Latest news with #Kinmen
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Terrified passengers film plane's engine cover breaking apart mid-air
This is the moment terrified passengers watched on as a plane's engine cover broke apart mid-air. Shocking footage shows the metal panel of the ATR 72-600 aircraft flapping violently, exposing the internal engine components on Friday, May 16 over Taiwan. The incident occurred shortly after takeoff from Kaohsiung International Airport. Passengers on board Mandarin Airlines flight AE301, bound for Kinmen, became alarmed when the plane began to shake from the issue with the turbopropeller engine. The pilots quickly declared an in-flight emergency and returned the aircraft to Kaohsiung, where it landed safely. An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause.
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Chinese men attempt to enter Taiwan on makeshift rafts
Authorities in Taiwan have arrested two Chinese nationals after they sailed over on makeshift rafts and attempted to sneak ashore. The incident, the third of its kind this month alone, occurred on Tuesday and coincided with the one-year anniversary of William Lai, Taiwan's president, taking office. The two men were apprehended while trying to land on Erdan Island, which is part of Taiwan's Kinmen county and a mere three miles from the Chinese coast. Images released by the Taiwan coast guard show a man holding a paddle and kneeling a polystyrene board, which he reportedly launched from a traditional wooden boat known as a sampan. The suspects could face a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to NT$500,000 (£12,420). The coast guard said that there has been a 'recent surge in the number of cases in which the Chinese Communist Party has used small targets to harass Taiwan ' and Taiwanese authorities have not ruled out that Beijing could be using 'illegal immigration by boats to conduct cognitive warfare '. Earlier this month, a Chinese influencer who goes by the name Shandong Kaige travelled from China to Taiwan on a motorised dinghy. In one video from the water, he claimed that he was 'entrusted with a mission' to 'safeguard the island of Taiwan ' and ensure its 'return to the motherland'. In a separate clip posted later on land, he showed off a Chinese flag, which he said he planted 'on this territory so beloved by the motherland'. He claimed to have left later the same day. In a separate incident last week, a Chinese father and his teenage son landed in Taoyuan, a city south of Taipei that hosts the capital's main airport, after crossing more than 100 kilometres from China's Fujian province in a small rubber dinghy. They claimed to be victims of persecution and wanted to 'seek freedom' in Taiwan. The coastguard claimed it had not been able to detect the boat because it was too small to be picked up on their radar technology. At least 40 people have been picked up by the coast guard since the start of the year, although it is unclear how many have come from China.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Taiwan arrests men who travelled from China in small boat
Taiwanese authorities have arrested two Chinese nationals who sailed over in a small boat and attempted to land on an is the third incident this month in which Chinese nationals appear to have reached Taiwan by boat, stoking security has accused Chinese authorities of using these incidents to "harass" them. Beijing has yet to respond, nor has it commented on the recent considers itself a sovereign country, but China views it as one of its provinces and has not ruled out the possibility of using force to claim it. The Taiwanese coastguard said in a statement they had detected the two men sailing into their waters on a sampan, or a small wooden boat, in the early hours of men were caught "launching a styrofoam float" from their Chinese-registered sampan in the waters off Erdan released by the coastguard appear to show a man kneeling on a small floating board with a paddle in his is part of Taiwan's Kinmen district, which is a mere 5km (3 miles) from the Chinese was on high alert for possible threats from China on the day the men were apprehended: the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of Taiwanese president William Lai, whom Beijing week a Chinese father and his teenage son landed in Taoyuan on the northern tip of Taiwan's main island, after crossing over in a small rubber were raised about how they managed to travel more than 100km across the Taiwan Strait - one of the most heavily patrolled patches in the region and a busy international shipping lane - without being coastguard confirmed the landing occurred on 16 May, but admitted that they had not detected the boat before it landed as it was too small to be picked up on their radar father and son, who were from the southern Chinese province of Fujian, reportedly claimed they were victims of persecution in China and wanted to "seek freedom" in another case that has stoked worries, a Chinese social media influencer posted several clips online appearing to show that he had travelled across the Taiwan Strait and landed on a beach, also in influencer, who goes by the nickname Shandong Kaige, claimed he had set off from Fujian on 15 May and travelled for about nine hours on a motorised rubber dinghy. He was seen next to a Chinese flag on a beach, which he claimed he had planted "on this territory so beloved by the motherland".Taiwanese authorities have analysed the footage and concluded that it was authentic. They confirmed the man had landed in Taoyuan, but said they were still investigating whether the man had travelled by boat across the strait or had flown into caught illegally entering Taiwan can face up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 