Tsai Ing-wen was responding to the first KMT presidential primary race TV forum

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/26
By: Judy Lo, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) responded in a Facebook post on

Wednesday (June 26) to the first televised forum from the five presidential primary contenders of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party held on Tuesday (June 25).

“I do not intend to criticize any individual candidate, but candidates must speak clearly of their values and of how they plan to realize those values,” Tsai said. “Voters expect something more than empty, emotional comments.”

Tsai also referred to a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Kaohsiung that celebrated the opening of a Mini Three Links (小三通) route between Kaohsiung’s Qijin (旗津) and China’s Wenzhou (溫州), on Tuesday. The head of Kaohsiung’s Tourism Bureau, Pan Heng-hsu (潘恒旭), attended the ceremony on behalf of the city.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) pointed out on the same day the event was a sham. No entity has applied for approval of the route. Pan later apologized and explained he attended the event as a private citizen.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/25
By: Liao Yu-yang, Wang Cheng-chung and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, June 25 (CNA) The Department of Cyber Security is reviewing data security measures and determining whether there are any other security loopholes after it was reported that the personal information of more than 243,000 civil servants has been hacked, Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Civil Service revealed Monday on its Website that it was informed by a government agency about the breach on June 22, with the personal information of 243,376 civil servants being compromised.

The names, national identification card numbers, occupations and the agencies the civil servants work for have been made public. The personal data of individuals working in both central and local governments were submitted between Jan. 1, 2005 and June 30, 2012.

The ministry said the personal information has been made available on foreign websites.
[FULL  STORY]

KEPT IN CHECK: The nation would soon apply to join the US’ preclearance project to exempt Taiwanese from undergoing multiple security inspections at US airports

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 27, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

US travelers transiting through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are to be exempt from having

their checked baggage screened after the two nations exchanged letters of intent on one-stop security cooperation, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said in a statement yesterday.

The letters were exchanged by American Institute of Taiwan (AIT) Washington Trade and Commercial Programs Director Rick Ruzicka and Deputy Representative to the US Louis Huang (黃敏境) at a ceremony at the AIT’s headquarters in Washington on Tuesday.

The event was witnessed by Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Huang Yu-lin (黃玉霖) and US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Executive Adviser to the US Department of State Eric Sarandrea.

The exchange of letters of intent would facilitate flight transfers for US travelers and greatly enhance Taoyuan airport’s efficiency in serving transit passengers, the ministry said, adding that it is also a milestone in aviation security cooperation between the two nations.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 25 June, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) kicks off this Friday until July 14 and will feature films throughout Asia including Taiwan.

The festival describes the four Taiwanese films selected this year as “resolutely pop, accessible and unapologetically fun”. They called them “a specific brand of Taiwanese cool”. They include Han Dan (Huang Chao-liang, 2019), a macho tale of friendship and betrayal amidst the local tradition where fireworks are shot at a parading half-naked man.    [FULL  STORY]

After forty years of the Taiwan Relations Act, as both parties are presented with an increasingly aggressive China, Milo Hsieh argues it's time for a new chapter in relations between the U.S. and Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/06/25
By: Milo Hsieh

In 2019 the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which governs U.S. commitment to Taiwan, hits its forty-year anniversary. Established in 1979 in the aftermath of U.S. recognition of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the TRA re-established U.S. relations with the people of Taiwan after ceasing to recognize the government of the Republic of China, which had ruled Taiwan since 1949 and claimed to be the sole legitimate government representing China.

Many in the U.S. were excited by the opportunity brought on by connecting with China after President Richard Nixon made a surprise visit in 1972 — also the year that the PRC replaced Generalissimo Chiang's (蔣介石) representatives in the U.N. as a permanent member of the security council. Under Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), China's economy was reformed and opened up to the outside for investment. For decades after the reform, China's economy grew significantly. After China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, its export boosted significantly, allowing it to slowly rise to the position of a formidable power in East Asia.

