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The West African nation of Gambia has cut off relations with Taiwan, the latest country to spurn the island for its mainland rival China. Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Chen confirmed the move but declined to give a reason behind the move by Banjul, which seems almost certain to lead to the establishment of formal ties between Gambia and China. … With the loss of Gambia, Taiwan is now recognized by 22 countries, mostly small and impoverished nations in Latin America, the Caribbean and the south Pacific. Swaziland, Sao Tome and Principe and Burkina Faso are its only remaining diplomatic allies...

New Bird Flu Surfaces in Taiwanese Woman Published: Nov 13, 2013 By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, A novel variant of avian influenza A infected a 20-year-old woman in Taiwan. Note that the woman was treated in May and made a complete recovery, with no indication that she spread the novel virus to anyone else. A novel variant of avian influenza A infected a 20-year-old woman in Taiwan, investigators there are reporting. It is the first reported case of an H6N1 avian virus infecting and causing disease in a human, although very similar viruses are endemic in chickens in the...

TAIPEI, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou on Monday said that he will not promote "Two Chinas," "one China, one Taiwan" or "Taiwan independence," inside or outside the island. Ma, also chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, made the comments during a speech at a KMT meeting. He said the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland is not a state-to-state one but a special relationship in many aspects. In his speech, Ma reviewed the KMT's efforts over the last five years since the party returned to power. He described them as "beneficial and tangible for the public in...

La Fayette frigates' missile upgrade set for 2017 Taipei, Nov. 4 (CNA) The surface-to-air missiles on the Navy's fleet of La Fayette Class frigates will be replaced with a more advanced system starting in 2017, a senior Naval officer said Monday. The U.S.-made RIM-72C Sea Chaparral missiles will be replaced with Taiwan's own Sky Sword IIs, Navy Chief of Staff Kao Tien-chung said when answering questions at the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and National Defense Committee. The ship-based Sky Sword II, or Tien Chien II, is a variant of the radar guided air-to-air missile developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science...

Taiwan has angrily demand that Apple Inc. alter its new map application, which identifies the island nation as a province of China. Users of the iOS 7 and version 10.9 of OS X for the new iPhone and computers have discovered that any search for "Taiwan" automatically produced simplified Chinese characters that read "China Taiwan province." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei instructed its office in San Francisco to demand that Apple make an immediate correction to the software. "We have made representations to Apple," Kelly Hsieh, head of the ministry's Department of North American Affairs, told reporters in...

A strong earthquake hit eastern Taiwan on Thursday, shaking buildings over a wide area including the capital. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 8:02 p.m. local time and measured magnitude 6.3. It was centered in a remote mountainous area 45 kilometers (28 miles) south-southwest of the coastal city of Hualian at a depth of just 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), it said. In the capital, Taipei, about 150 kilometers (95 miles) from the epicenter, buildings swayed for more than 10 seconds and startled residents ducked for cover. Taiwan's...

Very shallow and on land. Depth = 5.8 miles.

A map of Taiwan appeared in a video feed of Guangzhou Military Area Headquarters during China Network Television's broadcast of a drill by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) codenamed “Mission Action 2013B” yesterday. An unnamed source familiar with China's military affairs stated that China has always been attentive to Taiwan's naval affairs and that the Nanjing Military Area Command (MAC) and the Guangzhou Military Area Command are in charge of observing China's southeast seas. The drill was carried out by PLA units stationed in Guangzhou; therefore, it should not be surprising to see a map of Taiwan in Guangzhou...

If China’s two-decade-long arms buildup continues at current rates, the mainland will be able “to take Taiwan by force before the end of 2020” despite any moves by Taiwanese allies such as the US to repel an invasion, Taiwan’s military said Tuesday. … China’s annual military spending has grown by double-digit rates on average for the past 20 years or so, according to the 2013 National Defense Report. The study added that China’s capacity for weapons research and manufacturing had also greatly increased and had come to pose “a grave threat to Taiwan”. China produces much of its military hardware...

Taiwan’s air force will be armed with “smart” munitions before the year’s end that could be used against any Chinese invasion by striking airfields and harbours on the mainland, media reported Saturday. The new weaponry, developed under a project codenamed “Wan Chien” (Ten Thousands Swords), is scheduled to be carried by dozens of Taiwan’s fighter jets. The island nation began developing its own smart weapons after the United States - Taiwan’s main arms supplier - refused to sell them guided bombs. Taiwan’s air force plans to upgrade 60 fighters before the year’s end, with the last six being refitted and...

