SECURITY ISSUE: Investigators suspect that Sheng Chu-ying handed over legislative information to Chinese intelligence officials in exchange for cash, local media reported
An assistant to former legislative speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) when he served in the Legislative Yuan has been released on bail amid an investigation into allegations that he was recruited by Chinese intelligence agents during a trip to China. The assistant, Sheng Chu-ying (盛礎纓), is suspected of handin
The hacker responsible for illegally accessing MacKay Memorial Hospital’s systems and trying to sell patients’ personal information after a failed ransom attempt is a Chinese national named Lo Chengyu (羅政宇), residing in China’s Zhejiang Province, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday. The
Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr on Tuesday said his country would “inevitably” be involved if Taiwan is invaded, as the US approved the possible sale of US$5.58 billion of F-16 jets to the Philippines. The US Department of State in a statement said it was gree
US President Donald Trump was to unveil sweeping new “Liberation Day” tariffs after press time last night, but kept the world guessing until the last minute about the scope of an onslaught that could spark a global trade war. While Trump insisted he had decided on the reciprocal tariffs hitting coun
China's military said it practiced hitting key ports and energy sites during "live-fire" drills today as part of exercises aimed at Taiwan.Named "Strait Thunder-2025A," the drills are located in the middle and southern parts of the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said, whic
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: China’s military provocations are escalating regional tensions and are a blatant challenge to the international order, the Presidential Office said
The Presidential Office yesterday denounced the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for launching joint military drills around Taiwan, calling Beijing a “troublemaker.”The condemnation came after the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command yesterday morning announced the start of a new round of joint exerc
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Monday reintroduced the Taiwan International Solidarity Act in the House of Representatives after the pro-Taiwan legislation stalled in the Senate in 2023.The act “encourages the US to work with allies and partners to oppose the People’s Republic of China’s effo
A Chinese national whose dependent-based residency permit was revoked over social media posts that advocated China using military force to unite with Taiwan was forcibly deported yesterday after failing to leave the country before the deadline of her deportation order.Known by her online pseudonym X
‘BULLY’: Beijing vowed to take strong measures against the ‘despicable’ acts by the US, while an activist lauded the effort to stop the crackdown
The US has sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials who it alleged were involved in “transnational repression” and acts that threaten to further erode the territory’s autonomy, with Beijing threatening to take countermeasures.The six officials included Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam
Myanmar yesterday held a minute’s silence in tribute to victims of a catastrophic earthquake that has killed more than 2,000 people, buckling roads and flattening buildings as far away as Bangkok.Four days after the shallow magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck, many people in Myanmar are still sleeping o
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite."The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" l
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said
China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday.“China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchme
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is to invest a total of NT$1.5 trillion (US$45.2 billion) to expand its advanced 2-nanometer chip capacity in Kaohsiung, bolstering its commitment to augment investment and technology development at home.The world’s biggest contract
One of two Chinese influencers left for China last night before a midnight deadline to voluntarily leave Taiwan or risk being forcibly deported for advocating “unification by force” on social media.The National Immigration Agency (NIA) has revoked the dependent-based residency permits of two Chinese
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday warned of a forceful retaliation if the US or its allies bomb the Islamic republic, following a threat by US President Donald Trump.“They threaten to do mischief,” Khamenei said of Trump’s latest threat, during a speech on Eid al-Fitr, the holi
TRUCE STALLED: While admitting he was ‘pissed off’ at the Russian leader, the US president said he did not think Putin would ‘go back’ on his word
US President Donald Trump said he was “very angry” at Russian President Vladimir Putin and threatened “secondary tariffs” on buyers of Russian oil if Moscow refuses a ceasefire with Ukraine.In comments reported by NBC News, Trump said he was “pissed off” at Putin for casting doubt on Ukrainian Presi
ALLIANCE: Although analysts have warned that Trump could weaken US commitment for security in the region, Hegseth said that Washington is ‘re-establishing deterrence’
The US will ensure “robust, ready and credible deterrence” across the Taiwan Strait, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said yesterday, calling China “aggressive and coercive.” “America is committed to sustaining robust, ready and credible deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwa
NATIONAL SECURITY: Taiwan had been in talks with Starlink to provide service, but the talks failed due to a disagreement over ownership of a joint venture
The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) plans to launch a satellite communications system similar to Space Exploration Technologies Corp’s (SpaceX) Starlink service by 2029, sources said. TASA plans to invest about NT$2.5 billion (US$75.54 million) and work with private companies to develop four low Earth or
People yesterday scoured collapsed buildings searching for survivors as aftershocks rattled the devastated city of Mandalay, two days after a massive earthquake killed at least 1,700 people in Myanmar and at least 18 in neighboring Thailand. The initial magnitude 7.7 quake struck near the central My
RSS