logo
China 'clearly' trying to interfere in Taiwan's democracy, Taipei says before recall vote

China 'clearly' trying to interfere in Taiwan's democracy, Taipei says before recall vote

Straits Times6 days ago
TAIPEI - China is "clearly" trying to interfere in Taiwan's democracy and it is up to Taiwan's people to decide who should be removed from or stay in office, the island's government said on Wednesday ahead of a recall vote for around one-fifth of lawmakers.
On Saturday, Taiwan voters will decide on the fate of 24 lawmakers from Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), in a recall campaign started by civic groups who accuse the lawmakers of cozying up to Beijing, which views the island as its own territory.
The KMT denies being pro-Beijing, but says it needs to keep lines of communication with China open, and has denounced the recalls as a "malicious" attack on democracy that does not respect the results of last year's parliamentary election.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office and Chinese state media have repeatedly commented on the recall vote and used some of the same talking points as the Kuomintang, Reuters reported this week.
In a post on Facebook citing the Reuters report and research by Taiwan's IORG, which analyses Chinese state media reports, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said it "rejects the Chinese Communist Party's intervention".
"The Chinese Communist Party's attempt to interfere with Taiwan's democratic operation is evident and clear," it said.
"Recall in Taiwan is a civil right guaranteed by the constitution, and it is up to the people of Taiwan to decide who should or should not be removed from office."
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore S'pore's domestic recycling rate drops to all time low of 11%
Singapore HDB launches 10,209 BTO and balance flats, as priority scheme for singles kick in
Business Singapore's digital banks finding their niche in areas like SMEs as they narrow losses in 2024
Asia Japan Prime Minister Ishiba to resign by August, Mainichi newspaper reports
World Trump says US will charge 19% tariff on goods from Philippines, down from 20%
Singapore Two found dead after fire in Toa Payoh flat
Singapore 2 foreigners arrested for shop theft at Changi Airport
Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving
China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. It has also not responded to questions submitted last week by Reuters about the recall and whether China was seeking to interfere in the outcome.
The recall campaign has been happening against a backdrop of China ramping up its own military and diplomatic pressure campaign against Taiwan to assert territorial claims that Taiwan resolutely rejects. REUTERS
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'Partisans' who paralyzed Russian airports have track record of disruptive hacks
'Partisans' who paralyzed Russian airports have track record of disruptive hacks

Straits Times

time13 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

'Partisans' who paralyzed Russian airports have track record of disruptive hacks

FILE PHOTO: An Aeroflot passenger plane descends before landing at the Sheremetyevo international airport outside Moscow, Russia, August 23, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo WASHINGTON - One of the groups claiming responsibility for the digital sabotage at Aeroflot, Russia's flagship airline, has a track record of disruptive hacks. The Belarusian Cyber Partisans – a long-established group sworn to overthrow Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – joined with a more obscure group known as Silent Crow to claim responsibility for the crippling intrusion at Aeroflot that canceled dozens of flights on Monday and led to travel disruptions across Russia. First emerging in 2020 in the wake of mass demonstrations against Lukashenko's reelection, the Cyber Partisans have claimed responsibility for a series of eye-catching hacks, including the defacement of Belarusian state media sites, repeated thefts of law enforcement data, and a 2022 attack against Belarusian Railway that they said had interfered with freight travel. Last year, the group claimed repeated attacks on fertilizer complex Grodno Azot, where they said they had tampered with the operations of the plant's boiler. Reuters has not been able to independently authenticate all the group's claims or measure its disruptive impact, but the data stolen by the hackers has in the past been cross-checked and validated by groups such as Bellingcat, the open source investigators. Yuliana Shemetovets, a spokesperson for the Cyber Partisans, told Reuters on Monday that she operates from the United States and said the group consisted of around 30 core members, mostly operating from outside of Belarus. Silent Crow has a lower profile. It has claimed responsibility for attacks this year on a Russian real estate database, a state telecoms company, a large insurance firm, the Moscow government's IT department, and the Russian office of South Korean carmaker KIA. Russian cybersecurity firm has been tracking Silent Crow as a politically motivated group, active since mid-2022, with potential links to multiple pro-Ukrainian hacker groups, according to an entry in public database. Ukraine and Russia have been at war since Russia invaded in February 2022. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Cambodia, Thailand agree to 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' to de-escalate border row Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Road recovery works progressing steadily, tests under way Singapore ST Explains: What we know about the Tanjong Katong sinkhole so far Singapore Foreign workers who rescued woman from sinkhole given tokens of appreciation Sport Gan Ching Hwee breaks 2 national records, qualifies for World Aquatics C'ships 1,500m final Asia Gunman kills 5 near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life Business SIA Q1 profit falls 59%; airline group sees volatile times ahead Singapore Man exposed daughter's identity despite court order after she was removed from his care Reuters was unable to immediately contact Silent Crow and did not immediately return a request seeking comment. Members of the Belarusian Cyber Partisans may also have pro-Ukraine ties. In June, researchers with Russian anti-virus firm Kaspersky said they had identified a suspected member of the group active in a Telegram group devoted to the "IT Army of Ukraine," a group of pro-Ukrainian hackers backed by the government in Kyiv. Shemetovets told Reuters that there was no collaboration between the Cyber Partisans and any state security or intelligence services as part of the attack on Aeroflot. Andrii Baranovych, a fixture of the Ukrainian hacker scene, said independent groups often hand stolen data over to Ukraine's intelligence service but that as far as he was aware there was no state backing for the attack on Aeroflot. REUTERS

