Andy Li among 12 Hong Kong activists caught trying to flee by speedboat to Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/27
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Twelve Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, including at least one member of a well-known advocacy group, were arrested by Chinese authorities at sea as they tried to escape to Taiwan on Sunday (Aug. 23).

China's Coast Guard on Wednesday (Aug. 26) announced on Weibo that on Sunday (Aug. 23) it arrested a dozen persons illegally crossing its maritime border on a speedboat to the southeast of Hong Kong. On Thursday (Aug. 27), Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that the 12 people aboard were pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong and included advocacy group member Andy Li (李宇軒) of "Hong Kong Story."

Li was recently arrested on Aug. 10 on suspicion of "colluding with foreign countries or endangering national security by foreign forces" in violation of Hong Kong's draconian new National Security Law, reported hk01. The other persons arrested onboard had also taken part in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and some had previously been arrested and released on bail, according to RFA.

The article stated that the Hong Kong activists are currently being detained by the Chinese Coast Guard and police are still investigating the case. According to the Criminal Law of China, prosecutors can charge them with illegal immigration, and if they are convicted, they could face up to one year in prison before being deported to Hong Kong.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/27/2020
By: Yu Hsiang and Emerson Lim

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) Military planes between Taiwan and the United States conducted air refueling missions in U.S. airspace recently, according to a photo posted by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on its Facebook page on Thursday.

In the photo, an F-16 fighter jet from Taiwan's Air Force is seen being refueled by a U.S. Air Force tanker above the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

The photo showed the security cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. amid increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

"The 21st SQ at Luke AFB conducting an air refueling mission in the US with USAF Tanker under the F-16 training program," the caption of the photo read.    [FULL  STORY]

NO MISCALCULATIONS: The president urged Beijing to fulfill its role as a regional power after the PLA launched missiles into the South China Sea on Wednesday

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 28, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA and Bloomberg

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that Taiwan is concerned about potential accidents in the region as military activity increases and called on Beijing to restrain itself, after China allegedly fired four missiles in the South China Sea.

Tsai made the remarks after delivering a virtual address to the Indo-Pacific Leaders Dialogue at the invitation of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

The Presidential Office yesterday released a transcript of her speech and the question-and-answer session with participants.

China’s latest volley of missile launches into the world’s most hotly contested body of water served as a warning to two key US targets: aircraft carriers and regional bases.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/26/2020
By: Chang Hsiung-feng and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Aug. 26 (CNA) Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau (CWB) late Wednesday said the heavy rain and extremely heavy rain that caused flooding in parts of the country earlier in the day is likely to continue in central and southern areas Thursday before subsiding Friday morning.

At a press event, the CWB forecast that cities and counties south of central Taichung city will see heavy rain or extremely heavy rain Thursday. Meanwhile, extremely heavy rain is also expected in southern Taiwan.

The rain is forecast to be heavy in coastal areas from late Wednesday to early Thursday before moving inland to mountainous areas south of Tainan City later in the day, it noted.

According to the CWB, the heavy rain alert means accumulated rainfall of 80 millimeters or more over a 24-hour period or 40 millimeters within an hour.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 26 August, 2020
By: Natalie Tso0

The results of a 10,000 person COVID-19 antibody test will be revealed Thursday morning. The research was headed by the Changhua County Public Health Bureau and National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health. The bureau and the college made the announcement Wednesday after suddenly cancelling a public report on the research on Tuesday. 

The tests results have become a controversial issue, as some subjects have been found to have antibodies for COVID-19. The subjects tested include confirmed cases and their contacts, people in home quarantine, and people told to monitor their health, as well as a control group.
[FULL  STORY]

Straits Times
Date: August 267, 2020
By: Jan Lee

It was a star-studded Chinese Valentine's Day at Taiwanese television personality Jason Tang's house on Tuesday.

In photos shared by Tang's long-time friend and fellow TV host Blackie Chen, Taiwanese actor Wallace Huo and Hong Kong actor Shawn Yue were seen celebrating the occasion at Tang's place with a barbecue dinner.

In a clip on Instagram, Chen, 43, showed his assistant taking photos with Love In A Puff (2010) star Yue, 38, and The Journey Of Flower (2015) leading man Huo, 40. He joked that the three looked like the popular 1980s' boy band Little Tigers.

He also posted a group photo of the men on an outdoor porch swing.    [FULL  STORY]

Coast Guard seized massive haul of untaxed cigarettes with labels from China, South Korea

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/26
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Coast Guard on Tuesday (Aug. 25) seized 5,525,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes with a market value of more than NT$500 million (US$16.7 million) from a foreign cargo ship in Taichung Harbor, the largest seizure of its kind in the harbor’s history.

Acting on a tip-off that smugglers were attempting to run cigarettes from a cargo ship by tenders before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Coast Guard made the seizure aboard the Republic of Sierra Leone-flagged vessel anchored at the No. 18 pier in Taichung Harbor on Tuesday, according to CNA.

An investigation launched after the seizure found that the cargo ship had applied to enter the harbor on the grounds that it was in distress, claiming its main engine was in need of repairs.

When investigators eventually boarded the ship and inspected the containers, they found that 13 contained altogether more than 5 million packs of untaxed cigarettes from China and South Korea.    [FULL  STORY]

CLEAN 5G: TSMC’s plans to increase US investment is a clear signal that the future of high-tech supply chains remains in the US-Taiwan nexus, the AIT director said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 27, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

The US is working with Taiwan to restructure global supply chains under the shared values of transparency and accountability, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen said, according to a transcript released by AIT yesterday.

Christensen made the remarks on Tuesday at the International Investment Forum in Taipei hosted by the Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Council of Taiwan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the risks of over-reliance on one country or supplier for critical materials, such as medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, and for industries that are of strategic importance to shared economies, Christensen said.

Washington aims to diversify and bring supply chains closer to end users, and ensure that countries like China do not hold supply chains hostage for political purposes, he said.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 25 August, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

The Ministry of Defense said Taiwan will maintain its principles of “No provocations; no showing weakness. The closer the other side comes to Taiwan, the more aggressively it will be dealt with.” That was the word from the ministry’s spokesperson Shih Shun-wen at a press conference on Tuesday. 

Shih said the ministry is not able to reveal details about its strategic defense plans. That was in response to questions about media reports that it will station F-16s in the outlying islands of Penghu due to Chinese war planes frequently flying near the median line of the Taiwan Strait. 
[FULL  STORY]

Newsweek
Date: 8/25/20
By: David Brennan

Chinese troops have been taking part in coastal military exercises to be ready for any potential conflict with U.S. or Taiwanese forces, according to state media, amid high tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the nearby South China Sea.

The Global Times newspaper—owned by the People's Daily, which is the official publication of the Chinese Communist Party—said Monday that the series of coastal drills "is seen as a direct and strong response to the recent negative moves by Taiwan secessionists and the U.S."

China considers the democratic island nation of Taiwan a wayward province and has vowed to bring its 23 million people under Beijing's control per its "One China" policy. The CCP has long said it is willing to resort to force to do so if diplomatic efforts fail.

Beijing and its media organs regularly disparage what it calls "secessionists" in Taiwan—i.e. nationalists favoring independence from the CCP. The U.S. has long backed Taiwanese independence through weapons sales and is legally bound to help defend the island against attack. The U.S. does not, however, officially recognize Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]