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Hou Yu-ih, mayor of New Taipei City, during a protest against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei, on July 16. Taiwanese voters are preparing to choose their next president in January, in a vote that will define cross-strait and U.S.-China relations for years to come.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 21, 2023

Popular Taiwan mayor stumbles in bid to lead in U.S.-China hotspot

His failure to articulate a critical policy at the bedrock of Taiwan’s international status drew widespread criticism online.
Taro Aso, a former prime minister and current vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2023

Taiwan situation ‘tilting toward emergency,’ former Japan PM says

Taro Aso said this shift was “definitely not out of the blue” but was now “more evident,” pointing to military exercises by China around Taiwan.
U.S. President Joe Biden recent comments about China are some of his most direct criticisms yet about the U.S.’s top geopolitical and economic rival.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 12, 2023

Biden fears Chinese economy is ‘ticking time bomb’

Biden's comments included several major inaccuracies about the world’s second-largest economy.
A Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000 jet fighter landing at Hsinchu Air Base in Hsinchu, Taiwan, in April.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 12, 2023

China’s military, ‘chasing the dream,’ probes Taiwan’s defenses

Day by day, the People’s Liberation Army is turning up the pressure, deploying an ever-wider array of planes and ships.
A giant screen broadcasts news footage of a Chinese fighter jet taking part in a "combat readiness patrol" around Taiwan, at a shopping area in Beijing, in April.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 26, 2023

Taiwan says Chinese combat drone flew along island's east coast

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry also said the Chinese aircraft included J-10 and Su-30 fighter jets, as well as anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft.
Former Foxconn founder Terry Gou gestures during a news conference in Taipei on Monday. Gou announced that he will run for president of Taiwan as an independent candidate.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 28, 2023

Foxconn founder Terry Gou announces Taiwan presidential bid

Trailing his competition, he will must secure signatures from around 290,000 voters for his bid to become official.
The All Blacks perform the haka in front of Scotland before their match in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Nov. 13, 2022.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 7, 2023

All Blacks prepared to unleash haka at Rugby World Cup

The haka is a fierce war dance that was originally used to prepare Maori warriors for battle and has since been adopted by the All Blacks.
New Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is seen in formal attire to attend an attestation ceremony after a Cabinet reshuffle in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

In Kishida's Cabinet reshuffle, two changes stand out

It will be the first time in 20 years that a woman has been foreign minister, while the new defense chief arrives amid dramatic shifts in defense posture.
Ko Wen-je rides a train from Taipei to Taichung, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 14, 2023

Socially awkward outsider is surprise contender to lead Taiwan

64-year-old Ko Wen-je, a former trauma surgeon, entered politics just a decade ago and is running as a third-party candidate.
With more and more young people entering the workforce, terms that were once popular in the so-called bubble era are falling out of fashion.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 15, 2023

Outdated business jargon strikes out with Japan's Gen Z

Around 70% of survey respondents say jargon leads to misunderstandings that end up wasting time.
The aviation industry has promised to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but harsher weather conditions are already forcing a rethink of critical infrastructure in airports and airfields across the world.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 18, 2023

Extreme weather is forcing redesign of world’s busiest airports

From flooded substations and overheating electronic systems to cracking runways, most airports weren’t built to endure what climate change has in store.
Hou Yu-ih, Taiwan presidential candidate and mayor of New Taipei City, speaks during a news conference in New York on Sept. 16. The Kuomintang, Taiwan's main opposition party, picked Hou Yu-ih, a popular local leader with little foreign policy experience, as its candidate for next year's presidential election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 21, 2023

Taiwan’s former top cop wants China talks if voted president

"I have participated in countless gun battles and I always stood on the front line.”
A screen in a shopping area in Beijing broadcasts news footage of military drills by China's People's Liberation Army around Taiwan on Aug. 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 27, 2023

China says drills near Taiwan target 'arrogance' of separatists

Taiwan has said this month that it had observed dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships operating nearby.
People walk past the Taiwanese flag in Taipei. Ahead of elections, Taiwan routinely flags the risk of interference from Beijing, saying that China seeks to sway the outcome to benefit candidates who may be more favorable toward the country.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 4, 2023

Beijing has 'diverse' ways of interfering in votes, Taipei warns

Military pressure, economic coercion or fake news could create a false choice between "war or peace" in the election, frightening voters.
Buildings in Xiamen, China, seen from Kinmen, Taiwan
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 6, 2023

