Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/13/2020
By: Huang Li-yun and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 13 (CNA) The Kaohsiung and Tainan city police chiefs will be replaced to take responsibility for recent shooting and murder cases in their jurisdictions, the National Police Agency (NPA) said in a statement Monday.

Following multiple shooting incidents and murders that hurt public confidence in the police, the NPA reported to the Ministry of the Interior that it would transfer Kaohsiung police chief Lee Yung-kuei (李永癸) and Tainan police chief Chou Yu-wei (周幼偉) to other jobs, the statement said.

In the latest case, a 41-year-old man was killed after a fight broke out outside a dance hall in Kaohsiung when he and friends were leaving shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday.

Over the past few weeks, shooting incidents caused by violent conflicts at entertainment venues in Tainan and other cities were reported.    [FULL  STORY]

UNCLEAR LINES: The government is to take national security concerns into account when reviewing investment funds coming from Hong Kong and Macau, a source said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 14, 2020
By: Yimou Lee and Emily Chan / Reuters, TAIPEI

The government intends to enhance scrutiny over investment from Hong Kong to prevent illicit money from China “infiltrating” the economy, after Beijing imposed a National Security Law on the territory, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Taiwan has traditionally treated investment from Hong Kong and Macau as foreign investment, without the same controls and limits it has on money coming from China.

However, Beijing’s contentious new legislation for Hong Kong targets crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison, and allows people to be sent to China for trial.

Taiwan is on alert to ensure any influx of Hong Kong money is not secretly coming from China.
[FULL  STORY]

In the race for talents in the business world, Taiwan can certainly be more than a pawn in the game of innovation and leadership.

The National Interest
Date: July 12, 2020
By: Patrick Mendis Hon-Min Yau

The Trump administration has maintained a high-profile Sino-American battlefield in the information communication technologies (ICTs) domain, especially with Huawei, ZTE, and other 5G companies in China. In recent months, the Trump White House drew the democratic-ally of Taiwan into its on-going “trade war” with Beijing when Washington suddenly realized that it needed the talents and know-how of this island-nation to compete with the advanced Chinese technology sector.

Yet in his bombshell memoir, The Room Where It Happened, former National Security Advisor John Bolton writes that President Donald Trump often downplayed the importance of U.S. commitments to Taiwan in backroom meetings. Bolton claims that “Although it came in several variations, one of Trump’s favorite comparisons was to point to the tip of one of his Sharpie [marker’s] and say, ‘this is Taiwan,’ then point to [his desk in the Oval Office] and say, ‘this is China.’” For President Xi Jinping of China, however, the size of Taiwan’s ICTs capability is not merely “the tip” of a Sharpie marker.

Like Trump’s criticism of China on one day and then seeking Xi’s help on the next day to win the upcoming election (by having him buy more agricultural products from key American battleground states), his administration has often changed policies to galvanize his personal and electoral advantage. After the United States government imposed federal bans on both buying from, and exporting to Huawei for American companies since 2019, for example, the U.S. Department of Commerce further amended its Export Administration Regulation in May 2020 to stop foreign companies from producing components for Huawei and its affiliates with the use of U.S. technology without approval.

Unmistakably, the U.S. intention is to disrupt Huawei and its supply chain. Since then, Huawei’s strategy has been revised to outsource the manufacturing of its 5G integrated circuits to non-U.S. semiconductor foundries—like Kirin Series designed by HiSilicon, a Chinese fabless semiconductor company based in Shenzhen that is linked mostly to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, TSMC. For the White House, the ban would admittedly function as a “tool of strategic influence” on the Communist Party of China (CPC).      [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Main Station lobby floor transformed overnight, smiley emojis added

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/12
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) announced Sunday (July 12) that its plan to indefinitely prohibit sitting on the Taipei Main Station lobby floor has officially been withdrawn after the proposal faced much opposition.

After revealing the new look of the Taipei Main Station lobby, which was transformed overnight on Saturday (July 11), the TRA said it would serve as a public space that highlights Taiwan's diversity and acceptance of different cultures. The station lobby floor is now covered with smiley emojis and the word "smile" in 10 different languages.

The TRA said it had secretly carried out the transformation late on Saturday after the public transportation service had finished its operation for the day. It added that approximately 40 more seats would be installed in the station for commuters to rest and socialize, provided that they do not obstruct passersby.

