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☆ Austria taps Embraer's C-390 aircraft to replace retiring C-130 fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsVIENNA/SAO PAULO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Austria plans to replace its retiring C-130 Hercules fleet with Embraer's (EMBR3.SA) C-390 Millenium military transport aircraft, the country's Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner said on Wednesday. Austria is aiming to buy about four aircrafts and is negotiating with the Netherlands on a potential joint order, Tanner told a news conference. Aside from an order for 19 C-390 aircrafts from the Brazilian Air Force, Portugal has ordered five and Hungary has requested two. Analysts at JPMorgan calculated that including the prospective orders from Austria and The Netherlands, the aircraft's potential lifetime sales stand at 35 units, 28 of which are still to be delivered. Shares in Embraer rose 2.85% in early trading on the Brazilian stock exchange, outperforming the Bovespa stock index (.BVSP), which rose 0.8%.

Persons: Klaudia Tanner, Johanna Geron, Tanner, JPMorgan, Francois Murphy, Peter Frontini, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Austria's Defence, Foreign Affairs, Defence, REUTERS, Rights, SAO PAULO, country's Defence, Embraer, Brazilian Air Force, KC, JPMorgan, Sao Paulo, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Brussels, Belgium, Rights VIENNA, Austria, Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Czech Republic, South Korea, India, Sweden, The Netherlands, Vienna, Sao

Hong Kong CNN —China on Tuesday unveiled a plan to deepen integration between the coastal province of Fujian and self-governing Taiwan, touting the benefits of closer cross-strait cooperation while sending warships around the island in a show of military might. The document, hailed as a “blueprint” of Taiwan’s future development by Chinese experts cited in state media, comes at a delicate moment in cross-strait relations as Taiwan gears up for its presidential election in January. Ahead of Beijing’s release of its integration plan, a Chinese aircraft carrier and around two dozen Chinese warships were spotted gathering in waters near Taiwan this week, according to Taiwanese authorities. Fujian, a province of 40 million people on the western side of the Taiwan Strait, is the closest to Taiwan both geographically and culturally. In Tuesday’s directive, Beijing pledges to further speed up integration between the city of Xiamen and Kinmen – which are only a few miles apart.

Persons: Wang Ting, ” Wang, “, China’s, Kinmen, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party’s Central, State, Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council, CNN, Times Locations: Hong Kong, China, Fujian, Taiwan, Beijing, Kinmen, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Matsu, Taipei

☆ China launches drills in angry response to Taiwan vice president's trip to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. says it's closely monitoring China's drills around Taiwan after Beijing began three days of military exercises around the island. Greg Baker | AFP | Getty ImagesChina launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a "serious warning" to separatist forces in an angry but widely expected response to Vice President William Lai's visit to the United States, drawing condemnation from Taipei. Taiwan's government strongly condemned the drills, with the defense ministry saying it had the ability, determination, and confidence to ensure national security. "The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign country and has a legitimate and legal right to conduct normal diplomatic interactions with friendly countries," it added in a statement, using the island's formal name. Taiwan's defense ministry released a short video of undated footage showing Taiwanese forces at sea, on city streets and across the countryside.

Persons: Greg Baker, William Lai's, Joseph Wu, Joe Biden Organizations: PLA Navy, Beijing, AFP, Getty Images China, Eastern Theatre Command, Mainland Affairs Council, U.S, Taiwan Locations: Taiwan, China's, Fujian, U.S, United States, Taipei . Lai, Paraguay, China, Beijing, Republic of China, South Korea, Japan

☆ Opinion: With their leader still missing, who will control Wagner forces in Africa?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Joyce M. Davis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Wagner forces appear to despise the Russian military, as Prigozhin’s reckless march from Ukraine toward Moscow made abundantly clear. That’s why when Wagner forces started withdrawing from Ukraine last month, many feared the same might happen in Africa. And who can guarantee Wagner forces won’t turn on African leaders who decide to side with Putin? “Don’t worry, we aren’t going anywhere.”It’s not as if Russia could repatriate and replace Wagner forces with verifiably loyal Russian troops — even if it wanted to. And quite frankly, Africa will only emerge better-off if democratic governments emerge after Wagner forces are shown the door.

