the island could face an invasion from China this decade, as the mainland ramps up pressure on the self-governing island. “I’m here to listen and learn from our hosts; thus far, I’ve done both,” he said. A day later, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 17 Chinese aircraft crossed the median line Wednesday, with a total of 23 planes sent to fly around the island. He clarified this remark while in Japan just before his visit to Taiwan, saying that the scenario would not necessarily be an all-out war. One of those would be the threats to outer islands, and I think it’s a grave security concern of Taiwan’s,” he told the Japan Times.
wftv.comTaiwan's Tsai visits base as China protests US ship passage
CHIAYI, Taiwan — (AP) — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited a military base Friday to observe drills while rival China protested the passage of a U.S. Navy destroyer through the Taiwan Strait, as tensions between the sides showed no sign of abating in the new year. Beijing claims self-governing Taiwan as Chinese territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and regularly protests the passage of U.S. and other foreign warships through the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s busiest waterways. Tsai's visit to the base in the central county of Chiayi comes as Taiwan is seeking to boost its defenses against the rising threat from China. Meanwhile, China accused the U.S. of “publicly hyping” the passage Thursday of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon through the strait, adding that its forces monitored the ship the entire time. “Chung-Hoon’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
wftv.comTaiwan extends compulsory military service to 1 year
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Taiwan will extend its compulsory military service from four months to a year starting in 2024, President Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday, as the self-ruled island faces China's military, diplomatic and trade pressure. In response, the island's military actively tracks those movements, which often serves as training for its own military personnel. The longer military service applies to men born after 2005, and will start Jan. 1, 2024. A poll from the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation in December found that among Taiwanese adults, 73.2% said they would support a one-year military service. Among the youngest demographic group of 20-24, however, 37.2% said they opposed extending the military service, and only 35.6% said they would support an extension.
wftv.comTaiwan president resigns as party leader after election loss
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party following local election losses suffered by her party. They’ve raised a local election to this international level, and Taiwan’s survival,” said Yeh-lih Wang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. At an elementary school in New Taipei City, the city that surrounds Taipei, voters young and old came early despite the rain. I believe in him, and that he can improve our environment in New Taipei City and our transportation infrastructure." Tsai, who also chairs the ruling party, has spoken out many times about “opposing China and defending Taiwan” in the course of campaigning.
wftv.comTaiwan votes on lower voting age, mayors, city councils
Taiwanese citizens will be picking their mayors, city council members and other local leaders in all 13 counties and the six major cities. They’ve raised a local election to this international level, and Taiwan’s survival,” said Yeh-lih Wang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. The election results will in some ways also reflect the public's attitude towards the ruling party's performance in the last two years, You said. Observers are also watching to see if outgoing Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je's Taiwan People's Party's candidates will pick up a mayoral seat. A 2024 presidential bid for Ko will be impacted by his party's political performance Saturday, analysts say.
wftv.comTaiwan to vote on lower voting age, mayors, city councils
Taiwanese citizens will be picking their mayors, city council members and other local leaders in all 13 counties and the six major cities. They’ve raised a local election to this international level, and Taiwan’s survival,” said Yeh-lih Wang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. The election results will in some ways also reflect the public's attitude towards the ruling party's performance in the last two years, You said. Observers are also watching to see if outgoing Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je's Taiwan People's Party's candidates will pick up a mayoral seat. A 2024 presidential bid for Ko will be impacted by his party's political performance Saturday, analysts say.
wftv.comTaiwan's Tsai thanks British minister for support
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday thanked British Trade Minister Greg Hands for London's support for Taiwan after he became the latest foreign official to defy Chinese pressure and visit the self-ruled island democracy. “Let me take this opportunity to thank the government of the United Kingdom for its longstanding support of Taiwan’s international participation and for advocating for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Tsai said. Hands became the first British official to visit Taiwan since that year's start of the coronavirus pandemic. Britain and China are due to take part in next week’s meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in Indonesia. On Monday, China's foreign ministry demanded Britain stop official contacts with Taiwan, which the mainland says has no right to conduct foreign relations.
