Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/06
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, June 6 (CNA) The partnership between Taiwan and the United States will continue

to progress and play an important role in the free and open Indo-Pacific region, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Thursday at a formal ceremony to rename a Taiwan government organization that handles American affairs.

Tsai said the change of name from the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA) to the Taiwan Council for U.S. Affairs (TCUSA) reflected decades of mutual trust and marked a milestone in bilateral relations.

The term “North American” was used initially because of the political circumstances at the time, Tsai said, referring to the period when the government organization was established in 1979, after the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the U.S. ended official ties.

The renaming of the organization this year is also significant because it is the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), she said.    [FULL  STORY]

PUBLIC SERVICE: The former legislative speaker said that he would prepare for any future occasion where he ‘might be called upon’ to serve in the interests of the ROC

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 07, 2019
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said that he

would not join the party’s presidential primary, but did not say if he would run for president as an independent.

Whether the KMT can regain political power in next year’s presidential election is key to the survival and development of the Republic of China (ROC), Wang said in a statement released after his meeting with the KMT’s nomination panel at his Taipei office.

Despite that, the party has been indifferent to questions and concerns raised about its primary regulations, and has done nothing to improve them, he said.

“Instead of participating in an abnormal primary, I would rather devote all my energy to visiting members of the public, networking and integrating resources to solidify what we have and prepare myself for any future occasion where I might be called upon by the party, the public or society to do work for the ROC,” Wang said.    [FULL  STORY]

NO WAITING? The Central Election Commission said its priority is to evaluate the electoral process, propose improvements and prepare for next year’s elections

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 06, 2019
By: Huang Hsin-po and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Central Election Commission (CEC) is expected to set up 1,500 additional polling

stations ahead of next year’s presidential and legislative elections after reports of long lines at last year’s local elections, commission vice chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) said yesterday.

The commission came under fire after many voters reported waiting in line for more than an hour to vote on Nov. 24 last year.

At some polling stations, voting continued after the 4pm deadline, even as CEC staff at other stations had begun counting votes. Vote counting was also delayed late into the night.

Former CEC chairman Chen In-chin (陳英鈐), who on Nov. 25 last year resigned amid criticism, was on Monday replaced by Lee Chin-yung (李進勇).    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 05 June, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday said Taiwan does not refuse entry to people who

support democracy and freedom. Tsai was speaking in light of accusations the Dalai Lama and Uyghur activist Rebiya Kadeer had been denied entry to Taiwan.

The two human rights leaders were supposedly invited to speak at the recent Taiwan International Religious Freedom Forum. Tsai said Taiwan welcomes people from friendly countries.

Tsai said, “Taiwan is a democratic country. We would not bar anyone who is like-minded, or anyone connected with or working for democracy and freedom to visit Taiwan. It is true however, that we do not allow people who use force to rule into the country.”

Tsai though denied reports that the government refused entry to both the Dalai Lama and Kadeer due to “technical problems”.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: June 3, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier

The Taichung City Municipal Tourism Bureau warned hikers to take precautions after a very large cobra was spotted on a trail on Dakeng Mountain last week.

The tourism bureau published pictures and a video of the snake to its Facebook page a few days ago, urging people not to panic if they see a snake, and not to provoke them.

According to a Liberty Times report, an unidentified religious group released snakes in the area a few years ago, and local farmers have reported cobras in bamboo groves and orchards in the area, even occasionally inside farmhouse toilets.

The Municipal Tourism Bureau urged people to use a stick or trekking pole to shake long grass before walking in it, to avoid putting their hands in hollow logs or crevices before close inspection, and to avoid flipping rocks.

The bureau said that if you are bitten by a snake, you should stay calm, and not run. Immediately call 119 for help.   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/04
By: Pingdong Ark, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

Asia’s largest defense conference, the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, took place at Singapore’s Shangri-La Hotel from May 31 to June 2. Acting United States Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said at the meeting that Washington would no longer tolerate China’s aggressive behavior in Asia. The U.S. would continue to support Taiwan and to conduct free navigation in the South China Sea.

