Both vessels were fishing illegally near Juguang Township, Lienchang County

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/13
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Sunday (May 12), two Chinese fishing boats, the Qianlian yu (閩連漁) No. 2016 and an unmarked vessel, trespassed in the waters near Taiwan’s Matsu Islands, of Lienchang County (連江縣) and were seized by the Coast Guard.

The first ship was caught illegally fishing in the morning, and the second seized later Sunday evening.

Currently China is enforcing a regular moratorium on fishing in its territorial waters nearby to allow fisheries to replenish. This will typically prompt some Chinese fishing boats to attempt to poach from Taiwan’s exclusive fisheries instead.

The first vessel, Qianlian yu (閩連漁) No. 2016, was spotted by the Matsu Coast Guard shortly before 8:00 a.m. at 2.1 km from the eastern island of Juguang Township (莒光鄉).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/13
By: Stacy Hsu 
Taipei, May 13 (CNA) The level of anxiety is high in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community ahead of highly anticipated negotiations in the Legislature on Tuesday to reconcile three competing draft bills on same-sex relationships.

The conclusions reached by the item-by-item review of the three proposals will be put to a vote of the full Legislative Yuan on May 17, with the result determining the rights, obligations and levels of protection same-sex couples will be entitled to if they register a legal union after May 24.

May 24 is the deadline imposed by Taiwan’s Constitutional Court in its Interpretation No. 748 for resolving the issue after it found the Civil Code’s prohibition of unions between two people of the same gender to be unconstitutional.

The interpretation, handed down on May 24, 2017, called for a legislative remedy within two years to guarantee same-sex couples the freedom of marriage and equal protections they are currently denied under the Civil Code.    [FULL  STORY]

‘UNITED FRONT’: A bookstore near NTU is co-organizing a low-cost 11-day trip to China, sparking concern that it could be another Chinese tactic to lure young people

Taipei Times
Date: May 14, 2019
By: Wu Po-hsuan, Huang Pei-chun and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

National Taiwan University (NTU) Student Association president Michelle Wu (吳奕柔)

yesterday said students should be alert to China’s “united front” tactics after a report that a bookstore is cohosting a low-cost trip to China.

The Lines of Flight bookstore, which specializes in books imported from China, is co-organizing an 11-day trip to China with stops in Beijing, Chongqing and the Three Gorges region, an anonymous NTU student said.

The trip, which is scheduled for July 1 to July 11, targets 18 to 35-year-olds, and costs NT$16,500, including airfare, transportation within China, room and board, the source said.

Visitors would also meet Taiwanese businesspeople in China, and participate in discussions with local schools and entrepreneurship centers, the source said.
[FULL  STORY]

South China Morning Post
Date: 12 May, 2019 
By: Kristin Huang

• US report outlines potential military options Beijing may be considering to fulfil its unification ambitions
• But questions remain over Chinese amphibious landing capability which would be crucial to any operation

Beijing is gearing up its efforts to reunify the self-ruled island of Taiwan, but might lack the core assault landing capabilities to conquer the island, military experts said.

The assessment follows an annual report to the US Congress saying China was likely to be preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan by force, while simultaneously deterring, delaying, or denying any third-party intervention on the island’s behalf.

The 136-page report, “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2019”, was released last week and listed a number of options, including a blockade to cut off Taiwan’s imports accompanied by large-scale missile strikes and the occupation of offshore islands like Quemoy (also known as Kinmen) and Matsu.

An air and missile attack might aim to destroy important military and communications infrastructure, while a full-scale invasion might start at northern or southern points along the west coast, according to the Pentagon report.    [FULL  STORY]

The cause of the incident is under investigation

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/12
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two people were killed in a major car incident in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County on Saturday evening (May 11).

Four vehicles collided on the Zhunan South Road section of the no. 3 national freeway, one of which suffered severe damage, according to the Central News Agency.

The National Highway Police Bureau received a report of the incident at around 11 p.m. Saturday evening and immediately deployed patrol officers to investigate. Upon arrival, the officers discovered three cars and a small truck had been caught in a chain collision.

