A strong earthquake damaged buildings and buckled roads near Taiwan's eastern coast, killing two people and injuring more than 200.
In this image from TV, emergency services attend after a building collapsed onto it's side, following an earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, early Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck late Tuesday near the coast of Taiwan, and people may be trapped inside the building. (EBC via AP)
A hotel employee died in Hualien county when the ground floor caved in at the Marshal Hotel, and another person died in a residential building, the national fire and rescue service reported.
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A strong earthquake damaged buildings and buckled roads near Taiwan's eastern coast, killing two people and injuring more than 200.
A hotel employee died in Hualien county when the ground floor caved in at the Marshal Hotel, and another person died in a residential building, the national fire and rescue service reported.
Other buildings shifted on their foundations due to the magnitude-6.4 quake late Tuesday and rescuers used ladders, ropes and cranes to get residents to safety.
Speaking from a crisis center in Taipei, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung said rail links appeared to be unaffected and the runway of Hualien airport was intact.
Taiwan has frequent earthquakes due to its position along the "Ring of Fire," the seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.
A maintenance worker who was rescued after being trapped in the hotel's basement said the force of the earthquake was unusual.
"At first it wasn't that big ... we get this sort of thing all the time and it's really nothing. But then it got really terrifying," Chen Minghui said after he was reunited with his son and grandson. "It was really scary."
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, rescuers are seen entering an building that collapsed onto its side from an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. (Hualien County Fire Bureau via AP)
Other buildings shifted on their foundations due to the magnitude-6.4 quake late Tuesday and rescuers used ladders, ropes and cranes to get residents to safety.
Taiwanese media reported that a separate hotel known as the Beautiful Life Hotel was tilting. The agency also posted photos showing a road fractured in several parts.
Bridges and some highways were closed pending inspections after buckling due to the force of the quake.
With aftershocks continuing through the night, residents were being directed to shelters, including a newly built baseball stadium, where beds and hot food were provided.
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, Taiwanese people watching a building that collapsed on its side from an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, early Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. (Hualien County Fire Bureau via AP)
Speaking from a crisis center in Taipei, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung said rail links appeared to be unaffected and the runway of Hualien airport was intact.
"We're putting a priority on Hualien people being able to return home to check on their loved ones," Hsu said.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.4 quake struck just before midnight Tuesday about 21 kilometers (13 miles) northeast of Hualien at a relatively shallow depth of about 10.6 kilometers (6.6 miles).
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, Taiwanese people watching a building that collapsed on its side from an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, early Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. (Hualien County Fire Bureau via AP)
Taiwan has frequent earthquakes due to its position along the "Ring of Fire," the seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.
Exactly two years earlier, a magnitude-6.4 quake collapsed an apartment complex in southern Taiwan, causing the deaths of 115 people. Five people involved in the construction of the complex were later found guilty of negligence and given prison sentences.
A magnitude-7.6 quake in central Taiwan killed more than 2,300 people in 1999.
In this image from TV, emergency services attend after a building collapsed on its side, as a man climbs a ladder to gain access to the building, centre background, after an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, early Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018.(EBC via AP)
SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised what the U.S. describes as unfair Chinese trade practices during his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday with local government officials in the financial hub of Shanghai.
Blinken met with the city's top official, Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining, and “raised concerns about (Chinese) trade policies and non-market economic practices," the State Department said in a statement.
It said he stressed that the United States seeks healthy economic competition with China and "a level playing field for U.S. workers and firms operating in China.”
“The two sides reaffirmed the importance of ties between the people of the United States and (China), including the expansion of exchanges between students, scholars, and business,” it said.
China's multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the U.S. along with accusations of intellectual property theft and other practices seen as discriminating against U.S. businesses in China have long been a source of friction in relations.
China, for its part, has objected strongly to U.S. accusations of human rights abuses and Washington's support for Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing considers its own territory and warns could be annexed by force.
Asked about Blinken's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China has “always conducted economic and trade cooperation in accordance with market principles, firmly supported the multilateral trading system, and fully complied with the rules of the World Trade Organization.”
“We hope the U.S. will also earnestly respect the principle of fair competition, abide by the WTO rules, and work with China to create favorable conditions for the sound and stable development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.
Blinken also spoke with students and business leaders before flying to Beijing for what are expected to be contentious talks with national officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and possibly President Xi Jinping.
Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger Beijing, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also seeks to force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform.
China has railed against U.S. assistance to Taiwan and immediately condemned the aid as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force TikTok’s sale.
Still, the fact that Blinken made the trip — shortly after a conversation between Biden and Xi, a visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a call between the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs — is a sign the two sides are at least willing to discuss their differences.
“I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken told Chen, according to the State Department statement.
“We have an obligation for our people, indeed an obligation to the world, to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” he said. “That is the obligation we have, and one that we take very seriously.”
Chen agreed with that sentiment and said the recent Biden-Xi call had helped the “stable and healthy development of our two countries’ relationship.”
“Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries, and the future of humanity,” he said.
Chen added that he hoped Blinken was able to get a “deep impression and understanding” of Shanghai, a city of skyscrapers, ports and more than 25 million people that is a magnet for commercially ambitious young people from China and abroad.
Most recently, the U.S. has raised concerns that potential overcapacity in Chinese industries — such as electric vehicles, steel and solar panels — might crowd out U.S. and other foreign manufacturers.
Shortly after arriving, Blinken attended a Chinese basketball playoff game between the local Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, with the home team losing in the last seconds in a 121-120 nailbiter.
With the U.S. presidential race heating up, it’s unclear what ramifications a victory for either Biden or former President Donald Trump might have for relations. But Trump could deepen a trade war he started during his first term. His tough rhetoric on China and isolationist approach to foreign policy could ramp up uncertainties.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, with NYU Shanghai Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, back right, talks to students at NYU Shanghai, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks to students at NYU Shanghai, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, third left, and Scott Walker, left, Consul General at the U.S Consulate General in Shanghai, visit a waterfront area called The Bund, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, talks with U.S. tourists as he walks in a waterfront area called The Bund, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, center, with U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, left, while attending a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, center, with U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, right, while attending a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, and U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, far right, arrive at the Grand Halls to meet with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hans with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining as they meet at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, watches U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, left, shake hands with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
