Focus Taiwan
Date: 10/28/20207
By: Wu Jui-chi and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) A fire broke out Wednesday at a plant owned by printed circuit board (PCB) maker Unimicron Technology Corp. in Taoyuan's Guishan District, with one person suffering minor injuries and two rescued by firefighters.

Acting on an emergency call, Taoyuan City Fire Department sent 67 firefighters, 19 fire engines and three ambulances to the site to help battle the fire and support rescue efforts, according to firefighter squad chief Lai Chih-chung (賴志忠).

Two people who appeared unhurt and conscious were rescued from a first floor bathroom and taken to hospital for a checkup, while one other employee went to hospital on his own volition to be treated for smoke inhalation, Lai said.

Seven firefighters were also taken to hospital after chemicals with acidic properties splashed onto their skin causing an allergic reaction, but initial results indicate it is not serious, according to Lai.
[FULL  STORY]

LOOMING POLICY: The deputy health minister said that from Jan. 1, any local laws contradicting the central government over ractopamine in pork would be invalidated

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 29, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter, with CNA

If local government regulations on the maximum residue limits of ractopamine in US pork still

contradict central government regulation next year, they would become invalid, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said yesterday.

Hsueh made the remark at a meeting of legislative committees yesterday morning to review a policy allowing imports of US pork containing ractopamine from Jan. 1.

Several local governments have regulations for zero tolerance of ractopamine in pork.

Asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) about a document issued to local governments on the issue, Hsueh said that the Ministry of Health and Welfare had sent official documents to local governments asking them to review their regulations.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 27 October, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Taiwanese swimmer Wang Kuan-hung broke national records with his performance in the men’s 50-meter and 100-meter butterfly races at the International Swimming League (ISL) matches in Hungary. At the age of 18, Wang came in fourth place in the men’s 100-meter short course butterfly at 50.80 seconds on Tuesday.

Wang is the first Taiwanese to join the ISL. That’s after he was given the ticket to take part in the 200-meter short course butterfly competition at the Tokyo Olympics slated for next year.

Wang’s time of 1:50.79 secs in the 200-meter short course butterfly beat the previous record held by Japanese swimmer Seto Daiya at the FINA Swimming World Cup in 2012.     

Wang also broke the previous World Junior record in the 200-meter short course butterfly at the ISL on October 18.     [FULL  STORY]

​What international relations theorists often miss is the point that China is wielding its sword to Taiwan as a proxy threat to the United States

The National Interest
Date: October 27, 2020
By: Charles K.S. Wu Yao-Yuan Yeh Fang-Yu Chen Austin Horng-En Wang

The relations between Taiwan and China have not been cordial since President Tsai Ing-wen came into office in 2016. However, the lack of détente has recently given in to overt military actions. Chinese fighter jets, emboldened, are now crossing the so-called “median line” of the Taiwan Strait—violating the implicit agreement between major powers not to cross that line over the past several decades. These surprised “visits” by China triggered a series of hasty reactions as Taiwan’s air force scrambled jets to evict potential threats.

Much ink has been spoiled on how China’s irresponsible actions could pull both sides or even the United States into an unwanted military conflict. It also sparks a series of debates about whether the United States should ditch its long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan for a more explicit security guarantee.

Aside from these policy discussions, what is puzzling to scholars of international relations theory is why China is now employing overt military actions against Taiwan. Taiwan and China have successfully maintained the current status quo since the most recent missile crisis in 1995-96 (also known as the Third Taiwan Strait crisis), during which the United States dispatched two aircraft carrier battle groups to dissuade a Chinese invasion. Since then, relations have their ups and downs, but China has not been so forthright in offending Taiwan’s airspace and sending signals of war.    [FULL  STORY]

Beijing warns that if Taiwanese fighter jets fire at Chinese warplanes flying over Taiwan, 'it means war'

Taiwan News
Date: 82020/10/27
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China's top propaganda platform on Monday declared that People's Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes "must fly over Taiwan" and if Taiwanese fighter jets fire on them, "it means war."

As the U.S. has announced the potential sale of a wide range of sophisticated weapons to Taiwan over the past few weeks, China on Monday (Oct. 26) announced sanctions on American companies involved in these arms deals. That same day, China's state-run mouthpiece the Global Times published an editorial by Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin (胡錫進) describing the sanctions as "countermeasures" against the U.S. weapons sales that will "gradually strengthen."

