Business Times
Aug 15, 2020
By: Jet Encila

Taiwan has formally sealed a deal to acquire 66 of the newest versions of the U.S. F-16 combat aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp., a move that analysts say could add more fuel to frictions between China and America.

Based on reports Saturday, the Taiwan government has formally signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to procure the fighter jets, further turning up the heat on the Taiwan Straits.

The deal came only two days after China's People's Liberation Army said they would conduct a massive military exercise as a response to U.S. provocations and secessionist activities in the island state.

The contract underscores the first procurement of high-tech warplanes to Taiwan since President George Bush approved the sale of 150 of the earlier model of the aircraft in 1992. The price tag disclosd by the Pentagon is the higher limit of multiple deals if all prospective overseas buyers bid for the biggest number over the period.    [FULL  STORY]

The National Interest
Date: August 15, 2020
By: Kris Osborn

Chinese-government supporting military experts are claiming that Taiwan’s acquisition of new U.S. built cruise missiles, mines, and torpedoes will in no way deter the prospect of a successful Chinese amphibious attack on the island, raising new questions about U.S.-China technical parity regarding weapons systems.

An article in the Chinese government-backed Global Times writes that China’s advanced countermine technology and vertical flight take-off ability would easily counter Taiwan-placed sea mines.

The Global Times quotes a Chinese military expert as saying, “Lockdown via sea mines is an outdated tactic from World War II, and the PLA has long gained the capability to sweep sea mines and open green passages.”

The paper also cited experts claiming that China has a “wide selection of tools” to intercept attacking cruise missiles.    [FULL  STORY]

They write Xi Jinping will attempt invasion 'to distract population from its mounting anger and anxiety'

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/15
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In an essay published by the U.S. Naval Institute, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Michael Morell and ex-Admiral James Winnefeld, warn that Xi Jinping (習近平) will "bring Taiwan back into China" in mid-January 2021.

At this time the West is distracted by the U.S. election and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The authors believe the "operation" will be completed in just three days.

Morell and Winnefeld paint a worst case scenario in the article, published by the private, non-profit, professional military association. They assume the operation will unfold quickly, "beginning on the evening of 18 January," prior to the U.S. presidential inauguration.

At the same time, China will carry out cyber attacks to cripple the country by disabling the national power grid and other important utilities. This will be followed by a swift sea and air blockade, with several Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) submarines joining in the action.
[FULL  STORY]

FOUR PRIORITIES: Chen Chi-mai said that he would focus on industrial transformation, job creation, the reduction of air pollution and building transport infrastructure in the city

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 16, 2020
By: Chen Wen-chan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

Former vice premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday won the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election to fill the vacancy left by the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who was removed from office after a recall vote on June 6.

Chen received 671,804 votes, or 70.03 percent, against 248,478, or 25.90 percent, for KMT Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁) and 38,960, or 4.06 percent, for Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Kaohsiung City Councilor Wu Yi-jheng (吳益政), according to the final vote tallies from the Kaohsiung City Election Commission.

In his victory speech, Chen said that people’s support, regardless for whom, spelled the beginning of hope for Kaohsiung.

“I would like for supporters of the other two candidates to hold me to the strictest of standards so that I may learn from my mistakes,” Chen said, adding that the top four priorities of his administration would be seeking industrial transition, reducing unemployment, building transportation infrastructure and tackling air pollution.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 14 August, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu says the UN’s exclusion of Taiwan as a member state is a loss to the international community as a whole. Wu’s statement appeared in recent articles by the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Manila Standard.

In the reports, Wu was cited as saying that Taiwan has donated hundreds of thousands of surgical masks and pieces of protective wear to countries including the Philippines since June. The donations are meant to help recipient countries in their fight against COVID-19. Wu said that countries should come together in the face of COVID-19 and help each other create a better future for sustainable development.    [FULL  STORY]

Forbes
Date: Aug 14, 2020
By: David Axe, Contributor

If China invades Taiwan and succeeds in establishing a beachhead along the main island’s southwestern plain, Taipei’s defense strategy calls on the army to surround and destroy the Chinese landing force before it can break out.

The battle would be chaotic. Chinese troops undoubtedly would target the command links between Taiwanese army brigades and their front-line battalions, hoping to confuse and paralyze counterattacking forces.

