Focus Taiwan
Date: 10/02/2020
By: Lionel Chiou, Hou Wen-ting,
Wang Shu-fen and Kay Liu

Sydney, Oct. 2 (CNA) Some 24 Myanmarese seamen are seeking help through the International Transport Workers' Federation, claiming that a Taiwanese shipping company underpaid them and "dumped" them in Kaohsiung, according to the federation's branch in Sydney.

The 24 seamen, 19 of whom have finished their 14-day quarantine in Kaohsiung, reported their underpayment to the federation and were subsequently forced to disembark from vessels operated by Taipei-based Hsin Chien Marine Co. (新健海運) in the southern port city in the past month, said Matt Purcell, an assistant coordinator of the workers' group in Sydney.

Purcell told CNA that the seamen said that the shipping company had been deducting up to US$700 from their monthly wages for the past six months.

While in quarantine in Kaohsiung, the seamen said they received threatening letters from a shipping agency handling affairs on behalf of Hsin Chien, which said that if they miss flights arranged for them to return to Myanmar, they will be put on "the wanted list," said Purcell, who showed a letter he received from the seamen.    [FULL  STORY]

FORCED LABOR: US firms buying fish from Taiwanese suppliers could come under close scrutiny at US customs and the supply chain could be at risk of suspension

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 03, 2020
By: Yang Yuan-ting and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

Fish caught by vessels bearing Taiwan’s national flag have been classified as products of forced labor, based on the conditions under which the crews work, an annual report by the US Department of Labor said on Wednesday.

The Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor report said that Taiwan’s longline fishing fleet of 1,100 vessels, the world’s second-largest after China’s, employs about 35,000 migrant workers, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines.

“Similar to crews on Chinese-flagged vessels, crews on Taiwan-flagged vessels face confiscation of documents, long days with little rest, physical and verbal abuse, and lack of payment,” the report said.

Taiwan’s inclusion in the report means that US companies buying fish from Taiwanese suppliers could come under close scrutiny at US customs and the supply chain could be at risk of suspension.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 01 October, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

If you’re sick of stories about viruses and disease, then we’re afraid we have some bad news for you. As if months of COVID-19 weren’t enough, now, flu season is just about upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere. The silver lining? Taiwan’s clinics are prepared, and some have already started giving flu shots.

COVID-19 vaccines may still be far away, but if you’re worried about getting sick, there’s still one thing you can do: get a flu shot.

Doctors warn that due to the nature of the viruses involved in COVID-19 and the flu, it can be hard to tell what you’ve come down with if you fall ill. There’s even a risk of double infection!

In Taiwan, a fair number of people are heading this warning. Though publically-funded flu shots won’t be available until October 5, some clinics are letting those willing to pay out of pocket get their shots now. It only costs around US$35 per person.    [FULL  STORY]

The skies in the waters around Taiwan have become increasingly crowded in recent weeks, and two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers and a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) reconnaissance aircraft were spotted to the east of the island nation on Friday. PLAAF aircraft have been encroaching on Taiwanese air space over the past month.

The Natiopnal Interest
Date: October 1, 2020
By: Peter Suciu

The skies in the waters around Taiwan have become increasingly crowded in recent weeks, and two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers and a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) reconnaissance aircraft were spotted to the east of the island nation on Friday. PLAAF aircraft have been encroaching on Taiwanese air space over the past month. 

The U.S. bombers, which had departed from Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) in Guam, headed northwest on a course for the East China or South China Seas. According to additional reports via social media, two KC-135R Stratotrankers refueled the American bombers during the flight, which was an indication that these were on a long-distance mission.

The flight of the bombers took place on the last day of Valiant Shield 2020, a two-week exercise that involved more than eleven thousand personnel and one hundred aircraft from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army and Marines Corps.     [FULL  STORY]

Video of caregiver allegedly mistreating elderly charge in wheelchair sparks outrage

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/01
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Migrant worker suspected of abusing her Taiwanese client. (Facebook video screengrab)[/caption] TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A video of a migrant caregiver allegedly abusing an elderly woman in a wheelchair sparked public outrage after it was uploaded on Facebook Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 29).