Typhoon Usagi came closest to Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is moving away from the nation in the direction of Hong Kong, but heavy rainfall is still expected to continue throughout today, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. As of 7:15pm, Typhoon Usagi had weakened slightly, with its center 140km southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). The wind speed near its center was 48 meters per second in a radius of 280km and the typhoon was moving west-northwest at 19kph. The bureau said that the land alert for Usagi may possibly be lifted as soon as this morning. The center of the typhoon...

Heavy rain and howling winds are lashing the northern Philippines and Taiwan as Typhoon Usagi goes through the Luzon Strait which divides them. Villages have been evacuated, ferries suspended and flights cancelled. Meteorologists say the storm is the most powerful this year and will bring a cumulative rainfall of 1,000mm (39in) as it heads towards China. The authorities there have announced a red alert ahead of the expected arrival of the storm on Monday. The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre said on Friday that Usagi was packing sustained winds of 240 km/h (150 mph), with gusts of up to...

ROC Navy unveils "High Efficiency Wave Piercing Catamaran" at TADTE 2013 show At TADTE 2013, the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition, ROC Navy (Republic of China - Taiwan) unveiled a vessel currently under construction by the Lung-De Shipbuilding Corporation dubbed the "High Efficiency Wave Piercing Catamaran (WPC)" The High Efficiency Wave Piercing Catamaran is Taiwan's Navy future Littoral Combat Ship solution under the Hsun Hai program. With a length of 60.4 meters this corvette size vessel is designed for littoral operations. A sign on display at the show indicated: "In order to face the increasing threat across the Taiwan...

Explanation: It took three worlds to create this simple image. The first world was the Earth, which was quite prominent. The dividing line running horizontally below the middle separates sea from sky. On this part of the Earth, it was almost nighttime. The second world was the Moon, which was almost invisible. The Moon had its unilluminated half masked by the red sunset glow of Earth's sky. A thin sliver of the new Moon was visible, a crescent that traces the bright curving line. The third world was the Sun, which does not appear directly. All of the light recorded...

President Obama vetoes Samsung patent ban on iPhone 4 and select iPads Dante D'Orazio on August 3, 2013 The Obama administration has stepped in today to veto an import ban Samsung won from the International Trade Commission to prevent the iPhone 4 and some iPads from coming into the US. The move marks the first time since 1987 that a President has interfered with an ITC order. Such import bans, which effectively prohibit the sale of certain devices, have come under scrutiny from the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission as more companies are seeking the bans (instead of...

The Obama administration on Saturday vetoed a U.S. trade body's ban on the sale of some Apple AAPL +1.28%iPhones and iPads, a rare move that upends a legal victory for smartphone rival Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE +0.47% U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made the decision to veto the ban on the Apple devices, citing concerns about patent holders gaining "undue leverage." He said Samsung could continue to pursue its patent rights through the courts.

Taiwanese lawmakers exchanged punches and threw water at each other Friday ahead of an expected vote that would authorize a referendum on whether to finish a fourth nuclear power plant on the densely populated island of 23 million people. Nuclear power has long been a contentious issue in Taiwan and became more so following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011. While many Taiwanese consider nuclear power generation an unacceptable safety risk for the earthquake-prone island, economic analyses suggest disruptive power shortages are inevitable if the fourth plant is not completed.

Taiwan has started a computerized military exercise to simulate a scenario of China’s launching of an invasion on the island in 2017. The five-day maneuver that started on Monday is part of Taiwan’s biggest annual military drill with this year’s exercise being codenamed 'Han Kuang 29', AFP quoted defense ministry officials as saying. The Taiwanese defense ministry said that the drill simulates a surprise attack followed by a large-scale invasion by China in 2017. It did not, however, provide any explanation as to why the scenario was being considered for that specific year. “Over the past few years, ties across...

Taiwan Makes Pitch for Purchase of F-35 Fighter Jets WASHINGTON --- A delegation from the Taiwan-US Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association of Taiwan's Legislature said Wednesday in Washington that Taiwan wants to purchase advanced F-35 fighter jets that best suit its defense needs. Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator and Association Chairman Lin Yu-fang briefed reporters in Washington after the delegation's meeting at the Pentagon with David Helvey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, to discuss Taiwan's needs for advanced defense weaponry. The delegation members, in their capacity as the Republic of China (ROC) lawmakers, also met with Gregory Kausner, deputy assistant secretary...

It’s the latest addition to its expanding international network and seventh Asian gateway destination. The departure of HA 807 followed gate side festivities that included Hawaiian music and hula, performance honoring the Taiwanese culture, traditional Hawaiian blessing, and presentation of lei to passengers boarding the inaugural flight. “The demand for service to Hawaii from the Taiwan market has been growing and we are delighted to respond to the strong interest by delivering our new non-stop service to and from Taipei,” Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley said. “The Hawaiian Islands are the ideal midpoint destination, perfectly situated to offer...