Tag: Taiwan

Trump’s Sharp Turn on China: Embracing It as a Peer Power

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After meeting with China’s top diplomat in Malaysia last summer, Secretary of State Marco Rubio uttered a line that made few waves at the time but would later help pave the way for an abrupt change. The United States and China, Mr. Rubio said, had an “opportunity here to achieve some strategic stability” and find areas of cooperation. He used the phrase again in February while talking about China in the Caribbean, also to little notice. Chinese officials picked up on Mr. Rubio’s remarks and suggested to their U.S. counterparts…

Four New Zealand Lawmakers Banned From China After Taiwan Trip

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Four lawmakers from New Zealand have been barred from traveling to China for a year following a visit to Taiwan last month, government officials said on Thursday, the first time such a restriction has ever been imposed. The lawmakers, Maureen Pugh, Duncan Webb, Laura McClure and David Wilson, visited Taipei for five days in May as part of a cross-party group that was established in 2023 to maintain relations between Taiwan and New Zealand, the local media reported. The travel ban, which emerged on Thursday, was met with shock in…

Taiwan Criticizes China’s Expulsion of New York Times Reporter

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A spokeswoman for Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, criticized Beijing for expelling a New York Times reporter from China in response to Mr. Lai’s appearance by video at a Times DealBook summit in New York in December. The reporter, Vivian Wang, who was based in Beijing, was expelled in February. She was not involved in the DealBook conference, an annual event that features prominent executives and politicians. Chinese officials had complained for months about Ms. Wang’s reporting, which often addressed topics Beijing considered sensitive. At the same time, China has sought…

The Museum of Wretched Ideas Has Reopened

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It’s the year 2026, and sometimes it feels as if we’re taking a nice leisurely walk through a Museum of Wretched Ideas. Consider what’s happening at home. Tariffs raise prices and restrain economic growth, while the federal government embraces both Gilded Age corruption and a version of the spoils system. A disturbing number of young people on the right are fascinated with fascism. An extraordinary 34 percent of young people overall express a favorable view of communism, and young Americans are far more likely than their parents or grandparents to…

In Taiwan, ‘Mainland Spouses’ From China Become a Focus of Infiltration Fears

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Among the hundreds of thousands of Chinese women who have settled in Taiwan after marrying men from the island, Hsu Chun-ying stood out for her political ambition. She organized other migrants from China, mingled with prominent Taiwanese politicians and came close to becoming a candidate for the legislature. Now she is in jail, fighting charges that she was recruited by the Chinese Communist Party to secretly infiltrate and influence Taiwan, the island democracy that Beijing claims as its territory. Prosecutors have accused her of taking instructions from Chinese officials to…

Japan defence minister rebuffs claims of ‘new militarism’ levelled by China

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Japan’s defence minister took a veiled swipe at China on Sunday, pledging to keep strengthening the military despite Beijing’s criticism of Tokyo’s increasingly muscular security stance. Under the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, Japan has quickened its pivot to a more proactive defence policy, further shaking off – with US encouragement – its pacifist outlook in place since the end of the second world war. The change has drawn frequent rebukes from Beijing, which has accused Tokyo of following a reckless policy of “new militarism” that could destabilise the region. The…

‘Makes no sense’: experts doubt pause in US arms sale to Taiwan is due to Iran war

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The Trump administration’s war against Iran should have no impact on arms sales to Taiwan, experts have said, after a US official suggested a pause in the delivery of a key weapons package was due to the Gulf conflict. Analysts told the Guardian that a $14bn arms package left in limbo after Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping could take up to six years to process, and there was a “low likelihood” of any true connection between events in Iran and weapons delivery to Taiwan. Uncertainty over Washington’s support for…

US arms sales to Taiwan on ‘pause’ due to Iran war, says acting navy chief

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US arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations, according to Washington’s acting navy secretary, in the latest blow to Taipei after a series of comments by Donald Trump. When asked at a congressional hearing on Thursday about a $14bn (£10.4bn) weapons package awaiting Trump’s signoff for months, Hung Cao said: “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury [the Iran war] – which we have plenty.”…

Trump Again Says He Will Talk to Taiwan’s Leader, Risking China’s Anger

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President Trump said this week that he would speak to Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, a move that would break longstanding diplomatic norms and risk retaliation from China. “I’ll speak to him,” Mr. Trump told reporters when asked whether he would call Mr. Lai before deciding on an arms sale to the self-governing democracy. “I speak to everybody,” he said, adding later, “We’ll work that, the Taiwan problem.” Responding on Thursday morning, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Mr. Lai would be happy to speak to Mr. Trump. It was the second time…

Trump Says He Will Speak with Taiwan’s President About Arms Deal

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new video loaded: Trump Says He Will Speak with Taiwan’s President About Arms Deal transcript Back transcript Trump Says He Will Speak with Taiwan’s President About Arms Deal President Trump said that he would talk to Taiwan’s president about a possible weapons sale to the self-governing democracy. Direct dialogue would anger China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes contact between Taiwanese and foreign leaders. “Well, I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody. We have that situation very well in hand. We had a great meeting with President…