The eye-opening documentary exposes human rights violations in China

Taiwan News   
Date: 2019/03/23 
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In 2012, a woman in Oregon found a hidden letter inside a Halloween decoration she bought at a local store, which led her to discover a horrifying secret in China and the plight of a political dissident imprisoned in a labor camp in China.

The letter traveled 9,000 kilometers away from Masanjia Camp located in Shenyang, the largest city of China’s northeast Liaoning Province. The Oregon woman later found many horrifying pictures and accounts about the place online.

The English-language letter mixed with Chinese characters soon received attention in international media outlets, including CNN, FOX News, New York Times among others, and inspired the award-winning Canadian movie director Leon Lee (李雲翔) to secretly film the human rights violations taking place in China, with the help of the writer of the letter Sun Yi, who had been released after years of torture and forced labor work in the camp.

With the equipment assistance of Lee, Sun recounted his tale in the camp, the ongoing harassment from Chinese authorities, as well as the tortures of his Falun Gong fellows.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/23
By: Rita Cheng and Frances Huang

Washington, March 22 (CNA) An official from the U.S. State Department said Friday that

China was “busy” changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait through moves including imposing military threats against Taiwan, poaching the island’s allies and raising pressure to cut its international space.

Patrick Murphy, the U.S. State Department’s principal deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said in an interview with Voice of America (VOA) that the primary desire for the United States was to see a strong commitment to maintaining the status quo.

“China has been busy changing the status quo on this arrangement that has produced prosperity, stability, and peace, even with some of the unusual aspects,” Murphy said when he was in Hawaii during a trip to the U.S. state, Thailand and Indonesia.

“What I mean by changing the status quo is we have heard voices in Beijing threaten the use of violence directed at Taiwan; we have seen China aggressively try to reduce the number of diplomatic partners that Taiwan enjoys around the world,” the official told VOA.
[FULL  STORY]

SHALLOW WATERS: Satellite photographs show that the coastline has changed dramatically and marine animals no longer have caverns and boulders to hide in

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 24, 2019
By: Liu Yu-ching and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

A species of octopus native to the waters north of Penghu County is on the brink of

extinction, county officials said yesterday.

The octopus normally lives off the coast of Yuanbei Village (員貝) and near Jibei Village (吉貝) between the months of February and May, but over the past few years it has rarely been seen, Yuanbei Warden Chen Tien-jui (陳天瑞) said.

Chen believes the octopus’ declining population is due to changes in the ecosystem.

Normally the octopus lays its eggs in the intertidal zone in the northern part of the county between the Lantern Festival and Tomb Sweeping Day.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatioal 
Date: 22 March, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Economics Minister Shen Jong-chin says the government will make subsidy applications

easier for those who want to replace old appliances with energy-efficient models.

Shen was speaking Friday at the opening of a trade fair featuring home appliances, air conditioners, and other electronic products.

The subsidy is part of the government’s plan to cut energy use. Air conditioners and refrigerators with inverter models are considered more energy-efficient.

The government has promised to offer a maximum subsidy of US$100.    [FULL  STORY]

Bloomberg
Date: March 22, 2019
By Nick Wadhams, Jennifer Jacobs, Jenny Leonard, and Anthony Capaccio

The Trump administration has given tacit approval to Taiwan’s request to buy more than 60 F-16 fighter jets, according to people familiar with the matter, prompting a fresh protest from China amid its trade dispute with the U.S.

President Donald Trump’s advisers encouraged Taiwan to submit a formal request for the jets, built by Lockheed Martin Corp., which it did this month, according to the people, who asked not be identified discussing internal discussions. Any such request would need to be converted into a formal proposal by the Defense and State Departments, and then Congress would have 30 days to decide whether to block the sale.

“China’s position to firmly oppose arms sales to Taiwan is consistent and clear,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular news briefing Friday in Beijing. “We have made stern representations to the U.S. We have urged the U.S. to fully recognize the sensitivity of this issue and the harm it will cause.”

The U.S., wary of antagonizing China, hasn’t sold advanced fighter jets since then-President George H.W. Bush announced the sale of 150 F-16s to Taiwan in 1992. The Obama administration rejected a similar Taiwanese request for new jets, agreeing in 2011 to upgrade the island’s existing fleet.    [FULL  STORY]

Vast majority of Taiwanese believe Taiwan’s future should be decided by its 23 million citizens

Taiwan News   
Date: 2019/03/22 
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A large majority of Taiwanese reject Beijing’s ‘one country, two systems’ framework to unify Taiwan and believe Taiwan’s future should be decided by its citizens, based on a survey by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) released on Thursday (March 21).