One of the cars containing a driver and two passengers was crushed at both ends due to the collision force. Rescue personnel from Hsinchu City Fire Bureau were dispatched to release two of the individuals who were trapped inside.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/12
By: Yeh Tzu-kang and William Yen

Taipei, May 12 (CNA) A government plan to install solar panels near a wetlands will not affect the natural habitats of endangered winter migratory birds, the Chiayi County government said Sunday in response to a report saying the plan was driving the birds away.

Li Chien-lin (李建霖), deputy head of the Chiayi County Agriculture Department, told CNA that the solar panels will not to be installed on the legally defined grounds of the Budai Salt Pan Wetlands because the area and surrounding salt fields are important habitats for the endangered black-faced spoonbill.

After a meeting with the Ministry of the Interior and experts, it was decided that the installations will be limited to four plots of land, which total 102 hectares, and will not be expanded to preserve the birds’ natural habitat, Li said.

The statement came after the United Daily News (UDN) reported black-faced spoonbills are disappearing from the county’s Budai wetlands because of the digging and preparation for the installation of the solar panels in the area.    [FULL  STORY]

‘DEFEAT FROM WITHIN’: China used a cross-strait media summit to spread propaganda, the MAC said, urging media companies to avoid helping Beijing’s ‘united front’ strategies

Taipei Times
Date: May 13, 2019
By: Chung Li-hua and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The government strongly condemns China’s interference in Taiwan’s internal affairs and

the freedom of its press, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.

Authorities have long been aware of China’s attempts to influence and pressure local media and a statement by Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Yang (汪洋) only confirmed this, Tsai said.

Wang on Friday said that Taiwanese media should give more coverage to Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework.

Wang made the statement following a media summit in Beijing organized by the Beijing Daily Group and cohosted by Taiwanese media company Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時集團).
[FULL  STORY]

That’s concerning for a number of reasons.

The National Interest
Date: May 11, 2019
By: Michael Peck

China has improved its capabilities to invade Taiwan, according to U.S. intelligence.

And while Taiwan is also boosting its military capacity, it’s not enough to compensate for growing Chinese strength, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) 2019 report to Congress on Chinese military power.

“The PLA continues to prepare for contingencies in the Taiwan Strait to deter, and if necessary, compel Taiwan to abandon moves toward independence,” DIA warned. “The PLA also is likely preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the mainland by force, while simultaneously deterring, delaying, or denying any third-party intervention on Taiwan’s behalf.”

The Chinese army is reorganizing into more powerful and flexible combined arms brigades, as well as creating air assault brigades and expanded helicopter forces. The Chinese air force’s airborne troops have practiced long-range assaults and raids.
[FULL  STORY]

While Taiwan looks to Hong Kong as a cautionary tale of ‘one country, two systems,’ its own lack of a refugee law is coming under scrutiny.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/05/11
By: Daphne K. Lee

During a 2018 trip to Taipei, Chan Tong-kai, 20, strangled his pregnant girlfriend to death. He then stuffed her body into a pink suitcase, carried it through a 40-minute metro ride, and abandoned it outside of the Zhuwei MRT station, located in the outskirts of Taipei.

Chan, who has admitted to killing his girlfriend, was later arrested and sentenced in Hong Kong – not on the charge of murder, but on money laundering. Since the alleged murder was committed in Taiwan, Hong Kong authorities were only able to charge Chan for using his girlfriend’s debit card and stealing her other possessions.

One year later, the unresolved murder case has sparked a heated debate over Hong Kong’s new extradition bill, and a massive protest on April 28.

proposed extradition bill with China in Hong Kong on April 28, 2019.
What’s the extradition law controversy about, and why does it matter to Taiwan?
The proposed amendments to the extradition law in Hong Kong have induced public fears with the possibility that Hong Kong residents can be deported to China to face unfair trials. Taiwanese nationals who’re traveling to Hong Kong could also be at risk, allegedly, if the amendments were passed.    [FULL  STORY]