FUTILE: The minister of foreign affairs announced the decision just hours after the ministry determined that El Salvador was insistent on changing sides to China

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 22, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The government yesterday severed diplomatic ties with El Salvador after

learning of its decision to switch allegiance to China — an apparent Beijing-orchestrated move — blasting the timing, one day after President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) return from an overseas state visit, as utterly unacceptable.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) announced the decision at a morning news conference in Taipei, just hours after the ministry determined that all diplomatic efforts to salvage its 85-year relation with the Central American country had been futile.

“It is regrettable that just one day after Tsai’s return from her trip, we have to deliver this bad news to the public,” Wu said, adding that Taiwan would immediately cease all cooperation and aid programs with El Salvador and pull its embassy staff out of the country.

Shortly after Wu’s announcement, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) and acting Salvadoran Foreign Minister Carlos Castaneda signed a communique in Beijing establishing formal diplomatic ties.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-20

The latest amendment to the Air Pollution Control Act will only affect a

portion of vehicles on the road. That’s the word from the deputy minister of the Environmental Protection Administration, Thomas Chan, on Monday.

According to the amendment, motorcycles that were manufactured before the end of 2003 must meet stricter emission standards by 2020. The new law also states that all large, diesel-powered vehicles that were manufactured before 2007 must also meet stricter standards by 2023.

The amendment has drawn controversy since its proposal, as many riders worry that it will forcefully phase out older motorcycles. Thomas Chan said Monday that the stricter standards are only aimed at two-stroke motorcycles and diesel-powered trucks manufactured before 2003. He said those vehicles are major sources of pollution.

Chan also said that the EPA has been providing subsidies to encourage owners of older vehicles to upgrade to newer, cleaner ones since 2008. The subsidies, Chan said, include discounts for purchasing newer vehicles and scrapping older ones.    [SOURCE]

How can Tsai Ing-wen possibly rope her 18 remaining diplomatic allies into a ‘democratic coalition’ to oppose China when they themselves are hardly functioning democracies?

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/20
By: Antonio Chun

On Jan. 27, 2018, Honduras, one of Taiwan’s 18 remaining diplomatic allies, swore in President Juan Orlando Hernandez for a second term as international observers slammed the election’s validity and called for a new vote.

The inauguration ceremony was kept low-key to discourage protestors and only ambassadors were invited, depriving Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a chance to make her presence felt on the international stage. She has missed few opportunities since then, hosting the leaders of allied Haiti and eSwatini earlier this year and visiting Belize and Paraguay last week, sandwiched by two high-profile stopovers in the United States.

Tsai’s diplomatic strategy is reaping rewards for partner states like Paraguay, but observers are worried about its long-term viability. At a May 15 U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing, Republican Senator Marco Rubio openly worried that Paraguay could be next to jump ship and switch its recognition from the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) to the People’s Republic of China (PRC, China) – concerns quickly dismissed by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). However, the principles behind Tsai’s strategy remained unaddressed.

Photo Credit: Presidential Palace @Flickr CC BY 2.0Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on one of her overseas visits to diplomatic allies.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/20
By: Chen Chi-fong and Evelyn Kao

Kaohsiung, Aug. 20 (CNA) Kaohsiung Customs seized 216,000 packs of

cigarettes worth NT$11 million (US$357,351) on the market that were being smuggled into the country in a shipment documented as consisting of ceramic tiles.

With the help of big data analytics, customs officials targeted and raided two suspicious containers that arrived on Aug. 18 in Kaohsiung Port on a cargo ship from Xiamen and were to be transferred to the Philippines, Kaohsiung Customs said Monday.    [FULL  STORY]

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD: Taiwan and the US have worked to ensure fair competition for enterprises and protect them from political interference, President Tsai Ing-wen said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 21, 2018
By: Staff Writer, with CNA, HOUSTON, Texas

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Sunday expressed the hope that

Taiwan and the US can work together to defend the free-market economy.

The president made the remarks at a Taiwan-US business forum in Houston, Texas, which was attended by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and US Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson.

Taiwan and the US have spared no efforts to consolidate the free-market economy, protect enterprises by ensuring fair competition and safeguard businesses from political interference, Tsai told the forum, describing the efforts as the foundation of economic development in the two nations.

She expressed the hope that Taiwan can continue to defend the foundation along with the US.    [FULL  STORY]

US welcomes island’s leader to Houston facility in snub of Beijing

Nikkei Asian Review
By: Kensaku Ihara
Date: August 20, 2018 

TAIPEI — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen toured NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Sunday local time, becoming the island’s first sitting leader to set foot in an American government facility in the U.S.

The itinerary included the Mission Control Center and other facilities, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported. Tsai stopped in Houston on the way home from a roughly weeklong tour of Central and South America.

Tsai also visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles at the start of her trip on Aug. 13, making a speech praising Reagan’s contributions to U.S.-Taiwan relations.

As a courtesy to China, the U.S. traditionally strictly limits media appearances by the Taiwanese president on American soil. But Washington has recently played up its ties with Taipei to curb Beijing amid rising tensions over trade and over influence in Asia.
[FULL  STORY]

The New York Times
Date: Aug. 19, 2018
By: Chris Horton

TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan visited Houston over the weekend, her second brief stop in the United States in one week, a sign of efforts to deepen relations between Washington and Taipei despite vehement opposition from China.

Ms. Tsai stopped in Los Angeles last Monday, on her way to Paraguay and Belize, and then in Houston on Saturday on her way back home. During the earlier stop, she met with three California lawmakers, including one, Representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat, who called on the United States to formally invite her to Washington, which would break with decades of American practice.

The United States has not officially recognized Taiwan since 1979, when it shifted to recognizing China’s Communist government. China hopes to absorb the self-governed, democratic island, which it has never controlled, and has campaigned to erase any recognition by other countries or corporations of Taiwan’s sovereignty.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/19
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) A 19-year-old man from Kaohsiung has been

confirmed as having malaria, which was the second imported case of the disease in the country this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Sunday.

The patient, a student at a college in Hsinchu, was diagnosed with the infectious disease after he went to a Kaohsiung hospital on Aug. 17 with a fever, CDC Deputy Director-General Luo Yi-jun (羅一鈞) said.

The hospital diagnosed the man with tropical malaria, the most serious form of the disease, which is caused by the deadly parasite Plasmodium falciparum, Luo said. The patient is still in a critical condition, he added.

Without prompt treatment, this type of malaria could lead to severe life-threatening complications such as breathing problems and organ failure, Luo said.    [FULL  STORY]