Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration reported mainland Chinese law enforcement vessels entered restricted waters near Taiping Island on Thursday, a first for government vessels. The ships were driven away by Taiwan's coastguard. Experts suggest this is Beijing's attempt to assert sovereignty.
China's fourth-ranking official, Wang Huning, praised the "enthusiastic" participation of Taiwanese people at the Straits Forum, despite restrictions imposed by Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party. The forum, Beijing's main platform for cross-strait people-to-people engagement, featured 58 events in Fujian province.
Beijing's 18th Straits Forum, a platform for cross-strait engagement, is being held in Xiamen amid tightened restrictions by Taiwan's ruling DPP. For the first time, the DPP has explicitly banned Taiwan's municipal and county government officials from participating.
Internal splits over defence spending are widening within Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, ahead of this year’s local elections. The party is facing growing pressure from the United States over its response to a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special defence budget put forward by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party to fund the purchase of arms from the US and the development of domestic weapons. Washington’s de facto ambassador in Taipei, Raymond Greene, last week...
A Taiwanese army battalion commander has been punished for screening The Eight Hundred, a Chinese war film depicting KMT forces fighting Japanese troops in WWII. DPP lawmaker Wang Ting-yu revealed the screening by the 153rd Brigade in Yilan, prompting defence minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung to confirm it was directed at battalion level. The controversy has ignited debate over Beijing's state-led messaging targeting Taiwan and questions about historical interpretation and military education on the island.
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has cancelled a planned visit to eSwatini, the island's last remaining African diplomatic ally. The visit was intended to celebrate King Mswati III's 40th anniversary of accession to the throne and his 58th birthday. eSwatini is one of only 12 nations that still recognize Taiwan, a group that includes small Caribbean and Pacific island states, many of which maintain ties partly due to pressure from Washington.
The chairman of Taiwan's General Chamber of Commerce says business associations received no pressure from Beijing, but did receive calls from Taiwan's government. Hsu Shu-po stated authorities should not obstruct business associations from expressing their views in a democratic society.
