America sending 'flirtatious glances' to supporters of Taiwan independence, Beijing claims

Nikkei Asia
Date: December 20, 2020

SHANGHAI/TAIPEI (Reuters) — China's military tailed a U.S. warship as it passed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the Chinese military said, denouncing such missions as sending "flirtatious glances" to supporters of Taiwan independence.

China, which claims democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, has been angered by stepped-up U.S. support for the island, including arms sales and sailing warships through the Taiwan Strait, further souring Beijing-Washington relations.

The U.S. Navy said the guided missile destroyer USS Mustin had conducted "a routine Taiwan Strait transit (on) Dec. 19 in accordance with international law".

"The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," it added.    [FULL  STORY]

Meanwhile, Apple, for whom this factory was producing various parts for iPhones, has said that it has placed Wistron on probation and the company will not be receiving any new business from Apple until complete corrective action is taken.

News18
Date: December 19, 2020
By: Stacy Pereira

Aweek after violence that broke out at Wistron factory in Karnataka's Narasapura, the company has admitted its mistake and offered apology to workers over non-payment of salaries to them. The company has also decided to remove its India vice-president Vincent Lee following the violence.

"This is a new facility and we recognise that we made mistakes as we expanded. Some of the processes we put in place to manage labor agencies and payments need to be strengthened and upgraded and we are taking immediate action to correct this, including disciplinary action," Taiwan-headquartered Wistron Corporation said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Apple, for whom this factory was producing various parts for iPhones, has said that it has placed Wistron on probation and the company will not be receiving any new business from Apple until complete corrective action is taken.

Apple, who was conducting a parallel enquiry into the December 12 violence incident, stated, "While investigations are ongoing, our preliminary findings indicate violations of our Supplier Code of Conduct by failing to implement proper working hour management processes. This led to payment delays for some workers in October and November."
[FULL  STORY]

California mayors eager to learn from Taiwan's experience

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/19
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s envoy in the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), was able to tell 20 Californian mayors about the island country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the assistance of a Taiwanese-American mayor, reports said Saturday (Dec. 19).

Hsiao held a video conference with members of the California Mayors Coalition on Friday (Dec. 18) to explain how Taiwan had become one of the most successful countries in containing the spread of the virus, CNA reported.

The envoy’s 30-minute talk was organized by Peggy Huang (黃瑞雅), the mayor of Yorba Linda in the state’s Orange County. As the city government’s web page says, she is a Taiwanese native who spent most of her adolescence and young adult years in Northern California.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/19/2020
By: Liu Chien-pang and Chung Yu-chen

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) A team composed of veterinarians and animal health specialists is now looking into 24 deaths of wild water buffaloes in Yangmingshan National Park, the Taipei City Animal Protection Office said Saturday.

Among the 24 dead wild water buffaloes, the office noted, 18 died over the past 19 days, including one calf that was found dead Friday evening.

To determine the cause of deaths, the team recently collected samples from the carcasses as well as water and plants from areas where the water buffaloes are most active for testing, the office said.

The locations where the carcasses were found were also disinfected, it said.
[FULL  STORY]

MESSAGE: The transit of the USS ‘Mustin’ shows the US would not tolerate China encroaching on Taiwan’s territory, a National Taiwan University academic said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 20, 2020
By: Wu Su-wei and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

The USS Mustin, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, sailed through the Taiwan Strait yesterday, the 12th time this year that a US warship transited the waterway.

The US 7th Fleet said in a statement that the Mustin conducted a routine transit in accordance with international law.

“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” the statement read.

The Ministry of National Defense said that the US vessel entered the Strait from the north and headed south.    [FULL  STORY]

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

The United Nations designates December 18 “International Migrants Day.” Though Chinese pressure means that Taiwan is barred from participating in the UN, President Tsai Ing-wen has still observed the occasion on Friday.

This year, Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party invited immigrants from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Malaysia to film a video celebrating the International Migrants Day. In the video, the immigrants say that they are Taiwanese and referred to Taiwan as their new home. 

