17/05/2026

theSun on Sunday MAY 17, 2026

WORLD 7

Taiwan an independent nation, says Taipei

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump raised the case of jailed Hong Kong democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai in talks with President Xi Jinping but was told it “is a tough one”. Family and supporters of the 78 year-old British citizen had hoped the US president could help secure his release. Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this year under a security law imposed by Beijing. The media tycoon, who was an influential figure in the former British territory’s pro-democracy movement, was arrested in 2020 in a crackdown following anti government protests. Lai’s legal team says he has health problems, fuelling fears he may die behind bars. Trump said he believes Xi is seriously considering freeing a church pastor detained in China but is less hopeful over the plight of Lai. “I did bring it up, but it’s a tougher one for him,” Trump said. “He said Jimmy Lai is a tough one for him.” Lai’s daughter Claire said she was grateful to Trump. “I am confident he and his administration will be the ones to free my father,” she said. Claire said it is an opportunity for Xi to do “the only just and honourable thing”. Lai’s case has sparked international concern, particularly in the UK, where he is seen as being punished for defending democratic undertakings given in 1997 with the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule. – Bernama Man killed by great white SYDNEY: A man in his thirties was killed by a great white shark yesterday in Western Australia. The 38-year-old was bitten by the predator off Rottnest Island near the city of Perth. “Sadly, the man was unable to be revived,” Western Australia police said. The state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said the man had been bitten by a 4m-long great white. It urged the public to take “additional caution” in waters around the area, a popular tourist destination. It is the first fatal shark attack in Western Australia since March last year, when a surfer was mauled off a remote beach. There have been nearly 1,300 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which more than 260 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators’ encounters with humans. A 12-year-old boy died in January after being attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour. That attack was one of four recorded in the span of two days, which prompted officials to close dozens of the city’s beaches. It was the city’s third recent shark-related death. – AFP Lai release a ‘tough one’: Xi

sensitive issue could cause “conflict”. Ahead of the summit, Trump had said he would speak to Xi about US arms sales to Taiwan, a departure from Washington’s previous insistence that it would not consult Beijing on the matter. Taiwan’s parliament recently approved a US$25 billion (RM98.7 billion) defence spending bill that will be used for US weapons. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said arms were “not only a US security commitment to Taiwan clearly stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a form of joint deterrence against regional threats”. – Reuters

Report with Bret Baier . The United States recognises only Beijing and does not support formal independence by Taiwan, but historically has stopped short of explicitly saying it opposes independence. Under US law, the United States is required to provide weapons to Taiwan for its defence, but it has been ambiguous on whether US forces would come to the island’s aid. Xi had begun the summit with a warning on Taiwan, whose President Lai Ching-te considers the island already independent, making a declaration unnecessary. The Chinese leader told Trump that missteps on the

Foreign Ministry responds to warning

TAIPEI: Taiwan said yesterday it is an “independent” nation, hours after President Donald Trump warned the island against declaring formal independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday where President Xi Jinping had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US backing to deter China from carrying out its threat to annex the island. Taiwan “is a sovereign and independent democratic nation, and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China”,

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It said that US arms sales were part of Washington’s security commitment to Taiwan, after Trump flagged that he was considering the issue. Taiwan’s statement came after Trump issued a warning to the island against making a declaration of independence. “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles (15,289km) to fight a war. I’m not looking for that,” Trump told Fox News’ Special

EARNEST EFFORT ... Volunteers in

Surabaya provide bottled water and snacks to a group of Buddhist monks taking part in the Walk For Peace 2026 on Friday. A total of 56 monks from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Laos are walking from Bali to the Borobudur Temple, near Yogyakarta, a distance of 660km, carrying a message of tolerance, universal peace and social harmony ahead of Wesak on May 31. – AFPPIC

Giant panda cub set to charm Indonesia zoo visitors BOGOR: With his signature black and white fur, the first giant panda born in Indonesia is growing and thriving ahead of his public debut this month. Satrio Wiratama was born in November last year in Taman Safari Indonesia, a zoo in Cisarua, West Java, to a pair of pandas loaned by China. His mother, Hu Chun, and his father, Cai Tao, arrived in Indonesia in 2017 when they were both seven years old as part of “panda diplomacy” aimed at celebrating 60 years of bilateral ties. Nicknamed Rio, the cub was the only panda born in a zoo outside China in the past three years, Aswin said.

“There are so many Indonesians who had to go all the way to China just to see baby pandas. Now they don’t have to anymore,” said zoo director Aswin Sumampau. Inside the enclosure built to welcome his parents, the 170-day-old cub, whose name means “brave and noble warrior”, was playing with a panda stuffed toy and a bamboo teether.

Ahead of his debut later this month, Rio has already amassed many fans who can’t wait to see him. Rio weighs more than 11kg and is still learning to climb, according to Bongot Huaso Mulia, the veterinarian caring for him. The cub, whose coat is still peppered with reddish fur, is very active and still nursing, he said. – AFP

Rio was born in November last year. – AFPPIC