Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/20
By: Flor Wang and Wen Kuei-hsiang

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is poaching Taiwan's diplomatic allies to divide its people before Taiwan's next presidential election and to solidify his position in the Communist Party of China (CPC) prior to a major party event, sources said Friday.

According to sources familiar with national security issues, Xi has targeted Taiwan's diplomatic partners, in particular those in the South Pacific, trying to lure them away with money diplomacy as part of his efforts to meddle in Taiwan's upcoming presidential election and solidify his standing ahead of the CPC's fourth plenary session of its 19th Central Committee to be held in Beijing in October.

Xi has come under strong pressure as China's Oct. 1 national day approaches at a time when the situation in Hong Kong needs to be stabilized and China's economy is facing great challenges amid an ongoing trade war with the United States, the sources said.

To ease the mounting pressure on the political front, the sources said, Xi has recently ordered a stepping up of attack on Taiwan, with his office drafting a "plan to interfere in Taiwan's elections," which is focused on luring away Taiwan's diplomatic partners, banning Chinese tourists from visiting Taiwan and increasing military intimidation.    [FULL  STORY]

JANUARY ELECTIONS: A young environmental advocate urged people to vote for candidates who pay more attention to action on climate issues

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

Taiwanese and European students yesterday gathered at a forum in Taipei to call for more bottom-up

actions to mitigate climate change effects, as the EU Climate Action Week commenced.

The EU has proven that promoting a transition toward a lower-carbon economy can spur economic growth and create job opportunities, European Economic and Trade Office Director Filip Grzegorzewski said at the opening of the EU-Taiwan Forum on Youth Engagement in Climate Action at National Taiwan University.

For example, the EU reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 22 percent and saw GDP jump 58 percent from 1990 to 2017, he said.

The climate action week is taking place across the world until Oct. 6, with more than 140 EU delegations promoting related campaigns with their local partners.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 19 September, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Taiwanese pencil carving artist Lee Chien-chu is a rising star in the world of miniature carving. Lee's creativity, attention to detail, and lifelike execution has won him fame at home and abroad in recent years. 

An environmental engineer by training, Lee started working with bamboo chopsticks before adopting pencils as his chosen medium. But what exactly got an environment engineer like him interested in carving to begin with?

Lee Chien-chu is a self-taught wonder. His artistic creations include a sculpture featuring two hearts pierced with an arrow, as well as sculptures of Disney characters like Mickey Mouse. All of these works are carved out of ordinary pencils. Lee has been working on pencil carving for nine years. His works aren't just technically impressive- they also give viewers something to think about. For example, the word "Love" inscribed into the front of one of his pieces transforms into the the word "Hate" on the back side.  

It was fatherly love that first drew Lee to pencil carving.  He said his children love playing with action figurines. However, only some of the figures are sold with toy weapons. To even the playing field for his children's mock battles, Lee decided to start making toy weapons of his own and to give them to the defenseless, unarmed figures.    [FULL  STORY]

Oxford scholar publishes reaction paper to hard copy of Taiwan president Tsai's LSE dissertation

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/19
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As doubters continue to come out of the woodwork demanding proof of

President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Ph.D. dissertation, a University of Oxford scholar has published a response paper based on a hard copy of the work.

In response to the controversy, Hsu Yung-tai (徐永泰), a University of Oxford professor who holds a masters in modern history and Ph.D. in economic history from the esteemed university, got access to a hard copy of the dissertation and published a reaction essay to it in the World Journal on Wednesday (Sept. 18). In the rambling response paper, he describes his experience with the work in the LSE library and then gives a general impression about each section and an overall presentation of the document.

Hsu pointed out that Tsai's dissertation has not been available in the school's library since it was first published in 1983 until June of this year. The dissertation cannot be checked out, but it can be viewed in the LSE Women's Library Reading Room with certain restrictions, such as no photography of the pages or quoting of their contents and frequent monitoring by a librarian.

The Oxford scholar said that he accessed a copy of the dissertation at 1:50 p.m. in the afternoon on Mid-Autumn Festival (Sept. 13), after going through a number of bureaucratic hurdles, and finished poring over it by 4 p.m. The dissertation was bound in a hard, black cover and presciently titled in embossed gold lettering, "Unfair Trade Practices and Safeguarding Actions," with the author listed as Ing-wen Tsai.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/19
By: Ku Chuan and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) The Executive Yuan on Thursday approved a NT$1.6 billion (US$52 million) budget to upgrade bike lanes, facilities and services across the country, while also better integrating them with local tourism resources to boost travel.

The budget will be earmarked for 2020-2023 and seek to make Taiwan's cycling environment safer and more user friendly, including renewal of bike lanes and installation of higher fences on sections of roads with sharp turns, according to the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) Director-General Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯).

With the transport ministry's campaign to make 2021 the year of cycling tourism, Taiwan's cycling network and national scenic spots will also be further integrated, Chen said.

The DGH will connect the existing 2,690km network that is made up of the 866.3km round-the-island Route No. 1 and 25 branch lines, as well as smaller local bike trails and other transportation networks, showcasing 16 new in-depth routes.    [FULL  STORY]

SHAKY ALLIANCE? Ambassador to Tuvalu Marc Su voiced confidence in bilateral ties amid concern that Beijing could use it as an opportunity to further isolate Taiwan

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 20, 2019
By: Peng Wan-hsin and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely following developments in Tuvalu

after the election of a new prime minister, Kausea Natano, sparking concern that Taiwan might face another diplomatic crisis.

Tuvalu is one of the nation’s 16 remaining allies after the Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing on Monday, ending 36 years of official ties.

Natano yesterday received 10 of 16 votes from the Tuvaluan parliament to replace Enele Sopoaga.

The power change in Tuvalu “could give Beijing an opportunity to further isolate Taiwan,” a Reuters report said yesterday, citing analysts in the region.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 18 September, 2019
By:John Van Trieste

US Vice President Mike Pence has canceled plans to meet with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare during this year’s UN General Assembly meeting. That’s after the Solomon Islands severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan and announced that it would recognize Beijing.

China has reportedly offered millions of dollars in development funds to the Pacific island nation in exchange. The move has displeased the US, with the State Department expressing disappointment to Beijing.    [FULL  STORY]

Official served in Hong Kong since December, unlikely to be replaced

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/18
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – An official of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) was forced to

return home Wednesday (September 18) after Hong Kong refused to extend his working visa.

Tsai Meng-chieh (蔡孟潔) arrived in the territory last December as the first-ever MJIB representative to take up the post of secretary for judicial cooperation, the Central News Agency reported. Taiwan has similar position in several countries, including the United States, Great Britain, India and the Philippines.

Tsai is a graduate of National Taiwan University’s law department, studied in Britain and underwent training by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Last April, media reports emerged that Hong Kong wanted the official to leave, and in May, there were reports saying the special administrative region of China would not extend Tsai’s working visa.

At the time, the Mainland Affairs Council denied the reports, according to CNA. However, on September 10, Tsai received official notification that his visa would not be extended, so he decided to leave Wednesday.    [FULL  STORY]