wftv.comChina panda experts visit Taiwan in rare point of contact
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Taiwan has welcomed a pair of experts from China to help with an ailing panda in a rare opportunity for contact between the sides. The two experts arrived Tuesday after Taipei Zoo’s Tuan Tuan, suspected to have a malignant brain tumor, took a turn for the worse. The giant panda and his mate, Yuan Yuan, were gifted to the zoo in 2008 during a time of warming relations between China and Taiwan, which split amid civil war in 1949. An MRI on Tuan Tuan showed that lesions on his brain had grown in a sign the disease was “progressing rapidly," the zoo said in a news release. The experts, Wu Honglin and Wei Ming, have long experience working on panda health and reproduction at the main panda research base at Wolong in China's Sichuan province.
wftv.comOfficer describes meeting with GOP leader
Michael Fanone, the Metropolitan Police Department officer who almost died during the Capitol riot, secretly recorded his conversations with lawmakers, including House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, in the months that followed. Scott MacFarlane has the details.
news.yahoo.comTaiwan leader tells China force 'absolutely not an option'
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — China's threats of military action against Taiwan are “absolutely not an option” and will “only push our two sides further from each other," Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Monday. China's Communist Party swept the Nationalist government from the mainland amid civil war in 1949 and continues to claim the island. That was further underscored when China launched threatening military exercises around the island in response to an early August visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Those included sending ships and planes across the midline of the Taiwan Strait that had long been a buffer zone between the sides. Despite Beijing's threats, U.S. and other foreign diplomats have continued to visit Taiwan and Washington's commitment to Taiwan's defense has only appeared to grow.
wftv.comTaiwan leader tells China war 'absolutely not an option'
China's threats of military action against Taiwan are “absolutely not an option” and will “only push our two sides further from each other," Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Monday. Speaking on Taiwan’s National Day, Tsai said China should not mistake Taiwan’s multiparty democratic political system for weakness and “attempt to divide Taiwanese society.” “I want to make clear to the Beijing authorities that armed confrontation is absolutely not an option for our two sides," Tsai said.
news.yahoo.comAnother US congressional delegation in Taiwan amid tensions
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Another U.S. congressional delegation is visiting Taiwan as tensions with China remain high over its claims to the self-governed island. China in response has stepped up its military harassment of Taiwan, sending warships, warplanes and drones toward the island daily. Referring to China's military threats, Tsai said the delegation's visit “conveys rock solid support for Taiwan from the U.S. Under the U.S. system of separation of powers, the executive branch of government has no legal right to prevent members of Congress from visiting Taiwan. Following Pelosi's trip, a U.S. senator and another congressional delegation visited Taiwan, as well as officials from Japan and Palau.
wftv.comArizona Gov. Ducey hails Taiwan semiconductor investment
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Arizona Gov. The TSMC investment is expected to create 2,000 jobs in Arizona, with the company taking numerous future workers for training in Taiwan. “Arizona and Taiwan have many shared economic strengths specifically in technology and advanced manufacturing industries," Ducey said. “Both Arizona and Taiwan are global semiconductor leaders and it is in this industry where our partnership is the greatest. (The investment) has elevated the potential of what’s possible between Arizona and Taiwan," the governor said.
wftv.comArizona Gov. Ducey hails Taiwan semiconductor investment
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is hailing economic and educational cooperation with Taiwan, marked by a $12 billion investment in his state by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. Ducey spoke Thursday at a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, the latest of a series of visits by U.S. political leaders that have stirred the ire of China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and condemns all official contacts between Taipei and foreign governments that recognize Beijing.
Taiwan leader tells troops to keep cool amid Chinese threats
Taiwan’s president has told the self-ruled island’s military units to keep their cool in the face of daily warplane flights and warship maneuvers by rival China, saying that Taiwan will not allow Beijing to provoke a conflict
washingtonpost.comPalau VP delegation quarantined in Taiwan after 2 get virus
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Palau's vice president and her eight-member delegation have been quarantined in Taiwan after two of them tested positive for the coronavirus. Palau is one of the 14 countries still maintaining formal relations with Taiwan, which China claims as its own and has relentlessly sought to isolate internationally by depriving it of diplomatic partners. The delegation from the Pacific nation had PCR tests on Sunday, with two of them positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. Taiwan has gradually relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, but testing and quarantine restrictions for foreign arrivals remain in place. Taiwan this week is also hosting Foreign Minister Mario Bucaro of Guatemala, another of its dwindling number of diplomatic allies.
