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☆ Exclusive: Taiwan on alert for Chinese-funded election interference
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Yimou Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"They hope to influence Taiwanese people by reaching out to the grassroots," said one Taiwan security official with direct knowledge of the matter. "They hope to influence swing voters who don't have particular political affiliation and would vote for whoever gives them benefits." It is illegal under Taiwanese law for an election campaign to receive money from "external hostile forces," including China. The report said the underground banking systems in Taiwan, which are widely known but difficult to regulate, could provide foreign exchange support. Some Taiwanese have been prosecuted in recent years over receiving illicit support from China in election campaigns.

Persons: Tsai Ing, China's, Wellington Koo, Tsai, Yimou Lee, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Reuters, National Security Council, Chinese Communist Party, Taiwan Affairs Office, Democratic Progressive Party, Mainland Affairs Council, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, China, Beijing, Taiwan, Wellington, New Taipei City

☆ China denies imposing no-fly zone north of Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - China denied on Friday that it had imposed a no-fly zone in the seas north of Taiwan for Sunday, even though Taipei said it was told by Beijing that China would impose one. "I have noticed that there were previous reports pointing out that the no-fly zone was set up by the Chinese side, which is inaccurate. China's civil aviation authority will forewarn and issue notices in advance for any space activities, Wang said. The area covers busy flight routes between Taiwan and China and Taiwan and South Korea, among others. "Relevant parties in the mainland have issued advance notices and announcements of space activities affecting the airspace," said China's Taiwan Affairs Office in a statement on Friday.

For years, Chinese fishermen trawling for fish, shrimp and crab have played cat and mouse with Taiwanese authorities as they closely track boats that near the median line of the Taiwan Strait. MEDIAN LINEOn Saturday, Taipei said more than 40 Chinese planes crossed the Taiwan Strait's "median line", which Beijing does not recognise. Deteriorating relations have made Chinese fishermen more afraid of approaching the line. Several times last year, Taiwan's coast guard detained Chinese fishing crew members, citing illegal trawling, according to official statements. ($1 = 6.8681 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Josh Arslan and Thomas Peter; Writing by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo.

"Wow, the PRC (People's Republic of China) just sanctioned me again, for the second time," Hsiao tweeted in response to the announcement. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry reacted angrily, saying China had no right to "butt in" when it came to Tsai's overseas trips and that Beijing was "deceiving itself" if it thought the sanctions would have any effect. China has also banned the leaders from entering the country, and frozen any properties they have in China, it said. Chinese sanctions will have little practical impact as senior Taiwanese officials do not visit China while Chinese courts do not have jurisdiction in Taiwan. Others on the August sanctions list include Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu; Wellington Koo, Secretary-General of Taiwan's National Security Council; and DPP politicians.

☆ Taiwan faces choice of 'peace and war', ex-president says after China trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou arrives at Taoyuan international airport after concluding his 12-day trip to China in Taoyuan, Taiwan April 7, 2023. Ma is the first former Taiwanese president to ever visit China. Since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, no serving island leader has visited China. The future is a choice between peace and war," Ma told reporters at Taiwan's main airport after arriving from Shanghai at the end of his 12-day visit to China. Ma said Taiwan could share a "common political basis" with China, which would be in the best interests of the people of Taiwan.

☆ China imposes further sanctions on Taiwan's US representative
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING/TAIPEI, April 7 (Reuters) - China has imposed further sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the United States, prohibiting her and family members from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, state media reported on Friday. The sanctions, announced by China's Taiwan Affairs Office, also prohibit investors and firms related to Hsiao from cooperating with mainland organisations and individuals. They come after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a stopover in the United States this week. Others on the August sanctions list also include Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu and Secretary-General of Taiwan's National Security Council Wellington Koo, and DPP politicians. Chinese sanctions will have little practical impact as senior Taiwanese officials do not visit China while Chinese courts do not have jurisdiction in Taiwan.

☆ China imposes further sanctions on Taiwan's U.S. representative
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China has imposed further sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the United States, prohibiting her and family members from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, state media reported on Friday. The sanctions, announced by China's Taiwan Affairs Office, also prohibit investors and firms related to Hsiao from cooperating with mainland organizations and individuals. They come after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a stopover in the United States this week. Others on the August sanctions list also include Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu and Secretary-General of Taiwan's National Security Council Wellington Koo, and DPP politicians. Chinese sanctions will have little practical impact as senior Taiwanese officials do not visit China while Chinese courts do not have jurisdiction in Taiwan.

TAIPEI, April 6 (Reuters) - Taiwan officials and defence analysts are bracing for intensifying pressure on the "median line" that has for decades helped keep the peace in the Taiwan Strait as China begins inspecting civilian shipping across the waterway. "As long as they are ships hoisting our country's flag they are all a part of our territory," he said. Taiwan's military will not allow China to "unilaterally" board Taiwanese ships, he said. A senior Taiwan official familiar with security planning said Taiwan would not allow China to board ships in the Taiwan Strait and that Taiwan's coast guard and military would jointly respond if China made a move to do so. Chinese state television broadcast live pictures of the Haixun 6 on patrol, including shaky footage of a Taiwanese coast guard ship shadowing it in the distance.

