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☆ 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.

"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.

☆ McCarthy meets with Taiwan leader as China threatens 'actions' in response
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (R) speaks with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen while arriving for a bipartisan meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on April 5, 2023. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a bipartisan congressional delegation are meeting Wednesday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Simi Valley, California, in a move that has increased simmering U.S. tensions with China. The Republican House speaker is the highest ranking U.S. official to meet with a leader of Taiwan on U.S. soil since 1979. Tsai's meeting with McCarthy follows private meetings she held last week with small groups of U.S. lawmakers. But in reality, Tsai's packed schedule of high-level meetings with U.S. lawmakers would rival that of any official visit by a world leader.

LOS ANGELES, April 5 (Reuters) - Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is set to meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday in the first such meeting on U.S. soil, a plan that has drawn threats of retaliation from China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own. It will be the highest-level meeting with a Taiwanese president on U.S. soil since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. A meeting in California is seen as a potentially less provocative alternative to McCarthy visiting Taiwan, something he has said he hopes to do. Washington called on China not to overreact, portraying Tsai's stopovers as routine and a normal part of its unofficial relationship with Taiwan. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told a regular news briefing on Tuesday Tsai's transit was "private" and "unofficial."

☆ China warns US House Speaker not to meet Taiwan president
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Leah Millis/File PhotoBEIJING, April 4 (Reuters) - China warned U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday not to "repeat disastrous past mistakes" and meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, saying it would not help regional peace and stability, but only unite the Chinese people behind a common enemy. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, staged war games around the island last August after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, visited the capital, Taipei. The U.S. says such stopovers are common practice and there is no need for China to overreact. In a statement on Tuesday, Taiwan's foreign ministry said China had no right to complain, as the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island. "Even if the authoritarian government continues with its expansion and intensifies coercion, Taiwan will not back down."

LOS ANGELES, April 4 (Reuters) - China, Taiwan, and the United States all share a common interest in ensuring this week's California stopover by Taiwan's president gets the focus each thinks it deserves, but without setting off a new crisis. It is sure to elicit a forceful reaction from Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory. McCarthy, as House speaker, is third in line to the U.S. leadership and he has said publicly that he does not rule out a future visit to Taiwan. Xu Xueyuan, charge d'affaires at China's Washington embassy, said last week that McCarthy meeting Tsai "could lead to another serious confrontation in the China-U.S. With an eye the Taiwan election, China invited former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT party for a visit coinciding with Tsai's U.S. stopovers.

☆ Belize reaffirms ties with Taipei as Taiwanese president visits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Jose Sanchez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrives at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport, Belize City, Belize in this handout picture released April 3, 2023. Tsai's visit comes a week after Honduras severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing amid heightened U.S.-China tensions. China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei strongly rejects. Guatemala and Belize are two of just 13 countries that Taiwan has diplomatic relations with. The Taiwanese leader is set to meet with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a second U.S. stopover in California on Wednesday.

☆ US House speaker to host Taiwan president on Wednesday in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends a dinner banquet as she arrives for a visit in Belize, in this handout picture released on April 3, 2023. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will host a meeting in California on Wednesday with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, his office said, part of a sensitive U.S. stopover that has drawn Chinese threats of retaliation. China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly warned U.S. officials not to meet Tsai. "On Wednesday, April 5th, Speaker Kevin McCarthy will be hosting a bipartisan meeting with the President of Taiwan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library," his office said in a statement. The White House has urged China to not use Tsai's "normal" stopover in the United States as a pretext to increase aggressive activity against Taiwan.

☆ Taiwan strengthens ties with Guatemala following Honduras rupture
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen walks with her Guatemalan counterpart Alejandro Giammattei, during her visit at Chimaltenango hospital in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, in this photo released on April 2, 2023. Guatemala Presidency/Handout via REUTERSGUATEMALA CITY, April 2 (Reuters) - Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen completed a three-day trip to Guatemala on Sunday where she offered more cooperation with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei's government, one of Taiwan's few allies in the world. Tsai's tour, which will take her to Belize on Sunday afternoon, comes a week after Honduras severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing. China refuses to allow other countries to maintain diplomatic relations with both at the same time. While visiting Guatemala, Tsai signed a $4 million agreement to modernize rural areas and promised to promote and increase cooperation between the two countries.

