Taipei

The Taiwanese authorities have threatened to fine two singers for taking part in a mainland Chinese state media show. Ouyang Nana, a Taiwanese cellist and singer, will join singers from Hong Kong in a performance that will be broadcast on CCTV on Wednesday, ahead of the October 1 anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The gala will also feature Angela Chang, another Taiwanese singer, in a chorus celebrating the contributions of those who helped fight Covid-19. The singers have millions of fans on the mainland, but Taiwanese authorities said their participation was an attempt by the Beijing authorities to put pressure on the self-ruled island and promote a “one count

As the relationship between Beijing and Washington has deteriorated during the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States has managed to use the crisis to shore up relations with Taiwan.  The tightening relationship has been met with strong disapproval from Beijing, and analysts said it would further strain cross-strait relations. The coronavirus pandemic has already strained the relationship between Taipei and Beijing, with the handling of the repatriation of Taiwanese people in the central mainland city of Wuhan being one of the most recent areas of contention. On Friday the de facto US embassy in Taiwan promised “more cooperation with Taiwan for years to come” in a move observers interpreted a