Despite a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Jan. 2, which extolled the “one country, two systems” framework applied in Hong Kong and Macao as a model for Taiwan, a survey released by the MAC on Thursday showed that 79 percent of Taiwanese disapprove of the formula. The survey also showed that 83.9 percent opposed the use of force by the Chinese Communist Party against Taiwan, and 87.7 percent believe that Taiwan’s future and cross-strait relations should be decided by Taiwan’s 23 million people.

The poll also found that 83.9 percent of respondents support the Taiwanese government’s proposal that cross-strait exchanges should be conducted on equal terms, without political preconditions and in accordance with statutory provisions. With regards to political negotiations between the two countries, 73 percent disapproved of China’s requirement that Taiwan accept the “one China” principle before entering negotiations.

The survey also found that 83.3 percent of those polled agreed that if a cross-strait political agreement was signed, the government should have more comprehensive legislation and supervision mechanisms in place. If such an agreement was reached, 65.4 percent of respondents believe that it is necessary to hold a referendum on the outcome, while 59.3 percent think it also should pass through the legislature.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/22
By: Elaine Hou, Chen Wei-ting, Wen Kuei-hsiang and Chung Yu-chen 

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday said Beijing has no reason to exclude Taiwan from the global health system, in response to a report suggesting that Taiwan will not be invited to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) due to China’s obstruction.

Tsai stressed that Taiwan has the ability to contribute to the international health system and that the nation’s health security, which concerns 23 million people, cannot be compromised.

“The fight to participate in the WHA and World Health Organization (WHO) continues,” said the president, who is currently visiting Palau.

The WHA, the decision-making body of the WHO, is scheduled to hold its 71st session from May 20-28 in Geneva.    [FULL  STORY]

RETHINKING POLICY: US Representative Steve Chabot’s proposal said that Beijing has ‘sought to assert its one China principle over any other position on Taiwan’s status’

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 23, 2019
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

US Representative Steve Chabot, co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, on

Thursday proposed a resolution asking the US government to counter Beijing’s “one China” principle.

In the resolution, Chabot said that the US’ “one China” policy is not equivalent to Beijing’s “one China” principle, as the former is based on the full implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act and the Three Joint Communiques it negotiated with Beijing, with a focus on peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s status.

“In the Three Joint Communiques, the United States only acknowledged, without endorsing, the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] claim that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China,” the resolution said.

“However, the PRC has actively sought to assert its one China principle over any other position on Taiwan’s status, including the US’ one China policy,” it said.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 21 March, 2019
By: Paula Chao

An annual marching drill held by the army’s Aviation and Special Forces Command is under way. In previous years, the exercise has been held in mountainous areas, but this year, the focus is on coastal areas. The goal of this change is to bolster soldiers’ combat capabilities in different environments.

A helicopter launches an attack. The response is quick. From another helicopter, soldiers rappel down to the ground to give support and cover to comrades hidden in a nearby building.

It’s a just a drill, but it’s an important one. The goal is to strengthen the army’s attack and defense capabilities in coastal towns.    [FULL  STORY]

Gargantuan great white shark carrying 14 baby sharks caught off NE Taiwan coast

Taiwan News   
Date: 2019/03/21 
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A huge great white shark measuring over 4 meters in length caught off the northeast coast of Taiwan Wednesday (March 20) was found to be carrying 14 baby sharks.

On Wednesday, a fisherman from Yilan caught a great white shark in Dong’ao Bay measuring 4.2 meters in length and weighing 1,170 kilograms, reported CNA. The fisherman sold the massive shark at an auction in the Nan-fang-ao Fishing Harbor in Su’ao Township, Yilan County for a price NT$58,500 (US$1,898) or NT$50 per kilogram.

Cheng Ming-hiou (鄭明修), a research fellow in the Biodiversity Research Center of Academia Sinica who has specialized in marine ecology for over 20 years, was cited by Liberty Times as saying that it was “the largest great white shark I have ever seen in my life.”

After an incision was made in the shark’s belly, a staggering 14 fully-formed baby sharks were found inside. Cheng said that before this find, the academic community was not very clear about the reproductive mode of the great white shark.    [FULL  STORY]