The editorial alleged that Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leaders are promoting "de-sinicization," while the U.S. is using Taiwan to "jeopardize" the rise of China. Hu charged that the two are colluding together in using "salami tactics" against the communist regime.

The communist voicebox wrote that military means are China's "trump card for restraining Taiwan secessionists" and that during recent military exercises, PLA aircraft have "reached near the island of Taiwan." Hu claimed that this was a signal to Taiwan's government that it must "rein in at the brink."    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 10/27/2020
By: Worthy Shen and Ko Lin

….
Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) A Keelung City bus crashed on Tuesday, injuring 14 people and damaging rows of scooters and other vehicles in the process, according to the city's Fire Department.

The incident took place at 5:46 p.m., when the bus suddenly veered to the opposite side of the road on a curve on Feng-Jen Street, the department said.

Among the six men and eight women injured, no one was reported in critical condition.

Based on the results of a breathalyzer test, police said the 58-year-old driver, surnamed Wu (吳), was found to be sober at the time of the accident.    [FULL  STORY]

STRIKING A BALANCE: The US$2.37 billion weapons package would further modernize Taiwan’s defense capabilities in the face of Chinese provocation, the government said

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 28, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

  
The government yesterday thanked Washington for another proposed arms sales package to strengthen the nation’s defense capabilities.

“Taiwan’s government thanks the US government for once again providing important defensive weapons in the wake of last week’s announcement of a three-part arms sales package,” Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement yesterday.

“This sale once again constitutes concrete action by the US government to fulfill its security commitments under the ‘six assurances’ and the Taiwan Relations Act, and also demonstrates that the US government considers assisting Taiwan to strengthen our self-defense capabilities a matter of great importance,” he said    [FULL  STORY]

Tough and early intervention measures appears to have spared much of the region from the debilitating impact of the pandemic seen elsewhere

The Telegrtaph
Date: 25 October 2020
By: Nicola Smith

A coveted window spot at Saffron 46, a chic India restaurant overlooking central Taipei, is hard to come by on weekends. Behind the bar, waiters quickly whip up cocktails, while chefs work at full speed, churning out curries, samosas, and chutneys to packed tables.

It's a scene that is replicated across the bustling bars and restaurants of the Taiwanese capital, where business is booming despite the ongoing pandemic. Downtown malls are crowded and glamorous party-goers once again have to join long queues for nightclubs.

Although Covid-19 emerged from China, nearby countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam and, to a lesser extent, Singapore, have fared much better than Western nations in terms of safeguarding both the health of their populations and their economies.

East Asia has combined varying strategies of border controls, targeted quarantine and testing and tracing systems, that have offered an alternative path to the endless cycle of lockdowns that have stifled freedoms and crushed economies in the UK, US and Europe.    [FULL  STORY]

The Standard
Date: 26 Oct 202012:04 am

Several civic groups held a march in Taipei on Sunday to show their support for 12 Hong Kong residents detained in Shenzhen for trying to make their way to Taiwan by sea.

Organized by the Hong Kong Outlanders and Taiwan Association for Human Rights among other groups, demonstrators held signs with the English words "Save 12" and shouted slogans such as "Release the 12 Hong Kongers" and "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of Our Time,'' CNA reports,

Chinese authorities detained the 12 Hong Kong residents in Shenzhen for attempting to travel illegally to Taiwan by boat in August, labeling them separatists in the process. They were only allowed to see lawyers assigned to the case by the Chinese government but were not permitted to see their families.

The demonstrators started their march at the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station, passed by the Bank of China Taipei Branch, seen as a symbol of the Chinese government, and ended at the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (Taiwan).    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese will never initiate a conflict but are determined to protect their country: Su Tseng-chang

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/25
By: Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In reference to Xi Jinping's recent Korean War anniversary speech, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Sunday (Oct. 25) stated that Taiwanese will never initiate a conflict but are determined to protect their country.

On Friday, Xi stated that while Beijing desired peace it would not back down from a conflict.

While at the opening ceremony of a Sanxia District Farmer’s Association event, Su stated that when President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) delivered her National Day speech, she quoted Xi’s common slogans, hoping he will do what he promised: not to be hegemonic and not to disturb regional peace, CNA reported.    [FULL  STORY]