Shanahan said that the biggest long-term threat to the key interests of each country in the South China Sea comes from those who want to disrupt and do not respect the international order. If the trend of such behavior continues, those manmade structures built in public places worldwide could become toll stations, and sovereignty would be reserved for major powers. There is no single country which can lead the Indo-Pacific, all countries must cooperate to build a prosperous future. In his address, Shanahan did not forget to warn China not to continue building new artificial islands in the South China Sea and militarize them thoroughly. He also described threats by China against countries in the region as a kind of “toolkit of coercion.”

Shanahan also said the U.S. and China did not find themselves in a situation of “confrontation.” He said that in the face of “China’s rapid rise,” countries around the world should not be afraid but welcome it. Competition did not amount to clashes.

In his speech afterward, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe criticized U.S. actions in support of Taiwan and its contested “freedom of navigation” actions in the South China Sea. Wei said that no action aimed at splitting up China would be successful, and each type of interference in the Taiwan issue was bound to fail. China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, would fight until the end, Wei said. If China succeeds in bringing Taiwan into its territory, then not only would the Taiwan Strait turn into a Chinese inner sea, but a large part of the South China Sea would also become China’s maritime area.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/05
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) China’s military actions over the years are being carried out for

political purposes in an attempt to influence Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election in 2020, former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Richard Bush said Wednesday.

Asked to comment on Taiwan’s defensive needs, Bush, who is now a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) recent movement around the Taiwan Strait is a form of political warfare.

“It’s a display of force. It’s not the use of force. It’s designed to have a political impact on the competition within Taiwan over who will hold power starting May 20, 2020,” he said.

Bush said such actions, however, are dangerous, as they could lead to miscommunication.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 03 June, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

President Tsai Ing-wen says Taiwan hopes that China can move toward democracy and respect for human rights. Her comments came Monday when speaking to a delegation of democracy activists who are visiting Taiwan on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Incident.

Tsai said that this year is also the 40th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident in Taiwan. Both incidents involved activists calling for democracy. The president said that Taiwan chose the path of freedom and democracy. But she said that although China has made progress economically, there are still many limits there when it comes to freedom and human rights.

Tsai said that Taiwan’s ruling party — the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — was born out of the Kaohsiung Incident 40 years ago. The road to democracy was not easy, she said. But the party will continue to work to achieve the ideals of its founders and enact transitional justice in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

The National Interest
Date: June 3, 2019  
By: Ian Easton

“The good news is that the Chinese military almost certainly could not prosecute a full-scale invasion of Taiwan today and succeed. Even if a few hawkish generals were prepared to roll the dice, the costs and risks entailed by the war would be enormous and potentially fatal for the regime. PLA strategists know they still have a long way to go before they will be able to achieve their objective. The bad news is that China’s leaders recognize the roadblocks in their path and will continue to invest heavily in strategic deception, intelligence collection, psychological warfare, joint training and advanced weapons. Barring countervailing efforts, their investments could result in a world-shaking conflict and an immense human tragedy.”

Given the gravity of the threat facing Taiwan, it is important that the international community understands China’s intentions and plans. Americans need to understand why their country might one day find itself locked in deadly embrace with China over this island nation, and allies need to know what parts they might be asked to play. If a war breaks out between the United States and China over Taiwan, it will change the course of history and produce after effects that reverberate for generations to come.

A Chinese diplomat in Washington recently threatened that China would invade Taiwan if the U.S. Navy sent a ship to visit the democratic island, something that Congress has called upon the Pentagon to do in 2018. Is this just empty rhetoric? Or does it reflect Beijing’s actual intentions? It’s actually a bit of both.    [FULL  STORY]

Fallen man carried downstream by the surging current

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/03
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A man holding a bucket was carried away by current and drowned while trying to cross a swift-flowing river in Taiwan’s central county of Nantou on Sunday, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

A witness said that when he was crossing a bridge spanning the Nankang River in Puli Township, he saw a middle-aged man holding an orange bucket crossing the river, according to CNA. As the current was swift from an abundance of rain in the mountains in recent days, he thought the man’s behavior was very dangerous.

He said the next thing he saw was the man being dragged down by the force of the current and carried down the stream by the flowing water. He was terrified by the scene and immediately reported the incident to police.

Nantou County Fire Station responded by dispatching members of two branches to the scene, where they began searching downstream from where the man fell down, according to CNA. The search and rescue team found the man about 300 meters downstream from where he fell down, pulled him to shore, and immediately performed CPR on him.
[FULL  STORY]