wftv.comTaiwan: China, Russia disrupting, threatening world order
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Taiwan’s leader on Friday said China and Russia are “disrupting and threatening the world order” through Beijing’s recent large-scale military exercises near the island and Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary. “These developments demonstrate how authoritarian countries are disrupting and threatening the world order,” Tsai said. Pelosi was the highest-level member of the U.S. government to visit Taiwan in 25 years. China has increased its pressure on Taiwan since it elected independence-leaning Tsai as its president.
wftv.comIndiana governor in Taiwan following high-profile US visits
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Indiana's Republican governor met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday, following two recent high-profile visits by U.S. politicians that drew Beijing's ire and Chinese military drills that included firing missiles over the island. His visit comes at a particularly tense time for Taiwan, China and the U.S. after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited earlier this month. “Taiwan has been confronted by military threats from China, in and around the Taiwan Strait. Separately, Japanese lawmakers Keiji Furuya and Minoru Kihara arrived in Taiwan on Monday and are to meet Tsai on Tuesday. Holcomb was also meeting representatives of the semiconductor industry and was expected to promote academic and tech cooperation between Taiwan and Indiana.
wftv.comIndiana governor in Taiwan following high-profile US visits
TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — Indiana's Republican governor met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen Monday morning, following two recent high-profile visits by U.S. politicians that drew China's ire and Chinese military drills that included firing missiles over the island. His visit is coming at a tense moment for Taiwan, China and the U.S. after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this month. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and views exchanges with foreign governments as an infringement on its claims. “In the midst of this, Taiwan has been confronted by military threats from China, in and around the Taiwan Strait. Holcomb will also meet representatives of the semiconductor industry, and is expected to promote academic and tech cooperation between Taiwan and the state of Indiana.
wftv.comChina's response to Pelosi visit a sign of future intentions
China’s response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was anything but subtle — dispatching warships and military aircraft to all sides of the self-governing island democracy, and firing ballistic missiles into the waters nearby.
China sets sanctions on Taiwan figures to punish US, island
BEIJING — (AP) — China imposed visa bans and other sanctions Tuesday on Taiwanese political figures as it raises pressure on the self-governing island and the U.S. in response to successive congressional visits. The Chinese government objects to Taiwan having any official contact with foreign governments because it considers Taiwan its own territory, and its recent saber rattling has emphasized its threat to take the island by military force. The measures were designed to “resolutely punish" those considered “diehard elements" supporting Taiwan's independence, the official Xinhua News Agency said. China exercises no legal authority over Taiwan and it's unclear what effect the sanctions would have. Taiwan has put its military on alert, but has taken no major countermeasures against the Chinese measures.
wftv.comEXPLAINER: Why US lawmakers' Taiwan trips keep riling China
Pelosi had been the most senior U.S. official in a quarter-century to visit Taiwan, underscoring the longstanding U.S. policy of solidarity with the island's democratically elected leaders. A look at some key questions about U.S. lawmakers' Taiwan trips, and why they matter. The U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China but maintains informal diplomatic, defense and trade ties with democratic Taiwan. China responded to news of Markey's five-member U.S. congressional delegation by announcing new drills in the seas and skies surrounding Taiwan. President Joe Biden called China's unusually aggressive response to Pelosi's visit unwarranted, saying that the U.S. is sticking with its decades-old “one-China” policy.
wftv.comChina announces new Taiwan drills as US delegation visits
Pelosi is the highest-level member of the U.S. government to visit Taiwan in 25 years. Investment in Taiwan’s crucial semiconductor industry and reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait are expected to be key topics of discussion. China accuses the U.S. of encouraging independence forces in Taiwan through its sale of military equipment to the island and engaging with its officials. The U.S. says it does not support independence for Taiwan but that its differences with China should be resolved by peaceful means. China’s ruling Communist Party has long said it favors Taiwan joining China peacefully but that it will not rule out force if necessary.
