World News by Wild Rose

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Honduras targets Chinese shops, state builder as president sits on Taiwan pledge Honduran migration officials have summoned or placed under review 41 Chinese nationals after inspecting shops in the capital and a hospital being built...

Rio Times · Asia Intelligence Brief October 22, 2026 — Manila explores undersea-cable cooperation with Taiwan while rebuking Beijing; North Korea announces border loudspeaker broadcasts; India shifts to calibrated tightening as bond yields hit 2023 highs; South Korea holds rates amid a 4% tech sell-off; Malaysia warns on drug couriers. The post Asia Intelligence Brief — Thursday, October 22, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

Beijing’s director of the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), Song Tao, has held a rare meeting with a delegation of US scholars that pledged to push for the peaceful development of cross-strait ties. During the meeting in Beijing on Tuesday with a delegation from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) led by its president and CEO, Susan M. Elliott, Song spoke of a broader diplomatic context following high-level summit meetings between Chinese and US leadership. “President Xi Jinping...

Honduran migration officials have summoned or placed under review 41 Chinese nationals after inspecting shops in the capital and a hospital being built by a state-owned contractor from China in the south of the country. Teams from the National Migration Institute, working with police and intelligence officers, interviewed 86 Chinese citizens at 54 shops in Comayaguela, Tegucigalpa’s twin city and main commercial district, and told 25 of them to report for further document checks. Migration...

Honduran migration officials have summoned or placed under review 41 Chinese nationals after inspecting shops in the capital and a hospital being built by a state-owned contractor from China in the south of the country. Teams from the National Migration Institute, working with police and intelligence officers, interviewed 86 Chinese citizens at 54 shops in Comayaguela, Tegucigalpa’s twin city and main commercial district, and told 25 of them to report for further document checks. Migration...

President Duma Boko pledged to oppose Taiwan independence at talks with Xi Jinping, as Botswana and China upgraded ties and signed security and mining papers. The post Botswana Backs China on Taiwan on 13 Oct appeared first on The Rio Times.

Honduras holds 1.7 percent of Latin America's people and 0.5 percent of its output, yet its blocs, US ties and Taiwan choice carry weight. The post Honduras in Latin America, Its Role, Weight and Alliances appeared first on The Rio Times.

Paraguay’s technology minister said on Thursday that sanctions imposed on him by Beijing over his country’s ties with Taiwan would only accelerate joint projects with the island. Gustavo Villate, who heads the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, wrote in a lengthy social media post that the relationship with Taipei would “never be on the negotiating table”. He also suggested that Beijing had acted to protect Chinese telecoms suppliers kept out of Paraguay’s networks. “This...

Beijing has warned Taiwanese people against acting “two-faced” on the issue of Taiwan independence after television host Kevin Tsai Kang-yong attended a campaign rally for a Taipei mayoral candidate who has been labelled a separatist by Beijing. The episode underscores the political risks facing Taiwanese entertainers working on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, who can face backlash over any actions perceived to touch on the issue. “No individual or force may act as a ‘two-faced person’ –...

Two Taiwanese executives have been arrested for allegedly using mainland Chinese-made components in drones supplied to the island’s military. It is the second time in two months that a Taiwanese drone supplier has been investigated by the island’s authorities over the alleged use of prohibited mainland components. The case has intensified opposition scrutiny of the government’s efforts to build a “drone team” based on a “non-red” supply chain that excludes components and technology from mainland...

Rio Times · Asia Intelligence Brief October 12, 2026 — North Korea launches a suspected ballistic missile into the sea; Taiwan monitors Chinese live-fire drills along five coastal zones; South Korea orders action over workplace safety deception; China resumes Yellow Sea patrols with Seoul. The post Asia Intelligence Brief — Monday, October 12, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

Beijing sanctioned Paraguay's technology minister and Belize's foreign minister on Monday over Taiwan ties, freezing any assets in China and banning entry. The post China Sanctions Paraguay Minister Over Taiwan on Monday appeared first on The Rio Times.

Beijing on Monday sanctioned Paraguayan and Belizean government ministers over the Taiwan issue, after the two nations sealed deals with Taipei in recent months. Gustavo Villate, Paraguay’s minister of information and communication technologies, and Francis Fonseca, Belize’s minister of foreign affairs, foreign trade, education, culture, science and technology were placed under sanctions from Monday, the foreign ministry said. The measures include freezing their assets within China, prohibiting...

Chinese Foreign Ministry cites national sovereignty and Taiwan separatist activities as reasons behind the measures.

Kurt Campbell is a veteran US diplomat and strategist who has played a leading role in shaping Washington’s approach to China and the Indo-Pacific for more than a decade. He served as the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs from 2021 to 2024 and as US deputy secretary of state from 2024 to 2025. Previously, he served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009 to 2013 and was a key architect of the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia”. Often...

