GO-AHEAD: Taiwan becomes just the second country allowed to import the exotic fruit to the US, a boon to Taiwan farmers after a decade of negotiations

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 18, 2019
By: Wu Hsin-tien and Dennis Xie  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The US Department of Agriculture yesterday approved the imports of fresh guava from Taiwan after 10

years of negotiations, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.

Taiwan is an endemic area of the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis), the melon fruit fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae) and the fruit fly (Bactrocera tau) — pests that might be found on guavas grown in Taiwan.

The two sides have been discussing quarantine requirements on pests to address these concerns, COA Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Deputy Director-General Chou Hui-chuan (鄒慧娟) said.

The application was filed to the US 10 years ago, along with documents of production management, pest species and pest control regulations, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 16 October, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

It’s been around a month since Norwegian athlete Gustav Iden turned a hat from central Taiwan into a Norwegian athlete Gustav Iden is getting ready to come to Taiwan.viral sensation.

A surge of interest in the hat has proved a blessing to Changhua County, the place where the hat originated. As a way of expressing its thanks, the county government has now invited Iden to come and run in a local marathon- all expenses paid.

In September, Norwegian triathlete Gustav Iden won an Ironman event in France. Half a world away, in Taiwan, his victory caused a sensation.

He had, of course, pulled off a great feat of endurance. But in Taiwan, it was mostly what he was wearing on his head that attracted attention. Iden wore a hat emblazoned with the name of a temple in Changhua County.

He says he found the hat on a street in Japan, and decided to keep it as a kind of good luck charm.
[FULL  STORY]

Mainland Affairs Council praises student associations for refusing to attend a cross-strait forum organized by China.

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/16
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Wednesday (Oct. 16) praised student associations for refusing to attend a cross-strait leadership forum organized by China.

The groups from major colleges such as National Taiwan University (NTU) turned down the invitation because they felt the conference would turn into a propaganda platform for Beijing’s communist regime, the Liberty Times reported. The students had grown up in a free and democratic environment marked by independent thinking, so they were able to reach their own conclusions about the nature of the Chinese event, according to MAC.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/16
By: Vincent Chen (陳文凡)

Washington, Oct. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's deputy National Security Council (NSC) chief on Tuesday called on the United States to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with his country as part of a joint effort to combat disinformation.

Discussing China's influence operations against Taiwan at a U.S. conference, Vincent Chen (陳文凡) said Beijing has attempted to influence Taiwan's major elections for years.

Citing NSC intelligence, Chen said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) established a multi-departmental task force in late 2017 to evaluate election related action in the run up to Taiwan's November 2018 local government elections when Taiwanese voted for 22 top jobs in the nation's special municipalities, counties and cities.

In those elections the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was heavily defeated.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 15 October, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu announced on Tuesday that he will be taking

leave from his position as Kaohsiung mayor to focus on campaigning for president starting on Wednesday.

The newly-elected mayor said he has been working to revive the city of Kaohsiung for the past ten months and visitors to the city have increased. Now he says he wants to bring that spirit to all of Taiwan. The mayor said, “Today, I’ve decided to start from the south and bring the spirit of the south to all of Taiwan. Southern Taiwan is sincere, brave, diligent, and warm. We are practical and take one step at a time. We need to help and love each other and unite more people to rebuild a Taiwan that is full of warmth and hope, true democracy and prosperity. Let’s work together toward this goal.”    [FULL  STORY]

Island’s deputy foreign minister, Hsu Szu-chien, meets mayor Zdenek Hrib and other politicians who refused to endorse one-China principle

South China Morning Post
Date: 15 Oct, 2019
By: Lawrence Chung  

Taiwan has sent a presidential envoy to the Czech capital after the Prague city authorities moved to cut ties with their counterparts in Beijing  over the one-China policy.

The self-ruled island’s deputy foreign minister, Hsu Szu-chien, met the capital’s mayor Zdenek Hrib and other politicians on Monday and discussed the rupture with Beijing, Taiwanese foreign ministry officials said.

Hsu was representing President Tsai Ing-wen at the 23rd Forum 2000, an event to discuss democracy, human rights and civic development issues that runs from Sunday to Wednesday.

According to Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency, assembly members – including representatives from Hrib’s Pirate Party – told Hsu that they had decided to sever ties with Beijing after the Chinese capital refused to respond to a request to remove a one-China clause from a twin city agreement.    [FULL  STORY]

.Embassy of Belize to host series of events on 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, including food festival, art exhibition and concert

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/15
By: Lyla Liu, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Embassy of Belize in Taiwan is hosting a series of cultural events to

celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Celebrations got underway when the Embassy of Belize hosted a dinner party on Oct. 9, at which Belizean chef Sean Kuylen and a Taiwan Digout Bar & Caffe bartender provided the food and drinks. The Ambassador of Belize, Diane Haylock, and Taiwan Vice President, Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), attended the event.

To mark three decades of friendship that will stand the test of time, according to an Embassy of Belize press release, there will also be an art exhibition, concert, and food festival. The art exhibition featuring two Belizean artists, Rachael Heusner and Fernando Cruz, opens on Tuesday (Oct. 15) at Yuan Ru Gallery and runs until Nov. 3.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/15
By: Wu Che-hao and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, Oct. 15 (CNA) A Norwegian triathlete who inadvertently set off a craze in Taiwan for a "lucky"

baseball cap will visit the country in November, the Changhua County government said Tuesday.

Gustav Iden, 23, was seen wearing a cap bearing the name of the county's Shun Tse Temple when he crossed the finish line first in a triathlon in France in September. Since then, the temple in Changhua's Puyan Township has been flooded with thousands of orders for the "lucky cap," which it has been handing out free of cost.

The Changhua County government said it has been working hard to persuade Iden to visit, while the Taiwan people have also been appealing to him on social media to do so.

At a press conference Tuesday, Changhua Magistrate Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) said she has invited Iden to attend the Changhua Marathon Festival, a series of seven marathons that will be held in the county from October to December.    [FULL  STORY]