3 d. ago Taiwan’s attack on the military parade in Beijing exposes its own weaknesses

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te must be having a brain melt. His ideological attacks on Beijing have become more incoherent by the day. His ruling Democratic Progressive Party is now a premature lame duck after its abject failure to unseat a single one of the 31 Kuomintang lawmakers targeted in Taiwan’s recent recall votes. Maybe that’s why it is lashing out in all directions. Its latest attack? Shen Yu-chung, a deputy minister with the island’s Mainland Affairs Council, has accused...

Events

3 d. ago Taiwan’s criticism of military parade in Beijing exposes its own weaknesses

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te must be having a brain melt. His ideological attacks on Beijing have become more incoherent by the day. His ruling Democratic Progressive Party is now a premature lame duck after its abject failure to unseat a single one of the 31 Kuomintang lawmakers targeted in Taiwan’s recent recall votes. Maybe that’s why it is lashing out in all directions. Its latest attack? Shen Yu-chung, a deputy minister with the island’s Mainland Affairs Council, has accused...

Events

6 d. ago Taiwan taps young blood for security council as it faces Beijing and Trump

Taiwan has injected new blood from the younger generation into its security team as it seeks to tackle growing threats from Beijing and navigate US President Donald Trump’s transactional approach to policy. The office of Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te on Monday announced that its spokesman Lii Wen and Taipei City councillor Chao Yi-hsiang had been appointed deputy secretaries general of the National Security Council (NSC) with immediate effect. The two men, both in their thirties,...

Events

1 week ago ‘Arrogance of power’: Taiwan’s Lai suffers sharp defeat as both recall bids fail

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has suffered his sharpest political defeat yet, as two waves of recall votes against opposition lawmakers collapsed in a 31-0 shutout – leaving his government cornered, his party shaken and his energy policy under siege. The unprecedented recall campaign, launched by pro-government civic groups and openly backed by Lai, sought to unseat 31 lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), accusing them of obstructing policy and budget bills. But voters...

Events

2 w. ago Facing Trump pressure, US Fed chair hints at rate cut, but offers no timeline

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened the door ever so slightly to lowering a key interest rate in the coming months but gave no hint on the timing of a move and suggested the central bank will proceed cautiously as it continues to evaluate the impact of tariffs and other policies on the economy. In a high-profile speech that will be closely watched at the White House and on Wall Street, Powell said that there are risks of both rising unemployment and stubbornly higher inflation....

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong jobless rate rises to 3.7% as graduates, school leavers enter market

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate rose to 3.7 per cent over the past three months, with authorities partly attributing the change to university graduates entering the job market, and the construction, catering, retail and property sectors taking the biggest hits. Preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that the jobless rate for the May to July period increased by 0.2 percentage points compared with the April to June figures. This marks the highest rate...

Politics

3 w. ago China ‘pretend work’ firm offers office space for US$4 a day, aids personal growth

Pretend work companies that help unemployed people fake having a job for a small price are springing up across China. The trend is particularly prevalent in first and second-tier cities where people rent office space and transform it into “pretend work companies”. They usually charge people between 30 and 50 yuan (US$4 and US$7) a day. The rate drops if they buy a monthly package for a working spot. Chen Yingjian owns one such company in Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. Chen...

Economics

3 w. ago Taiwan’s residency rule changes amount to ‘attack’ on mainland Chinese spouses

Taiwan is overhauling its residency rules to tighten control on mainland Chinese nationals seeking to settle on the island, in an escalating push to counter what it perceives as Beijing’s growing infiltration and influence operations. The draft amendment covering family-based residency applications drew swift condemnation from Beijing, which accused the administration of Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te of stoking confrontation and suppressing cross-strait exchanges. The regulatory revision...

Events

3 w. ago Nike sues Hong Kong’s Edison Chen for HK$1 million over alleged contract breach

US sportswear giant Nike is suing Hong Kong celebrity Edison Chen Koon-hei for US$126,615 – nearly HK$1 million – for alleged breach of contract. Nike filed the lawsuit in the Central District Court of California in the United States on Tuesday, demanding the former actor and singer pay compensation with an interest rate of 1.5 per cent per month starting 30 days after the first invoice date until payment is completed. It also sought additional costs, collection agency fees and reasonable...

Economics

3 w. ago ‘Extraordinary’: Taiwan’s William Lai hit by strong Japanese media backlash

An unprecedented wave of criticism from Japan’s major newspapers against William Lai Ching-te has sparked debate over whether Tokyo is losing trust in the popularly elected Taiwanese leader just over a year into his term. The “extraordinary” media backlash follows the failed July 26 mass recall vote targeting opposition lawmakers, which was initiated by Taiwan’s civil groups but publicly endorsed by Lai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The recall bid was roundly rejected by voters,...

Politics

3 w. ago Taiwan’s William Lai sees sharpest drop in approval rate in 15 months

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te is grappling with his steepest decline in public support since taking office nearly 15 months ago, indicating challenges for his ruling party in next year’s local elections and the 2028 Taiwan leadership race. Three major surveys – the latest released on Tuesday – showed continued sharp drops in approval for Lai, signalling trouble even in Tainan, his southern hometown and power base. The numbers reflect widespread dissatisfaction over Lai’s handling of the...

Politics