Radio Taiwan International
Date: 01 January, 2020
By: Shirley Lin
Taipei rings in the New Year with fireworks at Taipei 101
The LED display put on a light show that accompanied the fireworks. [FULL STORY]
Voice of America
Date: January 01, 2020
By: Ralph Jennings
Legislators of KMT or Nationalist Party protest the Anti-infiltration Bill with slogans reading ”Protest against a bad law, Sanction by Votes. Neck Bomb, Be hated by both man and God” on the legislature floor in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019. The controversial bill is meant to criminalize political activities back or funded by mainland China. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Legislators gave final approval to a bill that allows sentences of five years in prison or a fine equal to $330,600 for lobbying, election influence, fake news dissemination and political contributions originating outside Taiwan.
The law — an unusual tool for a democracy — doesn’t name China specifically but the government’s Mainland Affairs Council says it applies to Chinese nationals as well as Taiwanese with connections in China. Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office accused the ruling party Tuesday of using the bill to win elections.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party camp says the bill will advance Taiwan’s security. Its government has previously accused China of meddling in campaigns for the January 11 legislative and presidential elections. [FULL STORY]
Man remained silent while Jacky Wu was performing in Taichung before being dragged off by security
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Jacky Wu (left) looking at the intruder (screenshot from SET TV YouTube).
As the New Year countdown had finished and prominent officials had left the event, police were busy directing traffic away from the site, leaving only one student to guard the entrance, CNA reported. The man injured the student before riding his scooter onto stage, parking it and taking off his helmet.
Wu expressed surprise and asked the unknown man whether he worked for a delivery service, asking why he had not been informed of this part of the show. As it became clear that the motorcyclist was an intruder, guards climbed on stage and dragged him away, according to the CNA report.
He was later described as a university student with mental problems. Police were planning to investigate him for violating the Social Order Maintenance Act. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: =2020/01/01
Taipei, Jan. 1 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) delivered her 2020 New Year's address Wednesday 
in the Presidential Office reception hall.
She stated that in the new year, "we are going to unite the Taiwanese people, and continue pressing forward to ensure more people are cared for, keep improving our economy, and make our democracy, freedom, and sovereignty stronger and more sustainable."
She also reiterated the "four musts" and "four understandings," emphasizing that the passage of the Anti-infiltration Act will not affect freedom, infringe on human rights, or affect normal economic exchanges. It will only more strongly protect Taiwan's democracy and freedom, and will not affect any regular cross-strait exchanges or interactions, she said.
The following is a translation of President Tsai's remarks: [FULL TEXT]
GIVE NO GROUND: The president issued four points of common understanding, including that vigilance is urgently needed due to Chinese infiltration of Taiwan
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 02, 2020
By: Su Yung-yao and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The “situation in Hong Kong over the past year” has demonstrated that democracy and authoritarianism
President Tsai Ing-wen smiles as she delivers her New Year’s address at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Responding to criticism from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over the legislature’s passage of the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) on Tuesday, Tsai said: “Untying the bell requires the person who tied it” (解鈴還須繫鈴人) — an idiom meaning that whoever started trouble should be the one to end it.
New policies were to take effect at the start of the new year, such as an increase to the minimum wage for the fourth year in a row and improved daycare subsidies for children aged two to three, Tsai said.
There would also be tax breaks or those caring for the elderly and subsidies for farmers who purchase agricultural equipment, she said. [FULL STORY]
Radio Taiwan International
Date: 31 December, 2019
By: Paula Chao
Blood donation centers islandwide are calling on the public to donate blood, as stores are running low. Blood banks generally consider a supply that can sustain demand for at least nine days safe. Currently, some locations do not have enough stock to last a week.
Blood is in short supply in Taiwan. All five of the country’s major blood donation centers are understocked.
Taichung Blood Donation Center official Chen Jun-wei says the amount of blood donated on one given day was 500 bags fewer than expected. [FULL STORY]
The News Lens
Date: 2019/12/31
By: Milo Hsieh
Photo Credit: CNA
With days until Taiwan’s 2020 election, both the majority Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition Kuomintang Party (KMT) are coming up with creative ways to express their party platforms.
One of the major differences between the two camps is their attitudes toward China. This year, KMT supporters started to wear the Republic of China flag in a fashion never seen before.
KMT attitude
In Tainan’s sixth legislative district, also one of KMT’s “hardship districts," former party Chairman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) is challenging DPP incumbent Wang Ting-yu (王定宇). Tainan has voted for DPP candidates consistently in the past, and Wang runs a popular Facebook page with more than a quarter-million followers.
When Hung gave a speech on December 29 at the city councilor’s office, supporters not only waved the ROC flags but wore clothing items with the pattern of the flag. The office is located in the south of Tainan City, where voter demographics actually favor the KMT. [FULL STORY]
Fireworks explode around Taipei 101 accompanied by dazzling light show
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/01
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter
(Taiwan News photo)
The display at the Taiwanese capital's iconic skyscraper lasted 300 seconds and involved the launching of 16,000 fireworks at the stroke of midnight. The show communicated to the world that Taiwan is a vehicle of hope that boasts cultural diversity and a plethora of resources. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/31
By: Liu Shih-i and Ko Lin
Taipei, Dec. 31 (CNA) A policeman who shot and killed a Vietnamese migrant worker in Hsinchu County two
High Court spokesperson Wang Ping-hsia (王屏夏)
Chen Chung-wen (陳崇文) was sentenced to six months in prison, with a three-year suspension, on condition that he does not commit any offenses during the period of suspension.
The sentence was slightly reduced from the Hsinchu District Court ruling in July, which sentenced him to eight months in prison, with a three-year suspension.
The 24-year-old police officer was convicted of negligent manslaughter after he was accused of firing nine shots at an apparently defenseless Vietnamese migrant worker named Nguyen Quoc Phi on Aug. 31, 2017. [FULL STORY]
Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 30 December, 2019
By: Paula Chao
Casting ballots (RTI file photo)\
The CEC said Monday that the ban begins at midnight on Wednesday and will last until 4pm, on January 11, when polling stations close on election day.
The comprehensive ban includes news coverage, dissemination, commentary and quoting of opinion polls. [FULL STORY]
