Radio Taiwan International
Date: 21 December, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Taiwan has reported a cluster of COVID-19 among pilots that began with an infected pilot from New Zealand.

After contract tracing, authorities believe the New Zealander failed to wear a mask after developing a cough, infecting two co-pilots, including a Taiwanese national. This Taiwanese national then infected her two co-pilots during another flight on December 18.
[FULL  STORY]

We need new trading partners and likeminded allies such as Taiwan in our corner to counter China and advance Canada’s interests, writes Scott Simon in the Vancouver Sun. 

The Vancouver Sun
Date: December 21, 2020
By: Scott Simon

Canada benefits most from close relationships with countries that share our values. One such country that engages in fair economic practices, promotes health security, and fosters geopolitical stability is Taiwan. However, this proven, reliable, and willing partner remains unrecognized by Canada as an important ally.

Worse still, Canada’s reluctance to turn to Taiwan comes at a time when we need all the partners we can get in the Indo-Pacific region. We are facing a persistent challenge from China in the forms of hostage diplomacy, regional aggression, economic coercion, human rights abuses, and more.

With that in mind, it is time to consider Taiwan.

There is much that Taiwan has to offer. For instance, Taiwan has done an amazing job of containing COVID-19. Even as cases soar, Taiwan to date has an accumulated case count of 618 and only seven deaths. Taiwan, from government and civil society, has donated over two million masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to Canada and stands ready to share its public health expertise.

As we look toward a post-COVID economic reconstruction, we will need to make careful decisions about which countries to prioritize. Common sense would dictate that our needs are best met in a country with solid property rights, rule of law, and no track record of arbitrarily detaining Canadians for political purposes. Taiwan meets all those conditions.    [FULL  STORY]

NFU basketball captain, girlfriend die in car accident after failing to use left turn box in Kaoshiung

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/21
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A star basketball player from the UBA (University Basketball Association) and his girlfriend perished in a car accident on Sunday (Dec. 20) in southern Taiwan.

On Sunday evening, a 23-year-old basketball team captain and recent graduate from the Department of Automation Engineering from National Formosa University surnamed Chen (陳) and his girlfriend, surnamed Tsai (蔡), who is a junior at the university, suffered fatal injuries when they were involved in a car accident. According to an initial investigation, it is believed that the deadly accident occurred when Chen attempted to make an illegal direct left turn on his scooter and was struck from behind by a car.

At 6:30 p.m. on Sunday evening, Chen was driving his scooter down Kaisyuan 4th Road in Kaohsiung's Qianzhen District heading west, while Tsai rode on the back, reported UDN. When he reached the intersection with Ruida Road, he suddenly made a direct left turn, which is illegal.

A Mazda sedan driven by a man surnamed Lin (林) was unable to evade Chen's scooter and ran into it from behind, sending Chen and Tsai hurtling into the air and scattering debris down the street. The forceful impact of the crash resulted in the front end of the car being badly deformed and caused the driver's side airbag to deploy.  [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/21/2020
By: Su Szu-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) The initial findings of an investigation into the recent deaths of 25 wild water buffaloes in Yangmingshan National Park in Taipei indicate that the animals were victims of malnutrition, the spokesman for the park headquarters said on Monday.

At a meeting of experts held by the Taipei City Animal Protection Office earlier in the day to discuss the issue, contagious diseases, pesticides and fences on the mountains were ruled out as causes of death, Chang Shun-fa (張順發) told CNA.

A "composite environmental factor" was blamed, he said, noting that the experts agreed according to preliminary indications that the deaths were associated with insufficient nutrition in the food sources of the breeding sites of the wild water buffaloes.

"Some cattle died of long-term malnutrition," Chang said, explaining that while there was an abundance of grasses in the area, they lacked protein and minerals.   [FULL  STORY]

AIRLINE CREW: The government is considering revisions to disease-prevention rules after several incidents of pilots and flight attendants breaching health regulations

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 22, 2020
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

The government is considering whether to ban flights from the UK as other countries have done to stem the spread of a new strain of COVID-19 that is reportedly more infectious, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday, adding that the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) would make the final decision on the matter.

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy and the Netherlands, are among the countries and areas that have placed travel curbs on the UK.

