STANDING FIRM: In her inaugural address, the president said Taiwan would not accept Beijing’s use of the ‘one country, two systems’ formula to downgrade the nation

Taipei Times
Date: May 21, 2020
By: Su Yung-yao / Staff reporter

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in her inaugural address yesterday vowed to continue efforts to push for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, adding that the nation would not accept Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework.

Tsai and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) were sworn in yesterday morning at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, Tsai delivered her second inaugural address from a podium in front of the nearby Taipei Guest House.

Tsai spoke on four major topics: industrial development, social safety, national security and the strengthening of Taiwan’s democracy.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 19 May, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

Taiwanese officials have spoken with US State Department official Alex Wong about the issue of North Korea’s denuclearization. Wong serves as the US State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Korea.

The officials spoke via telephone Tuesday about ways Taiwan and the US can cooperate on getting North Korea to denuclearize in a complete and verifiable way.    [FULL  STORY]

Reuters
Date: MAY 19, 2020

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan wants dialogue with China but cannot accept its proposal for “one country, two systems”, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday after being inagurated for her second and final term in office.

“Here, I want to reiterate the words ‘peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue’. We will not accept the Beijing authorities’ use of ‘one country, two systems’ to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo. We stand fast by this principle,” she said in a speech.    [FULL  STORY]

Chinese consulate in New Zealand spray-painted with 'F*** CCP,' 'TAIWAN NO.1'

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/19
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Video surfaced on Monday (May 18) showing the Chinese consulate in New Zealand spray-painted with vulgar language insulting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and praising Taiwan, on the same day the country was yet again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) due to pressure from China.

On Monday, Taiwan shelved its bid to be included in the WHA as it became abundantly clear that China would not allow the country to participate, even as an observer. To add insult to injury, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom invited Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) to be the first guest speaker.

During his speech, Xi ironically claimed that throughout the crisis his country has acted with "openness, transparency, and responsibility." In reality, China suppressed Li Wenliang and other doctors early in the outbreak, denied human-to-human transmission for weeks, and allowed five million Wuhan residents to travel all over China and the world before finally locking the city down.

That same day, Chinese Twitter user 一剑飘尘06 posted an 80-second long video which shows the aftermath of a recent attack by vandals on the Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland, New Zealand. In the video, the man holding the camera speaks Mandarin with an accent typically heard in northern China.    [FULL  STORY[

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/20/2020
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took her oath of office at the Presidential Office on Wednesday and formally commenced her second four-year term as the president of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name.

Tsai, 63, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was sworn in at 9 a.m. in a simple ceremony that was broadcast on television and live streamed on social media.

Former Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) then was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), who stepped down after one term.

Tsai will deliver her inauguration speech at around 10 a.m. in an outdoor area of the Taipei Guest House and receive members of the diplomatic corps.    [FULL  STORY]

IN PROTEST: The US’ top diplomat said the WHA had been deprived of Taiwan’s scientific expertise, while Tsai said political factors should not be put above health

Taipei Times
Date: May 20, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Monday condemned Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Assembly (WHA), while President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday lodged a strong protest against the WHO for not inviting Taiwan.

Twenty-two nations voiced support for Taiwan’s bid for participation on the first day of the assembly’s two-day virtual meeting, but despite the global community’s unprecedentedly strong support for Taiwan, it remained blocked from the assembly, with WHO member states on Monday agreeing to delay discussion on Taiwan until later this year.

Pompeo, who on May 6 urged WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to invite Taiwan to the WHA, condemned the WHO for excluding Taiwan under pressure from Beijing.

“No one disputes that Taiwan has mounted one of the world’s most successful efforts to contain the pandemic to date… This should not be a surprise. Transparent, vibrant, and innovative democracies like Taiwan always respond faster and more effectively to pandemics than do authoritarian regimes,” he said in a statement.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 18 May, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

106-years-old Yu De-hsing goes paragliding![/caption] A 106-year-old man has set a record as the oldest person to paraglide in Taiwan. The man — Yu De-hsing — turned heads for his daring feat and strong spirit.

Prepare for liftoff! 106-year-old Yu De-hsing takes to the skies. With the guidance of a coach, Yu is paragliding. He’s a little nervous at first, saying a little prayer in the air. But after a while, Yu is absolutely loving the experience. Cautious prayers turn into joyous hymns, and Yu even raises his hands and legs as he flies through the sky. Look at him go!

After ten minutes, Yu and his coach come in for a bit of a rough landing, but he’s a-okay. And… he’s just set the record as the oldest man to ever paraglide in Taiwan. But not without getting the go-ahead from medical experts first. 
[FULL  STORY]

Pompeo accuses the global agency of playing 'politics while lives are at stake'

Nikkei Asian Review
Date: May 18, 2020
By: Francesca Regaldo and Alex Fang, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO/NEW YORK — The U.S. condemned the World Health Organization on Monday for bowing to Chinese pressure to not invite Taiwan as an observer to a key meeting this week of the institution's decision-making body.

"The United States condemns Taiwan's exclusion from the World Health Assembly," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, accusing the multilateral organization of "play[ing] politics while lives are at stake."

"WHO's Director-General Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus] had every legal power and precedent to include Taiwan in WHO's proceedings" but chose to bow to Beijing's pressure, Pompeo said in a statement. "The director-general's lack of independence deprives the Assembly of Taiwan's renowned scientific expertise on pandemic disease, and further damages the WHO's credibility and effectiveness at a time when the world needs it the most."

Taiwan dropped its bid to attend the meeting as an observer earlier in the day.     [FULL  STORY]

Sight of foreign workers and commuters sitting on chessboard-patterned floor may become history

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/18
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After banning people from sitting on the Taipei Main Station lobby floor in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said Monday (May 18) that it is planning to extend the ban indefinitely once the pandemic is over.

As a converging point for the Taipei Metro, Taiwan High Speed Rail, Taiwan Railways, and the Taoyuan Airport MRT, Taipei Main Station has served as a central transportation hub for the capital and as a popular meeting place for foreign workers and commuters. The potentially permanent ban would mean the sight of foreign workers sitting on the chessboard-patterned floor over weekends could become a thing of the past.

During an interview on Monday, Taipei Railway Station Master Huang Jung-hua (黃榮華) pointed out that the station has become less chaotic after the mass gathering ban and that the TRA will provide more chairs in waiting areas for travelers to use. He emphasized that all TRA stations were designed for transportation purposes and that sitting on the station floor was never part of their intended design.

Huang said the decision has yet to be finalized, but that the TRA is working toward prohibiting individuals from sitting on the floor. He also denied accusations the new policy was being unfriendly to foreign workers, stressing that it was inappropriate to treat the station as a place of entertainment, reported ETtoday.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/18/2020
By: Yeh Su-ping, Chen Chun-hua, Wang Cheng-chung and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) second term will start with a high-ranking personnel reshuffle, as part of which former Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) is set to take over as presidential secretary-general, according to personnel changes announced by the Presidential Office Monday.

Tsai and Vice President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will be sworn in on Wednesday.

Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) will take over as secretary-general of the National Security Council (NSC), while incumbent NSC Secretary-General David Lee (李大維) will become chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) announced Monday at a press conference.

SEF is a semi-official intermediary body responsible for cross-Taiwan Strait affairs.    [FULL  STORY]