A US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace on Friday, in a move the US 7th Fleet said “demonstrates the US’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”The Chinese military tracked and monitored the patrol and reconnaissance aircraft throughout the transit
A fire and subsequent explosion in a residential area in Tainan early yesterday injured 15 people and damaged 68 homes, the Tainan City Fire Bureau said.The bureau said it received a report at 1:12am yesterday that a pile of waste in a vacant lot in Annan District’s (安南) Haidian Road had caught fire
US President Donald Trump’s 50 percent tariffs on certain Canadian goods, which took effect yesterday, delivered another blow to bilateral trade, renewing focus on Ottawa’s efforts to reduce dependence on its southern neighbor.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s strategy involves a search for new
‘UNWELCOME SPOTLIGHT’: Beijing is the leading green technology exporter, but it remains the world’s biggest greenhouse emitter, followed by the US, India and the EU
China is mulling a bid to host UN climate talks in 2028, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, as it seeks to burnish its reputation as a leader in the fight against global warming.Beijing has not yet made a final decision regarding the proposal for the COP33 summit, the sources said,
‘ALARMING’: Many of the officers being investigated were rising military stars, with good service records and grades in the military academy, anonymous sources said
Law enforcement officials have broadened a probe into a suspected network of Chinese spies, after the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court on Wednesday convicted two former military service members on espionage and corruption charges.The court sentenced an ex-army sergeant surnamed Fang (方) to 10 year
PACIFIC SOGO CASE: The ex-lawmakers involved had helped pressure the MOEA over Pacific Distribution’s ownership dispute through legislative oversight and amendments
The High Court yesterday acquitted a lawmaker, a former lawmaker and two associates in a bribery case involving efforts to help former Pacific Distribution Investment Co chairman Lee Heng-lung (李恆隆) regain control of Pacific SOGO, while upholding prison sentences for two former legislators.The court
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday called for the immediate release of two Hong Kong pro-democracy activists after Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance convicted them and the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China of subversion.The MAC expressed
China’s foreign and defense ministers yesterday met their Indonesian counterparts in Jakarta for talks seeking greater political and military cooperation days after a joint navy drill Taiwan blasted as a “provocation.”The talks marked “an important milestone in our bilateral relations,” Indonesian M
The UN’s most powerful body, the Security Council, met yesterday to hold another straw poll to gauge the popularity of a growing field of contenders to lead the embattled organization.UN Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General and former Costa Rican vice president Rebeca Grynspan was
DEFENSE PORTION: The defense budget would account for 3.01% of the projected GDP for this year, and includes funding for drones, missiles and the coast guard
The Cabinet yesterday approved the central government’s budget proposal for next year, which would allocate NT$1.1225 trillion (US$35.16 billion) for defense, or 3.01 percent of projected GDP.President William Lai (賴清德) has set a goal of keeping Taiwan’s defense budget above 3 percent of GDP while g
The much-anticipated domestic travel subsidies, designed to encourage people to travel on weekdays, are to become available on Sept. 1.The expanded domestic tourism subsidy program, which has a NT$3.33 billion (US$104.31 million) budget, was scheduled to launch in April, but was delayed due to the s
Ugandan immigration authorities have returned the passports of four Taiwanese after withholding the travel documents at Entebbe International Airport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said yesterday.After hearing about the incident, the ministry immediately instructed its
‘PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE’: The solution to tensions in the Korean Peninsula is urging the US to abandon its hostile policy, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said
North Korea yesterday launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea, South Korea’s military said, a day after Pyongyang shrugged off a US decision to scale back military drills with Seoul in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy.About 10 short-range ballistic missiles were launched from Nort
The US’ gross national debt has surged past US$40 trillion for the first time, government data showed on Wednesday, outstripping earlier forecasts at a pace fueled in part by US President Donald Trump’s invalidated tariffs.The record comes as longer-term US obligations linked to social security and
The Executive Yuan today approved a NT$3.9266 trillion (US$123.133 billion) central government budget proposal for next year, including NT$1.1225 trillion for national defense, marking the first year the figure has surpassed NT$1 trillion.It is also the first time in 78 years that the government has
INSTALLING AGENTS: Minister Hsu Chia-ching said that the council is under great pressure, but it would not be confined, as that would mean it is failing in its duties
China has compromised Taiwanese overseas diaspora groups, Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said yesterday, confirming comments by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵).Hsu made the comments while presenting a report at a meeting of the Legi
PACIFIC OCEAN TRIP: Photographs of the single-seat jets at a facility in Fort Worth, Texas, were posted online, although their delivery date was unknown
The first two of 66 F-16V Block 70 jets that Taiwan has purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan soon, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday.The two jets, bearing serial numbers 6727 and 6728, would be refueled in-flight and make a maintenance stop during the flight across th
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced plans to increase the salaries of government workers next year and that more military personnel were eligible for bonuses reserved for combat troops starting last month.The government has created a third category of combat unit to make troops performin
China has completed the first phase of construction on Antelope Reef (Lingyang Reef, 羚羊礁) in the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), building an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea that analysts say will form part of its largest military base.Satellite images showed the reclaimed fe
RSS