April 7, 2026 3:58 PM

Taiwan opposition chief arrives for China ‘peace’ mission, president calls for talks

Taiwan's opposition leader arrived in China on Tuesday for a "peace" mission and potential meeting with President Xi Jinping, as Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te reiterated he was open for talks but the island had the right to chart its own course. Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's largest opposition party, is travelling at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, and as the opposition-dominat...

November 9, 2025 11:19 AM

Taiwan is not alone, vice president says after breakthrough Europe trip

Taiwan is not alone and has more and more friends around the world and will continue to show the world its resolve, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said on Sunday after returning from a landmark diplomatic-breakthrough trip to Europe. While Taiwan foreign ministers on occasion visit Europe and other parts of the world that have no formal ties to Chinese-claimed Taipei, it is rare for an official as senior as the vice president to do so, given the risk of backlash from Beijing against the host nati...

August 13, 2025 2:55 PM

Typhoon Podul blows through southern Taiwan leaving one person missing

Typhoon Podul blew through Taiwan's south on Wednesday packing winds of up to 191 km per hour (118 mph) and leaving one person missing, as a large swathe of the island shut down and hundreds of flights were cancelled. Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous east coast facing the Pacific. Podul slammed into the southeastern city of Taitung around 1 p.m. (0500 GMT), passed through the southern tip of the island and then passed into the Taiwan Strait some five hours l...

August 15, 2024 4:15 PM

Northeastern Taiwan rattled by 5.7 magnitude quake, no immediate reports of damage

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Taiwan's northeastern county of Yilan on Thursday, the island's central weather administration said, with no immediate reports of damage. The quake shook buildings in the capital, Taipei. The quake had a depth of 9 km, the weather administration said, and was just off its northeastern shore. Subway services in Taipei continued at a lower speed immediately after the quake, authorities said. Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone ...

April 23, 2024 10:38 AM

Taiwan rattled by dozens of quakes, but no major damage

Taiwan's quake-hit eastern county of Hualien was rattled by dozens of aftershocks late on Monday and early on Tuesday, but only minor damage was reported and no casualties and major chipmaker TSMC said it saw no impact on operations. Largely rural and sparsely populated Hualien was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on April 3 that killed at least 17 people, and there have been more than 1,000 aftershocks since. Buildings across large parts of northern, eastern and western Taiwan, including in ...

April 3, 2024 3:27 PM

Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years kills nine; 50 missing

Taiwan's biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed nine people on Wednesday, injuring more than 800, while 50 went missing en route to a national park, authorities said, as rescuers used ladders to bring others to safety. Television broadcast images of buildings tilted at precarious angles in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien, near the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude quake, which struck just offshore at about 8 a. m. (0000GMT). "It was very strong. It felt as if...