Business Times
Date: .January 03, 2021
By: Artie Villasanta

U.S. Navy sailors aboard a warship/ (Photo: U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Conner D. Blake/Handout via REUTERS/Third party image.)

China blasted the New Year's Eve transit of the Taiwan Strait by two U.S. Navy destroyers, making its anger known by having the Ministry of Defense issue the official condemnation instead of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

The defense ministry on Friday said the unopposed transit of the strait separating China from the Republic of China (Taiwan) by the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) and USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) indicates the "incumbent U.S. administration's desperate destructive acts." It said a two warship sail-through "is rare," noting this new provocation came after a previous one by another U.S. Navy destroyer on December 13.

Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin assailed the U.S. warships' frequent provocations and urged the U..S to play a constructive role in fostering regional peace and stability, and "not the opposite."

Chinese military pundits noted the ministry delivering the rebuke to the U.S. was intended to show the incoming administration of Joe Biden no country will be allowed to challenge China's core interests. Biden will be formally sworn-in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20.
[FULL  STORY]

The couple have a three-year-old son Romeo and a five-year-old daughter Hathaway.PHOTO: JAYCHOU/INSTAGRAM

The Straits Times
Date: Jan 3, 2021
By: Suzanne Sng

TAIPEI – Eagle-eyed fans of Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou spotted that he had doctored a photo of his wife's belly, sparking speculation that he had done it to conceal a pregnancy.

The possibility of a third child for Chou, 41, and Hannah Quinlivan, 27, who married in 2015, sent fans into a frenzy as they scrutinised the group photo from a New Year's Eve celebration that he posted on Instagram two days ago (Jan 1).

The couple have a three-year-old son Romeo and a five-year-old daughter Hathaway. He is known for doting on his wife, who is an actress and model.

Comparing the post to a similar one posted by a friend, it is obvious that Chou's photo had been altered to slim down her waist.    [FULL  STORY]

After scaling Baigu Mountain the hiker got lost and has not been found despite search and rescue efforts

Taiwan News
Dat: 2021/01/03
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer1

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese man in his 50s who went on a single-day mountain climbing trip on the border of Taichung City and Nantou County on Dec. 26 is still missing after eight days.

The man, surnamed Chen, joined a group to climb Baigu Mountain, which has an elevation of 3,341 meters, from a trailhead in Ren-ai Township, Nantou County, CNA reported. Around noon, Chen and his party made it to the summit, where they had photos taken.

However, during the trip down the mountain, he wandered off. He then sent messages to the other group members saying he was lost. The group waited for him at the trailhead until deep into the night, to no avail, and reported him missing the next day.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/03/72021
By: Chen Wei-ting and Emerson Lim

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) Taiwan's Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection will begin random
inspections of colored face masks on Monday to check if the products contain toxic substances, such as some regulated azo dye components.

The bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is planning to purchase 70 regular face masks from physical stores and online shops for the safety check, Lai Chun-chieh (賴俊杰), chief of the bureau's inspection section, said on Sunday.

The inspections will also determine whether the amount of formaldehyde exceeds the legal limit, he said, adding that the results of the inspection will be available in two weeks at the soonest.

At present, the MOEA is responsible for inspecting regular face masks while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Ministry of Health and Welfare is in charge of medical grade face masks, according to Lai.    [FULL  STORY]

INTIMIDATION: The Chinese military flew about 380 sorties into Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, an occurrence that was not seen previously, a defense ministry spokesman said

Taipei Times
Date:  Jan 04, 2021
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The number of Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) last year was the highest since 1996, with the majority of them occurring in the zone’s southwest, a government-funded report has said.

Chinese military aircraft entered the nation’s ADIZ on 91 days from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research said in a report on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Last year also saw the highest number of long-distance training missions by the Chinese military around Taiwan, the institute said, citing just six and 20 missions in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

During the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait missile crisis, China conducted a series of ballistic missile tests in the waters around Taiwan in the run-up to the nation’s first direct presidential election.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 01 January, 2021
By: Leslie Liao

The foreign ministry says that an employee at Taiwan’s San Francisco representative office has contracted COVID-19. The foreign ministry says the staff member was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Thursday and has been placed under isolation. 