“We are discussing the latest developments with the CECC,” Lin told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei.

Separately, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the CECC, said that Taiwan currently has no plans to ban flights from the UK.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan has complained of repeated Chinese military activity, including China's regular flying of air force aircraft near the island

The Independent
Date: Dec 20, 2020
By: Ben Blanchard

Taiwan's navy and air force were deployed on Sunday as a Chinese aircraft carrier group led by the country's newest carrier, the Shandong, sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, the day after a US warship transited the same waterway.

While it is not the first time China's carriers have passed close to Taiwan, it comes at a time of heightened tension between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratically-ruled island as its territory.

Taiwan has complained of repeated Chinese military activity, including China's regular flying of air force aircraft near the island. China says such drills are aimed at protecting the country's sovereignty.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said the Shandong, which was formally commissioned almost exactly one year ago, accompanied by four warships had set out from the northern Chinese port of Dalian on Thursday.    [FULL  STORY]

CNN
Date: December 19, 2020
Analysis by Brad Lendon, CNN

Hong Kong (CNN)Taiwan has begun building a fleet of state-of-the-art submarines as it looks to further bolster its defensive capabilities, a move analysts say could complicate any potential Chinese military plans to invade the island or install a naval blockade.

Construction on the first of eight new subs began last month at a facility in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, with the first expected to begin sea trials in 2025. At a ceremony marking the beginning of the program, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called it a "historic milestone" which "demonstrates Taiwan's strong will to the world."

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed that Beijing will never allow the island to become independent and has refused to rule out the use of force if necessary. But Tsai has been defiant, saying Taiwan is at the forefront of "defending democracy from authoritarian aggression" in Asia.    [FULL  STORY]

National Defense and Security Research report insists, 'We have to save our own country'

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/20
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan must ensure its own national security even if the U.S. continues to sell it armaments, according to the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), a government-funded think tank based in Taipei.

INDSR researcher Lin Cheng-rung (林政榮) noted in a report the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on Dec. 8 the U.S. would sell Taiwan its Field Information Communications System. It is the sixth arms sale to Taiwan of Donald Trump's administration’s this year and the 11th of his presidency.

However, Lin said that most U.S. presidents in recent times have taken an ambiguous position on whether the U.S. will send soldiers abroad to help defend Taiwan, if a military conflict arises. He noted that when Trump was elected as U.S. president in December 2016, he spoke with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for more than 10 minutes about politics, the economy, and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Lin noted that Trump signed into law the Taiwan Travel Act in 2018 and the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019, which was unanimously passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. He added that Trump actively promoted trade, technology, and military exchanges with Taiwan after he took office on Jan. 20, 2017, forging a relationship that was arguably the most favorable toward Taiwan since 1979.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/20/2020
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) China's first indigenous aircraft carrier, the Shandong, transited through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, prompting Taiwan to dispatch military assets to monitor the voyage, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND).

The Shandong embarked on its journey from the Chinese port of Dalian along with four escort ships on Dec. 17 and continued to sail south after passing through the strait, the MND said in a statement Sunday.

"Taiwan's military monitored the Chinese ships during their transit, mobilizing six Navy ships and eight Air Force planes," the MND said, insisting that Taiwan's military was capable of safeguarding the country and maintaining stability in the region.

According to MND data, this was the Shandong's second transit through the strait. The first one came on Dec. 26, 2019.    [FULL  STORY]

INTERFERENCE: Hong Kong believes that the Taiwanese government influences students to take part in ‘subversive actions’ when they return home, a source said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 21, 2020
By: Chen Yu-fu, Chung Li-hua and
William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writer

The Hong Kong Government might order Hong Kong universities to cease exchanges with Taiwanese universities to prevent students’ involvement in political activities, a source said yesterday.

National security legislation imposed on the territory by Beijing in June empowers the Hong Kong government to interfere in educational exchanges.

Article 9 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region stipulates that the Hong Kong government “shall take necessary measures to strengthen … supervision and regulation over matters concerning national security, including those relating to schools.”

Hong Kong government officials believe that the Democratic Progressive Party is influencing Hong Kong students in Taiwan and encouraging them to take part in “subversive activities” when they return home, the source said.   [FULL  STORY]