Taiwan-China relations

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As Taiwan Welcomes New Leader, China Flexes Muscles

Island scrambles jets after China conducts military exercises as a 'powerful punishment'

(Newser) - Taiwan scrambled jets and put missile, naval, and land units on alert Thursday over Chinese military exercises being conducted around the self-governing island democracy, where a new president took office this week. China's military said its two-day exercises around Taiwan were punishment for separatist forces seeking independence, per the...

Taiwan Is Down to 12 Diplomatic Allies

Nauru switches diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China

(Newser) - The Pacific Island nation of Nauru said Monday that it is switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, a move that reduces the dwindling number of Taiwan's diplomatic allies to 12. A statement from the government of Nauru said it was severing ties with Taiwan and seeking a resumption...

China Won't Be Thrilled at Taiwan's New President

Lai Ching-te, member of pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party, wins election

(Newser) - Ruling-party candidate Lai Ching-te emerged victorious in Taiwan's presidential election on Saturday and his opponents conceded, a result that will chart the trajectory of the self-ruled democracy's relations with China over the next four years. At stake is the peace and stability of the island, 100 miles off...

Taiwan's Election May Put China to the Test

Citizens will head to the polls Saturday to elect a new president, legislature

(Newser) - Taiwan is preparing to elect a president and legislature Saturday in what many see as a test of control with China, which claims the self-governing island republic as its own territory to be unified with force if necessary. The presidential race is tight, and both China and Taiwan's key...

Xi Calls Uniting With Taiwan Inevitable

Relations with China are an issue in Taiwan's elections

(Newser) - President Xi Jinping told China on Sunday that the nation's reunification with Taiwan is bound to happen. "The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability," he said in his New Year's address, according to the official translation. His remarks came two weeks before Taiwan, which...

China Preps for Assault With Tips Learned From Russia

Government looks to limit the effect of potential sanctions as it builds up military capability

(Newser) - A Pentagon report on China's military power says Beijing is exceeding previous projections of how quickly it is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal and is "almost certainly" learning lessons from Russia's war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like, per the AP...

McCarthy, Taiwan's President Meet Despite China's Warning

On US soil, two leaders describe nations' ties as strong, unwavering

(Newser) - Risking China's wrath, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday as a "great friend of America" in a fraught show of US support at a rare high-level, bipartisan meeting on American soil. In their public remarks, Tsai and McCarthy steered clear of calls from...

Taiwan Soldier Vanished During Roll Call. He Just Reemerged

Missing soldier turns up on Chinese mainland; it's still unclear if he's a deserter

(Newser) - During roll call on Thursday on the island of Erdan, located just a few miles off of China's coast, a Taiwanese soldier was reported missing. Now, he's apparently reemerged, and not on Erdan, part of the Taiwan-run Kinmen islands in the Taiwan Strait. "It has been confirmed...

China Won't Be Pleased With Latest US-Taiwan Deal

US agrees to sell Taiwan $619M in munitions

(Newser) - The US has approved more arms sales to Taiwan, including $619 million worth of munitions for F-16 fighter jets, in a decision likely to be yet another point of friction between the US and China, which claims the island as its own territory. The State Department said in a statement...

US General Tells Command to Prepare for War With China

Gen. Mike Minihan tells personnel to train and get their affairs in order

(Newser) - "I hope I am wrong," an Air Force general told commanders under him as he warned in a new memo that he expects the US and China to be at war in two years. "My gut tells me we will fight in 2025." Gen. Mike Minihan,...

Analysis: Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Unlikely to Succeed

But Taiwan can't win on its own, and the cost for the US would be high

(Newser) - It's possible to prevent China from conquering Taiwan, but only with the direct involvement of US forces and at a high cost for everyone involved. Per CNN , that’s the main takeaway from recent war games conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The prominent DC-based think...

Taiwan's Military to Get Giant Boost From Billionaire

Robert Tsao says he'll fund training of 3.3 million civilian 'warriors' in 3 years

(Newser) - A Taiwanese tycoon says he's donating a billion Taiwan dollars, or about $32 million, to train an army to fight against a Chinese invasion. Wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet to signify what he said was a growing threat to Taiwan from the Chinese Communist Party, Robert Tsao—founder...

China Fumes Over US' Latest Move on Taiwan

Country says it 'firmly opposes' formal trade talks

(Newser) - The US government will hold trade talks with Taiwan in a sign of support for the island democracy that China claims as its own territory, prompting Beijing to warn Thursday it will take action if necessary to "safeguard its sovereignty." Chinese President Xi Jinping's government criticized the...

Another Company Tells China It's Sorry, Twice

Online Snickers video had listed Taiwan as a nation

(Newser) - The maker of Snickers candy bars apologized to China for implying Taiwan is a country, then apologized again. Some in China still aren't satisfied, the Wall Street Journal reports. The reference was in a video posted on social media that seemed to be promoting an online event with BTS,...

China Holds Biggest-Ever Military Drills Near Taiwan
China Encircles Taiwan
With Massive Military Drills
THE RUNDOWN

China Encircles Taiwan With Massive Military Drills

Tensions soar after Pelosi departs island

(Newser) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has departed Taiwan —and China has launched what are believed to be its biggest-ever military drills around the island, which it has long vowed to reunify with the mainland, by force if necessary. For the first time since 1996, China has fired missiles into waters...

Despite Chinese Threats, 'Taiwan Will Not Back Down'
Pelosi Heads Out of Taiwan

Pelosi Heads Out of Taiwan

Next stop for the House Speaker is South Korea

(Newser) - US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi departed Taiwan on Wednesday evening for South Korea after a visit that heightened tensions with China , saying she and other members of Congress in her delegation showed they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island. "Today the world faces a choice between...

Pelosi Writes of Reason for Her Taiwan Visit
Pelosi Explains Reason
for Her Taiwan Visit
OPINION

Pelosi Explains Reason for Her Taiwan Visit

'America’s solidarity with Taiwan is more important today than ever'

(Newser) - Just minutes after Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan, a piece she wrote for the Washington Post went live. Titled "Why I'm leading a congressional delegation to Taiwan," Pelosi quite simply explains that very thing. Some key lines:
  • "In the face of the Chinese Communist Party’
...

Pentagon Prepping in Case Pelosi Does Go to Taiwan

Trip isn't confirmed, but US military is developing plans for any contingency

(Newser) - US officials say they have little fear that China would attack Nancy Pelosi’s plane if she flies to Taiwan. But the US House speaker would be entering one of the world’s hottest spots, where a mishap, misstep, or misunderstanding could endanger her safety. So the Pentagon is developing...

US, China Exchange Warnings on Taiwan

Austin meets defense minister at forum in Singapore

(Newser) - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed American support for Taiwan on Saturday, suggesting at Asia's premier defense forum that recent Chinese military activity around the self-governing island threatens to change the status quo. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Austin noted a "steady increase in provocative and...

Eye on Ukraine, Taiwanese Make a Move

Citizens who've never handled firearms are increasingly taking lessons in handling airsoft guns

(Newser) - China has scoffed at comparisons of itself and Taiwan to the Russian invasion of Ukraine . But that hasn't eased the fears of Taiwanese residents, who are now taking a step many never expected: getting firearms training. Although gun ownership is strongly regulated in Taiwan, people who've never picked...

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