Individuals who have come into contact with the infected staff member will be tested, and have been ordered to quarantine and work from home.    [FULL  STORY]

ANI
Date: Jan 01, 2021

Taipei [Taiwan], January 1 (ANI): Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on the first day of 2021 said that the cross-strait relations with China was no longer just the matter between the two sides of Taiwan Strait but the whole international community.
"From a global strategic standpoint, Taiwan is more important than ever. Stabilizing relations across the Taiwan Strait is no longer just an issue for the two sides. It is a concern for the whole Indo-Pacific region and has already become a focus of international attention," Tsai said during her 2021 New Year address.

She further said, "Over the past year, military aircraft and naval vessels from across the strait have been active around Taiwan. This has undermined cross-strait relations, and poses a threat to the peaceful and stable status quo in the Indo-Pacific."
Speaking on the repeated intrusion of China's People's Liberation Army into Taiwan territory, she said that Taipei will uphold its principles only if Beijing wants to resolve differences in a peaceful manner.

"I want to reaffirm that in dealing with cross-strait relations, we will uphold our principles and not act rashly. We are willing to facilitate meaningful dialogue under the principles of parity and dignity as long as the Beijing authorities sincerely want to resolve differences and improve cross-strait relations," she said.

Stressing on the importance of Taiwan in the global affairs, the President said, "As a force for good in the world, we will continue to be an indispensable member of the international community, both now and in the future."    [FULL  STORY]

Amount of garbage collected at annual Taipei party drops by more than half

Taiwan News
Date 2021/01/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system saw 627,000 fewer passengers than the 3.2 million registered for the 2020 New Year countdown celebrations due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Taiwan recently registered the first domestic COVID-19 transmission in eight months and discovered two cases of the mutant strain from the United Kingdom. As a precaution, Taipei City Government went on to halve the maximum limit on attendees for its New Year’s Eve concert to 40,000.

Between Thursday (Dec. 31) 6 p.m. and Friday (Jan. 1) 6 a.m., 2.58 million MRT journeys were recorded, compared to 3.2 million a year ago, CNA reported. The steep decline was noticeable at the four MRT stations closest to the site of the concert and the Taipei 101 fireworks in fashionable Xinyi District. Before the event, the MRT operator had advised passengers to use stations further away to avoid overcrowding.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/01/2021
By: Yang Shu-min and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 1 (CNA) A Taiwanese labor broker has been fined NT$1 million (US$35,088) by the Fisheries Agency for deducting too much from the pay of eight migrant fishery workers for the repayment of loans.

Lin Kou-ping (林國平), deputy head of the Fisheries Agency, said his agency found that the labor broker deducted an extra US$100 from the pay of each of the eight workers, who worked on the Lien Yi Hsing No. 12 fishing boat.

That resulted in the NT$1 million fine under Taiwan's Act for Distant Water Fisheries that was imposed on Sept. 28, 2020, but only announced by the Fisheries Agency on Friday.

The agency addressed the issue after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a withhold release order (WRO) against the Lien Yi Hsing No. 12 on Thursday to bar the entry of its harvest into the United States.    [FULL  STORY]

‘UNDERMINED RELATIONS‘: The president said that the nation is willing to facilitate talks under the principles of parity and dignity with China, as long as Beijing is sincere

Taipei- Times
Date: Jan 02, 2021
By: Staff writer, with CNA

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday in her New Year’s Day speech praised Taiwan’s successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic and made the case for the nation’s growing importance on the international stage.

In her speech, delivered from the Presidential Office, Tsai said that for many around the world, last year was a year of disrupted routines, economic hardship and steadily rising deaths caused by COVID-19.

Taiwan, by contrast, was fortunate to have responded early and was thus able to “defeat” the virus through a shared commitment to professionalism, mutual trust and social cohesion, she said.

Taiwan has faced many challenges over the past year, but it also has good reasons to be optimistic, including the strong performance of local businesses, stable employment numbers and government investment in emerging technologies, Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]1