Daily Mail
Date: 21 December 2019
By: AFP

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is riding high in the polls as she seeks a second term, a remarkable reversal of fortune aided by bellicose threats from Beijing and unease over political unrest in Hong Kong.

Tsai, 63, is up against Han Kuo-yu of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party, who had a stratospheric rise last year in local elections but has struggled on the campaign trail.

Voters go to the polls on January 11 and relations with China are dominating after three years of Beijing taking a hardline approach towards Taiwan.

"Anti-China sentiments have become a crucial deciding factor in ratings," said Wang Yeh-lih, a political analyst at National Taiwan University, adding Tsai's party slogan "Resist China, Defend Taiwan" had resonated.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s government led by Tsai Ing-wen has over the past few years stepped up efforts to engage with Myanmar and the rest of Southeast Asia to counter China’s strategy of diplomatic isolation.

The Myanmar Times
Date: 21 Dec 2019
By: Andrea Passeri

The island country has been increasingly cornered by China, which has sought to steadily erode Taiwan’s international allies by pushing countries like the Solomon Islands and Kiribati to switch their diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

Under Tsai’s New Southbound Policy (NSP), Taiwan endeavours to nurture a series of quasi-official relations with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to break free from China’s encirclement and diversify its network of informal partnerships.

Since the NSP’s launch in 2016, both the Taiwanese government and business community started to devote unprecedented attention to Myanmar, following decades of substantial neglect. The goal of making inroads in what is often referred to as Asia’s “last investment frontier” has been pursued through several important milestones, such as the strengthening in early 2016 of Taiwan’s consular services in the country through the creation of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office located in Yangon.

This move has certainly contributed to fuelling a promising increase in terms of bilateral trade, which in 2018 hit an all-time record of US$343 million.    [FULL  STORY]

Drivers will shave at least one hour off trips between Hualien and Yilan next year

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/21
By: Chris Chang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Directorate-General of Highways announced on Friday (Dec. 20) that the remaining sections of the Suhua Highway involved in the Suhua Improvement Project will be open to the public at 4 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2020.

The Improvement Project was divided into three parts: Su'ao to Dongao, Nan'ao to Heping, and Hezhong to Daqingshui. Each section contains tunnels or bridges that replace the previous, potentially hazardous meandering mountain roads.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/21
By: Worthy Shen and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) Excavations of a Spanish monastery complex on Keelung City's Heping Island have uncovered another human skeleton, the 10th such discovery since archeological work began on the site in May, the Keelung City Cultural Affairs Bureau said Friday.

According to the culture bureau, the excavations are being undertaken in an effort to learn more about the settlement of fort San Salvador, which the Spanish built on the island during their occupation of northern Taiwan from 1626-1642.

The project is being led by Tsing Hua University anthropologist Tsang Cheng-hwa (臧振華), with assistance from a team of Spanish researchers.

The bureau said the latest skeleton, which was unearthed Thursday, had its hands clasped over its chest as if in prayer.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 22, 2019
By: Cheng Hsu-kai and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The dan (旦), or female role, in Beijing opera has traditionally been played by men, but with the

inclusion of female performers, men who play the part are increasingly rare on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The presence in Taiwan of 93-year-old dan actor Lee Yi-ching (李毅清), the only male actor in the role over the age of 90, is all the more precious.

Although the quality of his voice is far from when he was in his prime, and he can no longer perform more difficult moves, Lee said that he is still able to al

ter his voice to one octave above and below his normal range for the part.

“Even I find it amazing that I can still perform,” Lee said in an interview.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 20 December, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

Every year, the Presidential Office designs New Year’s cards using the Chinese zodiac sign for that year. The Presidential Office unveiled the new design for 2020 on Friday.

The year 2020 will be the Year of the Rat. President Tsai Ing-wen has chosen a card that is coral red, a nod to the fact that Taiwan is an island country. The rat designs on the cover are in gold, a sign of prosperity, while the rat is a symbol of wisdom.

On the cover, the Chinese character for “rat” replaces a similar sounding word in the idiom “one of the very best”. This is President Tsai's wish for Taiwan in the coming year.

Vice President Chen Chien-jen also has a specially designed card for the new year. It features a traditional Taiwanese window cut with the shape of rats and a copper coin… an invitation for wealth and good fortune to enter in the new year.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Free Asia
Date: 2019-12-20

Support for the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), a party that fled to Taiwan in 1949 and still wants it to be part of a "unified" China some day, is at a new low on the democratic island ahead of presidential elections in 2020.

The Global Views Research annual public opinion survey said its findings marked a sharp fall in support for the KMT, which favors ever-closer ties with neighboring China, since last year.

It said the violent suppression of Hong Kong's anti-government protests had sparked growing fears for Taiwan's national security and democracy, although an internal power struggle in the party had contributed.

Currently, only 4.5 percent of Taiwanese support the idea of "unification" with China, something that Chinese President Xi Jinping has said must happen eventually, by force if necessary.
[FULL  STORY]

TIF reflects on living in bad world and promotes 'It is ok not to be perfect all the time' manifesto

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/20
By: Lyla Liu, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)— The Taipei Illustration Fair (TIF) theme this year is, “Why Why Why,” and features Asian illustrators exploring a turbulent environment, at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park until Dec. 22.

The second edition of TIF gathers 120 Asian illustrators and their “bad” artworks to explore a “bad world.” The Chinese exhibition name “壞壞壞,” (huai, huai, huai or bad, bad, bad) sounds like the English exhibition name, explains curator Andy Yen (顏寧志).

Yen said works can be “bad” in many ways, as they may be the product of bad ideas and thoughts, from artists with bad personalities, or just bad drawings. He added there is a reason for displaying “bad works” and that is to encourage people to make mistakes for themselves.

Yen said the first edition of the fair, themed "New Age Ukiyo-e" (青春浮世繪) showed off a cute and sweet style, which is popular. However, he wanted to show the public a different face this time, hence he invited Mr. Paul, who has 350,000 followers on Instagram, and Iku Iku Studio, which mainly looks at sexual themes.    [FULL  STORY]

TINY BRAIN RESEARCH: The team studied the brains of fruit flies to discover how the urges to find food and water work, which might apply to depression research

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 21, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

A team of Academia Sinica researchers yesterday said that they have found the neural mechanism

that coordinates fruit flies’ states of thirst and hunger, which they said might help with studies on eating disorders and depression in humans.

The flies’ responses to learned odor cues of food and water are associated with a neurotransmitter called leucokinin, Institute of Molecular Biology assistant research fellow Lin Sue-wei (林書葦) told a news conference in Taipei.

When the flies are dehydrated, leucokinin is released, driving them to search for learned water cues by inhibiting two groups of dopamine-releasing neurons (thirst-DANs), which restrict the flies’ water-seeking behaviors, he said.

The neurotransmitter is also released in starving flies and activates another group of dopamine-releasing neurons linked to hunger cues, he said.    [FULL  STORY]