However, as we reach toward the end of the 21st century's second decade, China's rise — along with its increasingly authoritarian governing structure under Xi Jinping (習近平) — now presents a greater threat to U.S. interest in the Indo-Pacific region. While many were optimistic about China potentially democratizing, the violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989 dashed hopes for democratization despite countries such as South Korea and Taiwan democratizing. Furthermore, the recent abolition of term limit for China's president under Xi Jinping, commonly seen as the appointment of himself as a dictator for life, is seen as a backslide in China's democratic development.    [FULL  STORY]

CDC reported first death earlier in June

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/25
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Concern was growing about the expansion of Japanese encephalitis as three new cases were reported Tuesday (June 25) in three different areas of the northwest and south.

The viral infection is transmitted mostly by three types of mosquitoes, with children especially at risk. Symptoms are vague but include headaches, fever, disorientation and paralysis among others.

Taiwan registered its first death from Japanese encephalitis just weeks ago, when a 50-year-old woman succumbed in Kaohsiung.

The new cases Tuesday involved a woman in her fifties in Hsinchu County, a man in his fifties in Chiayi City and a woman in her thirties in Pingtung County, the Liberty Times quoted the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as saying.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/25
By: Liu Lee-jung and Chung Yu-chen

Taipei, June 25 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday lauded the launch of FormoSat-

7, the second satellite constellation jointly built by Taiwan and the U.S., as a milestone in Taiwan space technology.

Formosat-7 was launched into orbit by Space X's Falcon Heavy rocket at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday Taipei time from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with representatives of Taiwan's National Space Organization (NSPO) and President Tsai watching the launch live at NSPO in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

FormoSat-7 sent into space by successful SpaceX liftoff (photo by Reuters)

Tsai attributed the achievement to the hard work of the entire research and development team, saying“every one of you is a space hero and the pride of Taiwan."

Tsai said the launch of the Formosat-5 in August 2017 proved to the world that Taiwan has independent space research and development capability, and with the launch of FormoSat-7, the country now shines bright on the international stage.    [FULL  STORY]

NO HOLDS BARRED: The union said flight attendants must come in person to pick up their documents, after the carrier accused it of making the procedure too complicated

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 26, 2019
By: Lisa Wang and Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporters

EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday accused the Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union of

withholding about 100 flight attendants’ IDs to stop them from ending their participation in a strike — a charge that the union denied.

The comment came as the EVA flight attendants’ strike entered its sixth day with both parties still divided over key issues regarding the appointment of a labor representative to the airline’s board, the “free-rider clause” and perk adjustments.

Several flight attendants have indicated a desire to return to work, saying the union has kept certain information secret, EVA public relations vice president David Chen (陳耀銘) told a media briefing in Taipei.

“As of yesterday, more than 100 flight attendants had expressed their intention to retreat from the strike and their willingness to go back to work,” Chen said. “The number is on the rise.”
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 24 June, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

A recent poll shows that 71% of people in Taiwan support the protests against the extradition bill in Hong Kong while only 13% do not. That was the latest from a poll by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation. The survey was taken on June 17 after people in Hong Kong began protesting against an extradition bill.

The foundation’s chairman Yo Ying-lung also said that the Hong Kong protests have highlighted the Chinese threat to human rights in Hong Kong. This has led to greater support for Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: June 24, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier

Police arrested several people who clashed with police and trespassed on a property in Taichung City last night, after a mob of around 500 people gathered to demand the arrest and detention of a woman suspected to have inflicted severe physical abuse on a child in her care.

Friday morning, June 21, a one-year-old girl was sent to hospital suffering intracranial hemorrhage, a fractured arm, and severe bruising on her head, chest, and back. The babysitter, Ms Guo, who had been caring for the child, claimed that she had been helping the girl take a bath, found her unconscious, and didn’t know how the injury had happened.

The nature of the injuries, and Guo’s evasive answers led medical personnel to report the case to the Social Affairs Bureau, and police.

After undergoing an operation to remove a blood clot in her brain, the toddler lay in a level three coma in the intensive care unit, with a pessimistic prognosis from doctors, who gave the girl little chance of survival, and a high likelihood of permanent brain damage if she does survive.
[FULL  STORY]