Bloomberg
Date: June 13, 2019
By: Adela Lin and Chinmei Sung

• Tsai Ing-wen recovers support after campaigning against China

• Island’s president beats rival for ruling party’s nomination

China’s heavy-handed tactics in Hong Kong could be also hurting its cause in neighboring Taiwan.

In recent weeks, Taiwan’s China-skeptic president, Tsai Ing-wen, has come out strongly against Hong Kong’s controversial proposal to allow extraditions with the mainland. The criticism has not only won Tsai praise from democracy advocates in Hong Kong, it’s helped her recover from a local election defeat last year that threatened to scuttle her bid for a second term.

On Thursday, Tsai secured the nomination of the Democratic Progressive Party, clearing her to run again under the pro-independence party’s banner in January. She overcame one of the party’s most vocal China critics in part by taking a firm line against Beijing.

Rather than take a victory lap, Tsai responded by escalating her attacks on the extradition legislation, refusing to cooperate with Hong Kong on criminal suspect transfers should it be passed. “We don’t want to be an accomplice to an evil bill,” Tsai said at a briefing Thursday.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/13
By: Yu Hsian and Emerson Lim

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) is set to conduct opinion polls that will determine its official candidate for the 2020 presidential election in the second week of July, with the results expected to be announced on July 15, a KMT official said Thursday.

The KMT convened a meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss the polling process, Lee Che-hua (李哲華), Director of the KMT Organizational Development Committee told reporters.

The five candidates competing for the party's nomination are Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), former New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), former Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and university professor Chang Ya-chung (張亞中).

The meeting was attended by representatives of the candidates, Lee said, adding that it was agreed the polls will be conducted by five polling institutions, including Taiwan Real Survey, TVBS and Shih Hsin University, with each collecting 3000 valid responses, Lee said.    [FULL  STORY]

Senate, House committees pass 2020 NDAA defense calling for boosting Taiwan's military

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/14
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Armed Services Committees of the U.S. House and Senate have now both passed drafts of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020 which call for improving Taiwan's defense capabilities to counter China's increasing military muscle.

The Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House passed the NDAA for 2020 on Thursday (June 13). Although the content of the bill has not yet been published, Congressman Adam Smith, D-Wash., chair of the House Armed Services Committee, released a version of the bill on June 10, which mentions that the U.S. should strengthen its defense cooperation with Taiwan and continue to sell arms to the country.

According to a CNA report published on Thursday, the draft issued by the House's Armed Services Committee included a section for Taiwan titled "Implementation of Taiwan's National Defense Strategy." On the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, the committee recognized that the act and the Six Assurances are the cornerstone of U.S.-Taiwan relations, and agreed that the U.S. should strengthen its defense cooperation with Taiwan and support Taiwan's development of a capable, well-prepared, and modern defense forces in order to maintain adequate self-defense capabilities.

The draft bill requires the U.S. to promote exchanges to enhance Taiwan's security, including military training and exercises, and to promote exchanges between senior defense officials and military officers based on the Taiwan Travel Act.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 12 June, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

The fall armyworm is an invasive pest that poses a serious threat to Taiwanese agriculture. (Photo Courtesy

Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine)

Taiwan’s national parks are teaching their volunteers to recognize fall armyworm in an effort to check the spread of the agricultural pest.

The fall armyworm damages 353 types of plants, among them important crops like corn, rice, and cotton. They can also spread rapidly over large areas. Officials recently confirmed that the pest has arrived in Taiwan, most likely blown on the wind from the Asian mainland.

In addition to learning how to identify the fall armyworm, volunteers at national parks are also being instructed on the damage the pests do.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: June 13, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier

Police have have blockaded streets around a car dealership next to the Taoyuan City Council building on Sanmin Road this evening, after two armed gangsters stormed the car yard, fired several shots, and took 9 people hostage.

The siege began at around 7:00pm, and the men were said to be armed with handguns, rifles, and a grenade.

The suspects are believed to be members of the Heavenly Way Alliance, belonging to a faction called the Justice League. The suspects are wanted in relation to case involving shots being fired at a motel in Taoyuan City last month.

As New Taipei City police attempted to arrest a suspect named Lin today, Lin and his accomplice fled to Taoyuan City, and began tonight’s siege.    [FULL  STORY]

Tsai Ing-wen expressed her astonishment that police fired rubber bullets at unarmed protesters.

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/12
By: Judy Lo, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said she was shocked the Hong Kong

government fired rubber bullets on peaceful protesters, in a Facebook post on Wednesday (June 12).

As conflict escalated, police outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong began firing pepper spray, tear gas, and rubber bullets into the crowds of protesters.

Police fire tear gas at protesters (AP photo)

Most protesters only have masks, towels and water to protect themselves from tear gas (AP photo)

A protester tackled by police (AP photo)

“Ironically, the Chinese government dared to claim the ‘one country, two systems’ framework in Hong Kong has been a huge success recognized by the world on the same day of the protests,” Tsai noted.

Tsai said the hopelessness of Hong Kong’s people is in sharp contrast to the freedom and democracy enjoyed by Taiwan. It also proves the “one country, two systems” framework has never really worked.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/12
By: Shen Peng-da, Chang Jung-hsiang,
      Wang Shwu-fen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) Representatives from 24 Taiwanese civic groups rallied outside Hong Kong's representative office in Taipei Wednesday to show support for a wave of fresh protests staged in Hong Kong against a proposed controversial extradition bill.

During the demonstration, the civic groups, including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, urged the Hong Kong government to withdraw the bill and stop using violence to suppress the protests, while shouting slogans such as "Taiwan supports Hong Kong."

Violence broke out Sunday night as Hong Kong police tried using batons and pepper spray to clear demonstrators from the city's Legislative Council after a massive demonstration against the plan to allow extraditions to China.

On Tuesday, the police presence remained strong on the streets of the city, Taiwan Association for Human Rights Secretary-General Chiu E-ling (邱伊翎) said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 11 June, 2019
By: Paula Chao

An elementary school in the outlying Penghu islands has held a graduation ceremony- for a graduating class of one. Given Taiwan’s low birthrate and Penghu’s geographic location, this scenario isn’t quite as uncommon as you might imagine: three other schools in the islands also say they will only graduate one student this year.

Chenggong Elementary School is having an extra special graduation ceremony this year. Joining the school’s principal was Wu Jia-ying, the only student who graduated this year.    [FULL  STORY]