
Taiwan's main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) began a push on Sunday for a referendum to block the easing of restrictions on US pork imports, which if passed could threaten a long-mooted free trade deal with Taipei's key ally Washington.

A three-year-old girl entangled in the tail of a giant kite survived a terrifying ride after being swept more than 30 meters into the air during a kite festival in Taiwan, video footage posted on social media on Sunday showed.

Taiwan finalized the purchase of F-16 fighter jets from US aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin on Friday, in a US$62 billion, a 10-year deal sure to anger Beijing. Underscoring the sensitivity of the transaction, the Pentagon announced the contract without specifying the buyer, but a source confirmed it was Taiwan.

A US cabinet member was due to meet Taiwan's leader this Monday during the highest-level visit from the United States since it switched diplomatic recognition from the island to China in 1979, a trip that Beijing has condemned.

A U.S. warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries said, on the same day as the 31st anniversary of China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square.

At the first meeting of the World Health Organization's (WHO) governing body since Covid-19 stormed the globe, China is set to be challenged on two of its most sensitive issues: The Communist Party's initial handling of the virus and the status of Taiwan's participation.

France dismissed Chinese warnings on Wednesday about selling arms to self-ruled Taiwan, saying it was implementing existing deals and that Beijing should focus on battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US navy said on Thursday it had sailed a guided-missile destroyer through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a week before Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's inauguration for a second term in office amid rising tensions with China.

The World Health Organization's director-general has no mandate to invite Taiwan to take part in its assembly next week, the body's lawyer said on Monday, adding member states had divergent views on the self-ruled island's participation.

In a letter to WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the leaders of the World Medical Association, WMA say that the WHO’s failure to listen to early warnings from Taiwan about the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with its decision to ignore Taiwan during much of the SARS crisis, were errors that led to the world paying a high price.