Taiwan's DPP offers stand with HK, humanitarian assistance following Sunday's bloody police crackdown

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/13
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In response to the bloody crackdown by Hong Kong police in an MTR station on Sunday (Aug. 11), Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took to Facebook on Monday to condemn the violence and offer humanitarian assistance to Hong Kong.

On Sunday, police raised their already high bar for violence and suppression of Hong Kong citizens even higher by shooting a young female protester in the eye with a bean bag round outside the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station, causing permanent optical damage. Officers also fired tear gas inside a train station for the first time in Kwai Fong.

On Monday, the DPP took to Facebook to post a video showing the carnage from that day and to say that "even though martial law has not been declared in Hong Kong, a bloody crackdown took place, minus the tanks." It then wrote that "As a free and democratic society, Taiwan cannot ignore the violence perpetrated by the Beijing and Hong Kong governments."

It then wrote that Taiwan stands with Hong Kong and that President Tsai Ing-wen and the relevant government agencies will provide humanitarian assistance. It closed by saying, "Hong Kong add oil! We must also defend Taiwan."    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/13
By Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) Flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong have gradually returned to normal Tuesday after Hong Kong's airport reopened and started to get its operations back on track in the morning, Taiwan aviation officials said.

At Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan's main international gateway, 35 flights to and from Hong Kong are expected to be canceled Tuesday, affecting 6,200 passengers, said Jerry Dann (但昭璧), senior vice president of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Co.

The situation will improve in the afternoon, Dann said, and airlines will use bigger aircraft to increase capacity.

"The airlines told us they will be able to transport all stranded passengers today," Dann said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 14, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

Heavy rain yesterday killed a motorcyclist in Kaohsiung and forced the Tainan City Government to cancel

work and classes.6

The heavy rains that affected central and southern Taiwan were triggered by a southwesterly wind interacting with a convection circulation.

The Pingtung County Government closed schools and offices in Chunrih Township (春日) due to road damage.

TV news footage showed Tainan residents pushing motorcycles through the floodwaters. In Rende District (仁德), which was severely affected, police on patrol waded through floodwaters instead of riding scooters.

Some people tried in vain to salvage their vehicles.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 12 August, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Taiwan’s foreign ministry is urging the United Nations to not debase the official name of Taiwan and face

up to the reality that Taiwan is not part of China. That was the word from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou on Monday.

Ou’s comments came after the UN on Sunday tweeted a list of countries that have legalized same-sex marriage. The tweet called Taiwan a “province of China”. The official name of Taiwan is the Republic of China.

Ou said it’s disappointing that the United Nations handled the matter by later removing the tweet instead of using the correct name to refer to the country.

Ou said the UN should face up to the reality that Taiwan and China are two independent entities and that only Taiwan’s elected government can represent the 23 million people of Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

Following Freddy Lim's departure from the NPP and accusations against Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, NPP Chairman Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) resigned today.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/08/12
By: Daphne K. Lee

New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) announced his resignation today at a press conference.

During the press conference, Chiu stated two main reasons for his decision to resign. He said he regretted over Freddy Lim's (林昶佐) departure from NPP despite his efforts in uniting the different voices within the party. He also took responsibility for the party's damaged reputation over the recent scandal about NPP legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal (高潞以用), who was accused of abusing her influence to obtain government funding.

"Obviously, my efforts have failed to convince our party members and facilitate effective dialogue between the different opinions in the party. I feel extremely regretful and I should bear the political responsibility for my failures," Chiu said to the press.

Chiu wished his successor, though not yet named, to finish the work he has left off and lead the NPP to win the 2020 elections.    [FULL  STORY]

Political controversies stirred up by beverage shops are not limited to within Taiwan or across the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/12
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Political controversies stirred up by drink shops are not limited to within the territories of Taiwan or across the Taiwan Strait, but they have also spread to as far as Germany in Europe.

The recent controversies originated from an employee of "Teamate," a well-known Taiwanese-founded beverage shop in Germany, posting opinions on social media supporting the political views of "one country on each side" and "Taiwan and China being two different sovereign states," Liberty Times reported on Monday (Aug. 12).

The employee’s opinions met with attacks from Chinese trolls, who have revengefully given negative reviews and even come up with menacing comments such as “unifying [Taiwan] with military force,” according to the media outlet..