Persons: Joyce M, Davis, CNN —, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladmir Putin, Dan Gleiter Prigozhin, Putin, Prigozihin, Putin wouldn’t, Khalifa Haftar, Faustin, Burkina Faso’s, Ibrahim Traore, Prigozhin, didn’t, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Assimi Goita, won’t, Haftar, ”, “, It’s, Sergey Kostelyanyets, ” Kostelyanyets, obeisance, Traore —, they’re, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, They’re, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Sudan’s, Wagner weren’t, Washington, Wagner “, there’s Organizations: Patriot -, World Affairs Council, CNN, Wagner Group, Wagner, Central African Republic, Burkina, Guardian, Libyan, Russian Academy of Sciences ’ Institute for African Studies, Newsweek, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Support Forces, Moscow, US Treasury Department, Twitter, Facebook, Central African Locations: Harrisburg , Pennsylvania, Africa, Crimea, Ukraine, Moscow, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Russia, Eastern Libya, Russian, Benghazi, Dubai, Touadéra, Prigozhin, Central African Republic, United States

☆ 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

Kinmen, Taiwan CNN —As the sun sets over Taiwan’s Kinmen islands, the neon lights of mainland China dazzle in the distance just 2.5 miles away. That lingering potential for invasion might make it seem like an unlikely place to construct a bridge to mainland China. Anti-invasion spikes along the coast of Taiwan's Kinmen islands. During a recent trip to Kinmen, Taiwan Vice President and DPP presidential candidate William Lai said he recognized the sacrifices of the islanders during decades of conflict. “The Taiwanese government looks at the Chinese military threat as something that cannot be accepted and we condemn it,” he added.

Persons: John Mees, Ko Wen, ”, Xi Jinping, Ho Chih, Sam Yeh, Kinmen, Yang Chien, ” Yang, “, Yang, Yang Pei, Huang Li, cheng, Tsai Ing, William Lai, Wu Chia, chiang, Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, Joseph Wu, ” Wu, Maestro Wu Tseng, Maestro Wu Organizations: Taiwan CNN —, Communist, People’s Liberation Army, CNN, Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan’s Presidential, Mainland Affairs Council, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Mainland Affairs, Russo, Getty, Communist China's, Tourism Association, Communist Party, Xi, United States, Taiwan’s, Taiwan Locations: Kinmen, Taiwan, China, Beijing, Taipei, Taiwan’s, Xiamen –, Xiamen, Chinese, Ukrainian, Russia, Taiwan's, AFP, Jinsha, “, Fujian, California, Beijing’s

☆ India, China, Brazil should be engaged in possible Ukraine peace summit -Danish foreign min
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COPENHAGEN, May 22 (Reuters) - Denmark would like to host a summit in July about how to find peace between Ukraine and Russia, but such a meeting would require engagement from India, China and Brazil, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Monday. A peace summit should not just be attended by Ukraine's allies. "It is necessary to build interest and involvement from countries like India, Brazil and China," Lokke Rasmussen said, adding that "it is hard for me to see" Russia participating in such a summit. "If Ukraine finds that the time has come to have such a meeting, that would be fantastic. And then Denmark would obviously like to host the meeting," he said.

CNN —A Taiwan-based book publisher has been placed under investigation in China on suspicion of “endangering state security,” Beijing said Tuesday amid mounting concern over his disappearance. Li’s detention comes at a tense moment in cross-strait relations, and several Taiwan citizens have been detained in China on state security grounds in recent years. CNN has reached out to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Office to inquire about Li’s citizenship status. One of them, Lam Wing-kee, has said he was kidnapped by Chinese “special forces” after crossing the border into mainland China from Hong Kong. Hong Kong used to be a hub for publishing politically sensitive books that would be banned in mainland China.

Hong Kong CNN —A Taiwan political activist has been formally arrested on suspicion of “secession” in China, more than eight months after he was detained amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said they had repeatedly reached out to mainland authorities about Yang’s detention but had not received a direct response. In 2019, he became the vice chairman of the Taiwan National Party, a fringe political party advocating Taiwan independence. Handcuffed and escortedCCTV said Yang had long advocated the idea of “Taiwan independence” and founded the Taiwan National Party to push for Taiwan to become an independent, sovereign country and a member state of the United Nations. However, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council reminded Taiwan citizens to evaluate the risks before traveling to mainland China, citing the “repeated occurrence of similar cases recently,” without elaborating on the incidents.

Postal Service for alleged religious discrimination is set for U.S. Supreme Court review on April 18, poses in an undated handout image taken at an unknown location. Postal Service over his refusal to work on Sundays gives the Supreme Court another chance to widen religious rights but also has led to a debate over whether religious people are more legally deserving than others to weekend days off from work. The court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has a track record of expanding religious rights in recent years, often siding with Christian plaintiffs. The Postal Service in 2013, in a bid to remain profitable, contracted with Amazon.com to deliver packages, including on Sundays. His absences caused tension among other carriers who had to cover his shifts, the Postal Service said.

