Latest news with #TsaiIngwen
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Risk of military mishap rising as PLA steps up ‘salami slicing': former Taiwan minister
The risks of a cross-strait military accident are on the rise as Beijing steps up pressure on Taiwan, a former Taiwanese defence official has warned, citing the lack of direct communication channels between the two sides. Advertisement Andrew Yang Nien-dzu, who served as Taiwan's deputy defence minister for four years and briefly held the role of minister, spoke to the South China Morning Post on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue , Asia's premier security conference. Yang raised concerns over the increasing 'grey zone operations' by Beijing, including the more frequent activities by its coastguard forces near Taiwan. These were more difficult to handle, he said, as they 'are not actually military operations but carry a military message .' 'Although there have not been accidental conflicts [between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait], this kind of activity has placed immense pressure on us,' he said. Yang also voiced concerns about the lack of official communication between Beijing and Taipei since 2016. Advertisement Exchanges were suspended that year after the previous Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen took office and refused to accept the one-China principle. Formal talks remain halted under current leader William Lai Ching-te who, like Tsai, is from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Taiwan's leader wants dialogue with China, but warns of need for stronger defences
Taiwan's president William Lai has marked his first year in office with an offer of dialogue to Beijing and a warning that the self-governing island must strengthen its defences. Mr Lai said he wanted co-operation, but it must be a dialogue of equals, free of coercion. 'I, too, am committed to peace. Because peace is priceless and war has no winners. But when it comes to seeking peace, we cannot have dreams or illusions,' he said. 'Taiwan is happy to have exchanges and co-operation with China as long as there is reciprocal dignity. Using exchanges to replace hemming in, dialogue to replace confrontation.' READ MORE Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and describes Mr Lai as a separatist, has stepped up military drills around the island since he took office last year. Mr Lai has taken a more assertive approach to cross-strait relations than his more predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, initiating a security crackdown on advocates for closer ties with the mainland. His government last March deported three Chinese women, all of whom were married to Taiwanese men, for advocating unification with the mainland by force. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated in the capital Taipei last month, accusing Mr Lai of attempting to initiate a dictatorship and to eliminate democratic freedoms. He has seen his approval rating fall as he struggles with a parliament where his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not command a majority, with added pressure in the form of an uncertain geopolitical landscape. The United States has long been Taiwan's strongest unofficial ally, but Donald Trump has accused the island, which leads the world in producing advanced semiconductors, of 'stealing' the US's microchip industry. Mr Trump announced a 32 per cent 'reciprocal' tariff on Taiwan before suspending it for 90 days, along with those on most other countries. On Tuesday Mr Lai played down the implications of Mr Trump's action, which has fuelled fears on the island that the US president could abandon Taiwan as part of a grand bargain with Beijing. 'There are bound to be frictions between friends, but they can eventually be reconciled,' Mr Lai said. 'Even if there are differences of opinion, as long as there is a foundation of trust and sincere dialogue, they can understand each other better and deepen their friendship.' Mr Lai said the Taiwan government would support firms adversely affected by the tariffs. He also announced the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund to help companies expand globally as part of an effort to counteract Beijing's campaign to discourage its trading partners from doing business with Taiwan. Mr Lai extended an olive branch to the opposition, announcing that he would instruct his national security team to brief the chairs of the main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP). The KMT said that one briefing would not solve the island's problems, but it acknowledged that the president had taken 'a small step' towards easing frictions. 'We also hope that president Lai will have more courage and take a big step to stop judicial persecution and political hatred,' the party said. The KMT, which favours a warmer relationship with Beijing, holds most local government positions as well as controlling the national parliament with the help of the TPP. Mr Lai's DPP needs to win six seats to regain a parliamentary majority and it has used Taiwan's expansive electoral recall legislation to attempt to unseat 30 KMT legislators. The KMT targeted 15 DPP legislators for a recall vote, but its campaign ran into controversy amid reports that party activists had forged the signatures of dead people in the petition.
