China's President Hu Jintao warned Taiwan Thursday against any moves towards independence but called for the two sides to continue the exchanges that have helped ease their longtime rivalry.

"We resolutely oppose any separatist attempt for Taiwan independence," Hu said in an address to his ruling Communist Party's five-yearly congress.

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck off southern Taiwan on Thursday, the island's Seismology Center said, but there were no reports of any damage or casualties.

The tremor, which was felt across the south of the island, struck at 6:31pm (1031 GMT), 22.1 kilometers (13.73 miles) south of the island's second biggest city Kaohsiung, at a depth of 33.0 kilometers under the sea, the center said.

A Taiwanese prosecutor said Wednesday that an elderly man had been arrested and detained on suspicion of starting a fire at a hospital that killed 12 people and injured 60.

The blaze erupted before dawn on Tuesday at Beimen nursing facility in southern Tainan city, whose 115 patients included people in their 90s, with several left on their own to escape dense smoke that filled the building.

A group of South Korean lawmakers on Tuesday visited an isolated set of islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with Japan -- a move likely to further stoke tensions with Tokyo.

Seventeen members of the parliamentary National Defense Committee flew to the Dokdo islands (known as Takeshima in Japan) on military helicopters for a day-long visit, an aide to committee member Han Ki-Ho said.

At least 12 people were killed and 60 injured when an early-hours blaze tore through a hospital catering mainly to bed-ridden and mentally ill seniors in southern Taiwan on Tuesday, health authorities said.

The fire started in a nursing facility housing more than 100 elderly and mentally ill patients in Tainan city who were evacuated during the incident, a local health official said.

Taiwan is investigating the alleged theft by two former executives of sensitive technology from leading flat-panel maker AU Optronics and its sale to a Chinese rival, officials said Monday.

The two suspects, identified by their surnames Lien and Wang, were taken into custody and questioned by the Bureau of Investigation last month.

Dressed in mini skirts barely covering their hips, the two girls took to the neon-lit stage and moved vigorously to the loud, pumping pop music. Their job: to appease the wandering spirits.

As the temple facade in the background changed color from the fireworks lighting up the Taiwanese night sky, the show climaxed with pole-dancing and striptease in front of an audience consisting of men, women and children.

Galaxy S3, iPhone 5 or HTC One? That's a tough question for Taiwan's Cabinet ministers.

Senior Taiwanese officials have been under scrutiny for the smartphones they use — specifically whether they support Taiwan's HTC Corp., which plays a big role the island's high-tech economy.

Hundreds of Taiwanese rallied Sunday to press Taipei's claim over disputed East China Sea islands at the center of a major row between China and Japan.

Nearly 1,000 people marched through the town of Toucheng, in northeastern Ilan county, clutching banners and flags and chanting slogans.

"War criminal" is not the first expression that comes to mind when seeing white-haired Chou Ching-feng in his living room in Taiwan, sipping tea with his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.

But nearly 70 years ago, he worked for the Japanese army in what is now Malaysia, guarding Australian prisoners in one of the numerous prisoner-of-war (POW) camps that were scattered across occupied Southeast Asia.