Author: Phillip Charlier

UK parliamentary report calls Taiwan an independent country while Cleverly visiting Beijing

composite image showing UK parliament building and Taipei Cityscape with Taipei 101 building
International Relations 
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“Taiwan is already an independent country, under the name of the Republic of China (ROC),” a report by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee says, in a move likely to stir up a hornets nest during Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s visit to Beijing today, Wednesday, August 30. “Taiwan possesses all the qualifications of statehood, including a permanent population, a defined territory, government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states,” the report stated, noting that the country

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Oil spill from sunken freighter contaminates popular bathing beach in southern Taiwan

tourists affected by oil spill on beach
Marine and Fisheries 
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Beachgoers at Cijin Beach in Kaohsiung City yesterday were affected by an oil slick suspected to have come from a container ship that sank off the coast more than one month ago. Kaohsiung City Councilor Lina Chen was hosting an event promoting the wearing of lifejackets while beach bathing at around 3:00 pm when participants began reporting that they were affected by oil in the water and on the sand. Chen informed the Kaohsiung City Tourism Bureau and the Maritime

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Tugboat sinks after collision with ferry in Matsu Islands harbor

tugboat sinking after collision with ferry
Marine and Fisheries 
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Five people were rescued from a sinking boat after a tug collided with a ferry and sank in Fu’ao Harbor in the Matsu Islands this morning. According to reports, the tugboat No.13302 was helping the Taima Star ferry out of the harbor when the collision occurred at around 10:00 am. The tugboat began taking on water and tilted sideways before sinking around 13 minutes later. An oil slick formed immediately after the sinking and coast guard officers deployed oil booms

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Taichung City recycling plant fire causes pollution, takes 19 hours to extinguish

smoke from fire seen from a distance
Fire 
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A fire at a recycling plant in Taichung City created a plume of thick, black smoke that could be seen up to 40 kilometers away yesterday, and was finally extinguished by firefighters this morning after a 19-hour-long battle. The Taichung City Fire Bureau received reports of a fire at a recycling plant on Wunan Road, Wuqi District at around 2:40 pm yesterday. Nineteen firetrucks and 39 firefighters were immediately dispatched to battle the blaze. Piles of plastic pellets and other

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Drunk driver slightly injured after crashing into east coast express train

damaged car after hitting train
Traffic Accidents 
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A man driving while over the legal alcohol limit crashed into an express train on a level crossing in Hualien County this morning, but fortunately nobody on board the train was injured. According to reports, the Taroko Express train #401 bound for Taipei from Taitung City was passing through a level crossing in Xiulin Township at 6:44 am when a white sedan crashed into the third and fourth cars of the train. The driver of the car, named Lin, suffered

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“Hold your own elections, don’t interfere with ours,” foreign minister tells Beijing as Chinese military launches combat drills around Taiwan

composite image showing Chinese fighter aircraft and naval vessel
Military Affairs 
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Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu accused Beijing of trying to interfere with an upcoming national election in Taiwan, after the Chinese military launched military exercises in sea and airspace around the island nation today, August 19. China’s People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command announced the drills on the PLA’s official Weibo account this morning, saying that it was carrying out joint naval and air combat readiness patrols around Taiwan focusing on ship-aircraft coordination to test seizing control of

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Rumors fact-checked after two Chinese female athletes dropped from global rankings

Chinese female sprinters Liao Mengxue and Tong Zenghuan
Sport 
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Chinese language reports, especially outside of China itself, are widely reporting rumors that two Chinese female athletes were dropped from global rankings because they are actually men, but other reports refute the claims. Taiwan’s Mirror Media reported today that Chinese female track and field athletes Liao Mengxue and Tong Zenghuan both disappeared from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recently, and that the incident coincided with a June order by the Chinese Athletics Association that provincial athletics teams should test

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Associated Press CEO meets with Chinese state media ahead of China-led propaganda-fest World Media Summit

Associated Press President and CEO Daisy Veerasingham shakes hands with Xinhua News Agency President Fu Hua
Media Issues 
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President and CEO of Associated Press, Daisy Veerasingham, met with President of Xinhua News Agency, Fu Hua, in Beijing Sunday, August 13, and said that AP is open to discussions with Xinhua on news exchanges ahead of the 5th World Media Summit later this year, Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported. Both Fu and Veerasingham commended the more than 50 year history of cooperation between [Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece] Xinhua and AP. Fu expressed the hope that the two sides

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Elon Musk reported to Taiwan prosecutors for promoting marijuana use

composite picture showing Elon Musk smoking pot and pro-cannabis advocates in Taiwan
Society 
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been reported to the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office on the accusation of seducing people to use drugs, putting prosecutors in the awkward position of being obliged to investigate the tech billionaire if prosecutors take recent statements of their Ministry of Justice seriously. The demand for prosecutors to investigate the well-known tech CEO was a response to a statement made by the Ministry of Justice earlier this month that teaching marijuana use on the Internet, “spreading

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Mortar blast at ammunition depot leaves 9 soldiers injured, two seriously

paramedic attends to injured soldiers at ammunition depot with live mortar rounds still scattered on the ground
Military Affairs 
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Nine soldiers were injured, two seriously, when a mortar round exploded while being handled at an army ammunition depot in northern Taiwan today, July 24. According to a press statement by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, a 120 mm mortar round exploded during an inspection by technical personnel at the Hsiang Feng army base in Keelung City at around 3:00 pm. Fire Department paramedics risked their own lives to attend to the two seriously injured soldiers, who lay beside several

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Tesla plows through floodwater in central Taiwan, leaving fossil-fuel cars in its wake

Tesla driving through flood water
Weather 
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Two cars broke down, but a Tesla was seen plowing past them in floodwater that surged over the hood of the electric vehicle, after instantaneous heavy rain flooded a highway near the Zhushan Interchange in Nantou County yesterday, July 23. Zhushan police said that drainage at the 227 kilometer mark on Provincial Highway 3 was insufficient to cope with the sudden heavy downpour from a storm that hit the area at around 4:00 pm. Two cars, including a Mercedes Benz

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