Taiwan should plan to diversify its economy away from semiconductors, given the risk that China might develop the capacity to make its own chips, Paul Cavey, an economist at East Asia Econ, told CNBC. “Politicians really should be discussing more on … diversifying the economy away in terms of trying to encourage more industries to … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave You’re reading an excerpt from the Today’s WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest free, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox every weekday. It was supposed to be a fateful handshake. In 2015, Chinese President … Read more
BANGKOK — Beijing’s threats to use force to claim self-governed Taiwan aren’t just about missiles and warships. Hard economic realities will be at play as voters head to the polls Saturday, though the relationship is complicated. The economy has slowed since the pandemic, with growth in 2023 estimated at only 1.4%. That partly reflects inevitable … Read more
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Using military threats, diplomatic pressure, fake news and financial inducements for politicians, China is being accused of deploying a broad strategy to influence voters in Taiwan’s elections to pick candidates who favor unification. China’s ultimate goal is to take control of the self-governing island democracy, whose high-tech economy supplies key components for … Read more
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s Defense Ministry issued an alert Tuesday saying China has launched a satellite and urging caution days before the island’s elections. Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday that China has described as a choice between war and peace. The bilingual alert sent to residents’ mobile phones cautioned in English that … Read more
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s presidential candidates expressed desire for peaceful relations with Beijing, which has described Jan. 13 elections on the self-ruled island as a choice between war and peace and stepped up harassment of the territory it claims as own. William Lai, the frontrunner and currently Taiwan’s vice president from the ruling Democratic People’s … Read more
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s sovereignty and independence belong to its people, the frontrunner to be its next president said on Saturday in an often testy debate with the other two candidates dominated by arguments over China and tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are happening as China has stepped … Read more
The lobby of Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry contains just 13 flags—one for each of the self-ruling island’s diplomatic allies. Since 1990, the building’s janitors have hauled away 15 more belonging to nations that have been persuaded to jettison Taipei and instead recognize Beijing, as the world’s No. 2 economy flexes its geopolitical muscle to isolate what … Read more
A hastily assembled press briefing at Taipei’s Grand Hyatt Hotel descended into chaos on Thursday evening, as some of Taiwan’s most recognizable political figures bickered in front of reporters and millions of viewers on live television, hurling playground insults and reading private text messages aloud. The acrimonious meeting, an eleventh-hour attempt at cobbling together a … Read more
More than once when William Lai was a small boy, a passing typhoon blew the roof of his home clean away. It’s a recollection that brings a wry smile to Taiwan’s vice president, who grew up in the small coalmining hamlet of Wanli perched on the island’s far north. Lai’s father died in an accident … Read more