What do Taiwanese people think about burgeoning ties with India? To a large extent, it depends on their political affiliation.The Diplomat
Date: January 25, 2020
By: Timothy S. Rich, Andi Dahmer, Madelynn Einhorn, and Vasabjit Banerjee\

Taiwan’s relations with India have increased in breadth — spanning trade, research and academia — as well depth — trade ties amounted to $7.5 billion in 2019, up from $1 billion in 2000. The Taiwanese government has a representative office, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India (TECC), responsible for facilitating collaboration on education, tourism, culture, the media, and economic development. Taiwan’s increased investments have occurred in the face of cultural challenges, bureaucratic hurdles, and pressure on India from domestic producers.

Enhancing Taiwan-India relations is consistent with the Taiwanese government’s efforts to decrease economic reliance on China and with President Tsai Ing-wen’s New Southbound Policy (NSP), which improves upon the efforts of several of her predecessors. Taiwanese businesses are increasingly interested in shifting business ties from China to India and policies that facilitate such cooperation could provide mutual benefits. Taiwan’s goals are shared with those of successive Indian administrations, including that of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which seeks to increase ties with East Asian countries other than China. Modi has even suggested the possibility of a free trade agreement with Taiwan — through this decision is not without precedent as Taiwan maintains economic cooperation agreements (ECAs) with New Zealand and Singapore, both unofficial relationships.

Strengthening Taiwan-India ties within the rubric of the NSP also overlaps with Taiwan’s relationships with Australia, United States, and Japan. Because these three countries, along with India, have formed an Indo-Pacific entente cordiale called the “Quad” to maintain a rules-based order in the region, Taiwan-India ties can benefit from the positive synergy of collaboration in areas of trade, research, and even defense.  Moreover, India and Taiwan may see a convergence of security interests that could be further developed through interactions between the strategic communities on both sides.    [FULL  STORY]

The Natinal Interest
Date: January 25, 2020 
By: Kent Wang

On September 1, 1939, the German army launched an invasion of Poland that triggered the start of World War II. The battle for Poland only lasted about a month before a Nazi victory. But the invasion plunged the world into a war that would continue for almost six years and claim the lives of tens of millions of people. Today, eighty years later, will China invade Taiwan?

Could China really invade Taiwan? No one can know with any certainty how such a war would start, how it would play out, and what would follow it. But it is clear that we need to realize that North Korea is not the only threat to peace in the Indo-Pacific, nor is it the worst. China is planning to invade a democracy at the center of the first island chain, something likely to spark World War III.

After the recent election for Taiwan’s leadership and the unrest in Hong Kong, the consensus in Beijing has greatly shifted. They believe that a military occupation is the only possible way to go. And they are preparing for it. To coerce Taiwan, there are a variety of different options, ranging from purely symbolic types of demonstrations of force to a much more coercive type of punishing campaign. The higher end coercive scenarios would basically depend on the ability of the Chinese military to seize air and sea control in the air and waters around Taiwan.  

China is improving and increasing its options for a possible invasion of Taiwan, with sailing its new aircraft carrier Shandong through the Taiwan Strait and also launched an additional Type 055 destroyer and a Type 052D destroyer before the end of 2019, a move experts say is an ambitious achievement in building its naval muscle. Washington is increasingly concerned that China’s growing military might could embolden it to launch a full-out invasion on Taiwan, as Chinese President Xi Jinping is losing patience and could order the invasion of Taiwan in the early 2020s. 
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan announced a ban on the export of surgical masks

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/25
By:  Central News Agency

Taiwan's Tourism Bureau has notified travel agencies to suspend their tours to China after Beijing ordered a halt to inbound and outbound group tours amid the outbreak of a deadly respiratory virus in that country.

The bureau issued the notice to tour operators Friday to suspend all tours to China from Saturday to Jan. 31 and provide refunds based on the provisions of the standard contract, the Travel Agent Association of R.O.C. Taiwan said in a statement.

That came after China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism ordered travel agencies and tourism companies to suspend operations and stop selling tour packages beginning Friday, Tourism Bureau Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said on the bureau's Facebook page.

