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May 21, 2026
 

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Ben Blanchard
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te delivers an address on the second anniversary of his taking office at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2026
If they spoke, Taiwan president would tell Trump China was undermining stability
A conversation between the two ?presidents has not taken place since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.
The former Royal Mint Court office complex in London, the future site of a new Chinese embassy, on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2026
U.K.¡¯s China embassy gamble shows changing calculations in divided West
British and U.S. politicians, local ?residents and British-based Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners say the new building could be used as a base for espionage.
Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu poses for a photo during an interview with The Japan Times in Taipei in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 11, 2025
Taiwan¡¯s deputy foreign minister made secret trip to Israel
It was unclear if Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu touched upon Taiwan's new multilayered air defense system, which is partly modeled on Israel's air-defense system.
A Chinese warship participates in joint Navy exercise of Iran, China and Russia in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 4, 2025
China massing military ships across region in show of maritime force, sources say
The country is in the middle of a traditionally busy season for military exercises, though its army hasn¡¯t made announcements of large-scale officially named drills.
This screen grab from video footage from China¡¯s Ministry of Defense taken in May 2024 shows China¡¯s third aircraft carrier Fujian carrying out sea trials in an unknown location.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 3, 2025
Taiwan says China sometimes stages mock attacks on foreign navy ships in strait
Taiwan shares intelligence with international partners when they operate in those waters, a senior Taiwan security official said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s fabrication plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Under a possible new arrangement, Taiwanese companies, including TSMC, would send new capital and workers to expand their U.S. operations and train U.S. workers.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2025
Trump team negotiating Taiwan deal that could train U.S. workers, sources say
Trump has previously said some skilled foreign workers may be necessary to train Americans in state-of-the-art factories.
The Taiwanese flag waves on a hilltop facing China's Xiamen city, on Dadan Island, in Kinmen, Taiwan, on Oct. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 23, 2025
Taiwan wary China¡¯s new economic plan could include front-line islands
Taiwanese officials fear China could seek to gain de facto jurisdiction over Kinmen islands if it includes them in its economic development plan.
A China Coast Guard vessel is seen on a giant screen showing news footage about the coast guard's law enforcement patrols in waters around Taiwan, outside a shopping mall in Beijing on April 1.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 9, 2025
China honing abilities for a possible future attack, Taiwan warns
China has been using AI tools to weaken Taiwan's cybersecurity and to scan for weak points in critical infrastructure, the island's defense ministry said.
People hold Taiwanese flags during the event to commemorate the end of World War II at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Aug. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 25, 2025
Taiwan and China battle it out in competing World War II narratives
Both sides are claiming credit for the victory over Japan.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during an event in Washington, in July. Huang says Nvidia is currently in talks with the U.S. over the potential offering of a more powerful chip for sale in China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 22, 2025
Nvidia CEO says in talks with U.S. over new China chip
The tech giant is reportedly working on a new chip based on its latest Blackwell architecture that will be more powerful than a model currently greenlit for sale to China.
A Chinese warship takes part in a military drill off the Chinese coast near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, across from the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands, China, in April 2023. Recent Chinese military drills have seen its vessels encircle Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 8, 2025
Simulated Chinese blockade of Taiwan reveals Singapore as lifeline
Singapore's discreet and decades-old security presence inside Taiwan gives it an edge among Southeast Asian nations, which have close to a million of their nationals on the island.
The Taiwanese coast guard conducts its annual drill in southern Taiwan, simulating the seizure of a ferry by 'international terrorists,¡¯ in collaboration with Taiwan's military to board and take back control of the boat and evacuate casualties, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 8, 2025
Taiwan¡¯s coast guard and military drill to better face China¡¯s ¡¯gray zone¡¯ threat
Taipei has repeatedly complained about Chinese activities such as undersea cable cutting and sand dredging around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation.
Security personnel keep watch near the portrait of late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong displayed on the Tiananmen Gate, in Beijing on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 4, 2025
We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and U.S. say on 36th anniversary
The events are not publicly discussed in China and the anniversary is not officially marked.
The Taiwanese military conducts its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire test launch at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung, Taiwan, on May 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2025
Trump aims to exceed first term¡¯s weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say
If U.S. arms sales to Taiwan do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump's commitment to the island.
