US President Donald Trump in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday said that “it’s up to” Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be “very unhappy” with a change in the “status quo.”“He [Xi] considers it to be a part of China, and that’s u
A former Marine Corps soldier has been indicted for allegedly pledging allegiance to China in exchange for money and selling military secrets, with prosecutors in Kaohsiung seeking a heavy sentence.Chen (陳), a petty officer second class who had served in a Marine Corps unit, became acquainted online
SELF-DEFENSE: Tokyo has accelerated its spending goal and its defense minister said the nation needs to discuss whether it should develop nuclear-powered submarines
China is ramping up objections to what it sees as Japan’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons, despite Tokyo’s longstanding renunciation of such arms, deepening another fissure in the two neighbors’ increasingly tense ties.In what appears to be a concerted effort, China’s foreign and defense ministrie
Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack, which killed at least four people, officials said yesterday. For only the second time, Moscow used a new ballistic missile that it says flies at 10 times the speed of sound and is unstoppable.T
With 20.06 percent of its population now 65 years old or older, Taiwan has officially become a super-aged society, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said today.The WHO defines a society as “super-aged” when at least 20 percent of people are 65 or older.The ministry released data about last year’s p
SIX REGIONS: The fiscal allocation formula unfairly disadvantages regions that rely heavily on agriculture, as well as outlying counties, Premier Cho Jung-tai said
Six local governments might be forced to borrow due to a funding shortfall of NT$299.2 billion (US$9.48 billion) due to opposition lawmakers blocking this year’s budget, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.This year marks the first time in constitutional history that January has started withou
STILL SEARCHING: An air force officer said that fitting F-16 jets with Auto-GCAS is a time-consuming process involving the integration of complex systems and training
The air force would install automatic ground collision avoidance systems (Auto-GCAS) on all of its F-16V jets by next year, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday, two days after a fighter pilot went missing in an apparent mishap.Air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅) was flyin
The Cabinet yesterday unveiled draft revisions to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) that would tighten regulations on when owners can place their pets in shelters, while increasing the maximum fine for abandoning animals.Among the draft provisions is one that says pet owners can place animals in cer
China has hacked e-mails used by staff members of committees in the US House of Representatives as part of a cyberespionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.China accessed e-mail systems used by some staffers on the Hou
US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday said that it would dictate decisions to Venezuela’s interim leaders and control the country’s oil sales “indefinitely” after toppling Nicolas Maduro as president of the South American nation.Trump’s assertion of US dominance over Venezuela come
GLOBAL OUTLOOK: The foreign minister said the agency seeks to bring ‘Taiwan closer to the world’ through the plan, which has an ‘integrated diplomacy’ strategy
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is planning a center for international non-governmental organizations (NGO) to attract more groups to set up offices and make Taiwan a critical hub for their work in the region, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told the NGO Leaders Forum in Taipe
SYSTEM FAULT? The pilot reported that he was to eject the F-16, but an onboard system did not confirm that the action had been taken, officers said
A search-and-rescue mission for an air force pilot off Hualien County would not cease after 72 hours, while training with F-16V aircraft has been suspended, the air force said yesterday amid reports of a malfunctioning flight system.Contact with air force pilot Captain Hsin Po-yi’s (辛柏毅) fighter was
The government yesterday vowed to defend national sovereignty and the safety of all Taiwanese after China sanctioned two Cabinet ministers, accusing them of “separatism.”Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) and Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) were added to Beijing’s list of “Taiwa
A Saudi Arabian-led coalition yesterday struck the home province of Aidaros Alzubidi, Yemen’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed separatist leader, after he failed to show up for talks in Riyadh and was kicked out of the country’s presidential body.The coalition said that it had given Alzubidi a 48-h
Russia sent a submarine to escort an empty oil tanker that the US military has been pursuing and attempting to seize for weeks, US media reported on Tuesday.The US has been chasing the oil tanker, formerly known as the Bella 1, since it evaded a US blockade around Venezuela and thwarted a US Coast G
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office today listed Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) and Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) as “Taiwan independence diehards,” banning them and their families from entering China and its territories.The sanctions also ban businesses associated with the “sep
The air force this morning said that the pilot of a missing F-16V jet had indicated he would eject from the aircraft before it disappeared from radar, but could not confirm whether the ejection was successful.During a nighttime training session yesterday, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅) became se
EUROPEAN DELEGATION: President William Lai said that the European Parliament’s staunch support for Taiwan sent the message ‘that the virtuous never stand alone’
The military exercises China staged around Taiwan last week were provocative and revealed Beijing’s “unacceptable attitude” that threatens “peaceful coexistence across the Taiwan Strait,” Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Michael Gahler said yesterday.Alluding to global geopolitical challenges
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday.The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequenc
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