Harula Tour Travel Service said it did not have any tours scheduled for Saturday but will cancel a two-week tour to China starting Sunday.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/25/2020
By: Wang Shwu-fen and Elizabeth Hsu

Kaohsiung, Jan. 25 (CNA) The Kaohsiung city government said Saturday it will fine a Taiwanese man for not reporting his illness after returning home from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the heart of a coronavirus epidemic.

The businessman, who arrived at Kaohsiung International Airport on Jan. 21, will be fined NT$300,000 (US$9,987) for violating the Communicable Disease Control Act, said Pan Chao-ying (潘炤穎), a specialist with the city's Department of Health.

He said the man, one of three confirmed cases of infection from the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Taiwan, did not tell the relevant authorities that he had symptoms of an upper respiratory infection before he entered Taiwan.

Moreover, the man in his 50s visited a dance club in the southern Taiwan city the day after his return without wearing a face mask, Pan said, and because of his behavior, a female worker at the club developed symptoms Saturday morning and had to seek treatment.    [FULL  STORY]

KAOHSIUNG WARNING: A man who was the second confirmed 2019-nCoV case in Taiwan was at the Jin Bali Grand Ballroom on Wednesday without a mask

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

“To save others, you must save yourself first,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday as

he defended the government’s decision to ban exports of N95 respirators and other masks for one month.

To ensure local supply of masks amid fears that the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) could spread domestically, the Customs Administration on Friday banned exports of all masks made of woven materials until Feb. 23.

The ban came in the wake of the worsening 2019n-CoV outbreak, as China first tried to conceal the disease, and has performed poorly in trying to contain it, Su said.

The government’s decision has drawn criticism, with media personality Joyce Huang (黃智賢) calling Su “inhumane” on Facebook for formulating the ban.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 24 January, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) says that it has not received any requests for assistance from Taiwanese nationals living in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The city is at the center of a pneumonia outbreak caused by a new strain of coronavirus. As of Friday, the virus has infected over 800 and killed at least 26.

The virus has since spread around China and beyond, with cases reported as far away as the US. Taiwan has reported one confirmed case of infection, and is banning entry for all current and former Wuhan residents. Chinese authorities are trying to contain the outbreak’s spread, shutting down public transport links with Wuhan and other cities nearby.

Wuhan is home to a Taiwanese community numbering around 2000. The Mainland Affairs Council estimated Thursday that several hundred Taiwanese nationals may still be in the city. These include over 100 businesspeople and 100-200 young people.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese government implements month-long ban on export of certain masks despite claiming to have sufficient stocks 3 days before

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/24
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — With the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak escalating and more cases being officially reported in ten countries and regions outside China, Taiwan's health authorities are on the alert and on Friday (Jan. 24) announced a month-long export ban on surgical and N95 masks.

To address the surging risk of pneumonia and local demand, the Taiwanese government has issued an export ban for two types of masks between Jan. 24 and Feb. 23. The masks affected by the ban include N95 respirator masks, which can filter at least 94 percent of particles, as well as other masks made from textiles.

Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Tuesday (Jan. 21) assured the public that the government had sufficient stocks of surgical and N95 masks and that there is no need to overstock. However, just three days later, the government has banned the sale of the masks to other countries.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/24/2020
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 24 (CNA) Taiwan on Friday confirmed two more cases of infection from the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) , which originated in Wuhan, China, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Taiwan to three.

The two new cases were a Chinese woman in her 50s and a Taiwanese man in his 50s, who both entered Taiwan from China on Jan. 21, according to Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center.

The Chinese woman traveled to Taiwan with an 18-member tour group from Wuhan. The group was originally scheduled to depart Taiwan on Jan. 28, but following the diagnosis, it was asked to cancel all activities and its members were asked to return to their hotel, Tourism Bureau Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said at a press conference.

So far, none of the other members have shown symptoms of the disease, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), who heads the command center.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 25, 2020
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Tour groups, but not individual travelers, are banned from visiting China as of today, the Tourism

Bureau said yesterday as the government stepped up its efforts to prevent the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

The announcement came as the Central Epidemic Command Center confirmed two more cases of 2019-nCoV, bringing the nation’s total to three.

The center said free antiviral drugs would be available to anyone clinically confirmed to have flu-like symptoms, regardless of nationality, and.

The bureau’s ban follows China banning Chinese tour groups from leaving the nation, Tourism Bureau Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said.    [FULL  STORY]