Politics

A J-10B fighter jet of the People's Liberation Army Air Force performs during the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Zhuhai Airshow in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China.
International relations

Chinese J-10 fighter jet advances on Taiwan as tensions rise

Incident marks fourth consecutive day of entry into air defense identification zone

20 June 2020
Staff members of All Nippon Airways wearing protective masks and face shields work at a boarding gate at Haneda airport in Tokyo.
International relations

Japan to restart business travel, but US and China in back of queue

Vietnam and Thailand will be first, with Australia and New Zealand up next

19 June 2020
Vietnam is anxious to resume international flights, especially those between important trade and tourist partners, in hopes of restarting its stalled economy.
Economy

Vietnam to resume flights to Guangzhou, Taiwan, Seoul and Tokyo

Hanoi to make crucial step to reach 5% GDP growth target to rise from pandemic

11 June 2020
Xi Jinping speaks after reviewing the Navy fleet in the South China Sea in April 2018: leadership demands more than brute might.
Opinion

China risks imperial overstretch with post-pandemic aggression

From Hong Kong to Himalayas, Xi Jinping seizes on disarray to expand global influence

10 June 2020
Han Kuo-yu talks to the media in Taipei in December 2019: he was neglectful of the needs of Kaohsiung.
Opinion

Taiwan mayor recall is a cautionary tale for all politicians

Citizens of Kaohsiung kicked Han Huo-yu out of office for his inattention

9 June 2020
A Filipino soldier patrols the shores of Pagasa island (Thitu Island) in the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines.
South China Sea

Philippines set to fix airstrip on South China Sea island

Manila cements maritime defense position as China expands reach

9 June 2020
Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech after her inauguration ceremony on May 20: China has succeeded only in hardening her resolve to defend Taiwan's separate identity and democracy.
Opinion

China must avoid provoking US with threats to Taiwan

Beijing's talk of aggressive 'reunification' with island risks military confrontation

7 June 2020
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, right, looks at a book with Lam Wing-kee, owner of Causeway Bay Bookstore in Taipei, on May 28.
Hong Kong protests

Taiwan braces for 'surge of refugees' from Hong Kong

But political and legal concerns force Tsai administration to move cautiously

3 June 2020
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen gives a speech to mark her inauguration for a second term on Wednesday.
Politics

Tsai seeks talks with Xi despite China contempt for Taiwan

Beijing blasts island's 'independence' push after inauguration speech

20 May 2020
Lawmakers of Japan's ruling party had pressed for more reference to Taiwan in the diplomatic bluebook. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)
20 May 2020
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has been praised domestically and internationally for her government's adroit response to the coronavirus outbreak. 
Politics

Taiwan's Tsai faces fierce China isolation campaign in new term

Pompeo says US support for self-governed island is 'unanimous'

20 May 2020
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the World Health Assembly via video link on Monday. (Nikkei screenshot) 
Coronavirus

Xi praises WHO and says vaccine will be a 'global public good'

Chinese president backs comprehensive review of coronavirus response

19 May 2020
A banner with pictures of world leaders is seen before Taiwan's Health Minister Chen Shih-chung's May 15 news conference in Taipei about Taiwan's efforts to get into the World Health Organization.
Coronavirus

US slams WHO and China for excluding Taiwan from key meeting

Pompeo accuses the global agency of playing 'politics while lives are at stake'

19 May 2020
To gain observer status at the World Health Assembly meeting, Taiwan needs a simple majority of the World Health Organization's 194 member states. But getting the necessary 98 votes will be a formidable challenge. (Nikkei Montage/Source photo by Xinhua/Kyodo and AFP/Jiji)
International relations

China seeks to deny Taiwan seat at key WHO meeting

Taipei's inclusion is backed by US, Japan and six Western nations

14 May 2020
A Taiwanese flag seen in front of an U.S. flag during a demonstration in Hong Kong.
Politics

Taiwanese favor US over China by 2-1 margin: Pew

Most still want closer economic ties with Beijing, but not among the young

12 May 2020
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference on the novel coronavirus in Geneva, Switzerland. 
International relations

WHO's Tedros has 'no mandate' to invite Taiwan, lawyer says

'Only member states' can decide who attends World Health Assembly

12 May 2020
Chen Shih-chung, the Taiwanese health minister, tells reporters that Taipei should be permitted to participate in the World Health Organization's annual assembly.
Coronavirus

'WHO is excluding us under China pressure,' Taiwan minister says

Coronavirus chief urges agency to 'show appropriate attitude'

7 May 2020
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has been granted sweeping powers that extend to controlling information on the epidemic.
Opinion

Authoritarians are using coronavirus for power grabs in Southeast Asia

From Philippines to Cambodia, politicians take powers and cash to fight pandemic

27 April 2020
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Taiwan and China are in a period of a notably adversarial relationship, and this tension is driving their diplomacy towards each other and the rest of the world. (Source photo by AFP/Jiji and AP) 
International relations

Taiwan counters China's isolation campaign with mask diplomacy

Japan is latest beneficiary of gifts that are boosting island's soft power

23 April 2020
Health workers sterilizing the streets of the South Korean city of Daegu in February. 
Coronavirus

Seoul and Taipei show the world how to contain pandemics

Decisive action, speed and penalties stand in contrast to Japan's red tape

21 April 2020
Shinzo Abe, second from right, declares state of emergency during a meeting of Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters on Apr. 7: the task force is composed of the members of his cabinet.
Opinion

Taiwan has a lot to teach Japan about coronavirus response

Shinzo Abe should have followed Tsai Ing-wen's model and recruited experts

20 April 2020
President Donald Trump, joined by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his daughter Ivanka Trump, an adiviser, participates in a video conference with banking executives on April 7 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. (Photo courtesy of the White House)
International relations

Trump says WHO ignored Taiwan's warning on coronavirus

President attacks organization with Biden's China links in mind

18 April 2020
A man enters a hospital where a special ward has been set up for COVID-19 patients in Mumbai.
18 April 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump put funding to the WHO on hold during a review. It is uncertain when the money will be provided once again.
Comment

Trump's freeze of WHO funding hands China a win

Move only increases Beijing's clout in Asia, Middle East and Africa

16 April 2020
A woman wearing a face mask stands at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic. Earlier this month, Taiwan inked an official partnership with the Czech Republic on fighting COVID-19 -- its first such arrangement. 
International relations

Taiwan sees doors open in Europe as virus response earns respect

Taipei reaches out to Czechs and others while pandemic hurts China's reputation

13 April 2020