BREAKING: TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je was ordered detained incommunicado by the Taipei District Court in a retrial amid an investigation into alleged corruption related to a development project during his time as Taipei mayor

Former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je is once again in detention. Ko has been at the center of a real estate corruption scandal that has damaged his and his party's reputation. Tiffany Wong 黃嘉儀 reports from the courthouse.

The U.S. Department of Defense will launch military repair hubs in the Indo-Pacific countries of Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore and the Philippines, then expand it to NATO partners in 2025 and to Latin American partners in 2026. asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Inter…

Taiwan ally Tuvalu —one of only 12— signals the U.S. that it needs to have a diplomatic presence on the ground there to resist Chinese influence operations. in today's POLITICO China Watcher politico.eu/newsletter/chi…

“China pledges billions in fresh Africa aid despite debt concerns”. In other words: China is buying geopolitical clout. asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt…

What good is a "hotline" if #China won't use it when it matters most? mainichi.jp/english/articl… "China & #Japan did not use their defense hotline to communicate following an unprecedented violation of Japanese airspace by a Chinese military spy plane last week, diplomatic sources

A prominent economist suggests U.S. politicians are leveraging Chinese overcapacity as an electoral tool, rather than seeing it purely as an economic concern. Domestically, he views overcapacity as a negative externality to China’s rapid manufacturing growth.

Congress is back and ready for an "anti-China" agenda. From electric vehicles to farmland, a flurry of bills targeting Chinese influence could see votes in September. Will any of them pass before the session ends? #ChinaPolicy responsiblestatecraft.org/congress-sessi…

For 90 years between 1684 and 1788, immigrants to Taiwan were not permitted to bring wives and children. Effect? In 1721, Chiayi's Dapu had a total population of 257 with only one woman, one man over 60, and no one under 16. cw.com.tw/article/5117194

Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung: The idea that there must be a choice between the PRC and Taiwan in the UN system is a false dichotomy. Now is the right time for the UN to rethink its unjustified policies that exclude Taiwan. nationalpost.com/opinion/lin-ch…

Taiwan's Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uyghur labour. taipeitimes.com/News/front/arc…

Taiwan strongly condemns the decision by a Chinese court to sentence Taiwanese activist Yang Chih-yuan to a nine-year prison term on charges of secession, the Mainland Affairs Council said on Thursday. focustaiwan.tw/cross-strait/2…

TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je, who has been mired in a corruption case dating back to his tenure as Taipei mayor, called on his supporters Thursday to "keep pushing forward," in the wake of a court decision to detain him in connection with the case. focustaiwan.tw/politics/20240…

Good report. Consistent with the many industrial espionage case I read and documented in clash of empire. They targert mid rank folks senior enough to have access but feel underplaced. Many are not ethnic Asians. Cf recent UK cases. thediplomat.com/2024/09/why-is…

Sources have also revealed that some Taiwanese business groups plan to travel to Xinjiang to explore business investment opportunities in Central Asia. This includes inspecting investment possibilities in 21 key industrial supply chains. i-meihua.com/Article/Detail…

A new flashpoint has emerged at Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea – and a new danger buff.ly/3TiT7vn

Taiwan's road traffic deaths declined to 1,193 in the first 5 months of this year but it's still 122 deaths per million people (calculated for a year), which is still 2 to 6 times higher than other advanced European countries. cna.com.tw/news/ahel/2024… transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/ne…

Nippon Steel hoped it could counter China’s export onslaught with a deal in the U.S., where it would enjoy protection from Chinese rivals. Instead, it found U.S. politics an equally challenging foe. Peter Landers Jason Douglas wsj.com/business/u-s-j… wsj.com/business/u-s-j…

Several big battery projects in Australia are highly likely to be using materials sourced through the forced labour of Uyghur and other Turkic ethnic groups in China, ASPI research has found. aspistrategist.org.au/australias-cli…

One of the pernicious things about the Linda Sun case, is how she acted as a community liaison for the NY governor's office -- claiming to represent the Asian American voice. The Chinese gov't has shown its ability to co-opt U.S. domestic issues apnews.com/article/linda-…