Radio Taiwan International
Date: 29 December, 2020
By: Paula Chao
President Tsai Ing-wen (CNA photo)
Tsai said as commander-in-chief, she has two missions for the country’s top brass. First, they should keep upgrading professional skills to be able to deal with fast-changing global situations. Second, they should encourage junior soldiers to continue to learn by setting a good example. [FULL STORY]
The PLAN has aggressively built up its navy, and now has more than 300 warships and submarines in service.
The National Interest
Date: December 29, 2020
By: Peter Suciu
Here's What You Need to Remember: "Even a small flotilla of Taiwanese subs" could penetrate the PLAN's defenses, as the hazardous conditions of the Taiwan Strait favor the concealment of the small submersible craft. Along with China's inability to conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW) this could make any invasion of the island extremely costly.
As the People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) continues to increase in size, which could seriously threaten the Republic of China (Taiwan), the government in Taipei has announced it will start work to build the first of eight new domestically developed submarines. On Friday, Taiwan said it would move forward on the long-mooted project to bolster the island nation's defenses in the wake of China's rapidly modernizing military.
The PLAN has aggressively built up its navy, and now has more than 300 warships and submarines in service, with plans to expand it even further. That could pose a serious threat to Taiwan, which Beijing maintains is a rogue province – one it has vowed to bring under its control, by military force if necessary.
The Taiwan News, citing military experts, suggested that any Chinese PLAN invasion fleet would be highly vulnerable to a flotilla of modern submarines. [FULL STORY]
EVA Air pilot fired after he was found to have dated over 10 women during quarantine, swindled them out of money
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/29
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
(Internet images)
Amid the furor over the actions of an EVA Air cargo pilot from New Zealand which led to a cluster infection of pilots as well as the infection of a Quanta Computers employee, a woman came forward on Tuesday (Dec. 29) to allege that a married first officer who flies the same fleet of EVA Air 777 jets as the New Zealander had affairs with multiple women, including while under quarantine. Another woman alleged that he even invited her over to his home in Taoyuan while he was undergoing quarantine.
On Tuesday (Dec. 29), Mirror Media cited a woman as claiming that she had been dating the pilot for three years and even divorced her previous husband to be with him. However, she recently discovered that he was married as well as the fact that he had been using social media to arrange sexual encounters with other women.
She began to contact other women he had been dating and found that in some cases he had borrowed large sums of money ranging from NT$500,000 to NT$1 million. She managed to track down over 10 different women who had fallen victim to his pattern of behavior, including some flight attendants and a manicurist. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/29/2020
By: Yang Sz-ruei and Chung Yu-chen
Image taken from Unsplash
The sexual misconduct by Chang Po-sheng (張博勝), a recipient of the Tainan City-held Outstanding Teacher Award, began in 2000 but did not come to light until 2020 when he was indicted over a sexual harassment case dating back to 2017, according to the Tainan District Court.
A total of 31 students have been identified as Chang's victims, according to the court.
After conducting its own investigation into the cases, Tainan City Government's Bureau of Education said Tuesday that a total of 17 individuals still employed as educators, including a school principal and homeroom teachers, were aware of Chang's misconduct but failed to notify related authorities in a timely manner and have been punished. [FULL STORY]
NEW YEAR’S EVE: Taipei is to drastically reduce the number of people allowed into the City Hall Plaza, with other cities following suit, and contact details must be given
Taipei Times
Date: Dec 30, 2020
By: Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNA
Workers in Pingtung County yesterday erect a stage for the county’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government via CNA
Officials encouraged would-be attendees to eat ahead of time, as eating and drinking — aside from sips of water — would not be allowed at the venues, and masks would be mandatory, adding that last-minute changes to requirements are possible.
Checkpoints would be established for taking body temperatures, providing hand sanitation and registering contact information.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said that the capital’s festivities would proceed as usual, but the number of attendees would be sharply reduced. [FULL SORY]
Radi0o Taiwan International
Date: 29 December, 2020
By: Natalie Tso
Yuan Yuan (right) and Yuan Bao (left) at the zoo’s press conference on Monday. (CNA photo)
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the banquet on Monday and said a total of 2,360 animals live at the Taipei Zoo. He was proud to say there are 341 different types of animals for visitors to enjoy there.
As for the zoo’s second panda born to parents Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan, Yuan Bao is 184 days old on Tuesday. The zoo said her muscles have grown stronger and she is able to climb up and down the stairs by herself. Since she is maturing and handling herself well, the zoo said it was time for her to begin life in the public. [FULL STORY]
Eurasia Review
Date: December 29, 2020
By Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra
China’s disruptive behaviour through 2020 has increasingly led the international community to become more vocal about the difficulty of coexisting with a Beijing that is “assertive,” “irresponsible,’’ and “opaque.” This sentiment is not new, nor is it evenly distributed. However, China’s irresponsible handling of the COVID-19 outbreak has these sentiments more pronounced. Its imposition of a new security law in Hong Kong, border standoff with India, and provocations in the South and East China Seas, have accelerated regional discussions on counterbalancing options. These countries have begun to gear themselves to deal with China’s ‘grey-zone assault’ and ‘wolf-warrior diplomacy’.