500,000 Taiwanese dollars (£12,300; $1,600).Taiwan used to see thousands of Chinese attempting to enter illegally every year, particularly in the 1990s when Taiwan's booming economy attracted impoverished Chinese looking for work. While overall numbers are much lower now, there appears to be an uptick in recent years, according to official figures published in Taiwanese were 15 Chinese caught in 2023, and while there are no available figures for the whole of last year, 23 were caught between June and January this year the coastguard has caught about 40 people including the men in Tuesday's case - although it is not known how many of those were from Tuesday, the coastguard said there has been a "recent surge in the number of cases in which the Chinese Communist Party has used small targets to harass Taiwan" as part of its greyzone authorities have not ruled out that Beijing would "use illegal immigration by boats to conduct cognitive warfare", the coastguard has also said there is an "urgent need" to upgrade its surveillance technology to combat these say that China has been using greyzone tactics, which are manoeuvres that fall short of an invasion and exist in a grey area, to weaken Taiwan over a prolonged period. These include Chinese warplanes and coastguard boats repeatedly entering Taiwan's airspace and waters. More recently, Taiwanese authorities have alleged that Chinese-linked commercial ships have been deliberately damaging Taiwan's undersea communication reporting by Ian Tang
CNA
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Taiwan says 'willing' to talk to China as island boosts defences
TAIPEI: Taiwan is prepared to talk to China as equals but will continue to build up its defences, the island's President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday (May 20) as he marked his first year in office. Lai, a staunch defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and detested by Beijing, delivered remarks on the need "to prepare for war to avoid war" and also bolster the island's economic resilience. After promising to stand up to China and defend democracy at his inauguration, Lai insisted Taiwan was "willing" to communicate with Beijing if there was "parity and dignity". China has rebuffed Lai's previous offers to talk. "Peace is priceless and there are no winners in war," Lai said, but added "we cannot have illusions" and vowed to continue "to strengthen our national defence capabilities". Taiwan will "actively cooperate with international allies, shoulder to shoulder to exert the power of deterrence, to prepare for war to avoid war, and to achieve the goal of peace," Lai told journalists. China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it, has held several rounds of large-scale military drills around the island since Lai took office. Taiwan's coast guard warned on Monday that China may use "cognitive warfare" to "disrupt public morale" around Lai's anniversary. Shortly before Lai's remarks, Taiwanese coast guard personnel arrested two Chinese nationals "attempting to sneak onto" an island in the Taiwan-administered Kinmen archipelago, several kilometres off China's mainland. As Taiwan comes under pressure from Washington to move more factories to US soil and reduce their trade imbalance, Lai said Taiwan would not "put all our eggs in one basket". Taiwan would increase its economic resilience by diversifying markets and boosting domestic demand. Lai also announced plans to set up a sovereign wealth fund to "boost Taiwan's economic momentum", but did not provide details about its size. The president has seen his first term in the top job engulfed in domestic political turmoil as opposition parties, which control the parliament, seek to stymie his agenda. FALLING APPROVAL RATING The main opposition Kuomintang party (KMT) has called Lai a "dictator" and accused him of pushing Taiwan closer to war with China, while Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suggests the KMT is a tool of Beijing. On Tuesday, Lai said the government wanted to "strengthen cooperation among political parties" and that his national security team would start providing "important" briefings to the opposition. The KMT said the island's challenges "cannot be solved after holding one briefing", but acknowledged Lai had "finally tried to take a small step" towards resolving frictions. "We also hope that President Lai will have more courage and take a big step to stop judicial persecution and political hatred," KMT said in a statement. Analysts said Lai's remarks were more restrained than in previous speeches, which have drawn criticism from Beijing. "Lai is dialling down the messaging and keeping Taiwan's head low to avoid getting into anybody's crosshairs amid this geopolitical uncertainty," Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, told AFP. Lai has seen his approval rating fall to 45.9 per cent from 58 per cent nearly a year ago, according to a survey by Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation in April. His disapproval rating rose to 45.7 per cent - the highest since he took office - which the polling group linked to the Lai government's handling of US tariffs on Taiwan and the DPP's unprecedented recall campaign targeting the opposition. DPP supporters are seeking to unseat around 30 KMT lawmakers through a legal process that allows legislators to be removed before the end of their term. The DPP only needs to win six seats to wrest back control of parliament.
South China Morning Post
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Plane engine cover falls apart mid-air during Taiwan flight
A flight heading from southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung to Kinmen was forced to return after a panel covering the plane's engine came loose mid-air.
