Latest Taiwan News

China accuses Taiwan's government of using economic and trade issues to seek independence

Sep. 27, 2023 02:22 AM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese government on Wednesday accused Taiwan's ruling party of seeking independence, a day after the self-governing island's president lobbied for Australia's support in joining a regional trade pact. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs...

China goes on charm offensive at Asian Games, but doesn't back down from regional confrontations

Sep. 26, 2023 09:11 AM EDT

HANGZHOU, China (AP) — A month before the Asian Games, China released a new national map, doubling down on its claims to almost the entire South China Sea and disputed border territories with India. A few days before the event, it flew more than 100 warplanes toward Taiwan,...

On a visit to Taiwan, Australian lawmakers call for warmer relations with self-ruled island

Sep. 26, 2023 01:47 AM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — On a visit to Taiwan, a delegation of six Australian lawmakers called Tuesday for warmer relations with the self-ruled island increasingly threatened by Beijing. The visit comes as Australia has been working at recalibrating its relationship with China, which...

A Taiwan golf ball maker fined after a fatal fire for storing 30 times limit for hazardous material

Sep. 25, 2023 07:41 AM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan authorities fined a golf ball manufacturer 2.4 million New Taiwan dollars ($75,000) on Monday and warned of criminal charges for storing 30 times the legal limit of hazardous material and other violations after a major factory fire killed nine people and left one...

Death toll in Taiwan factory fire lowered to nine, with one missing. Four victims were firefighters

Sep. 25, 2023 00:21 AM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Authorities said late Sunday that one person remained missing following a fire at a golf ball factory in Taiwan, after forensic analysis revealed that some bones found earlier in the day were not human. The blaze Friday night killed nine other people,...

Lots of dignitaries but no real fireworks — only electronic flash — as the Asian Games open

Sep. 23, 2023 15:09 PM EDT

HANGZHOU, China (AP) — The opening ceremony of the Asian Games on Saturday in China offered all the staples of a major international sports event. Dignitaries greeted General Secretary Xi Jinping, fans packed the 80,000-seat Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou to capacity,...

A Chinese dissident in transit at a Taiwan airport pleads for help in seeking asylum

Sep. 22, 2023 12:57 PM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A Chinese dissident known for regularly commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square fled to Taiwan on Friday and pleaded for help in seeking asylum in the United States or Canada. In a video he posted on X,...

State governors from Arizona, New Mexico seek stronger economic ties with Taiwan

Sep. 20, 2023 14:16 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Governors from the Southwestern United States are pursuing stronger business ties with Taiwan in hopes of attracting new foreign investments and jobs to their landlocked states. Trade missions this week have taken New Mexico. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and...

Kremlin says Russia and China must edge closer to counter Western efforts to contain them

Sep. 19, 2023 16:51 PM EDT

MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Kremlin official on Tuesday called for closer policy coordination between Moscow and Beijing to counter what he described as Western efforts to contain them as he hosted China’s top diplomat for security talks. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's...

China flies 103 military planes toward Taiwan in a new high in activity the island calls harassment

Sep. 18, 2023 04:41 AM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s military sent 103 warplanes toward Taiwan in a 24-hour period in what the island’s defense ministry called a recent new high. The planes were detected between 6 a.m. on Sunday and 6 a.m. on Monday, the ministry said. As is customary, they turned...