Prosecutors did not rule out possibility remains belonged to employee of nearby pumping station

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/05
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Half of a decomposing human head was found floating in the Tamsui River near the Guandu Bridge in New Taipei City on Wednesday (Aug. 5), and prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility that it belonged to an employee of a nearby pumping station whose headless body was recovered after he fell into the river.

Police said that witnesses walking along the river dyke on Longmi Road in New Taipei’s Bali District spotted a strange object floating near the Guandu Bridge around noon. Upon taking a closer look, they were startled to find that it was half of a human head, according to CNA.

Police and firefighters responded to the scene, and firefighters found the head stuck underneath a riverside scenic lookout near the bridge. They managed to fish it out of the water; however, as the remains were badly decomposed, the cause of death has not yet been determined.

Prosecutors suspect the head may be that of a man in his 50s surnamed Chi (齊) who worked at Taipei City’s Baxian pumping station. Chi reportedly fell into the Tamsui River while working on a sewage gate to prepare for the approaching Typhoon Hagupit on Monday; police and firefighters found Chi’s headless body on Monday night.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/05/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and intern Evelyn Yang

Taipei, Aug. 5 (CNA) Four Taiwan cities — Taipei, New Taipei, Tainan and Taichung– have reintroduced mandatory mask-wearing in certain indoor places, after several foreign nationals returning to their home countries from Taiwan tested positive for COVID-19, sparking fears of a resurgence of local infections.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said Tuesday that people in his city will again be required to wear masks in enclosed spaces, such as karaoke clubs, study centers, elevators, cram schools and movie theaters, with immediate effect. Fines against violators of the order will go into effect after a two-week grace period, he said.

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-ih (侯友宜) also said Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, that their cities will step up enforcement of mask-wearing in the aforementioned five places.

Meanwhile, at a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) press conference Wednesday, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) reiterated the CECC's guidelines that people should wear masks in enclosed spaces and venues where there are large numbers of people.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Intrnational
Date: 04 August, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Dibb said that Australia should side with the US if there is a confrontation with China over Taiwan. Australia should do so or it would risk losing the ANZUS alliance and thus its protection from the US. The alliance is an agreement among Australia, New Zealand and the US to cooperate on military matters in the Pacific region.     [FULL  STORY]

After Hong Kong, China has its eyes on another prize

Spector
Date: August 4, 2020
By: Alessio Patalano

The fate of Hong Kong should make us worried about Taiwan. China’s introduction of a new security law for Hong Kong — which hollowed out the spirit of the ‘one country, two systems’ notion — is a powerful reminder of the importance of sovereignty for the Chinese Communist party. We should ask whether Taiwan is next on the list.

In the past few months, as the world battled to control the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing indulged in increased military activity across the Taiwan Strait. The purpose was to remind the newly re-elected Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, that Taiwan is an inherent part of China and that there is no alternative to reunification with the mainland by 2049. Westerners may find it difficult to comprehend the definitive nature of such a message. But events in Hong Kong suggest that Beijing takes it very seriously.

When it comes to messaging, nothing matches the significance that Beijing attaches to military might. In the old revolutionary days, Mao famously quipped that power comes out of the barrel of a gun. The revolution may seem like the distant past today, but Xi Jinping is not afraid to apply the Chairman’s saying.

Half a decade ago, Xi launched sweeping reforms to bring the People’s Liberation Army to the cutting edge of 21st-century warfare. No effort was spared in communicating Chinese intent and ambition. The army did its part to answer its leader’s call, introducing new training and exercises, reforming its command structure and growing at an incredible pace. In the past three years alone, the PLA has commissioned more combatants than the entire surface fleet of the Royal Navy.    [FULL  STORY]

Majority of Taiwanese fathers believe they share equal parenting responsibility with mothers

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/04
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A recent survey found that 83 percent of Taiwanese fathers have confidence in their ability to take care of their offspring independently, while 53 percent of mothers express concern about leaving the children alone with their partners.

According to an online survey conducted by the non-profit Hsin-Yi Foundation, 98 percent of the surveyed fathers believe they share as much parenting responsibility as their significant others. Meanwhile, 97 percent indicate that they have a good relationship with their children, and 89 percent regard themselves as "competent" parents.

When asked whether they would choose to become a parent if given a second chance, 71 percent of fathers say they would, but only 53 percent of the mothers express absolute willingness. Close to 90 percent of the mothers also indicate that they would create opportunities for the fathers to spend time alone with the children on purpose, despite not completely trusting their parenting skills.

