Lawmaker pushes for GNC probe over Chinese ownership and military base access
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
China rallies for opposition as Taiwan gears up for mass parliamentary recall
TAIPEI, July 22 (Reuters) - As Taiwan gears up for a recall vote that could reshape its parliament, opposition lawmakers being challenged at the ballot box are getting two unusual supporters: Chinese officials and state media outlets rallying to their cause. While President Lai Ching-te won the election last year, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its legislative majority. The opposition has flexed its muscles since then to pass laws the government has opposed and impose budget cuts, complicating efforts to boost defence spending in particular. The political drama has been happening against a backdrop of China ramping up its own military and diplomatic pressure campaign against Taiwan to assert territorial claims Lai and his government resolutely reject. Lai has offered talks with Beijing many times, but been rebuffed. Civic groups formally started the recall campaign earlier this year, and on Saturday voters will decide on the fate of 24 lawmakers from Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), around one-fifth of all lawmakers. The recall groups say theirs is an "anti-communist" movement, accusing the KMT of selling out Taiwan by sending lawmakers to China, not supporting defence spending, and bringing chaos to parliament. The KMT rejects those accusations, denouncing Lai's "dictatorship" and "green terror" - the DPP's party colour. China has not sat quietly on the sidelines, to the KMT's unease, ever wary of being "painted red" by its opponents. In June, two senior Chinese officials overseeing Taiwan policy denounced the recalls as a "political scheme" of Lai's. Lai is "engaging in dictatorship under the guise of democracy" and "using every means possible to suppress the opposition," China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian told a news briefing in June. Taiwanese tycoon Robert Tsao, one of the most prominent recall campaigners, said such comments would only support their cause. "It shows they (the KMT) are together with the communist party. It helps us," he told reporters at a campaign event on Monday. The KMT says it neither asked for nor wants China's support, can't control what China says, and that it is not pro-Beijing. "We feel the same way as all the people of Taiwan - this is our business. It is the two parties, the DPP and the KMT, fighting for public support, for public recognition. It has nothing to do with the mainland," party spokesperson Crystal Yang told Reuters. Chinese state media outlets and their affiliated social media accounts published some 425 articles or videos describing the recall campaign as "dictatorship" or "green terror" in the first half of 2025, according to Taiwan research organisation IORG, which analyses Chinese state media. In an April commentary, China's ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily said Lai was "presumptuously abusing the recall system to crack down on the opposition party, attempting to establish a 'green dictatorship.'" Pointing to the similarity between China and the KMT's arguments against the recalls, Wu Szu-yao, secretary general of the DPP's legislative caucus, said Beijing is "offering ammunition" to the KMT to sway voters. "China is really concerned that the mass recall will be successful and win the support of Taiwan's public," she said. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. The KMT says its China engagement is vital given Beijing's refusal to talk to Lai, who it says is a "separatist", and to advocate for Taiwan's interests, such as promoting agricultural exports. "This is an unfair criticism," Tony Lin, chair of the KMT's Culture and Communication Committee, said, referring to the accusations they are pro-Beijing. "What we have always stressed is that we are pro-communication." The KMT hopes people will turn out to also express their dissatisfaction with Lai, whom they say is incompetent and has stoked tensions with China. "The DPP uses its overwhelming propaganda network to bring up a sense of fear (about China) in Taiwan society," said Huang Kwei-bo, a professor of diplomacy at Taipei's National Chengchi University and a former KMT deputy secretary general.
NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
Washington says China will not let U.S. government employee leave the country
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department said Monday that the Chinese government had blocked a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee visiting the Asian country in a personal capacity from leaving. 'We are tracking this case very closely and are engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,' a State Department spokesperson said. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is part of the federal Department of Commerce. The individual's name and whether the person was detained were not disclosed. The Chinese Embassy in Washington and the U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Washington Post reported Sunday that a U.S. citizen who works for the Commerce Department had traveled to China several months ago to visit family. The man was being prevented from leaving the country after he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government, the newspaper said, citing sources. Beijing has used exit bans on both Chinese and foreign nationals in connection with civil disputes, regulatory enforcement and criminal investigations. Analysts say the tactic is at times used to crack down on local dissent and also as diplomatic leverage in disputes with other nations. Washington and Beijing have had friction for years over issues ranging from tariffs to Taiwan and the origins of Covid-19. Chenyue Mao, a Wells Fargo banker, has also been blocked from leaving China. Beijing's foreign ministry said Monday that she was involved in a criminal case and obliged to cooperate with an investigation. Mao is the latest of several executives from foreign corporations to be stopped as they tried to depart China. The U.S. bank suspended all employee travel to China after Mao's exit ban, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week, saying Mao was a U.S. citizen.
Reuters
13 hours ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Agnellis in talks over Iveco sale, Tata Motors has made approach, sources say
MILAN, July 18 (Reuters) - Italy's Agnelli family is in talks over the possible sale of truck maker Iveco ( opens new tab, three sources told Reuters, with two mentioning Tata Motors ( opens new tab as a potential buyer. India's Tata Motors has approached Exor ( opens new tab, the Agnellis' investment company, over its controlling stake in Iveco Group, two of the sources said. A sale would not include Iveco's IDV defence business. Exor and Iveco declined to comment. Tata Motors did not reply to a request for comment. Shares in Iveco jumped as much as 9.7% on the Milan bourse following the news published by Reuters. The stock ended trading up 8.3% on Friday. Italian trade unions also reacted to the Reuters report, asking Industry Minister Adolfo Urso to be summoned to discuss the company's prospects. Iveco said in May it would press ahead with plans to either spin off its defence business by the end of 2025 or sell it, having already received offers from potential buyers. A third source said that, as the separation process of the defence unit was progressing, Exor had started talks with more than one non-European counterpart over a possible sale. The talks over the sale of Iveco and Tata Motors' approach have not been reported before. Exor owns a 27.1% stake in Iveco, with 43.1% of voting rights in the Turin-based truck maker. Iveco, which also makes buses and engines, has a market capitalisation of around 4.2 billion euros ($4.9 billion). It is the smallest among Europe's leading truck makers - a market led by Volvo ( opens new tab, Daimler ( opens new tab and Traton ( opens new tab - and has often been seen as a potential M&A candidate by investors and analysts. However, its presence in the sensitive business of defence has so far complicated any possible deal and restricted the pool of potential buyers. The Italian government in 2021 blocked an offer for Iveco from Chinese rival FAW. Iveco was at that time part of the Agnelli-controlled industrial conglomerate CNH (CNH.N), opens new tab. It was spun off and separately listed at the beginning of 2022. Iveco has received three offers for its defence business, according to two sources: a joint one from Italian defence company Leonardo ( opens new tab and Germany's Rheinmetall ( opens new tab, and two others from Franco-German tank maker KNDS and arms company Czechoslovak Group. These offers value IDV at up to 1.9 billion euros, according to Bloomberg. Iveco employs around 36,000 people, including 14,000 in Italy. Any M&A transaction involving Iveco is expected to fall under Rome's 'golden power' legislation, allowing it to set conditions on deals affecting companies deemed of national strategic interest. ($1 = 0.8590 euros)