The TRA noted that the decision was made after several panel discussions with civic groups, non-governmental organizations, and public space experts. It also welcomed residents of Taiwan to fully utilize the area, stressing that all groups and individuals are welcome, reported Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/13/2020
By: Kuan Chung-wei and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 13 (CNA) Taipei in northern Taiwan and Nantou in the central part of the country are likely to see a daytime high of 38 degrees Celsius Monday, due to a Pacific high pressure system and seasonal southwesterly winds, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

High temperatures can also be expected in most other parts of Taiwan on Monday, the CWB said, issuing a heat alert for 16 municipalities.

An "orange" alert is in effect for Taipei City and Nantou County, as well as for New Taipei, Taichung, Chiayi and Kaohsiung cities and Hsinchu, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, the CWB said.

The "orange" alert means those areas can expect a one-day high of at least 38 degrees or a maximum temperature of 36 degrees for three consecutive days, according to the CWB.
[FULL  STORY]

NEW HONG KONG LAW: A visit to Beijing-friendly nations or those with weak judicial systems could leave people at risk of deportation to China, a former MAC official said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 13, 2020
By: Peng Wan-hsin / Staff reporter

Beijing could request countries with which it has extradition agreements to deport Taiwanese to China to face criminal charges following the implementation of national security legislation for Hong Kong, a former Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official warned yesterday.

Some developing countries, and those close to China because of the Belt and Road Initiative, are likely to accommodate Beijing’s requests to extradite Taiwanese to China, said former deputy MAC minister Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺), who served from July 2, 2018, until May 20, and then returned to his former post as an assistant professor of sociology at National Tsing Hua University.

While Taiwanese should be aware of this situation, they should not restrain their pursuit of freedom of speech, Chen said.

“If we remain silent about the situation in Hong Kong, we would be playing into Beijing’s hands. The more China oppresses freedom of speech, the more we should voice our support for Hong Kong,” he said.

The government should work with nations that share similar democratic values to speak up for Hong Kong’s freedom, he added.    [FULL  STORY]

The Epoch Times
Date: July 11, 2020
By: Eva Fu

Facebook has become the latest platform for the Chinese regime to amplify its propaganda that Taiwan belongs to China, leaked documents obtained by The Epoch Times show.

Beijing claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory despite Taiwan having its own military, democratically-elected government, and currency.

Researchers and Taiwanese authorities have previously highlighted indirect attempts at swaying Taiwan voters to elect pro-Beijing political candidates into office—including by spreading disinformation on Facebook—efforts that align with Beijing’s goals of convincing Taiwanese people to accept unification with the mainland. But the endeavors were difficult to trace directly to the regime.

The documents are the first of its kind to confirm the Chinese regime’s direct hand in creating and spreading such propaganda on Facebook, fanning pro-unification sentiments.
[FULL  STORY]

• The island is relying on a varied stockpile to fend off any assault from across the Taiwan Strait
• Some are manufactured in the United States while others have been developed and made locally

South China Morning Post
Date: 11 Jul, 2020
By: Lawrence Chung

Taiwan has a stockpile of missiles that by some estimates is the world’s biggest in terms of number per unit of area.

Though the island’s defence ministry is unwilling to say exactly how big the stockpile is, the Taipei-based China Times newspaper has put the total at more than 6,000.

These weapons include missiles manufactured in the United States as well as well as locally designed and made products. They also range from air- and sea-launched to land-strike missiles.

Missiles are a key element of Taiwan’s defence strategy in the face of mainland China’s much bigger People’s Liberation Army.    [FULL  STORY]

Top Foreign Affairs Committee Republican says China’s biggest fear not US but inability to control its people

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/11
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The ranking Republican in the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, said he believes recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign, independent country would be the harshest punishment that the U.S. could inflict on Beijing.

In an interview with VOA earlier this week, the Texas representative expressed his belief that the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ideology is destined to fail. Stressing that the U.S. is not Beijing's top enemy, he said Chinese citizens who had been indoctrinated or oppressed by the authoritarian regime would someday see the truth and stand up against their ruler and that this would be the party's biggest fear: being unable to control its people.

McCaul pointed out that the U.S. has no desire to engage in a military conflict with the CCP but that it will not hesitate to condemn human rights violations and support democracy. He also urged Chinese citizens to try to understand that their voices and basic rights have been taken away.

When asked about the American stance on cross-strait issues, McCaul emphasized that Washington would not allow Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong to be repeated in Taiwan. He noted the CCP had intensified its threats toward Taiwan recently, with some on the Chinese side claiming Hong Kong's national security law is a blueprint for the island nation.
[FULL  STORY]