In regard to who is considered the primary caregiver in the household, 39.5 percent of the respondents say mothers, 4.8 percent say fathers, and 45.2 percent believe it to be both.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/04/2020
By: Chen Yun-yu and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) The Navy on Tuesday held a launch ceremony for Taiwan's first domestically-built rapid mine-laying ship as well as a keel-laying ceremony for the second of four minelayers that are part of the government's indigenous ship-building project.

The event indicates the expansion of the military's swift underwater mine-laying and joint defense capabilities, the Navy said in a statement.

The minelayer project was developed based on enemy threat and combat needs after integrating the military's mine-laying combat plans, the Navy said. It will make it easier to prevent enemy vessels from sailing near Taiwan, the statement said.

Navy Admiral Liu Chih-pin (劉志斌) and Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. Chairman Huang Shou-chen (黃守真) jointly hosted the event at Lung Teh shipyard in Yilan County.
[FULL  STORY]

‘CORRUPTION’: One DPP lawmaker and two KMT legislators were held incommunicado, while former NPP chairman Hsu Yung-ming was released on bail in the Pacific Sogo case

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 05, 2020
By: Wen Yu-te, Chen Wei-tsu and Chang Wen-chuan / Staff reporters

The Taipei District Court yesterday ordered that three lawmakers be held incommunicado amid a probe into allegedly bribery relating to an ownership dispute over Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨).

The three are Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) of the Democratic Progressive Party, and Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) and Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Also held incommunicado were Su’s office director Yu Hsueh-yang (余學洋) and Sufin’s office director Ting Fu-hua (丁復華), as well as Kuo Ke-ming (郭克銘), a political lobbyist and general manager of Knowledge International Consultancy (是知管理顧問公司).

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday raided the offices of six incumbent and former lawmakers for allegedly taking bribes ranging from several hundreds of thousands of New Taiwan dollars to NT$20 million (US$677,071) from Lee Heng-lung (李恆隆), the former chairman of Pacific Distribution Investment Co (太平洋流通), who was also detained yesterday.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 03 August, 2020
By: atherine Wei

Ten people have been detained and are being held incommunicado by prosecutors in connection with a bribery case involving the Pacific Sogo Department Store chain. Of the ten, five are incumbent lawmakers. 

The lawmakers accused of taking bribes are the Kuomintang’s Chen Chao-ming and Liao Kuo-tung, the Democratic Progressive Party’s Su Chen-ching, former New Power Party lawmaker Hsu Yung-ming, and Chao Cheng-yu, an independent. Chao has since been released on bail. 

One of the other suspects is former Foreign Minister Mark Chen, who has also been released on bail. 

So far, prosecutors have brought in a total of 63 people for questioning.    [FULL  STORY]

Voice of America
Date: August 03, 2020
By: Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – American lawmakers have introduced a flurry of bills in the past two years to improve Taiwan’s defenses and raise its international exposure as legislators backed by  President Donald Trump step up resistance against China, an old rival of Taipei, analysts say.  

At least five pro-Taiwan bills have appeared in the U.S. Congress since February 2018, an unusually fast pace. It’s largely because President Trump has championed Taiwan’s cause for self-rule since his inauguration in 2017 amid spats with China over trade and geopolitics. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, not as an independent  state.  

Legislators, influenced by a Taiwan lobby in Washington as well as anti-China sentiments among American voters, have made the most of Trump’s policy to get their bills signed into law, political observers believe. Trump’s predecessors focused more on maintaining ties with Beijing.  

FILE – In this Dec. 2, 2016 photo released by Taiwan Presidential Office, Dec. 3, 2016, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump through a speaker phone in Taipei, Taiwan.

“As President Trump is so far the most pro-Taiwan U.S. president since de-recognition in 1979, Congress may want to send him as many Taiwan bills as possible, knowing that he'll actually sign them into law,” said Sean King, vice president of the Park Strategies political consultancy in New York.      [FULL  STORY]

As remdesivir has reportedly been in great demand in US, Taiwan only received 78 doses out of 2,000-dose order

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/03
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Faced with a shortage of remdesivir, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Monday (Aug. 3) that it is considering the adoption of dexamethasone as an alternative drug, indicating that it may include it in the treatment guidelines for COVID-19 patients.

In order to ensure that COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms can be treated with remdesivir in the event of a second wave of the virus, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of remdesivir at the end of May, ordering 2,000 doses to be delivered before the end of July, per CNA.

As remdesivir has reportedly been in great demand in the U.S., Taiwan only received 78 doses out of the 2,000-dose order, causing public health concerns.

The U.S. government announced at the end of June that it would purchase 500,000 doses of remdesivir, an amount equal to Gilead Sciences Inc.’s total output for July, August, and September.    [FULL  STORY]