• Dutch architecture firm MVRDV turned a disused shopping centre into an urban lagoon called Tainan Spring, using its old concrete foundations
• If the coronavirus pandemic accelerates the ‘retail apocalypse’, malls made redundant will be ripe for creative resurrection

South China Morning Post
Date: 23 May, 2020
By: Christopher DeWolf

It’s a term that has become familiar to many people around the world: “dead malls”. As online shopping picks up speed and the global retail landscape is transformed, a growing number of shopping centres are being sucked of life and energy. The novel coronavirus pandemic may only accelerate the trend.

So many of these malls sit abandoned in the United States that business analysts have described the situation as a “retail apocalypse”. In March, photojournalist Seph Lawless published a book, Abandoned Malls of America, that documents his visits to more than 200 dead malls.

But in Taiwan, one such mall has found new life as something entirely different. Designed by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, Tainan Spring turned an old shopping centre into a public water park that makes creative use of the mall’s concrete foundations.

The China-Town Mall was built atop an old fishing harbour next to the Tainan Canal in 1983. “It drained the vitality of downtown Tainan for decades,” says MVRDV founder Winy Maas. “I envisioned [the water park] as a way to review and recycle an architectural mistake.”
[FULL  STORY]

Sputnik News
Date: 23.05.2020
By: Wilmer Leon

The Critical Hour

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy.

"The US State Department has approved a possible sale to Taiwan of 18 MK-48 Mod6 advanced technology heavyweight torpedoes and related equipment for an estimated cost of $180 million, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Wednesday," Reuters reported Wednesday. What will happen next as tensions rise with China?

Venezuela and Iran, two countries that the US has decided to make adversaries, and which have been "stung by sanctions and hobbled by the coronavirus, are forging a closer strategic partnership, providing embattled President Nicolás Maduro a vital lifeline and offering Tehran the prospect of a new center of influence just across the Caribbean Sea from Florida," the Washington Post reported Friday. "The most public display of the deepening relationship: five oil tankers now steaming across the Atlantic Ocean to Venezuela, carrying what analysts estimate to be 60 million gallons of Iranian gasoline … The first of the ships is set to arrive in Venezuelan waters as soon as this weekend, to relieve fuel shortages so dire that the sick can’t get to hospitals and produce is rotting on farms." How will the US react to this as the ships get closer to Venezuela?

US President Donald Trump continues to attack China for what he describes as "worldwide killing" from COVID-19. This message is likely to be relevant in the 2020 US presidential campaign. "The White House salvos have sought to keep a focus on China's early response to the virus and what Trump has called a 'China-centric' deference at the World Health Organization. China, in turn, has portrayed itself as a good global citizen willing to work with the United Nations and other countries to defeat the pandemic," the Washington Post reported Thursday.

In David Lindorff's recent piece for RT, titled "COVID-19 is massacring US elderly in nursing homes, neglected for years by a power-hungry industry," he states, "The elderly in US care institutions are dying disproportionately from COVID-19. The pandemic has revealed the extent to which their wellbeing and safety have been sacrificed by an industry that prioritizes profit and influence.” How is this happening?    [FULL  STORY]

TRA's push to extend coronavirus measure indefinitely does not sit well with SE Asian community, Taiwanese allies

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/23
By: Micah McCartney, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hundreds staged a sit-in at Taipei Main Station on Saturday (May 23) to protest a proposed ban on sitting in the lobby, which would deprive the country's Southeast Asian communities of a longtime spot for weekend rendezvous.

Taipei Railways Administration (TRA) in February announced it was banning visitors from sitting in the lobby of the central transportation hub to mitigate the risk of the coronavirus spreading. It also prohibited exhibitions and other events from taking place on the sprawling, checkered floor of the hall.

On May 18, TRA said it was weighing extending the moratorium on sitting indefinitely, citing health and image concerns. Station Master Huang Jung-hua (黃榮華) noted how orderly the space had become since the measure took effect and even floated installing seats for waiting passengers.

The announcement did not sit well with some, with those opposed arguing such a move would be a blow to openness and inclusivity. Transportation and Communications Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) voiced support for re-opening the lobby to all, including the migrant workers who gather there.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/23/2020
By: Wang Cheng-chung and Ko Lin

Taipei, May 23 (CNA) A total of 4,021 gay couples got married in Taiwan as of Friday, almost exactly one year after a new law legalizing same-sex marriages in Taiwan took effect on May 24, 2019.

Data released Saturday by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) showed that the majority of the registered marriages were female couples, which stood at 2,773, or 69 percent of the total, with 1,248 for male couples.

New Taipei led with the registration of 815 same-sex marriages, followed by Taipei with 633 and Kaohsiung with 534, according to the statistics.

