Taipei Times
Date: Dec 03, 2020.
By: Reuters, HONG KONG

Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), 24, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent democracy advocates, was jailed yesterday for more than 13 months over an unlawful anti-government rally last year, the toughest and most high-profile sentence for an opposition figure this year.

Wong’s sentence comes as critics say the Hong Kong government is intensifying a crackdown on the opposition and chipping away at wide-ranging freedoms guaranteed after the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, a charge authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong reject.

Reacting to the court ruling, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Raab urged Hong Kong and Beijing to stop their campaigns to stifle the opposition.

Wong had pleaded guilty to organizing and inciting an unlawful assembly near police headquarters during the height of the sometimes violent demonstrations in June last year. He faced a maximum of three years in jail.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 02 December, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu says that Taiwan, Australia, and other like-minded countries should strengthen their alliances in the face of China's threat. Wu was speaking in an interview on the Australian news program The World. 

Wu said that as foreign minister, his first priority is to improve relations with like-minded countries. At the same time, he said that he must avoid giving the impression that he is provoking China so that Beijing will not have an excuse for aggressive behavior. He also said that as Australia faces economic pressure from China, the best strategy is to strengthen alliances and face China together.      [FULL  STORY]

Another forgotten tale of the Cold War.

The National Interest
Date: December 1, 2020
By:  Sebastien Roblin

Here's What You Need to Know: Whether President Eisenhower’s nuclear brinkmanship helped end hostilities is much debated.

In 1955, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army embarked on a bloody amphibious landing to capture a fortified Nationalist island, only about twice the size of a typical golf course. Not only did the battle exhibit China’s growing naval capabilities, it was a pivotal moment in a chain of events that led Eisenhower to threaten a nuclear attack on China—and led Congress to pledge itself to the defense of Taiwan.

In 1949, Mao’s People’s Liberation Army succeeded in sweeping the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government out of mainland China. However, the Nationalist navy allowed the KMT to maintain its hold on large islands such as Hainan and Formosa, as well as smaller islands only miles away from major mainland cities such as Kinmen and Matsu. These soon were heavily fortified with Nationalist troops and guns, and engaged in protracted artillery duels with PLA guns on the mainland.

In 1950, the PLA launched a series of amphibious operations, most notably resulting in the capture of Hainan island in the South China Sea. However, a landing in Kinmen was bloodily repulsed by Nationalist tanks in the Battle of Guningtou, barring the way for a final assault on Taiwan itself. Then events intervened, as the outbreak of the Korean War caused President Truman to deploy the U.S. Seventh Fleet to defend Taiwan. However, the naval blockade cut both ways—Truman did not allow Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek to launch attacks on mainland China.

This policy changed with the presidency of Eisenhower in 1953, who withdrew the Seventh Fleet, allowing the Nationalists to build up troops on the forward islands and launch more guerilla raids on the mainland. However, the PLA was able to counter-escalate with new World War II surplus heavy artillery, warships and aircraft it had acquired from Russia. The series of artillery duels, naval battles and aerial bombardments that followed became known as the First Taiwan Strait Crisis.    [FULL  STORY]

Nearly 60,000 Taiwanese teens smoke e-cigarettes despite unknown long-term effects

Taiwan News
Date: 020/12/02
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A 15-year-old Taiwanese teenager was diagnosed with pneumonia in September after developing a habit of smoking electronic cigarettes four years ago.

The Chung Shan Medical University (CSMU) Hospital said Tuesday (Dec. 1) that it had treated a young patient in September after he experienced symptoms of coughing, shortness of breath, epigastralgia, and nausea. It said an MRI scan of the boy's lungs showed that he was suffering from bilateral pneumonia, which can seriously inflame and scar a person's lungs.

The hospital said the boy admitted he had been smoking e-cigarettes since he was 11 without his parents' knowledge. The doctors determined the cause of the boy's illness to be vaping and said he was the first vaping-associated case of pneumonia reported in Taiwan, according to CNA.

A survey conducted by the Health Promotion Administration in 2019 also showed that both e-cigarettes and regular tobacco products have caught on among Taiwanese teenagers. It is estimated that at least 81,000 teenagers smoke cigarettes, 57,000 smoke e-cigarettes, and 16,000 use heated tobacco products.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/02/2020
By: Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday announced new categories of travelers that are exempt from a new rule that requires all arrivals to present proof of a recent COVID-19 test, as well as details of the amount of fines for those who violate the rule.