Taiwan said in January it suspected a China-linked ship of damaging an undersea cable off its northern coast; the ship owner denied the accusations.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Apr 11, 2025
In a first, Taiwan charges Chinese ship captain with damaging undersea cables
The captain, surnamed Wang, has claimed innocence, but refused to provide details of the ship's owner and "had a bad attitude," Taiwanese prosecutors said.
Kids view the area from a lookout point over cranes and containers at the Port of Keelung, Taiwan, on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 7, 2025
Taiwan eyes zero tariffs with U.S. and pledges more investment
The U.S. is Taiwan's most important international backer and main source of arms, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
Members of Taiwan's armed forces, riding on a M60A3 tank, participate in a drill as part of a demonstration for the media to show combat readiness, at a military base in Taitung, Taiwan, on Jan. 31, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 18, 2025
Taiwan considering multibillion dollar arms purchase from U.S., sources say
Taipei is hoping to win support from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump as China continues to apply military pressure on the island.
A Taiwanese coast guard ship (left) monitors a Chinese coast guard ship a few nautical miles from Taiwan's northeastern coast on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Dec 13, 2024
China¡¯s ¡¯drills that dare not speak their name¡¯ put Taiwan on alert
Analysts say that Beijing's activities, conducted in near silence and followed by an opaque statement, are meant to create confusion.
A giant TV screen shows news footage of military drills conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan, by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, in Beijing on Oct. 14.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 3, 2024
Taiwan watching Chinese carrier movements as drills could start over weekend
Beijing could launch large-scale drills to coincide with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's trip to the Pacific this week that includes visits to Hawaii and Guam.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te waves to the crowd on the island's national day in Taipei on Oct. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 27, 2024
China could launch military drills near Taiwan over president¡¯s Pacific visit
President Lai Ching-te will start a visit to diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and was also planning stops in Hawaii and possibly the U.S. territory of Guam.
Female death row inmate sues Japan government over 24/7 surveillance
Tokyo Detention House guidelines dictate that CCTV surveillance can be used when detainees are at risk of suicide or self-harm, or when there is concern they may try to escape.
Almost half of foreign residents have experienced discrimination: government survey
Japan¡¯s foreign resident population rose 9.5% to a record 4.12 million at the end of 2025, topping 4 million for the first time, according to data from the Immigration Services Agency.
¡®There was no village¡¯: Japan¡¯s troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinj¨± under her own name. She has since been involved in parents¡¯ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
Japan arrests Americans over stunt at baby monkey Punch¡¯s zoo
Visitors gather in the rain to catch a glimpse of Punch the monkey at Ichikawa City Zoo in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, in April.
Visitors to Japan down 5.5% in April
Japan Tourism Agency chief Shigeki Murata has emphasized that the government will work on implementing "strategic promotions to attract visitors from more countries and regions."
Female death row inmate sues Japan government over 24/7 surveillance
Tokyo Detention House guidelines dictate that CCTV surveillance can be used when detainees are at risk of suicide or self-harm, or when there is concern they may try to escape.
Installation delays and price hikes hit air conditioners just before summer
Naphtha shortages and a shrinking labor force mean those buying a new air conditioning unit may pay more than last year and then be forced to wait up to a month to have it installed.
¡®There was no village¡¯: Japan¡¯s troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinj¨± under her own name. She has since been involved in parents¡¯ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
Before city pop went global, there was Anri
Anri says younger overseas listeners first surprised her during a 2023 performance in Los Angeles, where most of the audience was in their 20s. Nearly five decades after her debut, songs such as ¡°Last Summer Whisper¡± and ¡°I Can¡¯t Stop the Loneliness¡± continue finding new fans.
Trump says ¡®nothing¡¯s changed¡¯ on Taiwan. But his words belie a big shift.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One en route to the U.S. following his official visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, on Friday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Anri says younger overseas listeners first surprised her during a 2023 performance in Los Angeles, where most of the audience was in their 20s. Nearly five decades after her debut, songs such as ¡°Last Summer Whisper¡± and ¡°I Can¡¯t Stop the Loneliness¡± continue finding new fans.
Before city pop went global, there was Anri
By Patrick St. Michel

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