The Legislative Yuan passed the same-sex marriage bill in May last year, and the law went into effect on May 24 that year, making Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriages.    [FULL  STORY]

NPP WARNING: The NPP’s chairman said that a security law proposed by Beijing means it has renounced its promise to maintain ‘one country, two systems’ in HK

Taipei Times
Dated: May 24, 2020 
By: Chen Yun / Staff reporter

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday proposed changing the law to provide protection for those seeking political asylum.

China at the opening of the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Thursday introduced a draft security law for Hong Kong to ban treason, subversion and sedition, with a review expected next week.

TPP caucus whip Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said that the party is concerned about democracy advocates in Hong Kong and has taken action to support them.

The party has proposed an amendment to Article 18 of the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例), which stipulates that the government can offer help to residents of Hong Kong and Macau whose security and freedom are endangered due to political factors, Jang said.    [FULL  STORY]

US president needs to follow up strong words with decisive action and investigate the international health body

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/23
By: David Spencer, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan News) – U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has been something of a mixed bag.

Domestically, his administration has succeeded in redefining the word "farcical." From advocating the drinking of bleach to backing protesters demanding an end to social distancing, he has managed to get just about every call wrong.

In stark contrast, his handling of the pandemic on an international level has been fairly consistent and, most importantly, right. He has condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) repeatedly for its role in covering up the virus and helping it to spread around the world.

He has attacked the World Health Organization (WHO) for its ongoing and baffling support of the CCP and even temporarily pulled U.S. funding from the organization until it succeeds in getting its house in order. Meanwhile, numerous U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have openly congratulated Taiwan for its effective handling of the outbreak and called for the nation to take its rightful place at the World Health Assembly (WHA) table.
[FULL

[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date:\ 22 May, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai has spoken publicly about a campaign to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu. Chen faced off against Han during the 2018 Kaohsiung mayoral election, but lost to him, winning only 44.81% of the vote. 

A campaign to recall Han is now in its final stretch, with a vote set for June 6. On Friday, Chen said of the campaign to oust his former electoral rival that recall elections are part of the democratic process.    [FULL  STORY]

Reuters
Date: May 21, 2020
By: Yew Lun Tian, Yimou Lee

BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang left out the word “peaceful” on Friday in referring to Beijing’s desire to “reunify” with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, an apparent policy shift that comes as ties with Taipei continue on a downward spiral.

Taiwan has complained of increased Chinese military harassment since the coronavirus pandemic began, with fighter jets and naval vessels regularly approaching the island on drills China has described as routine.

China says Taiwan is its most sensitive and important territorial issue, and has never renounced the use of force to bring what it views as a Chinese province under its control, making the Taiwan Strait a potential military flashpoint.

Li, in his state-of-the-nation work report at the start of the annual meeting of China’s parliament, said his country would “resolutely oppose and deter any separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence”.    [FULL  STORY]

Beijing’s handling of situation consolidates Taiwan government's determination to safeguard democracy

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/22
By: Sylvia Teng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan) – Taiwan authorities have expressed concern as Beijing prepares to push ahead with national security laws for Hong Kong, which many fear will further erode the city’s withering freedoms and autonomy.

The Presidential Office urged Beijing to commence dialogue with Hong Kong people and fulfill its commitment to guaranteeing the territory’s freedom and democratic way of life, said the office via a statement on Friday (May 22).

Beijing’s handling of Hong Kong’s affairs shows the “one country, two systems” arrangement contradicts the notions of democracy and freedom, said Presidential Office Spokesperson Alex Huang (黃重諺). It also consolidates the government’s determination to safeguard Taiwan’s democracy and sovereignty, he added.

The Mainland Affairs Council, the top government agency handling cross-strait affairs, criticized Beijing for wrongfully attributing the unrest in Hong Kong to external forces and Hong Kong independence supporters. The legislation undermines Hong Kong’s civil liberties and could create more antagonism and instability in Hong Kong while risking the city’s status as an international financial hub, the agency said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/22/2020
By: Wen Kuei-hsiang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, May 22 (CNA) A vaccine Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) is developing for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will enter human trials as early as this autumn, Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) disclosed Friday.

Lai made the announcement in a Facebook post after visiting the NHRI's Animal Biological Safety Level 3 (ABSL-3) laboratory in Chunan in Miaoli County to see how work on a vaccine was progressing.

In April, NHRI President Liang Kung-yee (梁賡義) revealed that a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the national health research institution had produced promising results in mice.

The NHRI has been working on developing four kinds of vaccines against COVID-19 since February, with the development of a peptide vaccine progressing the fastest, Liang told CNA.    [FULL  STORY]