☆ Taiwan sees less severe China reaction to president's U.S. meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoTAIPEI, March 30 (Reuters) - Taiwan expects a less severe reaction from China to an expected meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and has not seen any unusual Chinese military movements, a senior Taiwan security official said on Thursday. Speaking at parliament, Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen said they expected a less severe reaction to that meeting than when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to Taipei and China staged war games around Taiwan after she left. "She will be meeting in the United States, so the political complexity is not as high as the speaker coming to Taiwan." But Taiwan has been keeping a close watch on China's military movements, said Tsai, adding: "At present there is nothing unusual". China is also hosting several senior foreign officials and leaders while President Tsai is away, meaning the timing would not be right for a strong military reaction against Taiwan, Tsai said.

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.

☆ White House to China: Don't use Taiwan visit as 'pretext'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The White House urged China on Wednesday not to use a "normal" stopover in the United States by Taiwan's president as a pretext to increase aggressive activity against Taiwan. John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters that Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's arrival soon in the United States is the latest in a series of routine transits. "The Peoples Republic of China should not use this transit as a pretext to step up any activity around the Taiwan strait," he said. It would be the first meeting on U.S. soil between a House speaker and a Taiwanese leader, and the prospect has angered Beijing. China responded to a visit last August to Taiwan by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with large-scale war games around the democratically ruled island.

☆ No reason for China to overreact to transit by Taiwan's president, senior US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The United States sees no reason for China to overreact to planned transits of the United States this week and next month by Taiwan's president, senior U.S. officials said, calling them consistent with long-standing practice and the U.S. one-China policy that recognizes Beijing diplomatically, not Taipei. However, the United States government is required by U.S. law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. The U.S. official said Washington continued to exchange views with China on a broad range of issues through multiple diplomatic channels. "We urge the PRC (People's Republic of China) to keep open channels of communication," a second senior official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Edited by Michael Martina, Don Durfee and Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kevin McCarthy shared a map of China that includes Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kevin McCarthy shared a map of China that included Taiwan in a tweet criticizing China. The Chinese Communist Party is very sensitive to its claims about Taiwan in Western media. As a result, Beijing has long sought for Taiwan to be shown as part of China — which McCarthy did. But right now, we are dependent on China," McCarthy wrote in a tweet posted on his official account in promotion of HR 1, the GOP's sweeping energy bill. The Chinese Communist Party is extremely sensitive to any language or depiction that undermines its claims to Taiwan.

[1/5] Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou speaks to the media at the airport before departing on a visit to China, as for the first time a former or current Taiwanese leader will be visiting since the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island in 1949, in Taoyuan, Taiwan March 27, 2023. REUTERS/Ann WangTAOYUAN, Taiwan, March 27 (Reuters) - Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou left for China on Monday on a landmark trip, saying he hoped to bring about peace and improve relations through the interactions of young people. Ma, in office from 2008-2016, will be the first former or current Taiwanese president to visit China since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of a civil war with the Communists, where it remains to this day. Ma met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in late 2015 shortly before the current Taiwan president, Tsai Ing-wen, won an election. The KMT says outreach to China is needed now more than ever given the tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

☆ Honduras forms diplomatic ties with China after Taiwan break
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The national flags of Honduras and Taiwan are seen at the Republic of China Square in Tegucigalpa on March 15, 2023. Honduras formed diplomatic ties with China on Sunday after breaking off relations with Taiwan, which is increasingly isolated and now recognized by only 13 sovereign states, including Vatican City. Relations between Taiwan and Honduras were once stable, he said, but China had not stopped luring Honduras. "The Castro government dismissed our nation's longstanding assistance and relations and carried out talks to form diplomatic ties with China. The U.S. doesn't have diplomatic relations with Taiwan but has maintained that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific.

☆ Taiwan says it has contingency plans for China moves while president abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ann Wang/File PhotoTAIPEI, March 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry has contingency plans for any moves by China during Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's overseas visit, Deputy Defence Minister Po Horng-huei said on Wednesday ahead of Tsai going to the United States and Central America next week. Asked by reporters on the sidelines of a parliament session whether China was likely to stage more drills when Tsai is abroad, Po said the armed forces were prepared. "When it comes to what the Chinese communists have done in the past, the defence ministry can have a grasp on it, and will consider the worse scenario," he said. "During the president's overseas visit, the defence ministry has contingency plans for all moves" by China, Po added, declining to give details. China, which has condemned Tsai's planned U.S. stop over, has continued its military activities around Taiwan since August, though on a much reduced scale.