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has welcomed talks between Washington and Beijing aimed at reducing the risk of conflict. Lai’s annual Double Tenth address, marking the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name, also called for democracies to work together to safeguard regional peace and for the Taiwanese people’s right to exist to be respected. But Beijing said he had shown his true colours and accused him of “stirring up confrontation across the...

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called on democracies in the region to unite against threats to stability, as the island faces pressure from Beijing and concerns that Donald Trump’s rapprochement with China could come at Taiwan’s expense.

Recent interactions involving the US and Taiwan are not expected to derail the current momentum in relations between Washington and mainland China, according to diplomatic analysts. Beijing was taking a pragmatic approach to navigating the complexities of the Taiwan issue, they said, but the fate of a US$14 billion arms package for the island remained a key concern. During President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to the United States, Xi urged his hosts to “adhere to the correct position of opposing...

US President Donald Trump pressed Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during last month’s summit to end a deep freeze in relations with Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, the South China Morning Post reported. Trump raised Japan’s grievances over Chinese restrictions imposed following Takaichi’s comment in November that the Japanese military might intervene in the event of conflict in the Taiwan Strait, according to Thursday’s report, which cited people familiar with the discussions. Beijing regards Taiwan as...

In 2019, President Xi Jinping became the first Chinese leader to publicly call for the exploration of detailed proposals for governing Taiwan after reunification. Seven years later, the first proposals from a handful of the mainland’s leading research institutes have either been finalised or are nearing completion, the South China Morning Post has learned. Rather than setting out a single fixed model, scholars involved in those studies told the SCMP there should be different scenarios based on...

Mainland Chinese prefer coercion over military force to settle the “reunification question” with Taiwan, and their opinion of the US remains low, although they favour engaging with Washington on trade and security. These are the results from the latest survey of Mainland citizens, conducted between April 16 and June 26. This straddled the first summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing but came before the second one in Washington last month. “The...

A reported plan to station US defence personnel inside Taiwan’s military headquarters would take cooperation from external help into the heart of defence planning, potentially angering Beijing while raising questions over Taipei’s policymaking autonomy and military secrecy. According to Taiwanese media reports at the weekend, the Pentagon plans to send one official from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defence for Policy and one expert from the Institute for Defence Analyses (IDA) to work on...

Taipei’s top diplomat is in Arizona this week to open a de facto consulate and tour the state’s semiconductor corridor, even as US President Donald Trump has just wrapped up the pageantry of a state visit for President Xi Jinping. Lin Chia-lung, Taiwan’s foreign minister, arrived in Phoenix late on Saturday for a three-day visit that highlights the deepening economic ties between Washington and Taipei. His visit will not include stops in Washington or meetings with anyone at the State...

A California woman allegedly sent photos and videos of President Lai's son and his family to Chinese officials.

Taiwan’s Representative to the US, Alexander Yui, tells Bloomberg This Weekend that Washington has reassured Taipei its Taiwan policy remains unchanged following President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, even as a $14 billion US arms package remains stalled. Speaking with hosts David Gura and Christina Ruffini, Yui says Taiwan wants faster weapons deliveries and is deepening its economic relationship with the US through major investments in semiconductors and other industries. (Source: Bloomberg)

We have put together stories from our coverage of the Xi-Trump summit. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why Xi Jinping skipped the UN after his Trump summit Han Zheng, China’s vice-president, called on “major countries” to respect the sovereignty and security of Middle Eastern nations and bring about a two-state solution for the “Palestinian question” on Saturday at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in an implicit dig at the US and Israel. 2. ‘Right...

Beijing, Sept. 29 (Jiji Press)--Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, urged Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to correct her remarks about Taiwan during his meeting in Beijing Monday with former Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Japan's leader needs to correct mistaken remarks about the issue of Taiwan as soon as possible, said Wang, foreign minister ...

US Ambassador to China David Perdue has stated that Washington’s Taiwan policy remains unchanged following high-level talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, despite hopes from Beijing to limit support for Taipei. (Source: Bloomberg)

US President Donald Trump has sought to play down exchanges with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Taiwan independence, saying on Saturday that they touched on the subject only briefly. “We didn’t talk about it too much. Right now, it’s fine. It’s just moving along,” Trump said. “We didn’t spend a lot of time talking about Taiwan. He understands very much how I feel.” During the summit in Washington last week, Xi pressed Trump to take an explicit position against Taiwan independence – a...

Taiwan’s transfer of a former coastguard vessel to the Philippines has triggered a dual controversy – raising concerns over the interests of Taiwanese fishermen and prompting strong criticism from Beijing. The matter centres on a 61-metre (200-foot) retired cutter handed over to the Philippine Coast Guard through a non-governmental organisation on Monday, as Taipei and Manila expand practical maritime cooperation despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office...