PHILATELY WON'T GET YOU ANYWHERE

Quartz
Date: September 2, 2019
By: Ilaria Maria Sala

If you were to rely on the official Chinese version of events, the island off the southern coast of Fujian province, Taiwan, has “always been part of China.”

The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, for example, proclaims: “Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times,” and then sets out a series of dates and events meant to prove the point, while conspicuously sidestepping the issue of exactly what constituted “China” in “ancient times.” The argument is one China has been making with growing force in recent times, and that many Chinese abroad feel it is their duty to make too.

This week, China is in the middle of a campaign “to promote people’s knowledge of the national map and awareness of national territory. ” With the pithy theme of “Regulate the usage of maps, no dot on it can be mistaken,” this activity is so avowedly politicized that the article cites Ge Yuejing, a professor at Beijing Normal University’s geography school, as saying that “national map education should be included in ideological and political education as well as geography classes.”

Chinese nationalistic outrage over Taiwan—which has never been governed by the Communist Party that rules over the Chinese mainland—has in recent years seen a professor at Australia’s University of Newcastle made to apologize for saying that Taiwan was a country. Last year, airlines had to change how they displayed Taiwan in their ticketing menus to passengers. And this year the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences proposed that all international companies, including the likes of Apple and Nike, be urged to refer to Taiwan as part of China’s territory, while the London School of Economics also came under pressure after a campus artwork, a giant globe of the world, showed Taiwan as separate.

But the past has seen the occasional telling slip in the official line.    [FULL  STORY]

Kaohsiung mayor strongly opposes Taiwan independence amid rumors his presidential nomination might be canceled

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/02
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) presidential nominee Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said on

Monday (Sept. 2) that he does not need support from pro-independence voters, urging them to vote for his opponent, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

“Those who support Taiwan independence and don't love the Republic of China, please vote for President Tsai Ing-wen,” said Han during a live-streaming session via Facebook on Monday morning. “I don’t want your votes.”

Han’s party is widely considered to be friendly toward China. The DPP, on the other hand, tends to be independence-leaning, which is why Beijing suspended official contact with Taiwan’s government after Tsai took office in May 2016.

In the live stream, the candidate and current Kaohsiung mayor was responding to widespread rumors that the KMT is planning to replace him with Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), as his popularity has plummeted in recent months. Calls upon Gou to run for president have endured even though he was defeated by Han in the party’s primary by a wide margin in July.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/02
By: Chi Shu-fang and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Monday that the government will provide

necessary assistance to Hong Kong people in Taiwan based on humanitarian considerations as anti-government protests have continued for months in the former British colony and the situation shows no sign of dying down.

Tsai made the remarks after hearing briefings by relevant government agencies at the National Security Council on the latest development in Hong Kong as the anti-extradition law protests there have morphed into an anti-government movement.

Tsai called on Beijing to keep its promise to uphold Hong Kong's autonomy and should not take Taiwan's and other country's concerns over Hong Kong protesters as an excuse for alleged intervention by foreign forces.

She also said the Hong Kong government should avoid using excessive force and violence but should peacefully and rationally resolve conflict and reduce antagonism between the government and the people through constructive dialogue.    [FULL  STORY]

The Australian
Date: September 2, 2019
By Jaushieh Joseph Wu

resident Tsai Ing-wen of the ­Republic of China (Taiwan) transited in July through New York — an icon of diversity and freedom, and home to the UN — as a prelude to her state visit to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Caribbean.

While meeting the envoys to the UN of Taiwan’s allies, Ms Tsai reiterated that Taiwan’s 23 million people have the right to participate in the UN system. She also emphasised that Taiwan is committed to joining hands with global partners to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals to forge the world we want, and the future we need.

Taiwan, a full-fledged democracy, has made considerable progress in fulfilling the SDGs and has provided assistance to countries in need. Nevertheless, it continues to be barred from participating in related meetings, mechanisms and activities due to political interference. Taiwan is willing and ready to share its success story and contribute further to the collective effort to achieve the SDGs.
[FULL  STORY]

Motley Fool
Date: September 1, 2019
By: Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

For the umpteenth year in a row, Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) F-16 remains the world's most popular fighter jet.

The manufacturer of everything from F-35 stealth fighters to Blackhawk helicopters to the venerable F-16, Lockheed Martin is the world's biggest pure-play defense contractor. And according to the data specialists preparing Flightglobal's 2019 World Air Forces report, 45 years after the F-16 Fighting Falcon first took flight, some 2,280 of Lockheed's F-16s are still flying around the globe — 15% of all fighter planes in existence today.  