Free Malaysia Today
19-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
China respects Denmark's sovereignty on Greenland, says foreign minister
Beijing criticised Denmark for hosting former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen last week. (AP pic) BEIJING : China fully respects Denmark's sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Greenland issue, foreign minister Wang Yi told his Danish counterpart today, urging the European nation to reciprocate over China's own sovereignty concerns. US President Donald Trump has in recent months insisted that Washington should take over the strategically located, semi-autonomous Danish territory. Beijing hopes Denmark will 'continue to support China's legitimate position on issues concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity', Wang told Denmark's foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen in Beijing today, according to a ministry statement. The meeting took place after Beijing criticised Denmark for hosting former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen last week, who met Danish lawmakers and gave a speech at a democracy summit in Copenhagen. China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claim. Ties between China and Denmark are challenged by the latter's informal relations with Taiwan and hit a low point in 2009 when the Dalai Lama visited Copenhagen. But relations improved after Denmark accepted China's offer of two pandas as part of its so-called 'panda diplomacy'. Both countries' cooperation has a large focus on green solutions, with Denmark's expertise in wind power and environmental solutions matching China's appetite for the green transition. China is willing to deepen economic and trade cooperation with Denmark, as well as cooperation in scientific innovation and the green economy, Wang told Rasmussen. The two sides share a widespread consensus on safeguarding multilateralism and defending free trade, he said, adding that China is willing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with the EU.
CNA
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Danish minister heads to China, days after Taiwan ex-leader's contested Denmark trip
COPENHAGEN: Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen will travel to China on Saturday (May 17) for high-level meetings, just days after a visit by former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to Copenhagen drew strong condemnation from Beijing. Rasmussen is due to meet China's foreign minister Wang Yi and trade minister Wang Wentao on a three-day visit marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, a Danish foreign ministry statement said on Thursday. The visit comes after Tsai Ing-wen this week met Danish lawmakers and gave a speech at a democracy summit in Copenhagen that accused China of intensifying cyber attacks and military exercises against Taiwan. She also criticised what she referred to as China's "expansionist ambitions." She was attending the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, organised by former NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen's Alliance of Democracies, seen by senior Taiwan leaders as an important venue to get Taiwan's message out to the world. The Chinese embassy in Copenhagen criticised Denmark for hosting Tsai and said it disregarded "international consensus on the one-China principle". Tsai, who is also visiting Britain this week, has become a symbol of Taiwan's defiance against China's military threats. Denmark, like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Taiwan but maintains informal relations with the democratically-governed island. "Our one-China policy remains firm, while it is clear that we do not see everything the same way, and on some points China poses a challenge," said Rasmussen, who has promoted a pragmatic approach to China as foreign minister and earlier as prime minister. Diplomatic relations with China reached a low point after a visit by Dalai Lama to Copenhagen in 2009. Ties improved when Denmark later accepted a Chinese offer to send two pandas to Denmark as part of China's so-called "panda diplomacy."
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Taiwan president Tsai to make sensitive visit to Britain this week
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will visit Britain this week at the invitation of British lawmakers, a trip that comes as London is trying to improve ties with Beijing and China ramps up efforts to diplomatically isolate the island. Britain, like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but the economic and political exchanges between the two sides have increased as Beijing ratchets up military threats to force Taipei to accept its sovereignty claim over the democratic island. Tsai, who stepped down in May last year, has become a symbol of Taiwan's defiance against China's military threats. She is currently in Lithuania and will travel to Denmark and then Britain later this week, her office said. Tsai was invited by "friends in Britain's parliament" in a trip that is designed to deepen friendship between Taiwan and Britain, the office said in a statement, adding Tsai, who has a doctorate from the London School of Economics, will meet with unspecified British politicians. Britain's Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of office hours in London. China's foreign ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tsai had been due to visit London in October of last year, but that coincided with a trip to Beijing by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at a time London was trying to re-set strained ties with China and Tsai did not end up going. Tsai last year visited the Czech Republic, France, Belgium and Canada, drawing condemnation from Beijing which has repeatedly denounced Tsai as a "separatist". Despite a lack of formal ties, Taiwan sees Britain as an important democratic partner. In 2023, Taiwan and Britain signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership Arrangement and Britain is also one of the countries which has helped Taiwan with its indigenous submarine programme, a vital part of Tsai's push to boost Taiwan's defence against China's threat. China says Taiwan is one of its provinces with no right to the trappings of a state, a position Taipei's government strongly rejects. (Reporting By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Stephen Coates)