☆ Former Taiwan president Ma open to meeting leaders on landmark China trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ma met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in late 2015 shortly before now Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen won a presidential election. "Can't Ma Ying-jeou see China's true nature?" Given that neither Taiwan nor China's governments recognise each other, Ma will simply be referred to as "Mr. Ma Ying-jeou" while he is in China, Hsiao said, to avoid thorny political issues. The KMT says outreach to China is needed now more than ever given the tensions across the Taiwan Strait. If young people can communicate and have dialogue, it will definitely reduce the current tensions," Hsiao said of Ma's thoughts on the visit.

☆ Taiwan says working on president's 'transit' plans amid reported U.S. trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, March 8 (Reuters) - Taiwan's presidential office said on Wednesday that it is working on "transit" plans for an overseas visit by President Tsai Ing-wen, amid reports she will meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States. McCarthy plans to meet Tsai in the United States in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday. That could be instead of the Republican Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China. McCarthy on Tuesday confirmed plans to meet Tsai in the United States this year and stressed this did not preclude a later visit to Taiwan, Bloomberg news agency reported. The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

☆ House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's president in the U.S., sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy wields the speaker's gavel as members of Congress gather to attend U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Feb. 7, 2023. Leah Millis | ReutersU.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday, a move that could replace the Republican Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China. One of the sources said should the U.S. meeting go forward — likely in April — it did not necessarily rule out McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the future. During a CNBC interview earlier on Monday, McCarthy declined to answer whether he would visit Taiwan, saying he would announce any travel plans when he had them. Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington said it had "no information to share" when asked about the meeting.

☆ US House Speaker McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's president in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday, a move that could replace the Republican Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China. One of the sources said should the U.S. meeting go forward - likely in April - it did not necessarily rule out McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the future. During a CNBC interview earlier on Monday, McCarthy declined to answer whether he would visit Taiwan, saying he would announce any travel plans when he had them. Since then, Taiwan has welcomed a wave of U.S. lawmakers, and speculation has swirled around whether McCarthy would travel there this year. McCarthy last year expressed interest in visiting Taiwan if he became speaker, a role he assumed in January after Republicans took control of the House in November's midterm elections.

☆ 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.

☆ Taiwan’s president says war with China is ‘not an option’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Taipei, Taiwan on Dec. 27, 2022. Tensions between China and Taiwan have been rising in recent years. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen told Pope Francis in a letter that war with China is "not an option" and said constructive interaction with Beijing, which claims the island as part of its territory, depends on respecting self-ruled Taiwan's democracy. Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war and have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment. A former Taiwanese vice president under Tsai, Chen Chien-jen, represented the island at this month's funeral of former Pope Benedict.

☆ Taiwan VP new ruling party boss sets stage for presidential run
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan Vice President William Lai was elected as the new chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Sunday, setting the stage for him to run in presidential elections early next year. President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as party chairwoman in November after the DPP was trounced at local elections. Lai has not directly said whether he intends to run in the presidential vote but is widely expected to do so now he is DPP chairman. A former premier and mayor of the southern city of Tainan, Lai has been Tsai's vice president since 2020 following the DPP's landslide election win. The DPP won the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide by pledging to defend Taiwan against China and not submit to Beijing's threats.

☆ A former SpaceX engineer who now runs a pizza robot company says he wants to solve problems on Earth – not Mars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ex-SpaceX engineer who left to start a pizza robot company says he wants to solve problems on Earth. Benson Tsai told Bloomberg what's important for him is to "solve problems here" – not Mars. Benson Tsai left Elon Musk's rocket company and cofounded Stellar Pizza in May 2019 alongside two former colleagues, Brian Langone and James Wahawisan. But unlike his former boss who's often spoken about colonizing Mars, Tsai said he was more interested in matters closer to home. "Solving problems here on Earth is really important to me," he told Bloomberg.

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