Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/16
By: Wang Cheng-chung and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Sept. 16 (CNA) One of Taiwan's richest businessmen Terry Gou (郭台銘) said Monday that he

will not run for presidency in the January election, but will continue to participate in political affairs.

In a public statement, Gou, the founder and former chairman of iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, apologized to his supporters for the decision.

"After thoroughly thinking this over, I hope that the society, when choosing a national leader, can return to rational thinking and policy-level debates, so I've decided not to participate in the 2020 presidential election," Gou said.    [FULL  STORY]

CHINESE BULLY: President Tsai Ing-wen reiterated that Taiwan would not compete with Beijing in dollar diplomacy nor yield to its attempts to demoralize Taiwanese

Taipei Times
Date:  Sep 17, 2019
By: Staff writer, with agencies

Taiwan yesterday severed official ties with the Solomon Islands as the South Pacific nation decided

to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

The Taipei government also condemned China’s attempts to diminish Taiwan’s international presence and eliminate Taiwanese sovereignty.

“It is absolutely evident that China, through this case, deliberately seeks to influence Taiwan’s upcoming presidential and legislative elections,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a news conference at 6:30pm.

“The government strongly condemns China’s attempts to suppress Taiwan and calls on the people of Taiwan to continue to uphold our national sovereignty, champion the principles of freedom and democracy, reach out to the international community and serve as a force for good in the world,” Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]

Los Angelese Review
Date: September 15, 2019
By: David E. Cooper, Paul J. D’Ambrosio, Hans-Georg Moeller

REVIEW BY DAVID COOPER:

THESE ARE GOOD TIMES for Daoism. In China, since the death of Mao, there has been a vigorous revival of an organized religious Daoism whose esoteric creeds and disciplines go back to the second century CE. Affiliated Daoist associations have sprung up in the West, and the religion continues to attract large numbers in Taiwan. Equally encouraging is the current lively interest, Chinese and Western alike, in the classic texts of Daoist philosophy, above all the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi, compiled in the fourth and third centuries BCE. This interest is not purely historical or textual. From Martin Buber and Martin Heidegger to the present day, philosophers find in these works insights into themes that loom large in modern metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Lay readers have been attracted to the two works by their apparent promotion of a godless, yet spiritual way of life marked, not least, by a harmonious and respectful relationship with the natural environment.

While the marvelously terse Daodejing is one of the most heavily translated of all books, it is in the Zhuangzi — originally attributed to the shadowy figure of Zhuang Zhou (c.369–286 BCE) — that recent philosophical interest is more pronounced. This is despite, or perhaps because of, the challenges it presents to readers, its dense passages of speculation interspersed with parables, jokes, and episodes whose points are often obscure. The book is, moreover, the work of many hands besides Zhuang Zhou’s, and there are tensions, if not contradictions, between its various emphases. There is, for example, a “primitivist” or “back to nature” streak in some chapters that is missing from others.    [FULL  STORY]

The Straits Times
Date: Sep 15, 2019
By: Loh Keng Fatt

He was 14 years older than her but Taiwanese actress Jiang Ping had no qualms marrying the scriptwriter, despite a short period of courtship.

"I found his character acceptable," she said on a Taiwanese talk show on Sept 11.

She was talking about her marriage, and events leading to a divorce that occurred some 20 years ago.

Tracing the split-up, she said when his affections for her cooled down seven years after they married, she consulted a fortune teller who said he was cheating on her.    [FULL  STORY]

Yu Shyi-kun in Washington DC for Formosan Association for Public Affairs event

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/15
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
3
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s former premier under the Chen administration, Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃), on Saturday (Sept. 14) declared that the conditions are favorable for Taiwan to pursue formal diplomatic relations with the United States.

Visiting the U.S. for a meeting with the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) in Washington D.C., Yu observed that U.S. President Donald Trump has already altered the status-quo of U.S.-China relations, and with friends of Taiwan in top cabinet positions and significant support in U.S. Congress, Taiwan should seize the moment to pursue a restoration of bilateral ties with Washington. Yu pledged to devote himself towards achieving that goal.

As the threat from China continues to increase, support from the United States will be crucial to maintaining Taiwan’s sovereignty, noted Yu. The U.S. is also bound by the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to protect Taiwan in the event that Beijing attempts to conquer Taiwan by military force.

Given the great assistance which the U.S. provides for Taiwan’s self-defense, like minded partners in Taipei and Washington should work together to promote normalized diplomatic relations between the two countries, said Yu. Given the audacious nature of Donald Trump and his willingness to challenge accepted norms, Taiwan should make the most of the current political situation by mobilizing resources towards diplomatic recognition in the U.S., suggested Yu.    [FULL STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/15
By: Cheng Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) A cluster of three chikungunya fever cases has been confirmed in New Taipei, all of which were contracted in Taiwan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Sunday.

