Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/01/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) Taiwan on Saturday confirmed seven new COVID-19 infections, including one puzzling case that the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said may actually date back to four months ago.

Of the seven cases, six were men aged between 20 and 80 who entered Taiwan from July 15 to 30 from the Philippines and Guatemala and apparently contracted the disease abroad, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the CECC, said in Taipei.

The other case is a Belgian national, who entered Taiwan May 3 and was allowed to leave quarantine on May 17, Chen said.

A technician who was working in Changhua on an offshore wind project, the Belgian man tested positive Saturday after getting a test because he needed one to be allowed to return to his country of origin, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 02, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporters

The White House in a statement on Friday marked the passing of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), while Lee’s alma mater Cornell University issued an obituary remembering his academic achievements and his 1995 speech during a visit to the campus.

It followed a statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo marking Lee’s contributions to Taiwan’s democratization.

Lee died due to septic shock and multiple organ failure in Taipei on Thursday evening. He was 97.

The White House statement said that “President Lee was Taiwan’s first popularly elected leader and stepped down in adherence to term limits. President Lee was the architect of Taiwan’s modern democratic system, which today serves as a shining example of citizen-centric governance for the region and the world.”    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 31 July, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that US arms sales to Taiwan are meant to protect the island’s democracy. Pompeo was speaking during a US Senate review of the State Department’s 2021 budget request. 

Several US senators questioned Pompeo about the State Department’s plans for US-Taiwan relations. Senator Cory Gardner asked Pompeo about President Donald Trump’s plans for trade with Taiwan. Pompeo said that the State Department does not handle matters of trade. However, he said that the US always upholds its promises to the Taiwanese people.

Senator Jeff Merkley asked Pompeo if the enactment of an authoritarian national security law in Hong Kong has changed US perspectives on Taiwan. Merkley also asked Pompeo if the US should be more proactive in supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.     [FULL  STORY]

University of Nottingham
Taiwan Studies Programme
Date: 31 July 2020 
By: Richard Q. Turcsanyi.

Perhaps in the clearest form, the Czech Republic symbolises contradictory attitudes towards Beijing and Taipei found in former Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). While for part of the society Taiwan symbolises own rejection of Communist past and sympathy towards humanistic ideals, others are not willing to endanger promises of benefits (real or imaginary) of pragmatic developing relations with China.

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has long been a particular area of contest between Beijing and Taipei. The former European Communist governments belonged among the first states formally recognising the People’s Republic of China after 1 October 1949 and moved on to develop active exchanges with the Mainland during the 1950s. The memory of this “golden era” is still visible in China-CEE relations today and is reflected in the label of “traditional friends,” which Chinese representatives like to use during their meetings with the CEE counterparts as part of the 16+1 process since 2012.

The historical legacy, however, is much more ambivalent, as highlighted by the fact that the CEE officials are rather lukewarm towards perceiving China as a “traditional friend.” Since the 1989 anti-Communist revolutions in Europe, along with successive CEE governments,’ governmental legitimacy has been built on rejecting Communism, inclusive of their pre-1989 past. The latter political arrangement has often been perceived as apparent “occupation.” Thus, from the figurative perspective of Francis Fukuyama, China and the post-Communist CEE countries have found each other on the opposite “ends of the history.”

Relations with Taiwan have been a political indicator of regional CEE development, and also China-CEE relations. The Communist governments before 1989 developed relations with their counterparts in Asia – in Beijing, Hanoi, or Pyongyang – while treating the governments in Taipei, Saigon, Seoul, or Tokyo primarily as “imperialist” adversaries. However, it is good to also keep in mind the internal struggles within the Communist bloc, which meant that most of the European Communist countries were in the Soviet camp, and their relations with China were cold during 1960s-mid-1980s.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Futures Exchange program supports families in need and stretched social security network

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/31
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) announced Friday (July 31) the Food Bank program will continue to serve underprivileged families, helping out during the coronavirus pandemic and complementing the nation's social security network.

