Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/26/2020
By: Flor Wang

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) A magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan on Sunday, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The quake occurred at 8:52 p.m., and its epicenter waslocated 86.5 kilometers southeast of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 53 km, the CWB said.    [FULL  STORY]

ASIA FIRST: The government had hoped for a world first, but a German cruise liner left Hamburg on Friday night on a weekend ‘trip to nowhere’ in the North Sea

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 27, 2020
By: Lin Hsin-han and Hsiao Yu-hsin / Staff reporters

The Explorer Dream (探索夢號) cruise ship yesterday set sail from Keelung Port on a four-day trip to Penghu and Kinmen in a first for the cruise industry in Asia since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and only the second such excursion worldwide.

A German vessel, the TUI’s Mein Schiff 2, set sail from Hamburg late on Friday night on a three-night North Sea cruise, beating Taiwan to the industry bragging rights.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) attended a news conference in Keelung to launch the Explorer Dream’s voyage.

Chen, who also heads the nation’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said that while people want to travel abroad, easing the nation’s travel restrictions must be done cautiously and “step by step.”    [FULL  STORY]

Tokyo Review
Date: July 25, 2020
By: Andrea A. Fischetti and Antoine Roth

Welcome to installment XIX (July 2020) of Sino-Japanese Review, a monthly column on major developments in relations between China and Japan that provides a running commentary on the evolution of this important relationship and helps to put current events in perspective. Previous installments may be found here.

Japan’s foreign policy operates under a dualism when it comes to China. Tokyo has recognized the need to build some semblance of diplomatic comity while at the same time firmly opposing China’s maritime advances. In official exchanges, more emphasis has been placed on mutual gains, especially economic ones, rather than on confrontation. Yet Tokyo has never softened its stance when it comes to security disputes or geopolitical competition. 

As we noted in our last column, China’s imposition of a harsh new national security law on Hong Kong does not yet appear to have derailed Japan’s dual track approach. However, as China seeks to strangle the pro-democracy movement in the once semi-autonomous city, fears are rising that Taiwan will be the next target of Beijing’s belligerence. If China were to try and force reunification on the island, Japan’s reaction would certainly be more vocal.  Unlike Hong Kong, whose fate does not directly affect Japan’s security interests, Taiwan is indeed considered a crucial national defense matter.  A crisis surrounding the island would probably push Japan to switch forcefully toward confrontation in its relations with Beijing.

Unlike Hong Kong, Taiwan is considered a crucial national defense matter

Historically, Japan’s official position on Taiwan has been much less clear than the American one. Unlike Washington, Tokyo never explicitly endorsed the “one China principle”. In the first official diplomatic document between the PRC and Japan – the joint communique of 1972, the latter only expressed its “full understanding and respect” for China’s position. That stance was never altered, and Taiwan repeatedly arose as a topic of contention in the post Cold War era when Japan and the U.S. sought to redefine the scope of their security cooperation.
[FULL  STORY]

VLIVE
Date: 2020. 07. 25

​On the evening of July 24, Minhyun drew a rapturous response from fans when posting a teaser image on Nu'est's official SNS channel with the information of publishing a cover for the OST "Miss You 3000" of the Taiwanese drama "Someday Or One Day".

​In the photo, Minhyun is wearing a school uniform while holding an umbrella and staring straight ahead in a humid scene filled with the typical atmosphere of a rainy day. This image reminds viewers of scenes of a youth drama, at the same time boasting Minhyun's unique charm.

​In addition, the numbers representing Minhyun's birthday "950809" printed on the uniform quickly attracted attention and caused viewers to make various speculations about its meaning.

​In particular, this full cover version was thanks to Korean and international audiences' explosive reactions and constant requests after listening to Minhyun singing live a part of the song on Taiwan media. After that, the male idol expressed his wish, "I really like the song right the first time listening to it. Therefore, I always want to perform a full version if I have a chance. It's really great if it comes true," thereby making the cover more meaningful.    [FULL  STORY]

Young woman with terminal cancer fulfills dream of seeing mother and getting 'married' to boyfriend

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/25
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese woman diagnosed with terminal breast cancer fulfilled her dream on Saturday (July 25) of reuniting with her mother — who she has not seen for 20 years.

The young woman, surnamed Hung (洪), asked to see her mother while receiving treatment at the Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in New Taipei. According to Yahoo News, she has not been with her mother since she was five years old when her parents divorced.

On Friday (July 24), Hung's friends and family took to Facebook to ask netizens to help spread her story and reconnect her with her mother. Photos of Hung in her blue wedding dress, accompanied by her boyfriend at the hospital, were also included in the post.

According to the post, doctors had informed Hung that she might not have much time left to live. The post also said she was pregnant for six months until suffering a miscarriage caused by her illness.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/25/2020
By: Wang Yang-yu and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 25 (CNA) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) on Saturday disclosed that she had recently found out she had been a target of the Kuomintang (KMT) government in the early 90s, just a few years after martial law ended in Taiwan.

In a Facebook post, Fan said she learned about it when the Transitional Justice Commission invited her to view an archive of more than 1,000 of secret surveillance files against her.

Fan was one of the leaders of the pro-democracy Wild Lily student movement in 1990. Initiated by university students, the Wild Lily protests called for direct presidential elections and the establishment of a new National Assembly, among other democratic reforms.
[FULL  STORY]

FISCAL 2021: If the funds to purchase 66 F-16 jets from the US were included, the increase in the national defense budget would be 7 percent from a year earlier

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 26, 2020
By: Lee Hsin-fang, Rachel Lin and Jake Chung /
Staff reporters, with staff writer

The government budget for fiscal 2021 could see national defense spending increase to NT$335.8 billion (US$11.36 billion), up NT$10 billion, or 3 percent, from fiscal 2020, sources said on Friday.

If the NT$29 billion in special funding to purchase F-16 jets from the US were included, the increase in the national defense budget would be 7 percent, the sources said, adding that the military’s purchase of 66 F-16s is expected to cost NT$247.29 billion and be paid off in seven years.

The Ministry of National Defense is discussing with the Executive Yuan additional funding to purchase advanced weaponry, they said.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) next month is expected to present President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) with the final Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) estimate on the government’s fiscal 2021 budget, they said, adding that the final decision would be made pending a discussion between the two.    FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 24 July, 2020
By: Katherine Wei

Premier Su Tseng-chang says that the government will take necessary measures to protect Taiwan’s dignity as a country. Su was responding to Hong Kong authorities’ treatment of the staff of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the city. 

Local authorities had asked staff members to sign an affidavit recognizing the “one China” principle, and said that those who didn’t would not have their visas renewed. The staff refused the request, and returned to Taiwan last week.     [FULL  STORY]

Punch Newspapers
Date: July 24, 2020
By: Wale Oyewale

A 30-year-old fraudster, Gabriel  Oluokun, was on Thursday, sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State for defrauding a Taiwanese to the tune of $22,300.

The convict was prosecuted by the Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a six-count amended of obtaining money by false pretence.

According to the Commission, Oluokun received a petition from one Nduka Lucious in which he alleged that the convict collected the sum of $22,300 from him in three installments on the agreement that he would supply 100 metric tonnes of sesame seed to one Victoria Xhung, a China-based Taiwanese businesswoman, whom the petitioner represents in Nigeria.

The convict failed to deliver the product as promised. Instead of returning the money, he converted the sum to his personal use.    [FULL  STORY]