POTENTIAL SAFE HAVEN: A rights advocate said that the law should be changed to make it clear to those in need what they would need to do to resettle in Taiwan

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 14, 2020
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Civic groups yesterday urged the government to set up a humanitarian assistance program for Hong Kongers in need and a mechanism for those seeking political asylum.

At a rally at Liberty Square in Taipei marking the one-year anniversary of the start of a Hong Kong protest movement against a now-withdrawn extradition bill in the former British colony, representatives from the groups displayed banners that read: “Taiwan and Hong Kong are partners together, the struggle remains unfinished.”

Other banners said that the fight was “against the expansion of Chinese imperialism,” and that “Taiwan should have programs to assist Hong Kongers after China approves new national security legislation.”

They highlighted “police brutality against Hong Kong protesters.”    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 12 June, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

US Congressman Anthony Gonzalez has told the Washington Examiner that it is important for Taiwan to gain membership in the International Monetary Fund. The Washington Examiner published Gonzalez’s remarks in an article Thursday.

Gonzalez introduced a bill in May that would prohibit China from increasing its shareholding in the fund until Taiwan becomes a member or is given the right to meaningful participation.
[FULL  STORY]

WHY WE WROTE THIS

The Taiwanese are fervently democratic. In polls, a resounding majority oppose a “one country, two systems” formula for relations with China, à la Hong Kong. But how do they walk that path?

Christian Science Monitor
Date: June 12, 2020
By Howard LaFranchi Staff writer ansd
                  Ann Scott Tyson Staff writer

Preparing the lifeguard station from which he watches over sea bathers in Taiwan’s Kenting National Park, Su Chenzhe takes a moment to reflect on events in Hong Kong, some 400 miles away across the Taiwan Strait.

“We don’t want today’s Hong Kong to be tomorrow’s Taiwan,” the young man with a swimmer’s build says one morning as he surveys the waves breaking at his beach in southernmost Pingtung County. “I want Taiwan to be a free, democratic country.”

Mr. Su’s words echo the conversations and slogans one hears increasingly across a fervently democratic Taiwan – and especially in the pro-Hong Kong bookshops and coffeehouses of the capital, Taipei – as mainland China steps up actions weakening Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status and democratic political system.

Like Hong Kong, Taiwan in the eyes of China’s Communist Party government is a province – governed separately for now but ultimately to be fully united with the mainland under Communist rule, by force if necessary. Beijing vows to take over Taiwan, invoking the same “one country, two systems” formula of Hong Kong policy – a plan rejected, say polls, by more than 85% of Taiwan’s 23 million people.    [FULL  STORY]

2018 video of Chinese cop in Shenzhen kneeling on woman's neck used by pro-China propagandists to smear police in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/12
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Video footage of a Chinese-looking police officer kneeling on a woman's neck has been reposted on a variety of social media platforms in the Philippines, along with the false claim it took part in Taiwan.

The disturbing footage shows a Chinese police officer in a black uniform kneeling with all his might on a young woman with long hair who screams for help.

The incident occurred in China's Shenzhen in 2018. The victim later accused the police officer of abuse of power after the woman requested a copy of the surveillance video, which shows a quarrel between her and a building's security guard.

The Chinese woman identified as "WeChat Early Autumn" (微信初秋) gave her account in a Weibo blog on Dec. 9, 2018, the day after the footage of the assault taken by her companions went viral. She said that after rejecting her request to watch the footage, the police officer dragged her to a bench and then dug his knee into her neck for approximately one minute.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/12/2020
By: Chiu Chun-chin and William Yen

Taoyuan, June 12 (CNA) New immigrants are an integral part of Taiwanese society and are key to making the country beautiful, said Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) during a charity sale for migrant workers.

"Because of Taiwan's new immigrants, the country has become like a beautiful painting. They have become an integral part of Taiwan's beauty," Hsu said.

New immigrants are generally defined as people from abroad, generally China and Southeast Asia, who have married Taiwanese spouses in the past two decades and made their homes in Taiwan.

These new immigrants and their children have at times faced discrimination from mainstream society.    [FULL  STORY]

TAKING PRECAUTIONS: ‘If the Chinese Communist Party is allowed to seize control of Taiwan, it will stand ready to dominate the region,’ US Senator Josh Hawley said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 13, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

US Senator Josh Hawley on Thursday introduced a draft Taiwan Defense Act, which would require the Pentagon to maintain the capability to defeat a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, while continuing to fulfill its obligations under the US’ Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

“Yesterday, I introduced new legislation to stop #China imperialism and to defend our vital interests, and our partner #Taiwan,” the Republican senator wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

The proposed act would ensure that the US is capable of continuing to fulfill its obligations under the TRA in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s aggressive military buildup, he said in a news release posted on his official Web site.

The bill would also require the US Department of Defense to maintain the capability to defeat a Chinese offensive — and especially a Chinese fait accompli — against Taiwan and to report regularly on its progress toward this goal, he added.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatiopnal
Date: 11 June, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

The foreign ministry says Taiwan will base any decision about whether to allow US beef and pork imports on science and expert views. That was the word from foreign ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou on Thursday.

Ou was responding to the 2020 white paper recently released by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. The chamber has called for Taiwan to be more flexible in its attitude towards the import of US beef and pork.    [FULL  STORY]

• Two frequent targets of Chinese state media denunciations will address Copenhagen Democracy Summit next week
• US Secretary of State has also angered Beijing after blaming it for the Covid-19 pandemic

South China Morning Post
Date: 11 Jun, 2020
By: Stuart Lau

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will address a forum on democracy next week that will also be attended by Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung – a combination that is certain to infuriate China.

Their appearance at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, where the European Union will be represented by European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova, will give Tsai a moment in the international spotlight.

China has repeatedly accused the US of interfering in Taiwan and Hong Kong affairs, with Tsai and Wong being regular targets for state media denunciations.

The event comes as the Chinese government has tried to tighten its grip on Hong Kong through a new national security law, and has stepped up its rhetoric on Taiwan following Tsai’s election to a second term amid growing anti-Beijing sentiment on the island.  [FULL  STORY]

Rally to show solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement to be held in Taipei on June 13

4Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/11
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A rally to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement will be held on Saturday afternoon (June 13) in Taipei.

As protests continue across the globe after the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative is organizing a solidarity rally in support of Black Lives Matter. The event will be held on Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 228 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei's Zhongzheng District.

Organizers of the event emphasized that it is not intended to be a political protest, but rather a peaceful demonstration. The planners stated that "We cannot sit idly by and watch as police brutality against innocent black and brown bodies continues to go unchecked around the world"

The leaders of the demonstration argued that it is time to "take a stand and make our voices known that we demand action against racism both abroad and at home." The notice closed by calling on the public to join them in a peaceful rally to support those around the world fighting for equal rights and for the right of others to "simply breathe."    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/11/2020
By: Yeh Chen and Joseph Yeh

New Taipei, June 11 (CNA) A local court on Thursday ruled that a 16-year-old high school student be detained pending further investigation after repeatedly stabbing a 10-year-old girl at a school in New Taipei's Tamsui District earlier in the day.

The Shilin District Court's Juvenile Court ruled that the suspect surnamed Liu (劉) be detained for further investigation after he allegedly took a fruit knife to school and attacked the victim, surnamed Wei (魏), as she arrived around 7 a.m. before classes started.

According to New Taipei police, Liu stabbed Wei in the back several times before he was restrained by a school volunteer and a teacher at the scene.

Wei was left with multiple wounds ranging from 4cm-10cm in length and was immediately taken to a nearby hospital.    [FULL  STORY]