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Support for Taiwan KMT, unification with China at new low: survey

Violent suppression of Hong Kong protests major factors in this year's GVSRC survey

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/19
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
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(CNA photo)\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Support for the Kuomintang (KMT) party and unification with China have both hit new lows in the 12 years since Global Views Research (GVSRC) began its annual public opinion surveys in Taiwan.

GVSRC cited the bloody suppression of Hong Kong's anti-government protests, which were sparked by the proposed changes to the extradition law, as the main reason for the sharp reversal from last year's poll results.

The 2018 survey showed support for the KMT at 29.8 percent, 12 percentage points higher than the ruling Democratic Progressing Party (DPP), but in 2019, the KMT trailed behind the DPP by 15.8 points, registering only 18 percent approval. Aside from mounting fears on the island after seeing the violence in Hong Kong, dissatisfaction with the power struggle within the KMT has also been blamed for the steep decline in support for the party.

A sense of malaise over what has been happening in Hong Kong has also led to more negative views of China. The trend can be observed from people's willingness to work, study, and invest in China, which all reached new lows in the survey. Thus, it came as no surprise that support for unification with China also nosedived to a new low of 4.5 percent this year, a drop of 10 points.
[FULL  STORY]

U.S. should punish China for squeezing Taiwan, says U.S. analyst

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/19
By: Elaine Hou and Emerson Lim

Stephen Yates

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) The United States and its allies should impose a cost on Beijing whenever it squeezes Taipei internationally, Stephen Yates, a former deputy national security adviser to former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, suggested Thursday.

"I do think that we need to have an international conversation that is serious about how do we attach a cost to the efforts to pressure and isolate the free and democratic people of Taiwan," Stephen Yates, now a commentator on FOX news, said during a media forum held at Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

He made the comment in a response to media questions about practical ways for Taiwan or the U.S. to respond to China's exclusion of Taiwan from international organizations and poaching Taiwan's diplomatic allies.

"If a diplomatic ally is taken away, then from my point of view, perhaps the U.S. Secretary of State should come to Taiwan for a conversation," he said.    [FULL  STORY]

2020 Elections: Female politicos condemn KMT’s sexist comments

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 20, 2019
By: Jason Pan, Chen Yun and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Female Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians and officials yesterday jointly condemned the

Female members of the Democratic Progressive Party thumb-down five men wearing masks of prominent Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians at a news conference in Taipei yesteday.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times\

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for what they called sexist and demeaning comments against women over the past week, urging voters to reject the “party of chauvinist pigs” in the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.

“KMT politicians are resorting to insulting women to bolster their campaigns. I urge all women to not vote for the KMT to prevent gender equality from regressing several decades,” DPP Taipei City Councilor Chien Hsu-pei (簡舒培) told a news conference at DPP headquarters in Taipei.

She said that she has launched a drive calling for people to “reject the chauvinist pigs of the KMT,” which had already gained much support on social media.

“KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) disparaged President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as an ‘ill-starred woman’ (衰尾查某) who has brought Taiwan misfortune, displaying his chauvinist attitude in maligning the nation’s leader,” Chien said.    [FULL  STORY]

Transport ministry releases white paper on meeting new challenges

Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 18 December, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung appears in this CNA file photo.

The transportation ministry has released a policy white paper on meeting the challenges that have begun to face Taiwan’s transportation network over the past decade.

These challenges include climate change, an aging population and stagnant birthrate, and the development of smart transport and transportation technology.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Is Not a ‘Renegade Province’ With a Tea Party

As Taiwan's 2020 elections are approaching, foreign journalists are parachuting themselves into Taiwan and reporting with inaccuracies and biases.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/12/18
By: Ross Darrell Feingold

Photo Credit: CNA

With Taiwan’s 2020 elections to be held in less than a month, many international media organizations will parachute journalists into Taiwan to cover the story. Sometimes these journalists are Beijing-based or more recently have spent considerable time in Hong Kong to report on the ongoing protests. Regardless, we often see distortions and inaccuracies in Taiwan reporting when it’s covered by someone based outside of the country.

As a long-time observer and commentator on Taiwanese politics, I find the many errors that appear in the international reporting about Taiwan’s elections both a source of humor and frustration. Humor, because some of the errors are so easily avoidable we can only laugh at the hilarity of the mistakes. Frustration, because those of us who care about Taiwan’s security should not accept inaccurate reporting about Taiwan, as it can be detrimental to Taiwan’s interest in the long run.

An example of these issues is a recent Washington Post article titled, “Taiwan’s tea party aims to burst Beijing’s one-China bubble,” authored by Anna Fifield. The article uses the popularity of bubble tea as the basis to explain consumer decisions to boycott certain beverage stores perceived as pro-China. Fifield called these pro-democracy supporters “the Taipei tea party.”

