Taiwan Expects China to Increase Pressure on Incoming President
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau director says China will increase intimidation efforts against Lai Ching-te’s administration.
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau director says China will increase intimidation efforts against Lai Ching-te’s administration.
China’s unwelcome Lunar New Year gift to Taiwan was an enormous swarm of 16 mysterious weather balloons, several of which passed over land.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the free world for its support in her Lunar New Year message, while China threatened an invasion.
Taiwan on Thursday began training its first group of recruits under extended one-year compulsory military service, a policy proposed by outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen in 2022 in response to growing belligerence from China.
Chinese officials and state media predictably set their hair on fire after Lai Ching-te won Taiwan’s presidential election on Saturday, extending the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) hold on power to an unprecedented third term.
President Joe Biden offered no words of congratulations or support to Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te following his election victory on Saturday, telling reporters simply that America does “not support independence.”
Anti-communist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te won Taiwan’s presidential election on Saturday, defeating his two leftist rivals on a campaign emphasizing Taiwan’s sovereignty in the face of mounting threats from China.
The Chinese Defense Ministry on Friday sought to bully Taiwanese voters by warning it will “smash any Taiwan independence plots,” implicitly threatening the Taiwanese if they make the “wrong” choice by voting for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate William Lai Ching-te on Saturday.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry tracked four Chinese balloons passing over the Taiwan Strait on Monday and Tuesday. Three of the balloons passed over the center of Taiwan Island, coming fairly close to the airbase at Ching Chuan Kang before disappearing.
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said on Thursday the regime in Beijing considers it a “priority” to block Taiwanese presidential frontrunner William Lai from visiting the U.S. as scheduled next month.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China sent several large formations of combat aircraft toward Taiwan on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday inspected Taiwan’s first training program for female military reservists. Tsai praised the volunteers for their efforts and said the program would send a message that Taiwan is ready to face any threat.
China responded to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen by conducting three days of aggressive military drills off the coast of Taiwan over the weekend.
China’s state-run Global Times pumped out editorials on Thursday and Friday accusing U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of using his “sneaky” meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the Reagan Library in California on Wednesday to “create the illusion” of influence for a “weak” United States.
In a rare move, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) praised Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
A small plane flew over the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday towing a banner that read “One China! Taiwan is part of China!” while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
The Communist Party of China, through its Foreign Ministry and state propaganda outlets, threatened House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and America in general on Thursday with “strong and resolution measures” in response to McCarthy’s meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) met with visiting Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday, despite threats from Communist China.
China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday boasted that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held “intensive maritime and air exercises” near Taiwan to send an intimidating message ahead of a planned meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) this week.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen landed in New York on Wednesday for a stopover that will last until Saturday, when she departs for Guatemala and Belize.
The left-wing government of Honduras formally established diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Sunday after abandoning eight decades of support for Taiwan. The Chinese Communist government gloated over the announcement and warned that its campaign to diplomatically isolate Taiwan is not over.
The speaker of the Czech Parliament´s lower house is set to visit Taiwan to boost mutual ties, a step that has angered China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded on Wednesday that the government of the United States prevent any meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, reportedly planning to stop through Los Angeles and New York in April, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Taiwanese Foreign Ministry Joseph Wu told Sky News on Wednesday that China is growing “more likely” to invade as Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s domestic problems grow more serious.
Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang announced on Wednesday that every citizen of the island nation will receive a cash gift of $6,000 Taiwanese dollars, or $195.61 in U.S. dollars, as a “New Year blessing.”
China launched its largest incursion to date into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Sunday. 71 Chinese military aircraft entered the ADIZ in a span of 24 hours, 43 of them also crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial border between the mainland People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the island-based Republic of China (ROC).
Chinese state media on Monday celebrated the party of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen faring poorly in local elections against candidates from the more Communist-friendly Kuomintang party (KMT), gloating that Tsai’s effort to capitalize on public apprehension over the threat from mainland China had “backfired.”
An earthquake of at least magnitude 6.8 struck Taiwan on Sunday, derailing trains and causing buildings to collapse.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday that China’s temper-tantrum military exercises after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island were actually a boon to the Taiwanese military, as constantly scrambling to intercept Chinese forces helped Taiwanese aviators hone their flight skills.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen condemned China on Thursday for launching missiles “into some of the busiest transportation corridors in the world” in an ongoing attempted protest against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visiting the island nation.
A small group of representatives from pro-communist organizations in Taiwan attempted to organize a protest against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visiting the country mustering what appeared to be less than a dozen people at one protest holding up a sign reading “American witch get out of Taiwan, China.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) departed Taiwan late on Wednesday after a 19-hour visit that included visits with that country’s legislature and President Tsai Ing-wen – and an ongoing barrage of hateful invective from neighboring China, including live fire drills and threats to shoot down Pelosi’s plane.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday urged the international community to learn a lesson from Russia’s attack on his country by stepping up to defend Taiwan before China decides to invade it.
The government of Taiwan on Monday extended condolences to the families of Dr. John Cheng, who was killed in Sunday’s attack on a Taiwanese church in California by a Chinese nationalist gunman, and the five others wounded in the shooting. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen asked her government’s representatives in the United States to “help ensure the safety of local Taiwanese nationals.”
The U.S State Department on Monday approved a potential $100 million arms sale to Taiwan, including maintenance and upgrades on the island’s Patriot Air Defense missile systems.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said last week that her government is carefully studying the success of Ukrainian drone warfare against invading Russian forces, and will make a substantial investment to speed up drone development so Taiwan enjoys similar advantages against a potential Chinese invasion.
Chen Ming-tong, Director-General of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, told a session of the Taiwanese legislature on Monday that Russia’s poor performance during its invasion of Ukraine could give China second thoughts about attacking Taiwan.
Chinese officials and state media lashed out at former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, denouncing him as a “lunatic” and the “worst” to ever hold his office because he called on the United States to extend diplomatic recognition to Taiwan while he was visiting the island.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called upon the United States to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen ordered her country’s military to be “combat ready” on Wednesday in case an “outside force” stages an attack on the sovereign island while the West is distracted by an unfolding political crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.