The video, which was shared in the "LinKou-Family" Facebook group by a netizen going by Anita Keh, showed the caregiver appearing to pinch her Taiwanese charge's thigh and grab her hair at Xinglinkou Park in New Taipei's Linkou District. Yeh said the worker had repeatedly cursed at the elderly woman and told her to "go die."

Yeh said she had heard the elderly woman ask to go to the bathroom but that she received rough treatment instead. Yeh expressed hope that the woman's family would see the video and report the incident to the police.

Since being posted, the video has been shared 1,600 times and attracted over 500 comments demanding that the caregiver be held accountable. A number of netizens said they were saddened and infuriated by the abuse, with some urging the government to deport the migrant worker as soon as possible.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 10/01/2020
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) A Chinese Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine patrol plane entered Taiwan's southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Thursday, as the Chinese world celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND), the military responded by scrambling planes to intercept, issued radio warnings and mobilized surveillance and air defense assets.

The incursion happened on the day when Taiwanese people, along with Chinese communities around the world, are celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, by watching the full moon and enjoying mooncakes.

The occasion is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Oct. 1 in the western calendar this year.    [FULL  STORY]

TRADE RECOMMENDATION: A Congress task force said that Taiwan is a ‘bona fide’ democracy, a ‘de facto’ sovereign nation and critical in global opposition to the CCP

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 02, 2020
By: Lu Yi-hsuan and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked US lawmakers after a congressional task force published a report suggesting that the US government initiate trade negotiations with Taiwan and pass legislation to boost bilateral relations as soon as possible.

Taiwan would continue efforts to deepen ties with the US, the ministry said, after the US House of Representatives’ China Task Force on Wednesday published a report that highlighted threats that Beijing poses to the US.

“Taiwan is a bona fide democracy and a de facto sovereign nation, and US security ally,” the report said. “Taiwan is a critical focal point in the free world’s confrontation with the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], and under a more direct threat of CCP armed aggression than any other US partner.”

“The [US] administration should allow Taiwan to change the name of its diplomatic office to the ‘Taiwan Representative Office’ or a similar title,” it said. “Taiwan’s primary diplomatic organization inside the US is currently called the ‘Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office,’ an anachronistic title that does not reflect the fact that the US enjoys broad, substantial relations with all of Taiwan, not just its capital city.”    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 30 September, 2020
By: Paula Chao

MOON FESTIVAL! It’s the time for barbecues, gatherings, mooncakes, and of course: gazing at the moon! In today’s show we’ll tell you all about a new sky-gazing platform at Taiwan’s first International Dark-Sky Park. And as we sample tea and mooncakes, we’ll discuss the best ways to keep our skies free from light pollution.    [FULL  STORY]

 

• Plan will support ‘quality infrastructure in emerging markets’, America’s de facto embassy in Taipei says
• Island’s foreign minister says scheme dovetails America’s Indo-Pacific strategy with its ‘New Southbound Policy’

South China Morning Post
Date: 30 Sep, 2020
By: Reuters

Taiwan will work together on infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region and Latin America, officials said on Wednesday, in a clear counter to Beijing’s massive regional investment plans.Washington is deeply suspicious of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative

 to build roads, railways and other facilities to link China to Europe, Asia and beyond, viewing it as a plan to entrap countries into China’s orbit with debt diplomacy.Beijing denies this.

The de facto US embassy in Taipei said the new plan would support “quality infrastructure in emerging markets”, while Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said it dovetailed America’s Indo-Pacific strategy with Taipei’s “New Southbound Policy”.

The latter aims to boost economic ties with Southeast and South Asia, to cut the island’s reliance on mainland China.

“The Taiwan-US cooperative partnership relationship has gone up another level,” Wu said.

There were no immediate details of the volume of funding or investment projects, however.
[FULL  STORY]

Shockwaves of magnitude 5.9 temblor felt across Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/09/30
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A magnitude 5.9 earthquake rattled northeastern Taiwan at 12:37 p.m. this afternoon (Sept. 30), with all of Taiwan proper feeling its shockwaves, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the temblor was 39.4 kilometers east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 106.5 km, according to CWB data. Taiwan uses an intensity scale of 1 to 7, which gauges the degree to which a quake is felt at a specific location.    [FULL  STORY]