‘LAST FORTRESS’: Asked about his three alleged assailants being released on bail, Lam Wing-kei said that at least persecuted Hong Kongers could still flee to Taiwan

Taipei Times
Date Apr 26, 2020
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Taiwan is the “last fortress” for Hong Kong residents in the face of Chinese oppression, Causeway Bay Books (銅鑼灣書店) manager Lam Wing-kei (林榮基) said yesterday, calling on fellow Hong Kongers to escape from the territory and join the resistance “from the outside.”

Lam made the remarks at the launch of his bookstore in Taipei when asked by reporters whether he sees in Hong Kong the same hope that he said he saw in Taiwan.

Lam — who was manager of Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay Books, which was founded in 1994 and sold work critical of Chinese leaders — fled to Taiwan in April last year amid fears of persecution by Beijing.The Taipei bookstore opened yesterday after raising nearly NT$6 million (US$199,468) through a crowdfunding Web site from September to November last year.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 24 April, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

A survey by a Taiwanese job bank has found that 40% of new graduates worry a proposed subsidy program will lower starting salaries. 1111 Job Bank released the results Friday.

The government is planning a year-long subsidy program that would give employers NT$12,000 (US$400) a month for every new graduate they hire. The program is part of a relief package designed to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Hill
Date: 04/24/20
By: Jianli Yang and Aaron Rhodes, Opinion Contributors

On April 18, Beijing intensified its crackdown on the people of Hong Kong by arresting 14 high-profile Hong Kong democracy activists on charges of “illegal assembly.” Those arrested include the 82-year-old Martin Lee Chu-ming, considered the “grandfather of democracy” in Hong Kong, and media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, owner of the largest pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily.

These arrests are a classic example of opportunism by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The regime of Xi Jinping apparently has calculated that:

• The pandemic provides a distraction, and thus an opportunity, for a preemptive strike against the opposition that will thwart protests likely to occur around June 9, the first anniversary of the Hong Kong anti-extradition legislation protests. 
• The United States, United Kingdom and other democratic powers, consumed by domestic challenges, are unable to react in meaningful ways, beyond condemning the arrests. The only liability the CCP likely will face is lip service supporting abstract principles.
• In the context of the global financial crisis caused by the pandemic, Hong Kong’s economy is even less a reason for restraint than when the protests were at their peak and Western voices were the strongest. Given the massive decline in China’s exports, Hong Kong’s special trade status is a minor factor.
• Fear of the virus and the stricter police restrictions will prevent large-scale demonstrations and no mass protests of the crackdown are likely. But as the virus gradually comes under control, this window of opportunity is closing. 

Crushing the dissent in Hong Kong is more necessary to Xi’s rule now than before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The Wuhan outbreak exposed the bankruptcy of CCP rule. Xi finds himself facing unprecedented criticism, anger and, ever more bold, ridicule. In several public relations humiliations, he has met resistance from outside and within the party. The CCP’s propaganda and control could unravel under withering criticism from such prominent figures as Li Wenliang, the doctor who first raised alarms about the virus, Tsinghua University professor Xu Zhangrui, civil rights lawyer and activist Xu Zhiyong, Peking University professor He Weifang, journalist Chen Qiushi, Wuhan-based author Fang Fang , Ai Fen, director of the emergency department of Wuhan Central Hospital, retired scholar Zhao Shilin, netizen Ren Zhiqiang and others.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan cannot guarantee total safety as long as pandemic in other countries exists: Health expert

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/24
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic stretches on, Taiwanese pediatrician and online commentator Chen Mu-jung (陳木榮) has listed four possible scenarios that need to take place for Taiwan and the world to return to normal.

Although Taiwan has not recorded a single case of local transmission for 12 straight days, Chen took to his Facebook page to warn the public that now is not the time to relax. He exclaimed that Taiwan cannot guarantee 100 percent of its safety unless the spread of coronavirus in other countries has ceased as well.

Chen stressed that there are four scenarios that could lower the impact of the coronavirus to minimal and that at least one of them needs to happen in order for the global population to resume their normal life.

Chen said the first scenario is that the coronavirus vanishes from humans altogether, similar to how the SARS virus disappeared in 2004. However, he said most health professionals have regarded this presumption as wishful thinking and emphasized the danger of being too optimistic.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/24/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, April 24 (CNA) Taiwan confirmed one new case of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Friday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 428 since the pandemic began late last year, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The latest case was the 30th resulting from a cluster infection on board the "Panshi," a fast combat support ship which was part of a three-ship flotilla that visited Palau in mid-March, said Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the CECC, at a daily press briefing.