Starting from Dec. 1, the CECC has required all inbound travelers to Taiwan, as well as transit passengers, to provide proof of a COVID-19 PCR test result issued within three days of their flight to Taiwan.

Exemptions announced previously by the CECC include individuals coming from countries where self-paid COVID-19 tests are unavailable, those in urgent situations and travelers who return to Taiwan within three days of their departure.

On Wednesday, the CECC said that individuals whose original flights to Taiwan were canceled are also exempt from the rule, although such travelers will have to present their original flight information, in addition to a COVID-19 test result within three days of the original flight.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 01 December, 2020
By: Paula Chao

Taiwan has reported four new imported cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 679. That’s the word from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Tuesday.

CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang said the four cases are from the Philippines, Indonesia, Britain and Belarus.

The imported case from Britain is a Taiwanese man in his 30s. He tested positive for COVID-19 in the UK on October 28 before returning to Taiwan on November 28. The man developed no symptoms upon entering Taiwan but the test results came back positive Tuesday.   
[FULL  STORY]

Newsweek
Date: 12/1/20
By: John Feng

Taiwan's foreign minister called on Australia to help safeguard peace and defend against Chinese aggression as relations between Canberra and Beijing hit a new low this week.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu told Stan Grant of Australia's ABC News program The World that the risk of a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait was "much higher than before," but noted that Taipei was not expecting Prime Minister Scott Morrison or any other international partner to send troops to the region.

Chinese military aircraft and vessel activity in the 100-mile stretch of water between Taiwan and mainland China has increased at an alarming rate in recent months, with President Tsai Ing-wen's top diplomat saying the government was now "very concerned" about a Chinese invasion to reunify the island by force.

During the interview on Tuesday, Wu said the self-ruled democratic island, which Beijing claims as a rogue province, was "feeling the heat" of intensifying Chinese military activity around Taiwan, which also included two large-scale landing drills conducted by the People's Liberation Army Navy in November.    [FULL  STORY]

Yukan Fuji says Trump will force Biden to take stance on cross-strait relations with surprise visit to Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/01
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. President Donald Trump could make a surprise visit to Taiwan before he leaves the White House in January, according to an editorial published by the Japanese newspaper Yukan Fuji on Monday (Nov. 30).

In an article featured on the front page of the newspaper, Japanese veteran political commentator Masahiro Miyazaki said he believes that Trump will conduct a series of surprising moves before handing over control to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. He said it is unlikely that Trump will win his election challenges in the coming weeks but will make sure his policies on major global issues do not get reversed by the Biden administration.

Miyazaki said Trump is determined to complete all "unfinished promises" in the last few days of his tenure, including a possible trip to Taiwan. He stressed that the visit, if completed, would rewrite the situation and force Biden to take a stance on cross-strait issues.

Miyazaki noted that Trump has dramatically shifted U.S.-China relations over the last four years, supported Taiwan through arms sales, and arranged visits by American officials. He said "a bold visit" by Trump to Taiwan would be a huge blow to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and give hope to people being persecuted in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/01/2020
By: Yang Shu-min and Ko Lin

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) A new branding initiative that helps customers distinguish whether shops and restaurants are using predominantly local or imported pork was officially launched Tuesday, with the first food establishment to carry the "Taiwan Pork" logo celebrated in Taipei.

The promotion was attended by Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) and Theodore Huang (黃茂雄), chairman of the Taipei-based Teco Group, which operates the Japanese MOS Burger fast food chain in Taiwan.

The logo, which depicts a gold pig on a green background and bears the words "Taiwan Pork" in Chinese and English, symbolizes locally sourced pork covering everything from pig skin to offal, according to Chen.

Food-related operators, including pork processing manufacturers, are eligible to apply for use of the logo as long as the "main raw materials" used in their pork products are sourced locally, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: CPC Corp, Taiwan has what it takes to independently explore and develop fossil fuel resources abroad, the chairman of the state-run company said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 02, 2020
By:  Angelica Oung / Staff reporter

The first shipment of oil from CPC Corp, Taiwan’s (CPC, 台灣中油) oil fields in Chad arrived in Kaohsiung Port yesterday, heralded by water cannon boats.

The fanfare was to celebrate a successful end of a long and uncertain journey by the state-run company to develop its own oil fields.

CPC in 2006 secured the rights to explore the Oryx Oilfield from the government of Chad, and struck oil three years later.

In 2017, it signed a 25-year license to develop the field.    [FULL  STORY]