Radio Taiwan International
Date: 10 December, 2020
By: Paula Chao

President Tsai Ing-wen says that Taiwanese people “do not want to live in a state of permanent antagonism” with China. Tsai was speaking Thursday during a virtual year-end celebration held by the Hudson Institute.

Hudson Institute is a conservative think tank founded in 1961 and based in Washington, DC.

In her speech, Tsai accused China of heightening cross-strait tensions by sending fighter jets and naval ships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait. Tsai also criticized China for spreading disinformation in an attempt to influence Taiwanese politics.

Tsai said that while permanent antagonism is not desirable, Taiwanese people are determined to safeguard their freedom and their way of life. In order to strengthen Taiwan’s democracy, Tsai said that the government will “tackle disinformation through openness and transparency” and “deter military adventurism.”    [FULL  STORY]

Sputnik News
Date: 10.12.2020
By: Evgeny Mikhaylov

There have been no reports about casualties or damage inflicted by the quake so far. However, the tremor was reported to be felt in the city of Taipei.

According to the Central Weather Bureau of Taiwan, a powerful tremor has hit the island nation, with the epicentre of the 6.7-magnitude quake located near the city of Yilan, at a depth of 77 kilometres or 48 miles.

The island suffers from regular earthquakes, which usually hit near its easter portion, as Taiwan is located near the Ring of Fire – a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean with extremely high seismic activity.    [FULL  STORY]

Magnitude 5.6 temblor follows larger 6.7 quake recorded 5 hours earlier

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/11
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Nearly five hours after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan on Thursday (Dec. 10), a magnitude 5.6 earthquake occured at a similar location at 2:15 a.m. on Friday (Dec. 11), according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the temblor was 31.3 kilometers southeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 63.2 km, according to CWB data. Taiwan uses an intensity scale of one to seven, which gauges the degree to which a quake is felt at a specific location.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/10/2020
By: Flor Wang

Taipei, Dec. 10 (CNA) Train and metro services were temporarily halted in some parts of Taiwan after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake rocked the country Thursday night.

According to Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), trains operating in areas north of Miaoli and in Yilan ceased operations and will resume operations only after inspections confirm the railway tracks have not been damaged.

Trains from Hualien and Changhua to Chiayi reduced speed and will only return to normal operations after the rails and electric cables have been inspected, TRA said.

The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation said some train services between Nangkang and Taichung were delayed while inspections are carried out.    [FULL  STORY]

PROTOTYPE PLANS: KMT lawmakers who proposed freezes criticized one by a DPP legislator, saying it was doubtful that Washington would grant export permits

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 11, 2020
By: Aaron Tu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

It is the legislature’s job to oversee and, if necessary, freeze budgets, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said yesterday after criticism that Taiwan’s indigenous submarine development was being hindered by legislators calling for funds to be withheld.

Citing concerns over export licenses and blueprint designs, lawmakers from across party lines have pushed for a motion to freeze a portion of the budget for the submarine project, which has been earmarked to receive NT$10.51 billion (US$368.69 million) for construction of a prototype.

KMT Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) proposed a freeze on NT$5 billion, citing failure to complete procedural requirements before starting a detailed design for the prototype.

KMT Legislator Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞) proposed a freeze of NT$2 billion; Chiang (江啟臣) proposed NT$1 billion and KMT Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲) proposed NT$20 million.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 09 December, 2020
By: Paula Chao

[The tweet that caught the president’s attention]

“You all better come to #Taiwan after this pandemic is over…” That tweet, by British journalist Nicola Smith, along with some gorgeous shots of Taiwan’s mountainous interior, captured the attention of President Tsai. We begin today’s show with the president’s response. We’ll also show you how Taiwan is gearing up for post-COVID travel!  

Forbes
Date:Dec 9, 2020
By: David AxeForbes Staff

If China invades Taiwan and succeeds in landing troops on the island country’s southwestern beaches, expect brutal tank battles to help decide the outcome.

The Taiwanese army on paper possesses around 1,200 main battle tanks—480 American-made M-60A3s plus 450 CM-11s and 250 CM-12s. The CM-11 pairs a modified M-48 turret with an M-60 chassis. The CM-12 is an M-48 with the same modified turret as the CM-11.

These tanks are old. The youngest, the M-60s, date from the 1970s. Taipei recently bought 108 new M-1s from the United States for $1.3 billion in order to begin replacing some of its oldest and weariest tanks.

The first M-1 isn’t due to arrive until 2023. And once all hundred-or-so of the new tanks are in service, the Republic of China army still will possess a thousand aged tanks.   [FULL  STORY]

House passes National Defense Authorization Act 2021

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/09
By: Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday (Dec. 8) passed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes two provisions supporting Taiwan.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the 2021 NDAA Tuesday evening with 335 votes in favor of the bill and 78 votes against it. The Senate is expected to vote on it later this week. The bill must be passed by the Senate and sent to the White House for President Trump’s approval before it becomes law.

The parts of the bill related to Taiwan include a section calling for continued arms sales to the country, a “timely review and response” to Taiwan’s request for defense articles, and to expand the bilateral military partnership. The section also suggests increased medical security cooperation, including research and production of vaccines and joint conferences with scientists and experts.

The other section protects Taiwanese citizens from discrimination during employment decisions at international financial organizations.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/09/2020
By: Wu Chia-jung and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) The winner of the Super Lotto NT$611.45 million (US$21.06 million) jackpot in September has donated NT$70 million to charity, the largest amount given to charity by a winner since 2015, Taiwan Lottery Corp. said Wednesday.

The Taitung County resident, who hit the Super Lotto jackpot on September 17, took home NT$488 million after taxes and has donated 14 percent to charity, said Taiwan Lottery Corp. General Manager Tsai Kuo-chi (蔡國基).

From that amount, NT$10 million was given to the Nantou-based Pu-li Christian Long-Term Care Home of Rehoboth Welfare Foundation (利伯河基金會基督仁愛之家) because a family member had received assistance from the foundation and the winner wished to give back, according to Tsai.

The winner donated another NT$60 million to the CTBC Charity Foundation, which will use the money to help underprivileged families and children nationwide, Tsai said.   [FULL  STORY]

GOVERNMENT-PAID: Industrial workers from Thailand and Vietnam were not required to take PCR tests when ending their quarantine, but that has changed

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 10, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Effective today, all categories of workers arriving from four countries would be required to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19 when ending their 14-day mandatory quarantine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.

Current policy requires all foreign domestic workers to stay in centralized quarantine facilities after entering Taiwan, receive a mandatory test upon ending quarantine and perform self-health management for seven days, Chen said.

It also requires all migrant workers from Indonesia and the Philippines to go through the same procedures, but industrial workers from Thailand and Vietnam are not required to be tested after their mandatory 14-day home quarantine ends, he added.

However, that has changed, with Chen announcing that “industrial migrant workers from Thailand and Vietnam will also be required to take a PCR test when ending quarantine, and continue to practice self-health management afterward.”    [FULL  STORY]