The flotilla left Taiwan in early March, stopped in Palau from March 12-15, and returned to Taiwan on April 9 but the crew were not allowed to disembark until April 14-15 because of quarantine regulations.

The latest patient, a male in his 30s, tested negative for COVID-19 after all 744 crew on the three ships were placed in quarantine on April 18, following the discovery that some on board had contracted the disease, the CECC said in a statement.    [FULL  STORY]

‘BREACH OF DEMOCRACY’: Legislation is to prevent Chinese firms from using local partners to broadcast content, which could be used to further ‘united front’ efforts

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 24, 2020
By: Sean Lin and Shelley Shan / Staff reporters

The government is to introduce legislation to prevent Chinese media outlets from exploiting a legal loophole to illegally operate over-the-top (OTT) services in Taiwan, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said yesterday, amid reports that China Central Television (CCTV) could soon begin services in the nation.

The Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Wednesday reported that CCTV plans to follow the model of Chinese OTT service providers iQiyi (愛奇藝) and Tencent Video (騰訊視頻), and begin operations in Taiwan.

The companies have been able to skirt a rule banning Chinese OTT service providers from operating in Taiwan without permission by contracting local distributors and platform providers, the Liberty Times said.

Asked to comment on the report, Kolas described the model as a “breach of democracy,” whose existence the government would not sit back and tolerate.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 23 April, 2020
By: Paula Chao

Taiwan’s pro baseball league is doing just that and even Keith Olbermann is watching! Baseball blogger Vincent Liao weighs on the ESPN anchor’s exchange with President Tsai, a bench-clearing brawl, and Taiwan’s unique baseball culture. Also, we feature ideas for keeping your spirits up while #stayinghome. 
[FULL  STORY]

Navy Recognition
Date: 23 APRIL 2020

On April 17, 2020, Lungteh shipyard laid the keel for the third and fourth Min Jiang-class minelayer. The Min Jiang-class minelayer's mission, in wartime, is to use their automated mine-deploying systems quickly to lay minefields in the path of a Chinese invasion fleet.

According to Lungteh Shipbuilding, the vessels have a full load displacement of 347 tons, a length of 41 meters, a width of 8.8 meters and a draft of 1.7 meters. The vessels can reach a maximum speed of 14 knots.

The vessel armament's comprises of a 20mm T75 gun mount (as the main gun) and two T74 machine guns (manned 7.62×51 mounts).

The Republic of China Navy plans to begin accepting the 3rd and 4th minelayers in 2021. The first mine-laying vessel is expected to be delivered this year, according to plans.    [FULL  STORY]

More than 50,000 professionals in related fields are expected to benefit from measure

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/23
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is soon expected to enact regulation for the certification of public health experts in a bid to improve its disease control preparedness in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

A Cabinet meeting on Thursday (April 23) approved the “Public Health Experts Bill,” which the government hopes will pass the legislature before its session concludes at the end of May, wrote Liberty Times.

The criteria for individuals seeking a certificate will be expanded to include people without a diploma in public health, but the expertise required for the profession will not be compromised, said Shih Chung-liang (石崇良), director-general of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Department of Medical Affairs. Know-how in epidemiology, biostatistics, and health behaviors, for example, will be relevant to the certification.

Currently, around 50,000 people qualifiy to register for an examination. Those certified will be able to practice public health work in areas like community-prone health hazards, epidemic investigation, health surveys for the general public, well-being promotion, and food safety, reported UDN.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/23/2020
By: Chen Ja-fo, Wang Shu-fen, Pan I-ching and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, April 23 (CNA) A worker at a chemical plant in the southern city of Kaohsiung died on Thursday, after a gas leak the previous day.

The worker, surnamed Lee (李), suffered serious chemical burns and inhalation injuries after being exposed to ethylene dichloride, a toxic chemical, in the gas leak that killed one and injured nine others.

Workers at the factory were repairing an ethylene dichloride pump when the incident occurred, according to the Kaohsiung Labor Affairs Bureau.

Lee fell into a coma and was taken to the intensive care unit for emergency treatment but failed to regain consciousness and succumbed to his injuries, Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital said.
[FULL  STORY]