Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu has warned that matters with China can escalate amid aggressive military activities, ABC News reported. He said that Taipei could be used as a scapegoat to relieve increasing pressures at home.

Hindustan Times
Date: Dec 02, 2020
By:: Harshit Sabarwal

Amid growing tension between China and Australia, Taiwan has called on Canberra to help defend the island territory against threats from Beijing.

Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu has warned that matters with China can escalate amid aggressive military activities, ABC News reported. He said that Taipei could be used as a scapegoat to relieve increasing pressures at home.

“If you look at the Chinese military activities around Taiwan, it’s been intensifying. We see that the Chinese military vessels, as well as its military airplanes, cross into Taiwan’s ADIZ, especially in the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ almost on a daily basis,” Wu was quoted as saying by ABC News.

“If an authoritarian country is facing domestic difficulties, the easiest way for them to keep the country together will be … to find a scapegoat outside,” he added.    [FULL  STORY]

US approved 'red-label' systems involving battlefield integration and digital sonar technology last month

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is likely to obtain imported components for its indigenous submarine program, including battlefield integration systems and digital sonar equipment in January at the earliest, reports said Wednesday (Dec. 2).

Supplies for submarine construction have been labeled red if they are unable to be developed domestically, yellow if they are difficult to obtain but manufacturable in Taiwan, and green if they can easily be developed in the country.

The United States has already approved the export of two ‘red-label’ systems involving battlefield integration and digital sonar technology, with military officials predicting an early 2021 delivery date, CNA reported.

The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), which is overseeing the submarine project in partnership with the Taiwanese Navy and CSBC Corporation, went further and named January as the date for the delivery.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/02/2020
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Chung Yu-chen

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) Taiwan is seeking to recruit migrant workers from a Southeast Asian nation that does not currently provide the country with foreign workers, according to Labor Minster Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) Wednesday — two days after a two-week COVID-19-related ban on Indonesian migrant workers was announced.

The Minister made the remark when asked by reporters if the government plans to expand the number of countries from which Taiwan hires migrant workers on the sidelines of a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.

Hsu confirmed two discussions were held with representatives from the country in November to explore the possibility of making it easier for its nationals to work in Taiwan, but declined to name the nation.

Taiwan hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding with the country next year and be able to recruit migrant workers by 2022, Hsu said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatiopnal
Date: 01 December, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Taiwan’s representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim said she hopes Taiwan and the US will begin talks on a bilateral trade agreement soon. Hsiao was speaking on Tuesday at a webinar hosted by the Atlantic Council of the US. The webinar was focused on the future of Taiwan-US economic relations.

Hsiao said Taiwan and the US are highly complementary and this is reflected in the entire supply chain system. She cited the examples of Apple and Tesla’s components being made in Taiwan. Hsiao said a bilateral trade pact will help both economies.    [FULL  STORY]

Asia One
Date: December 01, 2020

TAIPEI, Dec. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) running from Dec 1st to Dec 4th, is the annual event for the TV industry and the largest TV series market in Asia. The Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) will be leading the coordination of Taiwan's exhibition to partner with 37 companies to showcase 95 titles at the ATF. The Agency is also promoting Taiwan's strong film and TV industry through a series of online programs to international markets. 

.TAICCA president CF HU stated that even though the exhibitions can only be participated online due to the pandemic this year, Taiwan's content has achieved excellent milestones this year. She added that with the advantage of the strong lineup of Taiwanese film and television works, she is confident that Taiwan's content will have great successes at the ATF. 
The ATF has long been the most important exhibition for TV content in Asia. Each year, counties such as Japan, South Korea, and Turkey are among the few that set up large-scale pavilions to showcase their TV content, and the Taiwan Pavilion is no exception. With the exhibition transitioned online, TAICCA has assisted companies to create an online catalog, as well as producing online programs to introduce the highlight of this year's lineup to international buyers, all of which are available on the virtual Taiwan Pavilion.     [FULL  STORY]

Police believe British man died from heart attack while surfing internet alone in his apartment

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/01
By:. Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Authorities have determined that a British man who was found dead in his Taipei apartment in mid-November had died from a heart attack as he suffered from diabetes.

On Nov. 12, a British man was found dead in his rental apartment in Taipei's Zhongshan District. When police arrived on the scene they found a man in his 50s lying in his bed with signs of bleeding from his body, reported China Times.

The man is married, but his wife resides in the Philippines, and the two kept in touch through video chats, according to SET News. He had been working at a well-known cram school in Taipei and was said to have a good working relationship with his colleagues.

On Nov. 10, his colleagues noticed that he suddenly failed to appear for his regularly scheduled classes. Two days later, some of his colleagues went to check on him in his apartment.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/01/2020
By: Hao Hsueh-chin and Chung Yu-chen

Taichung, Dec. 1 (CNA) A Taichung-based pediatrician urged the government to look into the continued availability of vaping products and their use by teenagers Tuesday, citing a case in which a 15-year-old boy was diagnosed with vaping-associated pneumonia in September.

Although vaping is severely restricted in Taiwan it is not technically banned and vaping products are easily accessible online or at markets across Taiwan, Lue Ko-huang (呂克桓), chief of Chung Shan Medical University Hospital's Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology said at a press conference.

According to the latest survey conducted by the Health Promotion Administration in 2019, the number of teenagers who smoke regular cigarettes or use heated tobacco products continues to increase.

It is estimated that more than 81,000 teenagers smoke cigarettes, 57,000 smoke electronic cigarettes and 16,000 use heated tobacco products, the agency said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 02, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Trial runs on the first line of Taichung’s MRT rail system could be further delayed after the Taichung City Government asked for more comprehensive safety checks following a malfunction.

Trial runs on the Green Line began on Nov. 16, but were suspended after one of the trains on Nov. 21 reported a malfunction at the Taichung High Speed Rail Station terminal.

Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp (TMRTC) the same day said that all services would be suspended until the problem is resolved.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the train’s manufacturer, said that a US-made coupling connecting two carriages had broken, which the company said had “never happened before.”
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan mInternational
Date: 30 November, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Head of Taiwan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) Lee Chin-yung says Taiwan will not implement electronic voting at the cost of public trust. That came during a report to the legislature on Monday morning. Lee says digitizing Taiwan’s voting system is an important future step for the country. However, he says the CEC is still looking into the feasibility. 

In a 2018 referendum, Taiwanese citizens voted in favor of digitizing the nation’s voting system. Lee says his commission is looking to create a safe and reliable system.    [FULL  STORY]