Teamate has several shops in Düsseldorf. The shop founder successfully introduced Taiwan’s hand-shake pearl milk tea and oolong milk tea to Germany many years ago. As the beverages have genuine Taiwanese flavors, they are well received by both overseas Taiwanese in Germany and foreign customers, Liberty Times reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/12
By: Miao Zong-han and Joseph Yeh

Beijing, Aug. 12 (CNA) A Chinese official in charge of Taiwan affairs was non-committal on whether China will partially lift a ban on travel to Taiwan by independent travelers after being urged to do so by the heads of Taiwan's three offshore counties.

The appeal was made by Kinmen County chief Yang Cheng-wu (楊鎮浯), Penghu County chief Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉), and Lienchiang County chief Liu Cheng-ying (劉增應), all of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), during a meeting with Liu Jieyi (劉結一), director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office.

They asked Beijing to exempt their island counties from a recent ban on individual travel (not as part of a tour group) by Chinese nationals to Taiwan, which took effect Aug. 1.

Lai told Taiwanese reporters after the meeting that Liu was non-committal, saying only that China will consider their request.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 13, 2019
By: Su Yung-yao and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Presidential Office Building is at the center of a new tourism development program, with foreigners

being offered a chance to spend the night in the building’s compound and become an “ambassador for Taiwan.”

The “Spend a Night at Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building” program is aimed at changing the building’s image as a former symbol of authoritarianism to mark its 100th anniversary and promoting Taiwan as “one of the friendliest nations in the world, the General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC), which is organizing the program, said in a statement.

The program “is the first of its kind in the world and demonstrates Taiwan’s democracy, freedom and openness,” Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.

Applicants must be older than 20 and must make a video explaining why they want to visit Taiwan, what it is about Taiwan that attracts them and why they should be selected, Chang said.
[FULL  STORY]

The Hill
Date: 08/11/19
By: Seth Cropsey, Opinion Contributor

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

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Hong Kong police have repeatedly assailed pro-democracy demonstrators in street clashes for weeks now. In mid-July, suspected Chinese organized gang members assaulted protesters at a local train station.

The introduction of gang violence to quash Hong Kong’s pro-democracy groups was reminiscent of the Polish communist party’s recruitment of violent criminals to help put down Solidarity protests in the early 1980s. And, just as with the Solidarity movement, the Hong Kong protests that began two months ago against a proposed extradition law are part of a larger historical question of democracy’s future — and of China’s growing threat to it.

This requires perspective.

Modern liberal politics embraces universals. Universal rights — both for citizens and for mankind — undergird contemporary Western morality. Variations exist between constitutions — the centralized French model vs. German federalism or British parliamentarianism. Nevertheless, each regime locates the ultimate source of its political power in its people. Democratic elections are consistent affirmations of popular legitimacy.

The ancient world, by contrast, classified regimes by two categories. The first, who rules — the one, the few, or the many — is familiar to modern students of political science; it is an empirical category that distinguishes between governments based upon who holds political power. The second, just or unjust, is less familiar to contemporary observers; it demands examining the goals of each regime and understanding the relationship between a government and society on the one hand and human happiness on the other.    [FULL  STORY]

Mainland China has a number of cards it can play to try to influence the island but they risk undermining its interests

South China Morning Post
Date: 11 Aug, 2019
By: Sarah Zheng  

With the countdown already under way to Taiwan’s presidential election, Beijing has embarked on a campaign of its own.

In the past few weeks, it has suspended permits for individual travellers  from 47 mainland Chinese cities to visit the island, halted mainland participation in Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards , and mounted large-scale military drills  near the Taiwan Strait.

The actions reflect Beijing’s opposition to the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party.

Tsai will again be the DPP’s candidate in the election in January and Beijing still has more ways – from economic to military options – to put pressure on the ruling party and draw attention to the decline in cross-strait relations in the last four years. But analysts also warn that such action risks backfiring and increasing support for Tsai.

The strains in relations between Beijing and Taipei are in sharp contrast to those under the previous administration of Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou from the mainland-friendly Kuomintang (KMT). During Ma’s tenure, Beijing and Taipei signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which lowered tariffs on the mainland for Taiwanese businesses.    [FULL  STORY]