Even China's closest supporters in Taiwan are turning wary

The shifting attitudes reflect a generational change, with younger people wanting to protect freedom and democracy.
A poster of Terry Gou, who has collected three times the amount of signatures needed to qualify to run Taiwan's presidential elections is displayed in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 14, 2023

Foxconn founder Terry Gou qualifies to run for Taiwan president

In a statement, Gou thanked his backers for their "enthusiastic support" and vowed to work hard to achieve "peace across the Taiwan Strait."
Taiwan People's Party chairman Ko Wen-je arrives for a news conference in New Taipei City on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 19, 2023

Taiwan opposition talks deadlocked with no signs of compromise

The issue of China, which views Taiwan as its territory, looms over the Jan. 13 parliamentary and presidential elections.
Taiwan’s presidential election will not only shape cross-strait relations for decades, but will impact the nature of the U.S.’ already tense ties with China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 24, 2023

Taiwan opposition alliance collapses and Terry Gou quits race

The prospects of a China-friendly unity ticket for the upcoming presidential election now lie shattered after the public mudslinging.
A supporter of the Kuomintang, Taiwan's main opposition party, waves the island's flag outside the Central Election Commission office in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 26, 2023

Taiwan draws clear U.S.-versus-China battle lines in key election

The collapse of the opposition alliance makes Chinese President Xi Jinping’s stated goal of voluntary unification with Taiwan more remote.
Ko Wen-je (right) and his running mate, Cynthia Wu, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 27, 2023

Taiwan’s latest poll shows outsider leading presidential race

Ko Wen-je, the Taiwan People’s Party’s nominee, had an approval rating of 31.9% versus 29.2% for Democratic Progressive Party’s Lai Ching-te.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks to compulsory servicemen while inspecting a military base in Taichung on Nov. 23. Tsai is barred by term limits from seeking re-election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2023

Think of Hong Kong when you vote, Taiwan president says

"Look at Hong Kong and think of Taiwan," Tsai Ing-wen said. "We don't want Hong Kong-style peace. We want dignified peace."
Taiwan officials have warned that Beijing is trying to nudge voters toward candidates who seek closer ties with China in the island's Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Taiwan intelligence says China leadership met on election interference

Taiwan officials have warned that Beijing is trying to nudge voters toward candidates who seek closer ties with China.
Kubura fishing port and Kubura district on the island of Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023

Frontier islanders decry lack of plan to aid fleeing Taiwanese

Concerned about the potential for a China-Taiwan conflict, Japan has embarked on its biggest defense buildup since World War II.
Taiwan officials have repeatedly warned that China is trying to sway voters toward candidates seeking closer ties with Beijing, whose government has framed the Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections as a choice between "peace and war."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 13, 2023

Chinese forces neared Taiwan to 'intimidate' voters before elections

Taiwan's military drove away four attempts by Chinese forces to approach the island's sensitive contiguous zone last month, Taiwan security officials said, in what they see as a ramped-up Chinese campaign to "intimidate" voters before key elections.
Buildings in Xiamen on mainland China across the Taiwan Strait from anti-landing barriers on a beach in Kinmen, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Taiwan’s ability to defend against Chinese invasion questioned

For all the support given by Washington, the reality is that when it comes to both civil and military defense, Taiwan still has a lot to do.
Worshipers pray to the sea goddess Mazu at the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung, Taiwan, on Nov. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

China finds sudden faith in 'peace goddess' ahead of Taiwan vote

China sees faith in a sea goddess with origins in Fujian province as the "axis" of its influence operations, according to an intelligence analysis.
Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, leads a political rally in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Nov. 4.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023

How Tsai Ing-wen aligned Taiwan with the free world

The question now is to what extent Tsai’s foreign policy legacy will endure after Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election on Jan. 13.
Supporters hoist a giant Taiwan national flag during a campaign rally for Kuomintang ahead of Taiwan's presidential election, in Taipei on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 27, 2023

Whisky and a coal 'shack': Taiwan election is not only about China

The candidates are exchanging blows over everything from property disputes to whether drinking whiskey is out of touch.
Attendees during a presidential election campaign event in Taipei on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 4, 2024

Taiwan to publish analysis of alleged China election interference

China's Taiwan Affairs Office has called Taiwan's elections a "purely an internal Chinese matter."
A Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000-5 aircraft prepares to land in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Jan. 2. In the event of a conflict with China, Taiwan would face a military that rivals that of the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2024

Xi, Biden and the $10 trillion cost of war over Taiwan

The price tag — equivalent to about 10% of global GDP — dwarfs the blow from the war in Ukraine, COVID-19 pandemic and 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis.

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