All articles tagged with #taiwan
TSMC faces employee fury over rumors of bonus cuts, with social-media chatter and discussions of Samsung-style strikes echoing through Taiwan’s chip-wage culture, even as the company posted a 58% year-over-year profit jump in Q1 2026 and continues massive CapEx for advanced fabs; workers question wage perks while management weighs belt-tightening in a high-stakes AI chip buildout.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao says the $14 billion Taiwan weapons package is paused to ensure the U.S. has enough munitions for operations against Iran (Epic Fury), with foreign military sales to Taiwan resuming when the administration deems appropriate. Trump has not committed to moving forward with the sale, and the package has languished on his desk for months after a record $11 billion Taiwan sale in 2025.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a Senate panel that the US is pausing a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan to ensure it has enough munitions for its war with Iran, calling the pause temporary and saying foreign military sales will resume when the administration deems it necessary. The sale would be the largest ever to Taiwan, and final approval rests with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Taiwan officials say they have not been notified of a pause, and the development comes amid mixed signals from Trump and ongoing U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan, with analysts warning the pause could complicate Taipei’s defense planning.
Washington has paused arms sales to Taiwan to ensure it has enough munitions for its Iran operations, with a $14 billion package awaiting presidential sign-off and future approvals to be decided by senior administration officials. Taiwan says it has heard nothing about adjustments to the deal, while Beijing opposes arms transfers as US-China tensions rise after Trump–Xi talks, and Trump has described the packages as a potential negotiating chip.
US President Donald Trump said he would speak with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te about a possible arms sale, a marked break from diplomatic protocol that could affect US‑China‑Taiwan dynamics as Taipei ramps up its defence. Washington is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act to provide defensive weapons, while Beijing protests official exchanges with Taiwan.
Taiwanese prosecutors detained three suspects in a $2.5 billion Nvidia chip-smuggling case tied to Super Micro Computer (SMCI), alleging SMCI servers with Nvidia chips were sold to China using falsified documents; U.S. authorities had previously charged SMCI employees and a contractor for evading export controls. SMCI says the conduct violates its policies and has paused two employees and terminated a contractor. The move comes as the stock had jumped about 9% the prior day, with analysts rating it Hold and an average target near $34.82, signaling modest upside.
President Donald Trump said he’s willing to speak directly with Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te, a potential break with decades of U.S. diplomatic norms. The remarks come as U.S.–China relations grow tense and amid ongoing attention to arms sales to Taiwan. Lai said communication channels with Washington are always open and urged continued U.S. military support, while Beijing has warned that any talks could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and harm relations. A direct call could complicate the unofficial U.S. relationship with Taipei under the One China policy and the Taiwan Relations Act.
Trump says he’ll speak to Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, an unprecedented move that could roil US-China relations; Lai welcomed the idea, stressing commitment to the status quo, while no call has been scheduled. Direct dialogue would echo Trump’s 2016 call to Tsai Ing-wen, which broke decades of diplomacy since the 1979 shift to Beijing; Beijing warns against such talks and has used arms sales and diplomacy as leverage, while Taiwan remains a key US trading partner and semiconductor supplier.
Trump said he will speak with Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te as he weighs approving a $14 billion arms sale to Taipei, a move that could strain U.S.-China relations and challenge decades of non-official diplomacy with Taipei, after he suggested using the sale as a negotiating chip with Beijing and Lai urged continued arms support.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, marking his second anniversary in office, said he would tell Donald Trump that Taipei hopes to continue buying arms from the United States, arguing U.S. arms sales are essential to peace and deterrence in the region.
Taiwan Travelogue, by Yang Shuang-zi with Lin King’s English translation, won the International Booker Prize — the first Mandarin Chinese work to win. The novel follows two women on a 1930s culinary tour of Taiwan under Japanese rule, framed as a rediscovered travel memoir with fictional footnotes, and it explores love, culture, colonial history, and power. The win underscores the vital role of translation in literature; King’s English translation had already won the National Book Award for Translated Literature in 2024, and Yang’s Mandarin edition won Taiwan’s Golden Tripod Award in 2021. The £50,000 prize will be split between the author and the translator.
The Trump-Xi meeting is framed as constructive strategic stability—a commercial détente intended to ease disputes without a trade war; three shifts underpin it: Rubio as the designated interlocutor, a clearer Taiwan red line from Xi, and China’s long-term tech strategy to protect its AI/chip ambitions while engaging on other issues, with Beijing hoping the framework lasts about three years.
Former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Robert Gates told CBS that China’s chances of invading Taiwan in the near term are “pretty low,” arguing Beijing would prefer a Hong Kong–style, gradual transition and wouldn’t want to destroy key chip factories; he notes Xi Jinping has purged military leadership and lacks recent combat experience, but warns China’s manufacturing power and non-military tools make it a formidable adversary. Gates also mentions potential invasion options exist, and urges continuing arms sales to Taiwan despite delivery backlogs.
George Friedman argues that the Xi–Trump summit produced more in-principle alignment than concrete deals: Xi framed a move away from Maoist ideology toward a cooperative, win-win relationship with the U.S., while reaffirming Taiwan as a core issue; Trump appeared willing to entertain compromises that could tie Taiwan’s status to economic ties. Both sides stressed ending major conflicts (Ukraine, Iran) and re-opening trade routes, signaling that the U.S.–China relationship will be managed through cooperation and mutual interests rather than open hostility, despite ongoing disagreements.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te urged the Trump administration to continue arms sales to Taiwan to bolster regional peace as Beijing increases its military pressure; Lai credited U.S. arms and security cooperation as essential, even as Trump said he may delay a $14 billion sale as a negotiating chip after a Xi Jinping summit. U.S. officials stressed policy hasn’t changed, while Beijing warns against Taiwan independence, underscoring ongoing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and wider U.S.-China relationship.