The Chinese government threatened Czech companies over a planned Taiwan visit by a top Czech official. It’s part of a global strategy to pressure entities that engage with Taiwan.

The Diplomat
Date: February 21, 20207.
By: Nick Aspinwall

The Chinese embassy in the Czech Republic threatened retaliation against Czech companies if its Senate chair went through with a planned visit to Taiwan, according to a letter viewed this week by

Czech and international media.

The threat is the latest action in a pattern of Chinese government backlash toward political, business. and academic figures from around the world who engage with Taiwan or its government, either by visiting Taiwan or by supporting Taiwanese social, cultural, or political causes that Beijing sees as contradicting its claim of sovereignty over the country.

The Chinese embassy reportedly sent a letter dated January 10 to the Czech presidential office to express concerns over plans by the late Senate chair Jaroslav Kubera to visit Taiwan as part of a business delegation.

In the letter, viewed by Reuters and the Czech outlet Aktuálně, the embassy said that Kubera’s planned visit would be “a grave violation of the recognition of the One-China principle.”    [FULL  STORY]

More restrictions and commitments imposed to free Taiwan from plastic waste pollution

Taiwan News
Date:: 2020/02/22
By: Chris Chang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan aims to cut its decades-long dependency on plastic by following the European Union (EU) and its European Green Deal (EGD), a circular economy strategy to realize sustainable development.

The EU adopts reusable materials for all packaging, while attempting to establish before 2030 new business models based on rental systems. These goals are not only part of the EU's growth strategy, they deserve more attention in Taiwan, where resources and land are much scarcer.

"We hope these regulations can change the ways merchants run their businesses as well as people's dependency on single-use plastic," the Director-General of the Department of Waste Management, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said, commenting on the road map for banning single-use plastic, announced in 2018.

Since July 2019, Taiwan has banned plastic straws at all fast-food restaurants and department stores. This year, the ban will extend to all types of restaurants with a prohibition on the use of single-use utensils for customers dining on the premises.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date:\ 02/22/2020
By: Yu Hsiang and Ko Lin

Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) A total of 2,939 gay couples got married in Taiwan in 2019, after it became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, according to Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics released Saturday.

The majority of same-sex marriages registered between May 24, when the historic legislation took effect, and the end of the year were in New Taipei, Taipei and Kaohsiung, the MOI data showed.

New Taipei led with the registration of 614 same-sex marriages, followed by Taipei with 484 and Kaohsiung 396, according to the statistics.

Nationwide, the 2,939 same-sex marriages were between 928 male couples and 2,011 female partners, the data showed.

Heterosexual marriages, meanwhile, totaled 131,585 for the year, with Taiwanese couples accounting for 113,308, or 84.24 percent, according to the MOI statistics    [FULL  STORY]

CARRYING THE TORCH: YouTuber Tsai A-ga, whose videos have been viewed more than 19 million times, was recognized for his daily videos teaching Hoklo

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 23, 2020
By: Rachel Lin and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Ministry of Education on Friday gave awards to eight people and two groups for their contributions to

promoting local languages.

Lee Hsiu-chien (李修鑑) — the 72-year-old son of Taiwanese lyricist Lee Lin-chiu (李臨秋) — was recognized for promoting Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese).

While receiving his award Lee Hsiu-chien said that to him, speaking Hoklo felt “like singing — it sounds nice and it moves people emotionally.”

YouTuber Tsai A-ga (蔡阿嘎), 36, was also recob gnized for promoting Hoklo, becoming the first person to receive the award for language contributions made through social media. 
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 20 February, 2020
By: Jake Chen

Illegal drug use has been a problem in the ROC military. The Military Police has set up a special unit to tackle the issue — a team of sniffer dogs that are tasked with detecting drugs when needed. ROC or Republic of China is Taiwan’s official name. 

A black Labrador sits down after sniffing around a scooter. The gesture is to inform its trainer, a military police officer, that it has found questionable items on the scene. The officer then proceeds to find a pack of drugs under the seat of the scooter.     [FULL  STORY]

Bowie Tsang is the daughter of successful Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang but has forged her own way in the entertainment industry without his help

Tsang began her career behind the cameras, but got her big break in 1999 when she was discovered by TV host Zhang Xiaoyan

South China Morning Post
Date: 21 Feb, 2020
By: Snow Xia

Bowie Tsang Baoyi has spent years trying to prove she is more than just the daughter of successful Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang Chi-wai – and it’s something she has succeeded in doing.

Tsang, who celebrates her 47th birthday today, is known for being a versatile television host, Mandopop singer, actress and author.

While studying at National Taiwan University, Tsang worked part-time as an assistant producer at Zhen Yan She, a subsidiary company of Rock Records – a record label based in Taipei.   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan researchers successfully imitate small compounds of experimental antiviral drug

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/02/20
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) said Thursday (Feb. 20) that researchers have successfully recreated small compounds of remdesivir and the country will likely be able to produce the American antiviral drug in the next few weeks.

During a progress report to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the NHRI Vice President Huey-Kang Sytwu (司徒惠康) pointed out that researchers have managed to develop milligrams of remdesivir, a drug which has shown promising results in Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) patients. He expects that the trial level can be upgraded within the next two weeks, potentially enabling Taiwan to produce its own remdesivir soon.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/20/2020
By: Kuan Tuan-pin, Chen Wei-ting, Chen Yun-yu, Chen Chi-chung and Ko Lin

Taipei, Feb. 20 (CNA) A Taiwanese businessman who recently returned from Zhejiang Province in China has been confirmed as the source of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that caused the death of a 61-year-old limousine service driver from central Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Thursday.

The man was found to have come into contact with the victim through his cab service, the day he returned from China on Jan. 22, the CECC said.

Results of two subsequent tests carried out by National Taiwan University Hospital and Academia Sinica, Taiwan's top research institution, showed Thursday that the man's blood contained the virus' antibody, indicating that at one point in time he was infected, the center explained.

The driver was the 19th confirmed case in Taiwan, and the first to die from COVID-19 in the country last Sunday. He also passed on the virus to four relatives during a family gathering on Jan. 27.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 21, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday received Project 2049 Institute chairman Randall Schriver,

a former US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, at the Presidential Office in Taipei and thanked him for facilitating the sale of F-16V jets to Taiwan.

Taiwan is Schriver’s “first stop” abroad since he left his post in December last year, Tsai said.

During his tenure as a top US Department of State official, Schriver worked to enhance the Taiwan-US security relationship, and valued Taiwan’s role and position in the Indo-Pacific region, she said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to especially thank chairman Schriver for his support and contribution to Taiwan’s democracy, freedom and security,” Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]