☆ Taiwan, China must do 'everything possible' to avoid war- former president Ma
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou meets the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Song Tao, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in handout picture released March 30, 2023. Ma Ying-jeou's Office/Handout via REUTERSTAIPEI, March 30 (Reuters) - Taiwan and China must do everything possible to avoid war and it is the responsibility of both sides' leaders to ensure peace, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou told a senior Chinese official on Thursday. Ma arrived in China on Monday, the first time a former or sitting Taiwanese president has visited the country since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists. "The two sides must maintain exchanges, cooperate together, and do everything possible to avoid war and conflict." Ma, who was in office from 2008-2016, met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in late in 2015 shortly before current Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was elected.

BEIJING/TAIPEI, March 29 (Reuters) - China threatened to retaliate on Wednesday if U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen during her planned transit of the United States next month, saying any such move would be a "provocation". China, which claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly warned U.S. officials not to meet Tsai, viewing it as support for the island's desire to be seen as a separate country. China staged war games around Taiwan last August when then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, and Taiwan's armed forces have said they are keeping watch for any Chinese moves when Tsai is abroad. While not officially confirmed, she is expected to meet McCarthy while in California, at the end of her trip. The United States says such transits by Taiwanese presidents are routine and that China should not use Tsai's trip to take any aggressive moves against Taiwan.

"We are taking notes from Zelenskiy," a senior Taiwan security official said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's strong presence on social media. "We can't even fix sea cables on our own," the official said. "What if one day all 14 of Taiwan's undersea cables connecting us to the outside world break? Taiwan's military has long prepared back-up plans, including a fibre-optic network for communications within Taiwan, satellites, high-frequency radio, and microwave systems. "So the first step (for China) - with about 99 percent likelihood - is to cut our sea cables," Huang said.

☆ Taiwan says it hopes to bring back soldier who went to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, March 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence minister said on Tuesday that the government is investigating the disappearance of a soldier serving on an offshore island who has been found in China, and vowed to bring him back. Speaking to reporters at parliament, Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said: "We certainly hope to bring him back home. The minister denied what he called rumours that the soldier had fled from abusive treatment by the military. The soldier, serving on Erdan islet close to the Chinese coast, went missing last week and was found on Monday. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has over the past three years stepped up military and political pressure to try and get Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty.

REUTERS/Tyrone SiuTAIPEI, March 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence spending this year will focus on preparing weapons and equipment for a "total blockade" by China, including parts for F-16 fighters and replenishing weapons, the military said in a report. Xi also said that when it came to Taiwan, China must oppose pro-independence and secessionist activities and the interference of external forces. Taiwan's defence ministry said China has systematically increased the strength of its "joint combat readiness" actions around Taiwan. That is more than double the number from a year earlier and poses a "substantial threat" to Taiwan's defence, the ministry said. China has been "normalising" no-navigation zones around the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Taiwan Strait, the ministry added.

☆ Taiwan says soldier who went missing has been found in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, March 13 (Reuters) - A Taiwanese soldier serving on an islet close to the Chinese coast who went missing last week has been found in China, a senior Taiwan minister said on Monday, an incident that has happened amid heightened tensions. Speaking to reporters in parliament, Chiu Tai-san, head of Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council, said the soldier was in China. The defence ministry and relevant departments are actively aware of the relevant progress and situation," he said. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has over the past three years stepped up its military and political pressure to try and get Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty. During the height of the Cold War, defectors from both sides would on occasion swim between China and Kinmen.

☆ Taiwan wary of China charm offensive ahead of presidential vote - agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Yimou Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As Taipei and Beijing gradually resume travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan security officials expect China to relaunch an influence campaign that in the past included all-expenses-paid trips to China for Taiwan politicians. China refuses to talk to the government, believing Tsai is a separatist for refusing to accept Beijing's long-standing position that China and Taiwan both belong to "one China". "They might want Taiwanese to support certain political parties who support closer economic ties with the mainland," a Taiwan security official investigating the matter told Reuters. Also last month, a group of Chinese officials made their first visit to Taiwan in three years to attend a cultural event in the capital, Taipei. A second senior Taiwan security official said the island should be "on high alert" for efforts by China to press its message on reunification.

☆ Chinese officials arrive in Taiwan on first post-pandemic visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Liu Xiaodong, Deputy Head of the Shanghai office of China's Taiwan Affairs Office and head of the delegation of Chinese officials visiting Taiwan, walks out of the arrival hall at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan February 18, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia RawlinsTAIPEI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A group of Chinese officials arrived in Taiwan on Saturday on the first visit in three years, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, to attend a cultural event at a time of soaring military tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan's government this week allowed the trip of six officials, lead by Liu Xiaodong, deputy head of the Shanghai office of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, to attend the Lantern Festival in Taipei, at the invitation of the city government. Chilly Chen, head of the pro-independence Taiwan Republic Office, told Reuters the Taiwanese people were very hospitable and welcomed visitors but were concerned they were coming to push Chinese policies on the democratic island. But China continues to carry out military activities near Taiwan, including almost daily crossings of the Taiwan Strait's median line by Chinese air force jets, which had previously served as an unofficial barrier.