One of the beneficiaries of Beijing’s misconduct and growing anti-China sentiment is Taiwan. In a July 2020 joint statement, the US and Australia talked about “Taiwan’s important role in the Indo-Pacific region as well as their intent to maintain strong unofficial ties with Taiwan.” The statement also asserted that the two countries would support Taipei’s membership to any international organisation where statehood is not a prerequisite, and invite it as an observer to those that require statehood. In a veiled reference, both the US and Australia said that “recent events” had made their resolve to support Taiwan stronger.
It is important to remember that Taiwan has been unable to participate in World Health Organisation (WHO) meetings since 2017 because of Chinese objections. However, there are now growing demands from the US, Europe, and Japan to reverse this. Hokkaido, Japan’s largest prefecture, passed a resolution urging Tokyo’s support for Taipei’s engagement in in the World Health Assembly (WHA). Japanese Foreign Minister, Taro Kano, suggested a similar intent in a speech in May 2020. In November, a bipartisan caucus of the Japanese Diet passed a resolution making the same request of its government as Hokkaido prefecture. Australia has also expressed its support of Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHA. 102 members of the European Parliament and four German lawmakers wrote an open letter in favour of a WHA invitation to Taipei.
In India, too, strong positive sentiment in favour of Taiwan has surfaced over the past several months. Many have argued that India should play up the ‘Taiwan card’ in the midst of tensions with China. The border standoff has been the main propeller for a reconsideration of New Delhi’s approach to Taiwan. India feels that its policy of silence to manage relations with China has not paid off. Thus, there are now popular demands to forego India’s adherence to the ‘One China’ policy. Suggestions about a free trade agreement with Taiwan, such as the ones struck by Singapore and New Zealand, have been made. This becomes an important proposal especially in light of India’s decision to stay out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, as one way for New Delhi to compensate for the self-imposed exclusion. [FULL STORY]
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi and Breeze Group announce cancelation of New Year's Eve outdoor events
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/29
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
(Taipei 101 photo)
After news broke last week that a Taiwanese woman had contracted COVID-19 after traveling around the north for several days with a New Zealander cargo pilot, city governments and companies have started to announce cancelations or postponements of New Year's Eve festivities. On Monday (Dec. 28), New Taipei City's Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) announced that the city's fireworks display would be postponed due to the difficulty of carrying out onsite real-name registration for a large crowd.
Also on Monday, Taipei 101 announced that it will cancel its New Year's Eve party, which had been set to take place on the 89th floor, due to the local case and new CECC epidemic prevention rules. That same day, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) announced it will scrap its New Year's Eve outdoor market and parties.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has also canceled four large-scale New Year's Eve parties in the nearby plazas. These include its Star Light Fun Fair party, which had been slated for the store's A8 branch, and the Rock and Roll New Year's Eve outdoor market, which was to feature over 50 food and drink vendors near Shin Kong Mitsukoshi's A9 and A11 branches in Xiangti Avenue Plaza, reported Liberty Times. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/28/2020
By: Matt Yu, Chen Yun-yu and Emerson Lim
An Air Force flyby over the Presidential Office ahead of the National Day celebrations. CNA file photo Oct. 6, 2020
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a senior analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), told CNA on Monday that the act, which supports Taiwan's defense capacity and international participation, can be viewed from both military and diplomatic perspectives.
From a military perspective, it indicates that American sales of armaments to Taiwan is shifting from what has been a trend of "regularization" to a trend of "normalization," Su said.
"It means that the process of transferring U.S. defense articles to Taiwan will be more flexible, more institutionalized and met with less political interference," Su argued. [FULL STORY]
TAIPEI APPRECIATIVE: Both the Presidential Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked Washington for its continued support, while in Beijing, there was teeth-gnashing
Taipei Times
Date: Dec 29, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA, WASHINGTON
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang speaks to reporters at a briefing in Taipei on Oct. 20.
Photo: CNA
The government yesterday voiced gratitude for the passage of the act, with Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) saying that Taiwan would continue deepening its partnership with the US and be a force for good in the world.
H.R. 133, or the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, covers the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30 next year and covers a US$900 billion COVID-19 pandemic relief package, US$1.4 trillion to fund government agencies, and backing for Taiwan’s defense capacity and its participation in international organizations.
The Taiwan Assurance Act supports the deepening of US-Taiwan ties on the basis of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). [FULL STORY]