The report - a collaboration between the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and the university - found that the school developed and taught revisionist narratives intended to conceal the systemic harm perpetuated against Indigenous people. The University of Minnesota extracted vast amounts of wealth from tribes in the region, the project's research team said on Tuesday. The report urged the university to enact policies that benefit Indigenous people, including a combination of "reparations, truth-telling, policy change, and transformative justice processes." Robert Larsen, president of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, said the report only scratched the surface of local history, which was mostly ignored in schools or not known to the general public. The University of Minnesota has over 50,000 students and 20,000 faculty and staff, according to its website.

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.

☆ San Francisco Fed leader Daly likely not a major player in SVB saga, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Steve Liesman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"She was not in the chain of command," one former Fed bank president told CNBC. "Supervisory action taken by the San Francisco Fed staff would have been cleared by Washington." Daly and Fed board officials declined to comment for this report. San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly reacts at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council Town Hall, Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 15, 2019. A review of what went wrong will likely point more heavily to Washington, its supervisory bureaucracy and the board leadership than to San Francisco.

☆ 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 to allow more China flights in show of goodwill
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, March 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan's government said on Thursday it would allow the resumption of more direct flights to China that had been stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in a show of political goodwill to Beijing despite festering military tensions. Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, currently allows direct flights to only four Chinese cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xiamen - but before the pandemic multiple Chinese cities were connected to the island. China has been pressing Taiwan to resume the flights, urging against using the pandemic as an excuse for further delay. "We also hope to build on the foundation of these resumed flights to gradually increase the exchange of goodwill gestures and cooperative interactions by both sides." Taiwan and China began regular direct flights to each other in 2009, after beginning charter flights in 2003.

☆ 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.

☆ Let's work to keep peace, China tells visiting Taiwan KMT official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A top Chinese official told a senior Taiwan opposition figure on Friday that both China's Communist Party and Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) should oppose Taiwan independence and interference by external forces. Wang Huning, the Communist Party's fourth ranked leader, told Andrew Hsia, Taiwan's opposition KMT's deputy chairman, during a meeting in Beijing that both parties should maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, Chinese state television reported. China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own and has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure to get the island to accept Chinese sovereignty. "Senior Chinese Communist Party officials must think about constructive, meaningful and pragmatic ways to handle" relations, it said in a statement. China says Tsai has to accept that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to "one China", which she has refused to do.

☆ 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 investigates TikTok for suspected illegal operations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a statement late on Sunday, Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said that on Dec. 9 a working group under the Cabinet had discovered that TikTok was suspected of "illegal commercial operations" in Taiwan. Taiwan prohibits a wide range of Chinese business operations on the island from social media platforms to its highly valued chip manufacturing industry. Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta Platforms (META.O), are the most widely used social media platforms in Taiwan. TikTok trailed its peers in Taiwan but is becoming increasingly popular among the youth, according to market research companies. Taiwan has long complained that China uses social media to spread disinformation on the island that Beijing claims as its own territory.

☆ Taiwan probes TikTok for suspected illegal operations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a statement late on Sunday, Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said that on Dec. 9 a working group under the Cabinet had discovered that TikTok was suspected of "illegal commercial operations" in Taiwan. Taiwan prohibits a wide range of Chinese business operations on the island from social media platforms to its highly valued chip manufacturing industry. Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta Platforms (META.O), are the most widely used social media platforms in Taiwan. TikTok trailed its peers in Taiwan but is becoming increasingly popular among the youth, according to market researcher companies. Taiwan has long complained that China uses social media to spread disinformation on the island that Beijing claims as its own territory.

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".

☆ Putin's 'desperation' in Ukraine is making Russia more dependent on other pariah states, top Pentagon official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Kremlin maintains close ties with China, continues to sell oil to major countries, including India, and is acquiring military hardware from Iran and North Korea. Those weapons would not necessarily be "a game changer," as Russia has already used its own missiles in Ukraine, Kahl said. Their relations have warmed amid the Ukraine war, with a record number of meetings between senior officials this year. Russia and North Korea also have longstanding ties, though Moscow has in the past kept its distance. North Korea has denied the allegations, calling it a "rumor" and saying it had no "arms dealings" with Moscow.

☆ Taiwan urges China to stop sabre-rattling and start talking
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China has stepped up military activities near democratically governed Taiwan since August, when it conductd to blockade drills around the island following a visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "We urge mainland China to lay down arms and maintain peace and stability. China has repeatedly rebuffed offers for talks on the basis of equality with mutual respect by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing views as a separatist. China considers Taiwan its own territory. Taipei says only the island's 23 million people can decide their future, and that as Taiwan has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China its sovereignty claims are void.

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