President Tsai Ing-wen, who is the Democratic Progressive Party’s Chairperson, also appears in the video, thanking immigrants to Taiwan for their contributions to the country. 

The Democratic Progressive Party says it established an immigrant affairs committee in 2017. Several committee members are immigrants themselves, and they contribute to the party’s policies on immigrant issues.   [FULL  STORY]

Redfield And Wiltons Srategies
Date: Dec 18, 2020

Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu has recently urged for a new international alliance against China, and suggested that after cracking down on Hong Kong, China’s next target could be Taiwan. In October, Xi Jinping called on troops to “put all (their) minds and energy on preparing for war.”

Five months after our previous polling in Taiwan, the same proportion (45%) of respondents think that military conflict between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is likely in the next ten years.

Under President Donald Trump, the United States significantly boosted military aid to Taiwan, and the Taiwanese are waiting to see if the incoming Joe Biden administration will follow the departing President’s policy. In the light of continued concerns about a potential war between Taiwan and the PRC, a majority (52%) of the Taiwanese public express support for closer political and military ties between Taiwan and the United States. Only a tiny minority (8%) oppose closer ties, while around a third (35%) neither support nor oppose.6    [FULL  STORY]

Hong Kong airline lists Taiwan as part of 'China area' on pandemic-related travel formTaiwan News
Date: 2020/12/18
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After a passenger was forced to sign a document listing Taiwan as part of China on his travel history, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) demanded Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific correct the wording, reports said Friday (Dec. 18).

Chinese bullying linked to its territorial claims over Taiwan has led to repeated incidents of international companies listing the self-ruled island nation on websites as part of the communist country.

A traveler wrote on Facebook that when he wanted to board a Cathay Pacific flight out of Taiwan, he was presented with a document where he had to mark which area he had been visiting before arriving in Hong Kong, CNA reported.

The choice was between a high-risk area, a country outside China, or “the China area (including the interior, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan),” he said. The form, registered as 599H, was supposed to provide information related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/18/2020
By: Flor Wang and Chang Ming-hsuan

Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) Colon cancer, the leading cause of death among cancer patients in Taiwan for 12 consecutive years, is most prevalent in southern Taiwan, with one in nearly 200 people suffering from the disease, a study has found.

In 2018, 497 per 100,000 people in southern Taiwan (the Yunlin/Chiayi/Tainan area) suffered from colon cancer, followed by 467 in greater Taipei (the Taipei/New Taipei/Keelung/Yilan/Kinmen/Matsu area) and 420 in the Kaohsiung/Pingtung/Penghu area, the Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (SCRS) said on Friday when publishing the results of a study based on data collected from the National Health Insurance Program.

That same year, there were 369 colon cancer patients in central Taiwan (the Taichung/Changhua/Nantou area), 365 in northern Taiwan (the Taoyuan/Hsinchu/Miaoli area), and 354 in eastern Taiwan (the Hualien/Taitung area).

A further analysis found that an average of one out of every 200 people in the Yunlin/Chiayi/Tainan area could have colon cancer — 1.4 times the number in the Hualien/Taitung area — with one in six patients being diagnosed in the fourth stage.
[FULL  STORY]

‘ENDURING CHANGES’: The US representatives also urged the US Department of State to lift ‘self-imposed guidelines’ restricting bilateral relations between the US and Taiwan

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 19, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

A joint letter by 78 US lawmakers calls on the US government to change the name of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington to the “Taiwan Representative Office” and start talks toward a free-trade agreement.

Dated Thursday, the letter addressing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was signed by US representatives Michael McCaul, Steve Chabot and other Republicans.

Following the Nov. 3 election, US Democrats would hold 222 of the US House of Representatives’ 435 seats, compared with the Republicans’ 211.

“The use of the word ‘Taipei’ fails to accurately reflect the strong ties the United States has not only with national-level government officials in Taiwan’s capital city, but with many subnational governments as well as the people of Taiwan,” the letter says.
[FULL  STORY]