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YILAN, July 24, 2024 (AFP) – Taiwan closed schools, suspended the stock market, and declared a typhoon holiday Wednesday as Gaemi barrelled towards the island, bringing torrential rains and whipping winds to its northeast. Typhoon Gaemi, packing sustained wind speeds of 162 kilometres (100 miles) per hour, also affected Japan and the Philippines — which also announced that government offices would close for the day. It is expected to make landfall in northeast Taiwan by […]
DOHA, June 5, 2024 (AFP) – Qatar has agreed to supply the Taiwan-headquartered Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC) with natural gas for 27 years, the emirate’s state energy company announced on Wednesday. Qatar will supply four million tonnes of gas a year under the deal, QatarEnergy said in a statement, without disclosing the cost of the agreement. “We look forward to further enhancing our relationship with CPC… and to further demonstrate our unwavering commitment to our […]
TAIPEI, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday that the memory of Beijing’s deadly crackdown at Tiananmen Square “will not disappear in the torrent of history” in a post marking the event’s 35th anniversary. Discussion of the crackdown at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 is highly sensitive for China’s communist leadership, and any mention of it is strictly censored on the mainland. But self-ruled Taiwan commemorates the date with […]
By Jing Xuan TENG SINGAPORE, June 2, 2024 (AFP) – Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun warned Sunday his military is ready to “forcefully” stop Taiwan independence but called for greater exchanges with the United States. The remarks at an annual security forum in Singapore followed the first substantive face-to-face talks in 18 months between the two countries’ defence chiefs. “We have always been open to exchanges and cooperation, but this requires both sides to meet […]
SINGAPORE, June 2, 2024 (AFP) – China’s defence minister warned Sunday of “limits” to Beijing’s restraint on the South China Sea and over the deployment of ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific region. Dong’s remarks at a security forum in Singapore were a clear reference to the Philippines and the United States, which have been boosting defence ties in the face of China’s growing military might and influence. “China has maintained sufficient restraint in the face […]
TAIPEI, May 29, 2024 (AFP) – Taiwan’s parliament passed a package of controversial bills on Tuesday to expand its power as thousands of disapproving protesters rallied outside and chanted “defend democracy”. Proponents say expanded parliamentary powers are needed to curb corruption but critics fear the laws could weaken the self-ruled island’s democracy against the influence of China, which claims it as part of its territory. New Taiwan President Lai Ching-te represents the Democratic Progressive Party […]
BEIJING, May 29, 2024 (AFP) – China on Wednesday vowed military pressure on Taiwan would carry on as long as “independence” provocations continued on the self-ruled island. Last week, China held two days of military drills around Taiwan that saw warships and jets loaded with live munitions practise seizing and isolating the self-ruled island. The exercises were launched three days after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office and made an inauguration speech that China […]
TAIPEI, May 27, 2024 (AFP) – A senior US lawmaker affirmed on Monday Washington’s support for Taiwan against Chinese “aggression”, on the first congressional visit to the self-ruled island since it swore in a new president. Sitting down Monday morning with President Lai Ching-te, Representative Michael McCaul — who heads the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee — said he and his colleagues stood in “strong support of this beautiful island”. Three days after Lai was […]
By Dene-Hern CHEN TAIPEI, May 26, 2024 (AFP) – Taiwan’s new president said Sunday he was still ready to work with China, despite this week’s military drills around the self-ruled island. Three days after Lai Ching-te was sworn in, Chinese warships and fighter jets encircled Taiwan in drills that China said were a test of its ability to seize the island. During the two-day drills, China vowed that “independence forces” would be left “with their […]
WASHINGTON, May 25, 2024 (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart, the Pentagon announced Friday, after Beijing carried out war games around Taiwan in a sign to the US-backed democracy’s new leader. The Pentagon said that Austin would meet Chinese Admiral Dong Jun when they attend the May 31-June 2 Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of defense officials around the world. China this week encircled Taiwan with warships and fighter […]
By Ludovic EHRET and Glenda KWEK in Beijing, with Amber WANG in Taipei BEIJING, May 25, 2024 (AFP) – China has ended two days of military drills around Taiwan that saw jets loaded with live munitions and warships practise seizing and isolating the self-ruled island. The exercises simulated strikes targeting Taiwan’s leaders as well as its ports and airports to “cut off the island’s ‘blood vessels’”, Chinese military analysts told state media. Beijing considers the […]
By James EDGAR BEIJING, May 24, 2024 (AFP) – Beijing on Friday said ongoing drills encircling Taiwan were testing the military’s ability to seize power over the self-ruled island, days after its new president was sworn in. China’s military kicked off the war games Thursday morning, surrounding Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft, while vowing the blood of “independence forces” on the island would flow. The exercises — codenamed “Joint Sword-2024A” — come after […]
