More than 2000 people applied to hike Taiwan's Xue mountain over 6 month period, numbers expected to continue growing

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/16
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The number of applications for one-day hiking trips to mountains in Shei-Pa National Park has increased exponentially from January to June this year compared to the same period in 2019.

A total of 2,033 people have applied for one-day hiking trips to the main peak of Xue Mountain over a six-month period in 2020, which is nearly four times the number during the same period last year, which stood at 546, the Liberty Times reported on Thursday (July 16), citing statistics from the national park headquarters.

The national park headquarters expects numbers to grow, as summer vacation is not over yet. The headquarters attributed the growth of applications for hiking in the national park to the successful mitigation of COVID-19 in Taiwan and the non-availability of foreign travel due to the strict border controls enforced by most countries around the world.

Hiking is a good way to strengthen physical stamina while enjoying magnificent scenery, the headquarters said, adding that many hikers sharing their experience of completing one-day hiking trips across Taiwan on social media have prompted others to follow suit, per the Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/16/2020
By: Ku Chuan, Yang Su-ming, Huang Huei-ming and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) The European Union (EU) has promised to donate 10,000 vaccines to Taiwan to help in its fight against a disease that has infected livestock in the offshore county of Kinmen, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said Thursday.

During a Cabinet meeting, Su said Taiwan's Council of Agriculture (COA) recently contacted the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the EU, seeking to buy vaccines against the lumpy skin disease, which was found on cattle farms in Kinmen.

In response to Taiwan's enquiries, the EU has promised a donation of 10,000 vaccines to Taiwan to help combat the livestock disease, Su said.

According to COA deputy chief Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城), the COA had contacted the OIE in Paris about the possibility of buying the vaccines from the organization. The EU later learned about Taiwan's request, via the OIE, and informed the COA that they had 10,000 vaccines in stock, which could be donated to Taiwan, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 17, 2020
By: Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter\

The Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs yesterday started a series of events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the city’s establishment.

“Taipei City One Hundred Years: Back to 1920” (臺北設市百年：回到1920), which runs until December, is to include themed exhibitions, guided tours of historic sites, crafts markets, concerts and talks, among other events, the department said.

“Taipei is a city with history,” Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said at a news conference at the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum in Datong District (大同).

Traces of the nation’s forebears can be found everywhere, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 14 July, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Taiwan’s first driverless bus will hit the road on Wednesday. That’s the word from the Automotive Research and Testing Center under the economics ministry.

The bus will take passengers from one tourism factory to another inside an industrial park in Lukang, a town on the west coast of Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]

But exactly how the country will sanction a company that can do very little business with it remains to be seen.

The Motley Fool
Date: Jul 14, 2020
By: Rich Smith

China intends to impose "unspecified sanctions" against the defense contractor, Bloomberg reported this morning. The news agency quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying "China firmly opposes U.S. arms sales to Taiwan," an island nation that the People's Republic of China considers integral to its own territory. In response to the U.S. move, the foreign ministry promised to "impose sanctions on the main contractor of this arms sale, Lockheed Martin."  

It is not entirely clear that Chinese sanctions can have much effect on Lockheed Martin, however. U.S. law already limits the amount of business that Lockheed can do with China. The company's Sikorsky subsidiary sells a few helicopters to Chinese companies from time to time, but for the most part, Lockheed's high-tech defense products are already banned from sale to China. Thus, a Chinese vow to not purchase these items appears to be a bit of an empty threat.

One potential sanction that might have more bite would be if China bans the sale of components or raw materials used to produce Lockheed's weapons. Whether China will go this route remains to be seen.    [FULL  STORY]

Five-day nationwide military exercises meant to test military’s ability to defend country from China

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/14
By: Sylvia Teng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Chinese vessel that has appeared near Taiwan’s east coast is suspected of collecting data from the island nation’s annual Han Kuang military drills that began Monday morning (July 13).

The five-day nationwide military exercises usually simulate invasions and attacks perpetrated by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The drills are meant to test the military’s ability to coordinate the armed forces with reserve forces and the private sector to defend the country.

A Chinese vessel was spotted off the coast of Lanyu, or Orchid Island, an outlying island near southeastern Taiwan on Monday, reported CNA. A military official who spoke on condition of anonymity believes that the vessel would remain in the area in an attempt to collect data from the live-fire drill scheduled for Wednesday at the Jiupeng Base of Pingtung County, the report said.

The vessel was detected stopping near Lanyu before sailing northeastward on Monday, but it has now moved away from the military’s radar. The Ministry of National Defense has reassured the public that the military has full control of the air and maritime situations around Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/14/2020
By: Chen Yun-yu and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, July 14 (CNA) Taiwan's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned China after Beijing earlier in the day threatened to impose sanctions on a U.S. company over its involvement in selling weapons to the country.

Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) condemned China over its threat to sanction Lockheed Martin, the primary contractor in an arms sale package to upgrade Taipei's Patriot Surface-to-Air missiles, approved by Washington last week.

Ou said China's aggressive moves in sending warplanes and warships to operate near Taiwan in recent months have destabilized regional peace and security, pose a serious threat to the security of Taiwan and concern nearby countries.

It is only because of the growing threat from China that Taiwan has to purchase weapon systems to boost its self-defense capability, Ou said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 15, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Republic of China Air Force fighters yesterday took to the skies to intercept a simulated air attack by hostile forces on the second day of the annual live-fire Han Kuang war games.

The aircraft included Indigenous Defense Fighters and Mirage 2000 fighter jets, photographs provided by the Military News Agency showed.

The operations on the ground involved radar vehicles and the Avenger air-defense missile system — a US-made self-propelled surface-to-air weapons platform to defend against cruise missiles, uncrewed aerial vehicles and other low-flying aircraft — the Ministry of National Defense’s news service said.

Sirens wailed across Taiwan at 1:30pm, signaling the start of a 30-minute Wan An public air-raid drill, and an alert was sent to mobile phones at the beginning and end of the annual drill.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 13 July, 2020
By: Katherine Wei

A new survey has found that mobile payment has surpassed the credit card as the most popular form of electronic payment in Taiwan. That’s if merchants accept all forms of payment. 

The survey was conducted by a government think-tank, the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute. It was the first time the institute’s biannual survey saw mobile payment surpassing credit cards as the most popular form of electronic payment. A total of 35% of respondents said they preferred mobile payment, while 33% preferred credit cards.     [FULL  STORY]

• Five-day drill began with simulated PLA missile attacks targeting command centres, airports and military bases, source says
• This year’s exercise will see new battalions, reservists and other special forces taking part for the first time amid increasing intimidation from Beijing

South China Morning Post
Date: 13 Jul, 2020
By: Lawrence Chung

Taiwan’s military has begun five days of live-fire war games putting its defences to the test against a mainland invasion, as Beijing and Washington step up their sabre-rattling in the region.

Chief of the General Staff Huang Shu-kuang kicked off the annual drill – dubbed Han Kuang – on Monday, giving orders from the self-ruled island’s top command centre in Taipei.

According to a military source, the first day involved simulated People’s Liberation Army missile attacks targeting command centres, airports and military bases in Taiwan.

“We are testing the preservation capabilities of our forces in such a scenario and how ready our reserve forces would be,” said the source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.    [FULL  STORY]