Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/12
By: Sophia Yeh and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) Taiwan will not become a “bargaining chip” in an international geopolitical game as long as it can keep its democracy and expand its international participation, officials said Monday.

The officials were reacting to a comment by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in a TV interview that the U.S. under his administration may not necessarily recognize Beijing’s “one China” principle when it comes to cross-strait relations.

“I fully understand the ‘one China’ policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday.

Trump’s statement, while welcomed by pro-Taiwan independence politicians in Taiwan, also triggered worries that the U.S. might use Taiwan as a bargaining chip in its dealings with China on trade issues.    [FULL  STORY]

NO COMMENT:After Trump questioned the need for the US’ ‘one China’ policy, Ma Ying-jeou said it was too soon to talk about Trump’s remarks, but the KMT was worried

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 13, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

The Presidential Office yesterday stayed mum after US president-elect Donald Trump questioned the

necessity for Washington to adhere to its long-standing “one China” policy.

In an interview with the Fox News Sunday program, Trump first denied that a Dec. 2 telephone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and himself was planned weeks in advance.

“Not weeks. I took a call. I heard the call was coming probably an hour or two before,” Trump said.

He then went on to question the need for Washington to stick to its “one China” policy.

“I fully understand the ‘one China’ policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 13, 2016
By: The China Post news staff and agencies

Beijing said Monday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s comments questioning the “one China” policy could jeopardize Sino-American relations, while analysts warned that Trump was risking a military crisis as well as a trade war.

Trump said in a television interview Sunday that he didn’t feel “bound by a one-China policy.” In response Monday, China expressed “serious concern” about the comments, warning that any changes to how America deals with Taiwan could damage diplomatic ties between Washington and Beijing.

Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said that established policy is the “political foundation” of any diplomatic relationship between China and the U.S., and that any damage to it could render cooperation “out of the question.”

“We urge the new U.S. leader and government to fully understand the seriousness of the Taiwan issue and to continue to stick to the one-China policy,” Geng said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2016-12-11

Three draft bills aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage in Taiwan are set to clear committee reviews on December 26th. That was the word from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mei-nu on Saturday.

Yu was speaking in front of a crowd of more than 200,000 people who had gathered for a rally in downtown Taipei in favor of marriage equality.

But Yu warned that the current legislative session was drawing to a close and a marriage equality bill might not be passed until next June.

Right now there is majority support for marriage equality not only among lawmakers, but also among the general public. However a vocal opposition has made its voice heard in a series of protests which forced the legislature to hold two public hearings on the matter.    [FULL  STORY]

A day after a major musical festival held in support of the same-sex marriage, netizens see rainbows as a sign of hope

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/11
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A day after a music festival was staged in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei Saturday

which drew over 250,000 people, Taiwanese netizens posted photos of rainbows spotted in Taoyuan and Taipei and commented that it was a sign of a favorable outcome for their cause.

On Saturday, dozens of popular singers, including Denise Ho from Hong Kong, Sandee Chan, Freya Lim and Ailing Tai, appeared on stage and sang to the crowd, while Pop diva Jolin Tsai led nearly a hundred entertainers and stars in a recorded message at a music festival held that day to support same-sex marriage,

The next day, many Taiwanese netizens posted images of full rainbows on the music event’s Facebook page, which had appeared over parts of Taoyuan and Taipei during a break in the rain that afternoon. Facebook user Dennis Lai posted the following image and said:    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/11
By: Wang Chao-yu and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) A Chinese fisherman was pulled alive from the hull of a fishing boat Sunday, while the body of the captain was found on board, two days after it capsized off the coast of New Taipei City.

The survivor, identified as Lin Moufu (林謀福), was rescued at 10:50 a.m. after rescue workers cut open the hull of the vessel, which was carrying eight crew members when it capsized off Cape Fugui in Shimen District last Friday.

At about 2 p.m. Sunday, the body of the captain, Taiwanese Wu Tsung-te (吳聰德), was found in a cabin after the vessel was pulled upright.

The other five crew members, three Chinese and two Vietnamese, were still missing and were believed to be trapped in the wreckage of the Chin Jui Yi No. 88 (金瑞益88號), which washed onto a shoal off the city’s Shimen District on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Lin, the second survivor to be rescued since the accident occurred, appeared to be suffering from hypothermia and was taken to the Tamsui branch of Mackay Memorial Hospital but had no visible injuries, paramedics said.

Lin said he had been trapped in a cabin for two days, partially submerged and without food or water.    [FULL  STORY]

EMERGENCY RESPONSE:Major General Chen Chung-chi said units were activated as Chinese military aircraft flew near Taiwan, but he declined to say exactly which ones

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 12, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday denied that it launched a multi-branch exercise on

Saturday in response to Chinese military aircraft circling the international airspace around Taiwan.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily yesterday reported that the ministry initiated the Lien Hsiang exercise by the army, navy and air force that saw the deployment of F-16 jets, Indigenous Defense Fighter jets, Keelung-class destroyers, Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries and Sky Bow missile defense units.

The Chinese aircraft reportedly flew along Taiwan’s territorial airspace before encountering Japanese F-15 planes, which launched decoy flares at the Chinese aircraft over the Miyako Strait.

The newspaper said that the Chinese airplanes left the area after Taiwan’s missile defense system locked onto them.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 12, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a national recall of a fermented soybean

product on Sunday, after discovering that the product included a small package of soy sauce originating from a radiation-affected region of Japan.

Radiation detection tests conducted by the Atomic Energy Council showed that the soy sauce had not been contaminated by nuclear substances, the FDA said.

But the discovery of the Ibaraki-sourced soy sauce had caught authorities off guard, highlighting a loophole in Taiwan’s five-year ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures.

Food products from Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures are banned over fears they may be contaminated with radioactive substances, following the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011.    [FULL  STORY]

Photos from today’s rally in front of the Presidential Office.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/12/10
By: TNL Staff

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Taipei this afternoon, calling on the government to enact

marriage equality legislation.

Today’s public gathering, held in front of the Presidential Office Building, is seen as a critical point in the same-sex marriage campaign, which threatens to be derailed by loud opposition from religious groups and a lack of political will by government legislators and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

As of around 4 p.m., there were more than 200,000 people present, event organizers told The News Lens International. The event wrapped up around 8:30 p.m.    [SOURCE]

A full smoking ban on all bus stops will be implemented in Taipei City on Jan. 1 with a maximum fine of NT$10,000 for violators

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/10
By Central News Agency

A complete ban on smoking at bus stops in Taipei will be instituted with effect from Jan. 1 next year,

the city’s health department said Saturday.

The new regulation will expand a current ban that is in place at 155 bus stops located on 15 dedicated bus lanes, the health department said.

With effect from Jan. 1 next year, smoking will be banned at 1,150 waiting areas at 932 bus stops in Taipei City, and violators will be subject to a maximum fine of NT$10,000 (US$314), the department said.

The latest move is part of the city’s efforts to create a smoke-free outdoor environment and goes another step beyond its smoking ban on sidewalks near 180 elementary, middle and high schools.

In October, the city also banned smoking in the Xinyi shopping district, which has now become the first smoke-free shopping area in Taipei.   [SOURCE]