Two of the patients, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 60s live in a borough in the city's Zhonghe District, where there is already an active chikungunya cluster, the CDC said in a statement.

The third patient, a woman in her 50s, is from Xinchuang District but said she had gone hiking in Zhonghe twice recently, the CDC added.

The three patients sought medical attention after developing high fever, headache, and joint pains between Aug. 20 and Sept. 10, the CDC said.    [FULL  STORY]

DISEASE SPREAD? WeatherRisk’s Chia Hsin-hsing said that global warming might lead to more dengue fever with increased mosquito breeding at higher latitudes

Taipei Times
Date:  Sep 16, 2019
By: Hsiao Yu-hsin  /  Staff reporter

Global warming is happening gradually in Taiwan and the government should establish a dedicated

office to address it, WeatherRisk Co weather director Chia Hsin-hsing (賈新興) said yesterday.

Taiwan saw its warmest winter last year and extreme rain in recent years demonstrates the impact of global warming, so the government should see climate change as a threat to national security and show its determination to handle it, Chia said.

The most significant impact on Taiwan is increasing temperatures, regardless of season, he said.

Global warming caused more frequent heavy rain in short periods in the past three years, with afternoon thundershowers often bringing more than 70mm per hour, leading to serious flooding, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

South China Morning Post
Date: 14 Sep, 2019
By: ​Bloomberg  

• Taipei has agreed to buy 66 new Block 70 combat aircraft from Lockheed Martin
• Once deal is approved by US Congress Taiwan must submit a ‘letter of offer and acceptance’ that is translated into a signed contract with delivery dates

Taiwan has signalled to US officials that it will move swiftly to complete the purchase of 66 new F-16 fighters  once congressional foreign relations committees complete their review this month, according to a US State Department official.

The department formally notified Congress on August 20 that it approved the sale, which includes munitions, defensive electronics and a fire-control radar that would allow precision-guided missiles and bombs to be launched from greater distances.

Once the deal is approved by Congress – there has been no sign it will be blocked – Taiwan must submit a “letter of offer and acceptance” that gets translated into a signed contract with delivery dates.

“According to our counterparts in Taiwan and the Taiwan representative’s office” in the US “they anticipate a quick move on their part” to finish the F-16 deal, assistant secretary of state Clarke Cooper said.    [FULL  STORY]

But can Taipei really build them or buy them abroad? 

The National Interest
Date: September 14, 2019
By: David Axe Follow @daxe on TwitterL

Taiwan has broken ground on the shipyard that could build the country’s first new submarines in nearly 40 years. But the island state’s defense minister signaled uncertainty about whether, and how fast, the navy might actually get new undersea boats.

“We are far behind” in submarine warfare, Defense Minister Michael Tsai said at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. in September 2019. “We need technical support from the United States, Japan and other countries.”

Facing a de facto embargo from the major submarine-builders in Europe, the government in Taipei in the early 2000s negotiated with the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to buy new diesel-powered subs from the United States.

But China pressed the United States not to provide the subs. And besides, U.S. companies haven’t built diesel boats in decades. The 2000s deal “fell apart,” reporter John Grady wrote at the news website of the U.S. Naval Institute.

Now Taiwan has no choice but to build its own undersea vessels. But it needs help with certain key technologies including torpedo systems and combat integration, Grady explained, citing Seth Cropsey, a naval affairs analyst at Hudson.    [FULL  STORY]

Consular functions to better protect rights and welfare of Taiwanese and American citizens

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/14
By:  Central News Agency

TAIPEI (CNA) — Taiwan and the United States on Friday (September 13) signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate consular assistance and institutionalize consular functions for better protection of Taiwanese and American nationals in each country.

Louis M. Huang (黃敏境), deputy representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), and John Norris, managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan, signed the MOU Regarding Certain Consular Functions in Washington on behalf of their respective countries, according to a TECRO statement.

The signing of the MOU was witnessed by U.S. Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary Karin King and Office of Taiwan Coordination Director Ingrid Larson, among others, TECRO said.

Under the MOU, consular functions on both sides are expected to be institutionalized to better protect the rights and welfare of citizens of both countries, the office said. For example, if a Taiwanese citizen is arrested in the U.S., American law enforcement authorities will be expected to immediately inform the detainee that he or she has the right to ask that TECRO be notified and to request a visit by a representative of the office, according to the MOU.    [FULL  STORY]