The “tea party” most famously refers to an event that occurred in Boston in 1773, when American colonists, after years of growing anger at British policies towards the colonies and their lack of representation in the Parliament, dumped shipments of British-exported tea into the harbor. Participants hid their identities by dressing as Native Americans, similar to the use of masks worn by protesters in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, these historical facts are omitted from Fifield’s article.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan ex-legislator discusses missile defense on TV in China

Ministry of National Defense reminds public that China still considers option of military force against Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/18
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Chiu Yi discussing Taiwan’s missiles on Chinese television. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Ministry of National Defense expressed anger Wednesday (December 18) over New Party legislative candidate Chiu Yi (邱毅) discussing the island’s missile defense on television in China.

Chiu, a former Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker, was first selected on the KMT’s at-large list for the January 11, 2020 elections, but an outcry over his pro-Chinese tendencies led to his withdrawal. The small pro-unification New Party then put him at the top of its list of at-large candidates. If the group crosses the 5-percent threshold, Chiu will be elected, though most opinion polls say this is highly unlikely.

On December 13, Chiu appeared on China’s CCTV 4 where he discussed how Taiwan had stationed its missiles against the threat from the more than 1,000 missiles the communist country has targeted at the island.    [FULL  STORY]

US bill mandates report on Chinese interference in Taiwan election

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/18
By: Chiang Chinye and Matthew Mazzetta

Washington, Dec. 17 (CNA) The U.S. Senate on Tuesday gave final passage to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a provision of which mandates a report on any Chinese interference in Taiwan's elections.

According to the bill, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence is required to submit the report to Congress within 45 days after Taiwanese head to the polls on Jan. 11.

The NDAA, an annual bill to authorize appropriations and set policy for the Department of Defense (DOD), had faced a rare delay this year, as competing versions of the bill passed in both the House of Representatives and Senate.

Following negotiations, however, a reconciled version of the bill passed the House last week with a 377-48 margin, and was approved by the Senate Tuesday in an 86-8 vote.    [FULL  STORY]

Wu stands by sexist epithet for Tsai

OLD HABITS: The DPP Women’s Affairs Department said the KMT often resorts to misogyny when campaigning, with one legislator saying it was ‘astonishing to see’

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 19, 2019
By: Ann Maxon and Jason Pan  /  Staff reporters

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday defended calling

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih, right, speaks at a rally for KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu at the Armed Forces Club in Taipei on Tuesday.
Photo copied by Wang Shu-hsiu, Taipei Times

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) an “ill-starred woman” (衰尾查某, literally “droopy-tailed woman”) on Tuesday, despite criticism from politicians across party lines.

Wu made the remark in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) during a rally for Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the KMT’s candidate in the Jan. 11 presidential election, at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club in Taipei.

During Tsai’s first term in office, the nation has seen the most murder and dismemberment cases in decades, Wu said at the rally, adding: “When we have a president who is an ill-starred woman, we must bring her down.”

Following widespread criticism from politicians over the sexist remark, Wu yesterday insisted that Tsai has brought the nation misfortune.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan aims to become repair center for F-16s in Asia Pacific

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 17 December, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Taiwan aims to become the maintenance center for F-16 jet fighters in the Asia Pacific region.

That’s the aim of the agreement just signed between the Taiwan-based Aerospace Industrial

Premier Su Tseng-chang and Lockheed Martin’s Vice President Randy Howard. (CNA photo)

Development Corporation (AIDC) and Lockheed Martin, an American defense and aerospace company. The two sides signed a strategic partnership in Taipei on Tuesday.

Currently, Taiwan’s air force has 144 F-16A/B aircraft. The air force will own the largest F-16 fleet in the region when 66 F-16V fighters purchased from the United States are delivered.

Premier Su Tseng-chang Tuesday spoke at the signing ceremony.    [FULL  STORY]

Live Streaming Platform SWAG Reshapes Taiwan’s Sex Industry

Live streamers on adult content platforms are becoming goddesses and idols that are worshipped and paid by fans.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/12/17
By: Zoe T

Translated by Lin Ying-jen

Thanks to high-speed internet and smartphones, “platform economy” extends across video streaming service, food delivery, and transportation. In light of new business models rapidly developing, aside from food delivery and transportation, adult idol streaming platforms also benefit from the platform economy that boasts high-speed internet and high-definition display.

SWAG, an adult streaming platform that features “zero distance from your idol,” has gradually emerged from an open secret among users to a platform promoted by mainstream YouTubers. However, adult streaming platforms don’t seem to receive the same criticism about its “labor practice” like the ride-hailing or delivery apps. Does this open a new door for the adult entertainment industry?

Taiwanese people are already familiar with video streaming platforms that carry adult content. 17, for example, is now an online platform for singers in training. But when it was launched in 2015, some live streamers had put out pornographic content, and the operator of 17 was questioned by the police; the app was even removed from the store within seven days.

Jeffrey Huang, the founder of 17, also founded the popular video streaming app SWAG. It was initially advertised for its “one-on-one private chat” feature. But its private virtual environment eventually turned SWAG into “the largest adult chat platform in Asia,” directly attracting consumers with the label of adult content.    [FULL  STORY]