Day: January 14, 2024

US delegation begins Taiwan visit for post-election talks

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A high-level United States delegation is in Taiwan for a three-day trip to exchange views on bilateral issues and prospects after voters elected Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as the self-ruled island’s next president. Lai became Taiwan’s president-elect on Saturday, beating Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan’s People Party (TPP). Lai, the incumbent vice-president, has vowed to continue outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen’s efforts to bolster diplomatic ties with democratic allies and protect the island from “threats and intimidation” by China,…

Vietnam’s top leader attends party meeting amid health concerns

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Vietnam’s top leader Nguyen Phu Trong attended an extraordinary session of the country’s National Assembly Monday, after speculation that the Communist Party General Secretary’s health was suffering, state media reported. The appearance has failed to address concerns though, as Trong left the session with the help of aides after the chair’s opening remarks, according to Reuters. The meeting is due to last two-and-a-half days. Trong, 79, who has been at the helm of the party since 2011, is the most powerful leader in Vietnam’s one-party political system and regularly hosts…

Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen leaves tough legacy for president-elect William Lai

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That warning has been echoed by prominent political figures, including Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who in a speech in April described tensions over the Taiwan Strait as the “most dangerous flashpoint” for conflict. Taiwan election: Lai’s victory risks further tensions with Beijing Observers said Tsai’s handling of cross-strait relations was the primary source of the risk of conflict, though some pundits said she was not the only one to blame. James Yifan Chen, a professor of diplomacy and international relations at Tamkang University in New Taipei, said cross-strait…

N Korea confirms new hypersonic missile test as minister heads to Russia

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North Korea has confirmed testing a hypersonic ballistic missile with a new type of engine as its foreign minister embarked on a visit to Russia amid accusations that both nations are engaged in arms trading.  “On the afternoon of Jan. 14, the Missile General Bureau of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conducted a test launch of an intermediate-range, solid-fuelled ballistic missile [IRBM], equipped with a hypersonic gliding maneuvering warhead,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Monday, referring to the nation’s formal name.  “The test launch was successful,”…

Wall Street banks are trying not to upset China on listings

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. In the past year, a quiet but important change has taken place in the way Wall Street’s biggest banks take Chinese companies public. When they warn investors about risks, they are being more careful not to upset Beijing.  The change centres on what might seem an unlikely setting for a political tussle: prospectus documents for overseas initial public offerings. In these documents, issuers typically detail potential risk factors for investors at…

‘Strangers started telling me to go home’: why foreigners who endured China’s Covid lockdowns now say they’ve had enough

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Her partner, who was also in Wuhan, encountered visa problems, and she started to feel that the city she once regarded as “home” had become “less welcoming”. “All of a sudden, strangers would start telling me to go home. People would see me in a lift and wait for the next one. When DiDi [a ride-hailing app] drivers I ordered arrived and realised I was a foreigner, they’d refuse to take me,” the 30-year-old said. Sophie Redding, who worked as a PE teacher in Wuhan, says she felt the city…

FirstFT: US delegation visits Taiwan after voters defy China

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get it sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning Good morning. A high-level US delegation of former top officials will soon be arriving in Taipei, putting to the test China’s restraint in its response to its democratic neighbour’s presidential election. Taiwan on Saturday elected Lai Ching-te president, giving his…

Beijing is debunking ‘China threat’ myth through trade and cooperation

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Against this predominantly one-sided discourse, political scientist Joseph Solis-Mullen’s recent book, The Fake China Threat and Its Very Real Danger, rebuts these allegations. He lists a barrage of works by prominent authors warning of the “China threat” – including Michael Pillsbury’s The Hundred-Year Marathon, Graham Allison’s Destined for War and Hal Brands’ and Michael Beckley’s Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China – and boldly points out that these highly respected intellectuals are affiliated with powerful US or allied think tanks, some of which are known to be heavily funded…

New Taiwan Government Faces Challenges in Policy, China Pressures

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Miaoli, Taiwan —  Taiwanese voters handed Taiwan’s pro-sovereignty ruling Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, a historic victory in the island’s presidential election over the weekend, despite pressure from China. While several democratic countries around the world congratulated DPP’s President-elect Lai Ching-te for his victory Saturday, Beijing claimed the election outcome doesn’t reflect the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan and emphasized that Taiwan remains China’s internal affair. The United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada all congratulated the DPP for the win, with a U.S. State Department spokesperson praising Taiwan’s…

In Egypt, Wang Yi calls for Gaza ceasefire, Palestinian statehood

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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Sunday for the establishment of a Palestinian state and a ceasefire in Gaza, where 100 days of the Israel-Gaza war have killed thousands. In a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri in Cairo, the top Chinese diplomat said “it is necessary to insist on the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign state of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital.” A joint statement from the two ministers urged an immediate end “to all acts of violence, killing…