The partisan standoff over President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed defense budget has raised questions about the nation’s ability to adequately fund its own defense, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report released on Tuesday.The report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues
The Legislative Yuan should be able to approve the Taiwan-US tariff agreement this month, providing certainty for businesses, Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said yesterday.While touring a production line at Victor Taichung Machinery Works yesterday with American Institute in Taiwan (
Iran and the US were yesterday holding talks in Oman that were seen as a critical chance to avert any new escalation between the foes, after US President Donald Trump threatened military action.With a US naval group led by an aircraft carrier in Middle Eastern waters, Iran has insisted the talks wou
CONTRIBUTION: Canberra has signed deals across the Pacific region and boosted efforts to increase influence as Washington leans on allies to help deter Beijing
Australia and Indonesia’s leaders yesterday signed a security deal, one of a series of agreements that Canberra has secured with neighboring countries to reinforce ties and limit China’s influence in the region.At a signing ceremony, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto told Australian Prime Minist
‘NO CHANGE’: A US White House official said Washington’s Taiwan and cross-strait policies remain unchanged and that it would cooperate with both sides of the Strait
Relations between Taiwan and the US are “rock solid,” and cooperation programs would not change, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in a phone call urged US President Donald Trump to handle arms sales to Taipei “with prudence.”China’s state-run Xinhu
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) held back-to-back calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump this week, which analysts said was rare and significant as Beijing positions itself as a stable global power.Xi’s video call with Putin on Wednesday afternoon was followed j
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions.TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its seco
A bill aimed at deepening space cooperation between Taiwan and the US cleared the committee stage in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.The Taiwan and American Space Assistance Act (TASA Act) was included as an amendment to the NASA Reauthorization Act, which the US House Committee on Scie
MORE WORK: Russia said talks were progressing in a good direction, but there has been no update on the issue of territory or any sign of concession from Moscow
Ukraine and Russia swapped more than 300 prisoners following “productive” talks in Abu Dhabi yesterday, while a US mediator conceded that “significant” work lay ahead in the quest for a broader deal to end the war. As talks were underway, large swathes of the Ukrainian capital were still without hea
Relations between Taiwan and the US are "rock-solid" and cooperation programs would continue and not change, President William Lai (賴清德) said today after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan with US President Donald Trump.In a call yesterday, Xi told Trump that the US should "carefull
GLOBAL COMMITMENT: US senators have expressed concern over the opposition-controlled legislature holding up defense plans, despite rising threats from China
If the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan continues to block a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget, the international community could misunderstand Taiwan’s determination to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.Pressure from politicians in the
A New York court on Tuesday sentenced a Taiwanese man to 30 years in prison for conspiring to distribute narcotics, money laundering, and conspiring to sell adulterated and misbranded medication.Lin Rui-siang (林睿庠) was arrested in May 2024 for operating an online narcotics marketplace, called “Incog
The Tech World Pavilion, originally built by Taiwan for last year’s World Expo in Osaka, Japan, is to be recreated and displayed at the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi County next month, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.The pavilion is being brought back to Taiwan to give local audiences access t
PUSHBACK: An alliance of middle powers united around common values of democracy and respect for international law is needed, the group said
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged nations to push back against “aggressive superpowers,” such as Russia, China and the US under President Donald Trump, accusing the countries of undermining human rights and undoing much of the progress of the past decades.In an interview with Agence France-Presse (
Iran has asked the US to move diplomatic talks originally planned for Turkey to Oman and to limit the agenda to the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, people familiar with the matter said.Tehran is resisting US pressure to include its ballistic missile program and support for allied militias in the
‘GENERATION OF PROSPERITY’: Taiwan is on the right economic path and is striding confidently onto the world stage, the president underlined
Taiwan must look to fellow democracies, not China, for trade and economic cooperation, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as his government mapped out how the nation plans to work with the US in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and critical minerals.Senior Taiwanese and US officia
Opposition parties not passing defense funding harms Taiwan’s national security, two US senators said separately in rare public criticism.“I am disappointed to see Taiwan’s opposition parties in parliament [the legislature] slash President [William] Lai’s (賴清德) defense budget so dramatically,” Roger
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday said it is aiming to grow Taiwan’s GDP by 4.56 percent this year and GDP per capita to US$42,170 on the back of strong economic growth momentum.The target is higher than the 3.54 percent annual growth forecast by the Directorate-General of Budget, Acc
EMERGING FIELDS: The Chinese president said that the two countries would explore cooperation in green technology, the digital economy and artificial intelligence
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday called for an “equal and orderly multipolar world” in the face of “unilateral bullying,” in an apparent jab at the US.Xi was speaking during talks in Beijing with Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, the first South American leader to visit China since US sp
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