To give its formations the best possible chance of defeating a Chinese lodgement, the Taiwanese army is reorganizing. The service is standing up dozens of new battalions combining drones, missiles, armored vehicles and, in the near future, American-made M-1 tanks.

Most importantly, the battalions would be independent. Meaning they could continue fighting even after Chinese troops cut them off from their higher headquarters.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/14/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, Aug. 14 (CNA) The special contribution award at the 11th Golden Comic Awards will go to renowned cartoonist Loïc Hsiao (蕭言中), who has released over 30 comic books in his illustrious career, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) said Friday.

Hsiao, 55, achieved immediate success as a cartoonist, selling over 500,000 copies of his debut "Short Circuit in Childhood" comic book in 1985, according to the Taiwan Comic Digital Museum (TCDM) website.

He has also written, acted in, and directed more than 20 dramas for the theater, the TCDM said, and he held a world tour last year to exhibit his unique portrayals of famous celebrities and people painted with a Chinese calligraphy brush.

Meanwhile, the ministry on Friday made public the list of 24 works nominated for this year's Golden Comic Awards, the country's highest national award for comic books.
[FULL  STORY]

‘UNCLE A-HUI’: People lined the streets of Taipei as a motorcade carrying the former president’s body went from the hospital to a church funeral to a crematorium

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 15, 2020
By: Chen Yun and Lee Hsin-fang / Staff reporters

Family members and close friends bade farewell to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at a private funeral service at Taipei’s Che-Lam Presbyterian Church yesterday morning, after which a funeral procession made a symbolic lap around the Presidential Office Building before winding its way to the Taipei City Second Funeral Parlor.

Lee, dubbed “Mr. Democracy” after he ended Taiwan’s autocratic rule in favor of free elections, died on July 30 at the age of 97.

Lee’s body was transported in a hearse, departing from Taipei Veterans General Hospital at 6:38am, where about 300 doctors and nurses lined the road to pay their respects.

“The medical staff came out of their own volition to send off the former president,” said Hwang Shinn-jang (黃信彰), the hospital’s deputy director and spokesman. “They wanted to express their gratitude and regret on the departure of a good friend, especially the medical team who cared for him over the past decade.”    [FULL  STORY]

Portrait of Taiwan's first democratically elected president hit by paint-filled balloon on day of his funeral

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/14
By: Sylvia Teng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The memorial for late President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in Taipei was reportedly vandalized on Friday (Aug. 14), the day of Lee's funeral, when a woman splashed red paint on his portrait.

The suspect, a woman in black, vandalized the interior of a prayer room at the memorial Friday morning, lobbing a balloon filled with red paint at Lee’s portrait. The woman was immediately detained by the police, who found her to be carrying several of the paint-filled balloons, reports said.

Reports suggest that the offender could be retired entertainer Cheng Hui-chung (鄭惠中), who also slapped then-Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) on the face last year during a dinner. She later claimed the slap had been in protest of Cheng's work promoting transitional justice, which has mainly targeted abuses by Taiwan's former Kuomintang Nationalist government and its dictator, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正).

The Presidential Office has confirmed the incident, expressing “severe condemnation of the irrational and violent act.”    [FULL  STORY]

2021 BUDGET: Social welfare policies would have the biggest slice of the budget of NT$2.16 trillion, followed by education, culture and science-related expenditures

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 14, 2020
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

The Executive Yuan yesterday unveiled its budget proposal of NT$2.16 trillion (US$73.13 billion) for fiscal 2021, which includes NT366.8 billion for defense expenditure, an increase of NT$15.6 billion, or 4.4 percent, from this year.

If including payment for the F-16Vs that the nation has committed to purchase from the US, which totals NT$29 billion and would be drawn from a special budget, and non-profit special funds of NT$57.6 billion, the defense budget for next fiscal year would be NT$453.4 billion, or 2.4 percent of this year’s projected GDP, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said.

Social welfare policies would have the largest slice of the budget at NT$559.4 billion, or 25.9 percent of the projected expenditure, followed by education, culture and science-related expenses, which total NT$429 billion, or 19.9 percent.

The funding for economic policies would account for the fifth-largest proportion of the budget at NT$253.9 billion, or 11.7 percent.    [FULL  STORY]