☆ Senior Taiwan opposition leader to visit China amid continued tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A senior leader of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's main opposition party, will visit China this week and meet its top Taiwan policy-maker, the party said on Monday, amid continued military and political tensions between the two sides. China has over the past three years ramped up pressure on Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty, including staging regular military drills near the democratically-governed island. The KMT said its Deputy Chairman Andrew Hsia would leave for China on Wednesday and meet Song Tao, the newly appointed head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in a rare high-level interaction between top politicians from Taiwan and China given the current strains. China's Taiwan Affairs Office said it welcomed Hsia's visit. The KMT has defended its outreach to China, saying it is important to keep lines of communication open.

☆ Taiwan mulls WTO case after latest Chinese import bans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for the past two years of Chinese import bans on various agricultural and aquatic goods, including pineapples and grouper fish, saying it is part of a Chinese pressure campaign. Speaking to reporters, Su said China was using administrative means to "interfere" in normal trade which is not in line with WTO norms. The government will do its best to communicate with relevant Chinese departments on the issue, he added. "If there is any non-compliance with the relevant WTO norms, we will also follow the relevant channels to file a complaint." It said it hoped that Taiwanese companies will provide the information that meets government requirements as soon as possible.

☆ Taiwan says it sees less Chinese interference ahead of elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Speaking to reporters ahead of Saturday's elections in Taiwan for mayors and councillors, Wu said China was always a factor when Taiwan voted, but this time around Beijing was meddling less. "I would describe it as that the Chinese interference in our election is not as prevailing as previous elections," he said. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. While China's military activities have continued, they have been at a much reduced scale. Wu said the elections were important for China too as Taiwan was a model for democracy in the Chinese-speaking world.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. the person said, adding that the calls would connect but Chinese officials wouldn't pick up. Based on a long-standing practice, faxes continue to be exchanged between two semi-official organisations that handle routine affairs: Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. The council told Reuters that while Chinese officials do not reply directly, they have handled Taiwanese requests when needed or responded through public statements. China this year labeled Tsai's administration "evil" while Taiwan called China "incredibly absurd".

☆ Taiwan says China looking at Ukraine war to develop 'hybrid' strategies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TAIPEI, Oct 12 (Reuters) - China is looking at the experience of the war in Ukraine to develop "hybrid warfare" strategies against Taiwan including using drones and psychological pressure, a senior Taiwanese security official said on Wednesday. "This year, the communist military has borrowed from the experience of the Russia-Ukraine war to develop 'hybrid warfare' against Taiwan and strengthen its combat training and preparation against strong enemies," he told lawmakers. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chen said China's military threats had coalesced support from the United States and its allies for Taiwan to ensure what happened to Ukraine would not be repeated across the Taiwan Strait. This will enhance Taiwan's ability to deal with China and deter "their plots to attack Taiwan", he said.

She also outlined steps to boost the military including with mass production of precision missiles and warships. Xi is widely expected to win his third term at the one-every-five-years party congress. "When we say achievement, for Taiwan it's definitely not a good sign, it's not a good thing," Lin said. One senior Taiwanese security official said Xi's third term would bring "unpredictable tensions" across the strait. But China has refused to speak to his successor, Tsai, since she was first elected in 2016, believing her to be a separatist.

A Taiwan Coast Guard ship travels past the coast of China, in the waters off Nangan island of Matsu archipelago in Taiwan August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Ann WangTAIPEI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A Chinese blockade of Taiwan or the seizure of an offshore island would be considered an act of war and Taiwan would not surrender, a senior Taiwanese security official told Reuters using unusually strong and direct language. Chinese military action might not be as straightforward as a full frontal assault on Taiwan: it could include actions like a blockade to try to force Taiwan to accept China's rule, strategists say. To show its anger, China mounted military exercises around Taiwan that included firing missiles and steps to mount a blockade. "A blockade is an act of war; seizing an offshore island is an act of war," the official said, adding Taipei believed Beijing was unlikely to take either of those actions at the moment.

☆ China willing to make effort for peaceful 'reunification' with Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ann Wang/File PhotoBEIJING, Sept 21 (Reuters) - China is willing to make the utmost effort to strive for a peaceful "reunification" with Taiwan, a Chinese government spokesperson said on Wednesday, following weeks of military manoeuvres and war games by Beijing near the island. China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan's government rejects China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's people can decide their future. China has been carrying out drills near Taiwan since early last month, after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, including firing missiles into waters near the island. Taiwan's government says that as the island has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China, its sovereignty claims are void.

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