And as we just found out, that number is about to get a little bit bigger.

$8 billion for defense, but not one cent for tribute

You can thank Taiwan for that — and the Communist government of China, which has lined the Taiwan Strait with missiles, bombers, and warships in an effort to remind the Taiwanese not to stray too far from the "One China" party line.    [FULL  STORY]

Petition implies Taiwan is purchasable territory rather than nation state

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/01
By: David Spencer, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan News) – American citizens reading this article may well have found themselves browsing the "We the People" White House petition site during an idle moment.

If you have, you will be well aware that the site is packed with hundreds of petitions, and dozens more are added every day.

Some are petitions about serious political issues. Currently, there are petitions asking the government to repeal the National Firearms Act, not to repeal Net Neutrality laws, and urging New York State not to expand abortion services.

But these serious petitions are very much in the minority. More prominent are petitions to impeach Nancy Pelosi for treason, declare George Soros a terrorist and seize his assets, and remove Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib from office.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/01
By: Yeh Su-ping and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Sept. 1 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party

(DPP) officially kicked off her re-election campaign team Sunday by authorizing hundreds of regional directors.

In two separate closed-door ceremonies in Taipei, Tsai authorized more than 500 campaign staff, including DPP campaign directors in the country's 23 counties and cities, as well as representatives from various business sectors, who pledged their support to help Tsai with her re-election bid.

Although the media was not permitted to attend the events, those who participated told CNA afterward that Tsai called on all campaign staff to be united in the face of the expected tough battle ahead.

It's now four months away from the January 2020 election, when the country's next presidential and legislative elections will be held concurrently Jan. 11.    [FULL  STORY]

SUBSIDIES AND BANS: Smokers in New Taipei City and Taipei face new restrictions, while senior citizens can now use their courtesy cards at district sports centers

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 02, 2019
By:\ Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan began implementing a number of new government policies yesterday, including a ban on

smoking under covered walkways outside several convenience stores and coffee shop chains in Taipei and New Taipei City.

Stores covered by the ban are 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK Mart, Simple Mart, Starbucks, 85°C, Louisa Coffee, Mr Brown Cafe, Dante Coffee, Ikari Coffee, Barista Coffee, Cama Cafe, Crown&Fancy and Peter Better Cafe.

Anyone caught smoking under covered walkways in front of the 15 outlets faces a fine of NT$2,000 to NT$10,000.

Also from yesterday, senior citizen courtesy cards can be used at Taipei’s 12 district sports centers.
[FULL  STORY]

How VR films are putting Taiwan on the map

Variety
Date: August 31, 2019
By: Kevin Ma

Taiwan has emerged as a creative hub for Mandarin-language content, with such heavyweights as HBO Asia and Netflix collaborating with local TV networks and production companies. In January, the Taiwan government took the next step to bring its content to a bigger international audience when President Tsai Ing-wen signed the Organizational Act of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, paving the way for the Ministry of Culture to establish the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA).

Modeled after Korea’s Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) and similar institutions in Europe, TAICCA aims to aid the development of the island’s cultural content industry and bring more Taiwanese content to global audiences, elevating its cultural soft power in Asia and beyond.

Part of the agency’s first five-year plan is to drive innovation in the creation of cultural content. In recent years, Taiwan has quickly risen as a leading creator of VR content. In 2017, “La Camera Insabbiata,” a Taiwan-U.S. co-production, won the Best VR Experience award at the Venice Film Festival’s first Virtual Reality competition, while arthouse auteur Tsai Ming-liang screened his 55-minute VR film, “The Deserted,” in the main competition.

Since then, more Taiwanese VR films have screened in major film festivals: John Hsu’s “Your Spiritual Temple Sucks” and Tsai Tsung-Han’s “Live Stream From Yuki <3” both unspooled at the Sundance Film Festival, while Lee Chung’s “Mr. Buddha” was screened at Tribeca this year. The Virtual Reality section of this year’s Venice Film Festival features seven VR projects from Taiwanese productions, including five in the competition section. (An eighth project — John Hsu and Marco Lococo’s “Great Hoax” — is in the Venice Gap-Financing Market).    [FULL  STORY]

A waitress on a train in Taiwan was filmed comforting a crying passenger for more than one hour, wiping the woman’s tears and even giving her a massage to calm her down. Her kindness touched the other passengers.

[SOU9RCE]