The Food Bank program has run for six years, with NT$50 million spent so far this year on diapers, baby formula, and food. TAIFEX Chairman Wu Tzu-hsin (吳自心) said more than 270,000 families have benefited from the program since it began in 2015.

Wu said the company will continue the initiative this year, as a higher pandemic-induced unemployment rate is expected to cause hardship for families. A recent survey was cited at the Friday event showing that even a 1 percentage point rise in the unemployment rate means the incidence of child abuse will increase by seven per 10,000 children — or 2,500 children based on the current national population of children aged under 18.

Over 290,000 people in Taiwan are living in poverty, according to data this year from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. They are also more likely to be affected by problems such as domestic violence, health, or financial stress.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/31/2020
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) Former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) is being remembered as an initiator of a "quiet revolution" during his 12-year presidency, carrying out six rounds of constitutional reforms that laid a solid foundation for Taiwan to peacefully transition from a dictatorship to a democracy.

Lee died aged 97 from septic shock and multiple organ failure at Taipei Veterans General Hospital at 7:24 p.m. Thursday, after being hospitalized for nearly six months.

The former leader of Taiwan is known for his role in guiding the country to democracy while serving as president of the Republic of China (ROC), the official name of Taiwan, from 1988 to 2000.

Addressing the opening of the 2020 Taiwan Capital Market Forum held in Taipei Friday, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) praised her predecessor for leading Taiwan through a "quiet revolution" to transform the country away from an authoritarian one in a turbulent time.
[FULL  STORY]

‘INCREASINGLY FAVORED’: Taiwan’s ‘transparent laws and efficient courts’ as well as its financial institutions give it a major advantage to become a financial hub, Tsai said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 01, 2020
By: Angelica Oung / Staff reporter

Taiwan would liberalize banking and investment rules to establish itself as a regional financial hub, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Taiwan Capital Market Forum in Taipei yesterday.

Recent world events could be an opening for Taiwan to become an international center for business investments and financial management, Tsai said at the forum, which was organized by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister publication of the Taipei Times).

“We’re facing unknowns in the world right now, including the continuing impact of US-China trade tensions and the reorganization of the global supply chain after COVID-19,” Tsai said. “These bring new challenges and opportunities.”

said that Taiwan has two major advantages.    [FULL  STORY]

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

[How to stay mentally sharp]

Taiwan’s brilliant Digital Minister Audrey Tang offers solutions not only for containing COVID-19 but also for staying mentally sharp. Hosts Natalie Tso and Andrew Ryan find out how Tang manages her touch screens, and even works while she sleeps! 
 

Epoch Times
Date: July 30, 2020
By: Isabel Van Brugen

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) has introduced a bill that would authorize the United States to use military force if China were to invade Taiwan.

In a news release on July 29, Yoho said the legislation (pdf), named the “Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act,” addresses a number of “aggressive actions” taken by the Chinese communist regime towards Taiwan. It also comes in response to “escalating tensions” caused by Beijing in Hong Kong, the South China Sea, and on the Sino-Indian border.

“Given these provocations, it has become clear that the Chinese Communist Party is rapidly moving to realize its territorial ambitions without regard for international condemnation or backlash,” the release states.

The Chinese regime considers Taiwan a part of its territory, despite the self-ruled island having its own political system, military, and economy.    [FULL  STORY]

Academic suggests Taiwan issue likely to cause conflict between US, China, warns of possible world war

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/30
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A political science scholar has said that China is eager to take Taiwan and turn it into a submarine base as a precaution as tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to rise, according to a BBC report.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent speech at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Southern California is a proclamation of the start of a new cold war, the report said. He announced a new approach in engaging with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): "Distrust and verify.”

He stated, "If we bend the knee now, our children's children may be at the mercy of the CCP, whose actions are the primary challenge to the free world."

Pompeo’s remark comes after the State Department ordered China to shutter its consulate in Houston, accusing the diplomatic office of being "a hub of spying and IP theft." China then retaliated by closing the U.S. consulate in the Chinese city of Chengdu.    [FULL  STORY]