Taiwan's Lai set to push back U.S. stopover as U.S.-China trade talks continue, sources say
Taiwan's Lai set to push back U.S. stopover as U.S.-China trade talks continue, sources say

Straits Times

time13 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

Taiwan's Lai set to push back U.S. stopover as U.S.-China trade talks continue, sources say

FILE PHOTO: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech on anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe in Taipei, Taiwan May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo WASHINGTON/TAIPEI - Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te is set to delay a diplomatically sensitive trip his team had floated to the Trump administration for August that would have included stops in the United States, according to three people familiar with the matter. Such a trip was bound to infuriate Beijing at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to negotiate a deal on trade with China. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim Taiwan rejects, and regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington. The trip, which could have included visits to Guatemala, Belize and Paraguay, was never formally confirmed but had been discussed with the governments involved, according to a person familiar with the matter. Lai had considered stopping in New York and Dallas on the way to and from Latin America. Lai is set to delay the trip until at least later this year for a handful of reasons, including the need to organize his government's response to extreme weather in Taiwan, one of the sources said. Two of the sources also pinned the delay on the ongoing U.S. tariff talks with Taipei and Beijing, respectively. Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials huddled in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday to resume talks. The White House and China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Taiwan's Presidential Office was not immediately available for comment late on Monday night. "There's no such thing as cancelling the trip. In fact, further arrangement for the trip will be made later this year," according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who said stopovers were likely to include Texas and another city in the U.S. mainland. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Cambodia, Thailand agree to 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' to de-escalate border row Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Road recovery works progressing steadily, tests under way Singapore ST Explains: What we know about the Tanjong Katong sinkhole so far Singapore Foreign workers who rescued woman from sinkhole given tokens of appreciation Sport Gan Ching Hwee breaks 2 national records, qualifies for World Aquatics C'ships 1,500m final Asia Gunman kills 5 near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life Business SIA Q1 profit falls 59%; airline group sees volatile times ahead Singapore Man exposed daughter's identity despite court order after she was removed from his care Responding to media inquiries earlier on Monday, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo said once the president's overseas visit itinerary is finalized, it will be announced to the public in a timely manner. "However, considering the recent typhoon disaster recovery efforts in southern Taiwan, the U.S.-Taiwan reciprocal tariff measures and regional developments, the president currently has no plans for overseas visits in the near future," Kuo said. LOWERING TENSIONS The decision comes as Trump has tried to lower tensions with Chinese President Xi Jinping and potentially have a summit in Asia with him this autumn. Lai has yet to visit the U.S. since Trump took office in January, though late last year he stopped over in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam while visiting the Pacific. The U.S., like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. Washington is the island's top arms supplier. China has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future. Taiwan says it is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name. Trump administration spokespeople have previously said "transits of the United States by high-level Taiwan officials, including presidents, are in line with past practice, and fully consistent with our longstanding policy." China's Foreign Ministry has previously condemned what it has called "sneaky visits" to the U.S. by Taiwanese leaders under any pretext. They have said the U.S. must understand how sensitive the Taiwan issue is and act with the utmost caution. REUTERS

Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries
Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries

Straits Times

time43 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries

A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at a port under the Port Authority of Thailand, following the announcement that U.S. President Donald Trump would impose tariffs of 36% on goods from Thailand starting on August 1, in Bangkok, Thailand, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo TURNBERRY, Scotland - President Donald Trump said on Monday most trading partners that do not negotiate separate trade deals would soon face tariffs of 15% to 20% on their exports to the United States, well above the broad 10% tariff he imposed in April. Trump told reporters his administration will notify some 200 countries soon of their new "world tariff" rate. "I would say it'll be somewhere in the 15 to 20% range," Trump told reporters, sitting alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his luxury golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. "Probably one of those two numbers." Trump, who has vowed to end decades of U.S. trade deficits by imposing tariffs on nearly all trading partners, has already announced higher rates of up to 50% on some countries, including Brazil, starting on Friday. The announcements have spurred feverish negotiations by a host of countries seeking lower tariff rates, including India, Pakistan, Canada, and Thailand, among others. The U.S. president on Sunday clinched a huge trade deal with the European Union that includes a 15% tariff on most EU goods, $600 billion of investments in the U.S. by European firms, and $750 billion in energy purchases over the next three years. That followed a $550-billion deal with Japan last week and smaller agreements with Britain, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Other talks are ongoing, including with India, but prospects have dimmed for many more agreements before Friday, Trump's deadline for deals before higher rates take effect. Trump has repeatedly said he favors straightforward tariff rates over complex negotiations. "We're going to be setting a tariff for essentially, the rest of the world," he said again on Monday. "And that's what they're going to pay if they want to do business in the United States. Because you can't sit down and make 200 deals." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday trade talks with the U.S. were at an intense phase, conceding that his country was still hoping to walk away with a tariff rate below the 35% announced by Trump on some Canadian imports. Carney conceded this month that Canada - which sends 75% of its exports to the United States - would likely have to accept some tariffs. REUTERS

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store