China Railways loans Honiara US$825 million to construct and lease gold mine facilities through 2034

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/20
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following the break of diplomatic ties between the Solomon Islands and Taiwan on Sept. 16, it has come to light that China Railway Group Ltd. has signed a US$825 million dollar deal with Honiara to build and lease a railway system and mining service station.

The deal was signed on Sept. 12, and the contract is set to last until March 2034, according to reports. In line with China’s usual strategy of dollar diplomacy, the money for the contract will come in the form of loans and will contribute significantly to the Solomon Islands’ national debt over the next 15 years.

The deal was inked with China Railway International Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Railway Group. According to CNA, China Railway International announced the deal on its website's notice board on the date it was signed, with parent company China Railway Group announcing it on Sept. 16., the day the Solomon Islands and Taiwan officially broke ties.

The proposed infrastructure project will be in the interior of Guadalcanal Island to serve the Gold Ridge Mine, which at the height of its production in 2012 accounted for 20 percent of the country’s entire gross domestic product. The mine has only been in operation since 1998, but over the past two decades, mining has been regularly stalled by social unrest, environmental disasters, and financial scandals involving former owners.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/20
By: Chang Jung-hsiang, Chen Chih-chung and Emerson Lim

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) More than 100 Kiribati students currently studying in Taiwan, 50 of them beneficiaries of scholarships granted by the Taiwanese government, are facing an uncertain future after Taiwan's diplomatic relations with the central Pacific nation ended on Friday.

Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) announced at a press conference earlier in the day that Taiwan was cutting diplomatic ties with Kiribati, after it notified Taipei of its decision to switch allegiance to Beijing.

Kiribati was the second diplomatic ally lost by Taiwan to China this week, after the Solomon Islands made the same decision on Monday.

Currently, there are 110 students from Kiribati studying in Taiwan, and 50 of them are recipients of scholarships provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), according to the Ministry of Education (MOE).    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 19 September, 20196
By: Paula Chao

The foreign ministry says Taiwan will continue deepening its partnership with the United States.

On Thursday, foreign ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said that the government is looking forward to

strengthening its economic, political, and security partnerships with Washington based on existing stable and friendly relations.

Ou’s comments came after US President Donald Trump appointed Robert O’Brien to be his national security advisor, replacing John Bolton. O’Brien is currently in charge of hostage negotiations at the State Department.

Ou said that O’Brien is friendly to Taiwan, publishing article in the bimonthly The National Interest calling for international support of Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.    [FULL  STORY]

Business Insider
Date: Sep 19, 2019
By: Christopher Woody

• The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing this week, leaving Taiwan with just 16 official allies.
• The Solomons was Taiwan's largest remaining ally in the Pacific, and the change may draw a response from the US.

Taiwan lost its largest ally in the Pacific on Tuesday, when the Solomon Islands confirmed it was switching diplomatic allegiance to China.   

A spokesman for the Solomon Islands' prime minister said the government's caucus took a poll on Monday, with 27 lawmakers voting in favor of switching and six abstaining, followed by the Cabinet voting unanimously in favor.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Taipei "regret[s] and strongly condemn[s]" the Solomon Island's decision to switch sides and that Taiwan would close its embassy and recall all technical and medical staff there.    [FULL  STORY]

67 of 149 reported cases remain unsolved: Straits Exchange Foundation

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/19
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – According to statistics presented by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), there have been 149 cases of Taiwanese citizens going missing in China since the Tsai administration came to power nearly four years ago.

Of the 149 cases reported since May 20, 2016, 82 people have been accounted for. However, 67 cases remain unsolved with no information as to the missing people’s whereabouts. SEF spokesperson Tsai Meng-chun (蔡孟君) addressed the issue in a statement on Thursday (Sept. 19).

In most cases, the disappearances were found to be related to death, detention, or serious injury, according to the SEF. In some cases, a Chinese agency called the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) has assisted in providing the information, but for the 67 who remain unaccounted for, the information is either insufficient or has been withheld by the Chinese government.

Recent news stories have brought increased attention to Taiwanese persons who have gone missing across the strait. In August, a Taiwanese man named Morrison Lee (李孟居), who was visiting Hong Kong to participate in the pro-democracy protests, vanished for nearly two weeks before it was revealed by China’s Foreign Ministry that he is in Chinese custody for “committing criminal activities that jeopardize national security.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/19
By: Hung Chien-lun and Miao Zong-han

Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) Hong Kong film director Johnnie To (杜琪峯) has resigned as head of the jury for

the 56th Golden Horse Awards due to previously signed film production contractual obligations, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee said in a notice Thursday.

To's resignation came after a boycott by Beijing led to the pullout of Chinese and Hong Kong films and personnel from this year's Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards and sparked speculations in the media about China's gross interference in Taiwan affairs behind the scenes.

However, the festival committee declined to comment on the speculations, saying they can only respond to the content of To's resignation letter.

To said he was resigning mainly because of the constraints of film production contracts he had already signed, according to the committee.    [FULL  STORY]

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

Changes in physical appearance could be a sign of acromegaly, Tien Kai-jen (田凱仁), an

endocrinologist in Tainan, said on Sept. 5 after a 55-year-old man was not diagnosed until an emergency hospital visit.

The man, surnamed Chen (陳), was on his way to a wedding on New Year’s Eve in 2012 when he was admitted to Chi Mei Medical Center after experiencing palpitations, a headache, rapid breathing and sweating.

Doctors found a 1.7cm tumor in his pituitary gland and diagnosed him with acromegaly.

Chen underwent surgery to remove the tumor and, with medication and regular follow-up visits, his condition is now under control, medical staff said.   [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internationl
Date: 18 September, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

Swallow a capsule in place of endoscopy[/caption] Have you ever had a problem with your stomach but were afraid to get an endoscopy because it makes you gag? Well, a new invention from Taiwan is here to help.

Taiwan has become the first country in the world to develop a special capsule that patients can swallow for a diagnosis of the digestive system. The capsule is a designed to replace the more uncomfortable endoscopy.    [FULL  STORY]