TIMELINE QUESTIONS: Chen Shih-chung said: ‘If anyone could assure us that we could get the shots in the first quarter of next year, we could set off firecrackers’

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 26, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Taiwan has secured nearly 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported five new imported infections among travelers from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that Taiwan on Monday signed a procurement contract with a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer and paid a deposit to secure 10 million doses.

It was the first contract finalized with a manufacturer and negotiations are under way with three other vaccine makers, Chen said.

With the more than 4.6 million doses that can be obtained through the COVAX platform — a global framework to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and ensure equitable distribution among member countries — Taiwan has secured nearly 15 million doses, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

FACT: Taiwan turkeys are TWICE the size of American ones!

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 25 November, 2020
By: Paula Chao

If you’re unable to go home for Thanksgiving this year, join Natalie, Leslie and Andrew for a little holiday warmth! Today, we talk with food journalist Clarissa Wei about a Taiwanese turkey dish you can make with leftovers, and the recipe she wrote for the November issue of Epicurious. 

There has been a lot of speculation about the possible visit and what it means.

National Interest
Date: November 25, 2020
By: Peter Suciu

It has been widely reported that the government in Taipei publicly acknowledged that members of the United States Marine Corps had conducted training operations with the Taiwanese military. A unit of Marine Raiders was reportedly deployed to the island nation to help boost its military readiness. Now someone with a few more medals on his chest and a bit more experience on the international stage also apparently visited Taiwan.

Sources told the Reuters News Agency on Sunday that a “two star Navy admiral” overseeing U.S. military intelligence in the Asia-Pacific region made an “unannounced visit. While it hasn’t been confirmed by outside sources, the U.S. Navy officer was reportedly Rear Adm. Michael Studeman, director of the J2, which oversees intelligences at the U.S. Navy’s Indo-Pacific Command.

The South China Morning Post reported that the admiral arrived on Sunday evening aboard a U.S. Gulfstream C-37, which is the type of aircraft that provides flights to senior U.S. government officials and law makers.

Taipei did not confirm that it was Studeman who actually made the flight, while the Pentagon declined to comment.    FULL  STORY]

Lee, 33, was hit by SUV following accident with flatbed truck

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/11/25
By:. George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man surnamed Lee (李) was killed on a freeway in Hsinchu Wednesday morning (Nov. 25) when he was hit by an SUV after exiting his vehicle to inspect the damage from a preceding accident.

Lee, 33, was heading southbound on the Hsinchu section of National Freeway 3 around 2 a.m. on Wednesday when he got into an accident involving a flatbed truck, according to CNA.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date:\ 11/25/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsun, Hsu Chih-wei,
Wu Che-hao and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) A fear of needles is believed to be the reason 12 students at a vocational high school in Changhua County fell ill shortly after receiving an influenza vaccine last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Wednesday.

Twelve students at Da Der Commercial and Technical Vocational High School in Changhua became ill after receiving a government- funded flu vaccine on Nov. 19.

The students were examined at a local hospital and four held for further observation after developing a fever and hand tremors, according to Changhua County Public Health Bureau.

According to doctors from the CDC who examined the students, needle phobia can induce extreme anxiety resulting in dizziness and was likely the cause of their reactions, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said, adding that such symptoms are unrelated to vaccine safety.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 24 November, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Head of Taiwan’s Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) Tung Chen-yuan says overseas Taiwanese are vital to helping Taiwan succeed abroad. Tung’s remarks came during an interview with Radio Taiwan International which aired Tuesday morning.

Tung is Taiwan’s former Representative to Thailand. He said a lot of his work in Thailand was made possible by the Taiwanese community there.     [FULL  STORY]

The mainland’s long-standing ‘One China’ stance is getting more aggressive. And Taiwan is key to how consumer electronics get designed and manufactured.Fast Company
Date: 11-24-20
By: Tim Bajarin

Over the last two years, the U.S. tech industry has been forced to deal with a spectrum of trade issues with China. These include the federal government’s ban on equipment from telecom giant Huawei, increased tariffs, and, most recently, China’s clampdown on Hong Kong. But according to my contacts in Washington and Asia, Taiwan could reemerge as a hot spot, and U.S. tech companies should be aware.

It would be an understatement to say that America’s relationship with China has been bad over the last two years. The current U.S. government is moving away from globalization, while China, at least on paper, remains committed to it.

The reality is that China, under President Xi, is marching toward a policy of exerting more control over trade and business issues within its country. If China had its way, it would also be the master of U.S. companies seeking to do business in the country. This parochial approach causes a great deal of concern for nations that trade with China and that have companies inside China. They worry that over time, China could move even to nationalize companies that have offices in China.

I don’t believe this will happen any time soon. However, companies with dedicated offices and businesses in Taiwan tell me a Chinese threat is now more real than even two years ago.
[FULL  STORY]

70% of Taiwanese poll respondents agree with Pompeo that 'Taiwan has not been a part of China'

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/11/24
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The majority of Taiwanese surveyed — 70 percent — agree with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's comment earlier this month that Taiwan has never been part of China.

When asked on the Hugh Hewitt show on Nov. 12 about China's threat to take Taiwan by force, Pompeo emphasized that the U.S. has always recognized Taiwan to be a separate country by saying:

“Taiwan has not been a part of China. And that was recognized with the work that the Reagan administration did to lay out the policy that the United States has adhered to now for three and a half decades.”

When asked in the latest poll by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF, 台灣民意基金會) whether they agree with the statement "Taiwan has never been part of China," 70 percent of Taiwanese respondents said they agree. Only 22.5 percent said they disagree with the statement, a difference of more than 47 percentage points.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 11/24/2020
By: Wu Chia-jung and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on Tuesday fined E. Sun Commercial Bank a record NT$20 million (US$701,386) after one of its financial advisors was found to have stolen some NT$140 million from clients' accounts.

The bank, which was fined NT$12 million in February for a similar incident, made news in July after revelations that it reported a former employee at one of its Kaohsiung branches for apparently embezzling large sums of money from his wealthy financial management clients.

At a press conference on Tuesday, FSC Chairman Huang Tian-mu (黃天牧) announced that after a four-month investigation, the commission found that the employee, whose name was not divulged, had stolen over NT$140 million from 41 wealth management accounts over a period of seven years.

In addition to imposing a fine of NT$20 million for lapses in the bank's internal control system, Huang said, the FSC suspended the bank's heads of wealth management and personal finance for a period of three months.    [FULL  STORY]

DEFENSE: The construction of indigenous submarines will be a testament to the nation’s commitment to safeguard its sovereignty, President Tsai Ing-wen said

Tai0pei Times
Date: Nov 25, 2020
By: AP and staff writer, with CNA

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony to mark the start of construction of the nation’s first indigenous submarine at state-run shipbuilder CSBC Corp’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung.

“This submarine is an important part of allowing our navy to develop asymmetric warfare and to intimidate and block enemy ships from surrounding Taiwan’s main island,” Tsai said. “With the construction of the submarine to its future commission, we will certainly let the world know our persistence in safeguarding our sovereignty.”

Tsai has made boosting the nation’s indigenous defense capacity a central pillar of her defense policy. She recently relaunched the military aviation industry with the production of new trainer jets and has pushed for the development of more sophisticated systems by utilizing the domestic high-tech industries.

At the same time, she has gained approval from the US for the purchase of billions of US dollars in weapons, including upgraded F-16 jets, armed drones, rocket systems and Harpoon missiles capable of hitting ships and land targets.    [FULL  STORY]