Focus Taiwan
Date: 10/07/2020
By: Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) China has conducted 49 military aircraft sorties across the Taiwan Strait median line this year, the highest number in any year since 1990, Taiwan's defense minister said Wednesday.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has conducted 1,710 military aircraft sorties and 1,029 military vessel sorties into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) this year, Yen De-fa (嚴德發) said during a briefing at a legislative session.

Of the 1,710 sorties by PLA aircraft, 219 were into Taiwan's southwest ADIZ while 49 crossed the median line of the strait, the most since 1990, Yen elaborated.

In response, Taiwan's armed forces have conducted nearly 3,000 military aircraft sorties to intercept and monitor the Chinese aircraft and vessels, Yen said.    [FULL  STORY]

NO GOING BACK: The nation has no plans to return to conscription, Yen De-fa said, adding that the volunteer service would produce older, but better-quality troops

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 08, 2020
By: Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday announced the establishment of a defense mobilization agency to increase the combat preparedness of the nation’s reservists.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in June had said that the nation’s reservists would play a more important role in national defense.

Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) told lawmakers that there had been 1,710 and 1,029 incidences of Chinese planes and ships respectively having crossed into the nation’s air defense identification zone so far this year.

Chinese planes had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait 49 times so far this year, the highest number in 30 years, Yen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatonal
Date: 06 October, 2020
By: Paula Chao

Military spends over NT$4.1 billion to deter Chinese aircraft[/caption] This year, the air force has already spent over NT$4.1 billion (US$136 million) sending warplanes to intercept Chinese military aircraft entering Taiwan’s airspace.

On Tuesday, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan will not give up an inch of its territory. She was speaking during an inspection tour of an air force unit.

Five AT-3 jet trainers fly in formation over the Presidential Office on Tuesday in preparation for the National Day celebrations. Helicopters fly overhead, showcasing the national flag as well.

The display is a demonstration of Taiwan’s determination to defend itself.    [FULL  STORY]

Daily Mail
Date: 6 October 2020
By:  AFP

Taiwan will not "yield an inch" in defending itself, President Tsai Ing-wen warned Tuesday, as new figures revealed the island is scrambling fighter jets at more than double the rate of last year in response to Chinese incursions.

Authoritarian China views democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary, even though the island has been self-ruled for the last seven decades.

Taipei's fighters have taken to the skies to ward off Chinese warplanes more than 4,100 times so far this year, making about 22 sorties a day on average, according to the military — 129 percent up on all of 2019.

Naval ships have been dispatched more than 7,500 times, compared with fewer than 6,000 for all of last year, according to a defence ministry report submitted to parliament.

Funeral procession to be met by President Tsai and Vice President Lai, followed by private mass

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/06
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Flags on official buildings will be lowered to half-staff Wednesday (Oct. 7) to mark the official funeral of President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at a military cemetery in northern Taiwan.

Lee passed away on July 30 at the age of 97. He was Taiwan’s first native-born and first directly elected president, serving from 1988 to 2000. A memorial service last month drew hundreds of supporters and prominent visitors, including United States Undersecretary of State Keith Krach and former Japanese Prime Minister Mori Yoshiro.

On Wednesday, the funeral procession will carry Lee’s ashes from his family home in Taipei to the Wuzhishan military cemetery in New Taipei City's Xizhi District, CNA reported.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), and senior government and military officials will be waiting at the cemetery. However, the funeral mass, organized by the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, will take place behind closed doors with only family members present.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 10/06/2020
By: Chen Wei-ting and Frances Huang

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) The take-up of an influenza vaccine almost doubled on the first day of the government-funded free vaccination program for high risk people on Monday, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

The CDC said about 399,000 of the 6 million vaccine shots available for people in at risk groups as part of the program were administered on the first day, an increase of almost 100 percent from 200,000 a year earlier, when a similar program was launched.

The CDC said the highly publicized free vaccination program has raised awareness, which boosted the take-up of the flu vaccine this year.

Speaking at a news conference, Deputy CDC Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said people 65 or older were the largest group to take the flu shot on the first day of the program, accounting for about 208,000 shots, while people aged 50-64 received roughly 100,000 shots.    [FULL  STORY]

WU INSPIRED: The KMT caucus submitted the proposals, which passed unanimously, after the foreign minister said that Taipei was not seeking diplomatic ties with the US

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 07, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan-US relations are based on pragmatic partnerships in defense, trade, politics and other areas, while “step-by-step” developments are key to bilateral ties, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said yesterday, after the Legislative Yuan unanimously passed two resolutions proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus related to Taiwan-US ties.

The Presidential Office respects the legislature’s resolutions, and the nation must demonstrate its firm determination to boost its self-defense capability, so other nations would come to its help, which is why the government has been promoting indigenous development of the defense industry and pragmatic diplomacy, Chang added.

One of the KMT resolutions states that the government should work to persuade the US government, based on its Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), to help Taiwan defend itself against China’s threat through diplomatic, economic or security means, once Beijing makes an overt move that would obviously endanger Taiwanese security and socio-economic institutions.

The other resolution states that the focus of the government’s diplomatic efforts with the US should be to work toward the resumption of formal diplomatic ties with Washington.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 05 October, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Taiwan’s National Day Celebration Committee on Monday announced plans for this year’s ceremony. The October 10th celebrations this year will focus on Taiwan’s successes with staving off the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Another focus will be Taiwan’s contributions and commitment to democracy, in the face of pressure from China. Taiwan’s nearest neighbor to the north considers Taiwan part of Chinese territory, despite the fact that the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan. 

This year, 20 Taiwanese health officials and medical professionals who played key roles in the fight against COVID-19, will lead the singing of the national anthem.     [FULL  STORY]

Sputnik International
Date: 05.10.2020
By: Jason Dunn

Tensions between the People's Republic of China and the government of the self-declared Republic of China in Taipei have escalated in recent years: the United States' support for Taiwan has included repeated arms sales to the island which has led to criticism from Beijing.

Officials and experts from the US and Taiwan will convene in a virtual conference on Monday to discuss what weapons would be most effective in defending the island as tensions escalate with Beijing.

During the 2020 US-Taiwan Defence Industry Conference, Taiwan’s deputy defence minister Chang Guan-Chung is expected to provide a run-down to the US of what weaponry the island considers urgently necessary for its security.

According to S-Taiwan Business Council, who hosts the conference, the topics being discussed at the meeting include the “US defence cooperation with Taiwan, the defence procurement process and Taiwan’s defence and national security needs”. The council added that they hoped to “provide opportunities to connect with others working on Taiwan defence and national security issues”.    [FULL  STORY]

Chinese warplane meets its match in feathered foe

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After many weeks of constant intrusions into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) by People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) warplanes, Chinese state-run media announced that one of the nation's fighter jets was taken down by a bird.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND), PLAAF aircraft violated Taiwan's ADIZ on 10 out of 18 days between Sept. 16 to Oct. 3, in a total of 50 sorties. However, the PLAAF's self-cultivated image of invincibility took a hit in recent days when one of its jets crashed after meeting its match in an avian adversary.

On Oct. 5, the People's Liberation Army Daily reported that pilot Wang Jiandong (王建東) relayed encountering a bird strike shortly after takeoff. The engine's in-flight shutdown warning immediately began flashing, and the display screen went black.

After five seconds, emergency backup power kicked in and the cockpit display screen was restored. Wang then tried to push the throttle forward to increase thrust, but there was no response, as the engine had come to a complete stop.    [FULL  STORY]