Former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT set out for a twelve-day trip to China on Monday. This proves Ma’s first trip to China, though Ma previously met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Singapore in November 2015...
Honduras and Taiwan officially broke ties today after several weeks of speculation. This began after Honduran president Xiomara Castro announced on March 14th her government’s intention to break ties with Taiwan and establish ties with China, stating that she had instructed Honduras’ foreign minister to begin this process...
Honduran president Xiomara Castro surprised last week with a tweet announcing that she had instructed her country’s foreign ministry to begin the process of switching recognition to China. This would mean that Taiwan loses one of its diplomatic allies shortly before a planned trip to visit Central American allies by President Tsai Ing-wen, which would involve a stopover in the US. It is expected that Tsai will speak at the Hudson Institute and meet with US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy as part of this trip...
The possibility of the US establishing an arms stockpile in Taiwan under the provisions of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act has been increasingly discussed in Taiwan. In particular, proponents of such measures and opponents of such measures often divide between the pan-Blue and pan-Green camps...
Controversy over the General Mobilization Act has led the Ministry of Defense to drop planned amendments, particularly following a wave of criticism from the pan-Blue camp. The Ministry of Defense now states that it will revise the act with further input, before it takes any action...
A recent visit to Taiwan last week by Paraguayan president Mario Abdo Benitez saw Abdo emphasize that breaking ties between Taiwan and Paraguay would be a “historic mistake”. Namely, Paraguay is one of Taiwan’s 14 remaining diplomatic allies, and it's only South American ally. However, the Abdo visit takes place ahead of Paraguayan presidential elections in April, leading to questions about whether Abdo’s successor will switch recognition to China...
Cabinet spokesperson Chen Tsung-yen has resigned after reports that he traded his political influence for sexual favors during his time as head of the Tainan City Bureau of Civil Affairs. Chen had only held his post as cabinet spokesperson for 18 days, as a result of which he has been termed the shortest cabinet spokesperson in history. Despite resigning, Chen has denied wrongdoing. Chen’s resignation has since been approved by Premier Chen Chien-jen...
The Tainan city council speaker, Chiu Lili, and deputy city council speaker Lin Zhi-chan, were detained earlier this month by police under suspicion of corruption. Both are DPP politicians. Chiu was eventually released on 1.5 million NT bail, while Lin was released on 1.2 million NT bail, with Chiu asserting afterward that she respected the judiciary’s actions and apologizing for making supporters worry...
The Tsai administration has sought to tout a phone call between President Tsai Ing-wen and Petr Pavel, the president-elect of the Czech Republic, as a diplomatic breakthrough. Namely, this signals stronger ties between Taiwan and the central European country...
Western experts and military officials continue to issue dates for a prospective invasion of Taiwan. The latest such example is a claim by General Mike Minihan of the US Air Force that he believed a war would occur between the US and China over Taiwan in 2025, in a memo that was obtained by the media...
