Taiwan - Page 5

Chinese state media went into overdrive this week to distract from revelations of a massive state-linked Chinese cyberattack on U.S. infrastructure, howling that China is actually the world’s biggest victim of cybercrime, while America is the greatest threat to global information security.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Beijing told the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday that Kyiv is “committed to the one-China principle,” which denies the existence of the state of Taiwan and falsely asserts the sovereign nation is a province of communist China.

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.

Hu Xijin, the ultra-nationalist former editor of China’s state-run Global Times and now an editorialist, said in Monday’s edition of his Hu Says video blog that Taiwan and the United States could provoke a war by pushing for Taiwanese independence under newly elected President William Lai Ching-te.

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.

China uses everything from disinformation to “gray zone” psychological warfare and outright intimidation to influence Taiwan’s election.

China’s state-run Global Times on Thursday mocked Taiwanese and U.S. media for being concerned about “harmless weather balloons flying over the island.” 

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.

The Associated Press (AP) and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published a poll on Tuesday that found nearly twice as many Americans — almost 40 percent — think foreign policy will be a top issue in 2024, compared to the same poll one year ago.

New Year’s Eve this weekend has ushered in the most eventful of political seasons in America: a presidential election year.

Xi Jinping declared that Beijing will “surely be reunified” with Taiwan in an address marking the 130th birthday of mass murderer Mao Zedong.

The Washington Post on Monday reported that concerns about China’s growing cyber-warfare assault on U.S. infrastructure systems are justified, as hackers linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have “burrowed into the computer systems of about two dozen critical entities over the past year.” 

Joe Biden’s request for $106 billion in aid to Ukraine and Israel includes a hidden magnet for more migration, say Republican senators.

During Wednesday night’s Republican primary debate, Vivek Ramaswamy defended statements he made about arming Taiwanese citizens, noting that the Second Amendment has preserved the U.S. from invasion by “foreign autocrats.”

Former Secretary of State and longtime presidential adviser Henry Kissinger made one last trip to China before passing at the age of 100.

The Taiwan Ministry of Health advised young and elderly citizens to avoid traveling to China during an outbreak of respiratory illness.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Monday published a gloomy report warning that the U.S. Navy is losing its competitive edge in submarine warfare to China, which went from creaky, noisy, slow-moving subs to ultra-quiet nuclear-powered attack vehicles in under 20 years.

Taiwan’s presidential race took a few interesting twists Saturday and Sunday, as an effort by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to create a fusion ticket collapsed, while front-running Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te chose Taiwan’s envoy to the United States as his running mate.

Pro-China demonstrators clashed with pro-Tibetan demonstrators outside the Hyatt Regency hotel in San Francisco on Wednesday as Chinese dictator Xi Jinping arrived for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference. 

President Joe Biden and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping had their much-touted face-to-face meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday, spending about four hours dining and walking the grounds at the historic Filoli estate.

U.S. officials said on Monday that President Joe Biden will try to convince Chinese dictator Xi Jinping to restore communications between the American and Chinese military commands during their meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden would veto the House Republicans’ aid proposal for Israel that would be paid for with IRS cuts, his administration said.

The Chinese Communist Party, through its state media arms and Foreign Ministry, is demanding leftist President Joe Biden abandon support for the nation of Taiwan and lift restrictions on Chinese technology imports as a precursor to an expected meeting between Biden and dictator Xi Jinping in November.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Washington, DC, this week at the invitation of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to discuss the Israel-Hamas war.

Foxconn founder and tech billionaire Terry Gou kicked off a third-party bid for the Taiwanese presidency in August, but he vanished from the campaign trail this week, three months before the election.

The Biden administration reportedly seeks to tie Israeli aid with more Ukrainian support, reviving hope among establishment lawmakers.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said it is abhorrent that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo sees no reason to visit Taiwan.

The Chinese military published a video on Monday in which an anime-style elf appears to symbolically “reunite” communist China and Taiwan.

Former top NATO man cautions si vis pacem, para bellum — if you want peace, prepare for war — as alliance faces “existential threat”.

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng promised the United Nations General Assembly during his address on Thursday afternoon that his Communist Party would never practice “hegemony and expansion” and promote dialogue and peace – before threatening the nation of Taiwan with the “firm resolve, strong will, and the power of the Chinese people.”

The Taiwanese government praised Pope Francis’ diplomatic outreach to Beijing this week while sharply criticizing “China’s deteriorating religious freedom and human rights.”

President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday approved a first military transfer to Taiwan under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF)  program normally used for sovereign states.

The 80th annual Venice Film Festival in Italy is refusing to acknowledge the existence of Taiwan for the third year in a row.

The House of Commons declared that Taiwan is an “independent country” as Foreign Secretary Cleverly met with communist leaders in Beijing.