Pelosi plane takes a big detour to avoid South China Sea, Chinese coast

A US Air Force jet carrying US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi flew in a large arc over Indonesia before turning north and flying over the Philippine Sea, completely avoiding flying over the South China Sea today, three days after China’s leading propagandist warned that the Chinese military could shoot the plane down. In a now-banned tweet, Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times, wrote, “If US fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan,

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Taiwan TV station apologizes to South Korea for “covidizing” national flag

Taiwan news channel TVBS issued an apology to the people of Korea today, April 19, after using an image that combined the national flag of the Republic of Korea with a CGI depiction of the COVID-19 virus during a TV news report last month. On March 16, TVBS “FOCUS Global News Program” used the image as a background during a news report about South Korea recording 600,000 COVID cases in a single day. A screenshot of the image eventually spread

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Bipartisan US congressional delegation arrives in Taiwan to meet with key leaders

A delegation of six US lawmakers arrived in Taiwan this evening, April 14, and will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Wu, and Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng, tomorrow, April 15, before departing Friday. Led by Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Menendez (Dem. New Jersey), and Senator Lindsey Graham (Rep. South Carolina), the group includes Republican senators Richard Burr (North Carolina), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), Rob Portman (Ohio), and Republican representative for Texas, Ronny

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China: The USA trying to create a Taiwan Strait crisis by comparing Taiwan to Ukraine

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin claimed today that some people in the United States are deliberately making an analogy between Taiwan and Ukraine with “sinister intentions” in an attempt to “create a new crisis” in the Taiwan Strait. The Financial Times reported on the 25th that Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino during a visit to Australia warned in an interview that as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is gradually increasing pressure on Taiwan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlights the

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Taiwan sends 5.5 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine: US$24 million raised in donations

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs this afternoon sent a shipment of more than 7,500 boxes of humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine and countries hosting refugees, and donations to a special account reached NT$678 million (US$24 million) today, March 17. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release stated that Minister for Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, Polish Office in Taipei Director Cyryl Kozaczewski, Slovak Economic and Cultural Office Representative Martin Podstavek and Deputy Representative Michaela Sulakova, Ukrainian expatriate, Daria Zheng, and Russian

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US defense and security delegation arrives in Taiwan amid rise in global security risks

A delegation of former senior defense and security officials sent by US President Joe Biden arrived in Taipei this afternoon, Tuesday, March 1. The delegation led by former US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen touched down at Taipei Songshan Airport at 3:54 pm, and was met on the Tarmac by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. Members of the delegation include Meghan O’Sullivan, a former deputy national security advisor under the Bush administration, Michele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense

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Bipartisan advisory group urges US Congress to get real on deterring China’s aggression against Taiwan

A bipartisan congressional advisory group tasked with making an annual report on US-China relations urged US lawmakers to take urgent measures to strengthen the credibility of US military deterrence to potential Chinese aggression against Taiwan, Wednesday, November 17. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) warned that a lack of clarity in U.S. policy could could fail to deter the Chinese Communist Party from opportunistic aggression against Taiwan. The report came just a day after a high profile meeting

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US Senators propose bill for billions to bolster Taiwan’s defense

A group of US senators introduced a bill seeking to bolster Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against Chinese aggression by authorizing funding to the tune of US$2 billion per year in Foreign Military Financing, according to a United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations press release, Thursday, November 4. The bill also amends the Arms Export Control Act to better facilitate arms transfers to Taiwan. The proposed legislation, the Taiwan Deterrence Act, was put forward by Republican senators Jim Risch,

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Former Australian PM meets Taiwan President to express support for a democracy challenged by giant neighbor

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met with former Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, and expressed her gratitude for his help in negotiating an economic cooperation agreement between Australia and Taiwan, and his support for Taiwan’s participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Tony Abbott, who served as Australian Prime Minister from 2013 to 2015, responded that he was in Taiwan to help end its international isolation, and offered his support to a democratic country challenged by

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United Nations helps Chinese Communist Party make American high schoolers say Taiwan part of China

A high school in Colorado changed references to Taiwan on its website after a UN committee said it was a “hiccup” in an application for students to participate in a UN teen advisory board. “Trying to give some students a taste of foreign affairs, Colorado’s Regis Jesuit High School applied for credentials to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women,” The Wall Street Journal reported September 10. However, the UN emailed the school informing them of a

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Biden reassures: if Taiwan were invaded, the US would respond

The United States would respond to any action against, or invasion of Taiwan, US President Joe Biden said during an interview with ABC News George Stephanopoulos, Wednesday, August 18. In his first interview since the US’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan began, Biden made reassurances that the United States can be trusted to stand by its allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. “You already see China telling Taiwan, ‘See? You can’t count on the Americans,’” Stephanopoulos prompted Biden. “Why wouldn’t

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