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by Jerome TAYLOR Agence France Presse He leads one of the world’s smallest nations, but Surangel Whipps says Palau will not be bullied by anyone into deciding its future — least of all by China. Whipps, 52, became Palau’s president after last year defeating an opponent who favoured closer ties with Beijing. The Pacific nation of around 21,000 people is one of just 15 countries that still recognise Taiwan over China, something Whipps is […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A railway maintenance worker whose truck rolled onto the tracks and sparked Taiwan’s worst train disaster in recent decades made a tearful apology on Sunday, saying he would cooperate with investigators. At least 50 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in Friday’s crash, which sent a packed eight-car train hurtling into the sides of a narrow tunnel near the eastern coastal city of Hualien. Investigators say the Taroko […]
by Sean Chang, with Amber Wang in Taipei HUALIEN, Taiwan (AFP) — Salvage teams began removing mangled train carriages on Saturday after Taiwan’s worst rail disaster in decades killed at least 50 people, as flags flew half-mast across an island plunged into mourning. Officials said Friday’s devastating collision was caused when a parked railway maintenance vehicle slipped down an embankment and onto the tracks. A train packed with as many as 500 people at the […]
by Amber WANG TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Dozens of people were killed on Friday when a packed train derailed inside a tunnel in eastern Taiwan, the island’s worst railway accident in decades. Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said at least 48 people were confirmed dead with 66 others sent to hospital. Officials said the accident could have been caused by a maintenance vehicle sliding down an embankment and striking the train before it entered the tunnel […]
by Amber WANG TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Dozens of people were killed on Friday when a packed train derailed inside a tunnel in eastern Taiwan, the island’s worst railway accident in decades. Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said at least 41 people were confirmed dead with more than 60 sent to hospital. Two people were still trapped in the twisted carriages inside the tunnel on Friday afternoon, the agency added. Officials said the accident could […]
by Amber WANG TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Dozens of people are feared dead after a packed train derailed inside a tunnel in eastern Taiwan on Friday at the start of a long holiday weekend, with rescuers still scrambling to reach others trapped inside. President Tsai Ing-wen’s office said she had ordered hospitals to prepare for a mass casualty event. “The top priority now is to rescue the stranded people,” it said in a statement. The […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan kicked off its coronavirus inoculation drive Monday with two top officials getting AstraZeneca shots in a bid to boost public confidence in a vaccine that has had a troubled rollout. Premier Su Tseng-chang and health minister Chen Shih-chung sat for jabs at a Taipei hospital after local authorities cleared the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant’s vaccine for use. “I am not feeling any pain at the spot or any soreness… I hope […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, the American navy said, in the first such voyage since the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer conducted a routine transit through the waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement. US warships periodically conduct navigation exercises in the strait, often triggering angry responses from China which claims self-ruled, […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Nearly 11,000 Hong Kongers moved to Taiwan in 2020 — almost double the number of a year earlier — after Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on the city. Democratic Taiwan has long attracted Hong Kong people seeking an alternative to their city’s frenetic pace and sky-high rents. But a new security law has accelerated an exodus, and the number of Hong Kongers granted short-term residency soared to 10,813 from 5,858 […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US aircraft carrier group sailed into the South China Sea on a so-called “freedom of navigation” exercise, the first routine operation in the region under new President Joe Biden. Led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the carrier strike group entered the area Saturday, the US Indo-Pacific Command said, the same day Taiwan reported multiple Chinese jets and bombers had flown into its air defense zone. “It’s great to be […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan reported its first local coronavirus transmission Tuesday, blaming a foreign pilot for ending 253 days of being virus-free. Health authorities said a woman in her thirties had tested positive after contact with the pilot, a New Zealander working for a Taiwan airline. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said the pilot had failed to “truthfully declare” his contacts and activities to authorities once he had been confirmed as a carrier. Authorities […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan reported its first local coronavirus transmission Tuesday, ending 253 days of being virus-free in a major blow for an island that has been lauded for its pandemic response. Health authorities said a woman in her thirties had tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into contact with a “foreign pilot” working for a Taiwanese airline who was a carrier. “Health units arranged for her to be tested and she was […]
