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Taiwan

Taiwan
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on Taiwan, covering politics, economy, society and the island's relationship with mainland China.
last updated:
6 January, 2025
Taiwan is under pressure to move its liaison office out of Pretoria. Photo: AFP
South Africa

South Africa presses Taiwan to vacate liaison office in Pretoria

Taiwanese foreign ministry says demand to move out by the end of next month violates agreement.

Fame and celebrity

Obituary | The rise of Meteor Garden star Barbie Hsu, dead at 48

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Fame and celebrity

Taiwanese actress Barbie ‘Big S’ Hsu dies from pneumonia at age 48

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Taiwan election 2024

Taiwan’s feuding political parties raise the stakes with rival recall bids

Both the government and opposition are trying to unseat rival lawmakers in a battle that threatens to deepen the island’s internal divisions.

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Taiwan’s leader William Lai Ching-te has called for political harmony as his party and political opponents launch recall campaigns. Photo: EPA-EFE
US-China relations

Will ‘unpredictable’ Trump bring chaos or calm to US-China relations?

Voices from Washington reveal deep divisions on how to deal with Beijing, with Trump 2.0 adding another layer of uncertainty, analysts warn.

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The Philippines

Philippines’ arrest of more alleged Chinese spies fuels espionage concerns

The arrests follow the detention of another Chinese national accused of spying on military and police facilities.

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US-China relations

US military says ‘unmanned hellscape’ strategy in Taiwan Strait is on track

Drones set to form the first part of America’s Replicator initiative are expected to meet their deadline, a US official says.

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The first drones to form part of the Pentagon’s “unmanned hellscape” military strategy in the Taiwan Strait are on track for their August 2025 deadline. Photo: Reuters
Donald Trump

Trump’s foreign aid halt rattles Asian humanitarian groups and their US partners

US president orders 90-day review of foreign assistance programmes to determine if they should be maintained, modified or eliminated.

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Donald Trump

Taiwan considers support for semiconductor industry after Trump’s tariff threat

Premier Cho Jung-tai has said the island’s government will look for ways to maintain the island’s ‘leading position’.

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‘Absolutely irrational’: Taiwan’s premier urges rollback of defence costs freeze

Premier Cho Jung-tai criticises Taiwan’s opposition-led legislature over defence budget cuts and NT$90 billion military costs freeze.

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Taiwanese troops line up for a missile launch drill at an airbase in Taichung on January 8. Photo: EPA-EFE
US-China relations

Trump calls China’s DeepSeek AI leap a ‘wake-up call’ for US tech

Tariffs could be imposed on foreign-made semiconductor chips, including those by Taiwan’s TSMC, if they are not made stateside.

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DeepSeek , a Chinese AI start-up was the most downloaded free app in the US on Apple’s App Store over the weekend. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Top Beijing envoy says US must not cross ‘red lines’, Taiwan top risk to ties

Chinese ambassador lays down the ground rules for ‘stable, healthy and sustainable’ US-China ties at Lunar New Year event in Washington.

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US-China relations

WHO move ‘highly unfavourable’ for Taiwan as uncertainty reigns in new Trump era

US exit from health body will be a blow to Taipei’s membership bid, while it faces more unpredictability on security, hi-tech industries and trade.

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Japan

Japan’s strategic island airbase stalls, hurting its Taiwan crisis response

Japan’s plans to transform the remote uninhabited island of Mageshima into a strategic military hub have hit a wall.

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Mageshima island. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
US-China relations

What did Rubio say about Taiwan independence? US, China at odds

A certain detail is conspicuously absent from State Department’s account of a phone call reportedly made at the top American envoy’s request.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the first member of US President Donald Trump’s cabinet to win Senate confirmation. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

EU to resume WTO case against China over alleged economic coercion of Lithuania

Bloc says Beijing orchestrated trade embargo against Baltic state because of controversially named Taiwan office.

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US-China relations

What does China have to do with Marco Rubio’s trip to Latin America?

The new US secretary of state is departing from recent precedent by not making Asia his first overseas destination.

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US-China relations

Pentagon appointments suggest Trump scepticism about Ukraine and Taiwan impact

Several new Defence Department officials have disputed contention that supporting Ukraine’s defence could deter Beijing’s plans for Taiwan.

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US President Donald Trump signing executive orders at the White House on Monday. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Jimmy Lai trial

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai admits to urging US to revoke visas of officials’ children

Prosecutors question Lai about his overseas political connections on 31st day of media owner’s verbal testimony in marathon trial.

China's military weapons

The PLA is building a fleet of barges with Taiwan in mind, analysts say

New vessels – which have extendable ramps – could be part of strategy to boost amphibious capabilities by allowing for faster landings.

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Science

China’s submarine-launched drones can do more than the US military thinks

Amid reports of a new US military plan for an underwater drone release, scientists say China has already done it better.

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The US is considering launching drones from submarines, but China has already developed the technology to do it better. Photo: Handout
Japan

In Trump 2.0, Japan faces a familiar uncertainty

Beneath the polite diplomacy lies a current of apprehension about what Donald Trump’s return means for Japan’s place in an upended world.

A screen shows live footage of US President Donald Trump signing executive orders next to monitors displaying the yen to dollar exchange rate at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Elise Stefanik, Trump’s UN ambassador pick, vows to counter China ‘inroads’

New York congresswoman at Senate confirmation hearing outlines plans to vie with Beijing’s ‘whole-of-government approach’ to building sway.

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US-China relations

Editorial | As Trump begins his second term in the White House, an eerie feeling of deja vu

Inaugural speech sounds like a copy of what the US president said eight years ago, but now China is better prepared to meet his challenges.

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Accidents and disasters in China

Taiwan braces for more shocks after magnitude 6.4 earthquake terrifies residents

Dozens of homes and structures damaged in Tainan and Chiayi, where the epicentre was recorded.

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At least 27 people were injured and dozens of homes were damaged when a powerful earthquake jolted southwestern Taiwan in the early hours of Tuesday. Photo: Kyodo
US-ally trade wars

Taiwan’s Compal, Inventec mull US expansion to counter Trump tariffs

Texas is seen as a top choice for the Taiwanese laptop because of the state’s power infrastructure and proximity to Mexico.

A demonstrator holds flags of Taiwan and the US in Burlingame, California, on January 14, 2017. Photo: Reuters
Bonds

Hong Kong and Macau link bond systems to create larger market

Four new bond issuances worth 3.2 billion patacas (US$401 million), plus 18 secondary-market transactions, settled on first day of linkage.

US-China tech war

Nvidia CEO concludes whirlwind Taiwan tour after key meetings

Jensen Huang met top industry leaders, including TSMC founder Morris Chang and Foxconn chairman Liu Young-way.

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