wftv.comPetito's parents file wrongful death against Moab
Gabby Petito's family on Monday notified Utah officials of plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that police failed to recognize their daughter was in a life-threatening situation last year when officers investigated a fight between her and her boyfriend. (Aug. 8) (video by Brady McCombs/AP)
news.yahoo.comTaiwan says China military drills appear to simulate attack
China Taiwan Military Exercises A Chinese J-11 military fighter jet flies above the Taiwan Strait near Pingtan, the closest land of mainland China to the island of Taiwan, in Pingtan in southeastern China's Fujian Province, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) (Ng Han Guan)BEIJING — (AP) — Taiwan said Saturday that China’s military drills appear to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, after multiple Chinese warships and aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. China launched live-fire military drills following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan earlier this week, saying that her visit violated the “one-China” policy. The Chinese military exercises began Thursday and are expected to last until Sunday. Taiwan has put its military on alert and staged civil defense drills, while the U.S. has numerous naval assets in the area.
wftv.comPelosi dined with Taiwan computer-chip executives during her brief visit
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said that Pelosi and she attended a lunch with Morris Chang, the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufactuering Company, and its chairman, Mark Liu, as well as Chen Jianzhong, vice chairman of electronics manufacturer Pegatron Corp.
washingtonpost.comPelosi departs Taiwan after visit that fueled US-China rift
Taiwan Asia Pelosi In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center left, and Taiwanese President President Tsai Ing-wen arrive for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) (Uncredited)TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi departed Taiwan on Wednesday after meeting with the president and other officials in a visit that heightened tensions with China. China staged military drills after her arrival and called her visit a provocation that infringes on its sovereignty. “Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” she said in a short speech during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. She is the first speaker of the House to visit Taiwan in 25 years, since Newt Gingrich in 1997.
wftv.comChina, US allies divided over Pelosi's Taiwan visit
Taiwan Asia Pelosi In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a meeting with Taiwanese President President Tsai Ing-wen, right, in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) (Uncredited)BEIJING — (AP) — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has drawn bipartisan support at home and backing among the world’s democracies. Meanwhile, China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to an independent identity, has rallied support among fellow authoritarian states. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country's ties with China have nosedived in recent years, declined to comment specifically Wednesday on Pelosi's visit. Pelosi has made criticism of China and support for Taiwan a key focus in her more than three decades in Congress.
wftv.comPelosi says US will not abandon Taiwan as China protests
Taiwan Asia Pelosi In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center left, and Taiwanese President President Tsai Ing-wen arrive for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meeting top officials in Taiwan despite warnings from China, said Wednesday that she and other congressional leaders in a visiting delegation are showing they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) (Uncredited)TAIPEI, Taiwan — (AP) — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meeting leaders in Taiwan despite warnings from China, said Wednesday that she and other members of Congress in a visiting delegation are showing they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island. “Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” she said in a short speech during a meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Tsai, thanking Pelosi for her decades of support for Taiwan, presented the speaker with a civilian honor, the Order of the Propitious Clouds.
wftv.comU.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi meets Taiwan's president
Speaker of the U.S. House Of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, attending a meeting at the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's house of parliament on August 3, 2022. Photo by via Getty Images)Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen thanked U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi for her support of democratic values as the pair met in Taipei on Wednesday. Pelosi's visit to Taiwan makes her the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, drawing the ire of China which has called the move a breach of the one-China policy and an interference in China's internal affairs. Tsai said she was committed to working with the U.S. over security in the Taiwan straits and the wider Indo-Pacific region and vowed to deepen economic cooperation and supply chain resilience with the U.S. Please check back for updates.
cnbc.comFor Taiwan, Pelosi visit is about US, China controlling risk
The crisis sparked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan misses a key point, experts say: that the real focus should be on how the United States and China manage their differences so the risks of confrontation don’t spiral out of control.
China installing former security chief as Hong Kong leader
China is installing a career security official as the new leader of Hong Kong in the culmination of a sweeping political transformation that has gutted any opposition in the Asian financial center and placed it ever more firmly under Beijing’s control.
China stages military exercises as US lawmakers visit Taiwan
China says its military has staged exercises to reinforce its threat to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, as U.S. lawmakers visiting Taiwan made a pointed and public declaration of support for the self-governing island democracy while issuing a warning to China.