Wang Yi gave an interview to People’s Daily about the 40th anniversary of US-China relations

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/17
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said the U.S. ought to come together with China on the Taiwan issue and respect the One China Principle.

2019 marks the 40th year of official relations between China and the U.S. Yahoo News reports that in view of the occasion, Wang accepted a special interview with Chinese state publication People’s Daily, in which he expressed that Taiwan has always been the most critical and sensitive issue between the U.S. and China, and that the “One China Principle” remains the foundation of their diplomatic relationship.

The establishment of official relations between China and the U.S. on Jan. 1 1979 is a juncture in history, Wang reportedly said, as it not only opened up new potential for exchanges between the two countries, but had a profound impact on the evolution of international relations across the world.

Wang said the U.S. must not forget the commitments it made 40 years ago in the name of peace and stability, and the pursuit of common interests. The state not be “confused” by temporary hitches, the minister said, and should “help bring prosperity to citizens of the U.S., China and the world from a new starting point.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/17
By: Elaine Hou and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) Taiwan has stated its objections to the United Kingdom’s proposed rules for managing its trade in services after it leaves the European Union and is seeking negotiations on the issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Taiwan’s top trade negotiator said Thursday.

Minister without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), head of the Office of Trade Negotiations, told CNA that Taiwan submitted its objections earlier this week to the WTO Secretariat after it saw the U.K.’s proposals for dealing with its trading partners in goods and services post-Brexit.

According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, Britain formally submitted its proposed new trade in services schedule to the WTO last month and since then, Taiwan has circulated a document to other WTO members, raising objections to some parts of the U.K.’s proposed rules.    [FULL  STORY]

TRANSFERRED: The Penghu National Scenic Area Administration director reportedly started an argument with hotel staff because he was not allowed to borrow a guitar

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 17, 2019
By: Chen Yu-fu, Liu Yu-chin and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Penghu National Scenic Area Administration director Chen Chih-hsien (陳志賢) has been

transferred after he was allegedly involved in a verbal conflict with staff at the Four Points by Sheraton Penghu hotel while under the influence of alcohol, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday.

Chen was a guest at a dinner hosted by Penghu tourism operators on Thursday last week for a group of seven visitors from the Kaohsiung-based President Group.

At about 9pm, the group moved to the bar on the second basement floor of the hotel, sources said.

Since the live music was not scheduled to begin until 9:30pm, Chen asked to borrow the band’s guitar, but was told he could not, sources said.    [FULL  STORY]

A daily breakdown of Taiwan’s top stories and why they matter.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/01/17
By: TNL Daily News

Taiwan to hold live-fire drills to deter China

Taiwan’s military is holding its first live-fire drill of 2019 today, shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping refused to rule out the possibility of using force to unify Taiwan and China in his Jan. 2 speech.

Major General Yeh Kuo-hui (葉國輝) previously said the drills are aimed at “defending against a possible Chinese invasion,” adding that the military will practice new drills and training routines to incorporate defense tactics designed to repel Chinese forces.

Taiwan’s defense ministry says the drills, which follow a regular schedule and have been planned for months, are not a direct response to Xi’s speech.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), in a Tuesday visit to the Army Defense Command in Hualien and Taitung, said her administration vows to adapt to the changing cross-Strait climate, mentioning Xi’s reiteration that using force against Taiwan remains an option.
[FULL  STORY]

Ottawa should also expel the Chinese ambassador: Crowley

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/16
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Canada could respond to the escalating dispute with China by immediately expelling its ambassador and by improving relations with Taiwan, the head of a Canadian think tank wrote in the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Following the arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, the latest step in the dispute has been the death sentence for drugs smuggling for Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg.

China has identified Canada as a weak link in its contest with Western nations, but it only “respects strength, not weakness,” so Ottawa should immediately show its resolve, wrote Brian Lee Crowley, the managing director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

He named the expulsion of the Chinese ambassador, sanctions against Chinese government members, and “a warming of our relations with Taiwan” as actions that Canada could take immediately.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/16
By: Wang Chao-yu and William Yen

Taipei, Jan. 16 (CNA) Two Vietnamese women, who were allegedly working as prostitutes in Taiwan, were recently arrested in the eastern county of Yilan for overstaying their visas, police said Wednesday.

The two women, aged 25 and 37, respectively, were found in a house in Luodong Township, police said, adding the women had entered Taiwan on Nov. 22 last year on e-visas and had stayed past their authorized admission period.

During questioning, the women also admitted that they had been providing sex services to three or four customers a day.

The women said they were employed by another Vietnamese surnamed Pan (潘), who has Taiwan citizenship, and were being paid NT$1,000 (US$32.4) per customer although Pan was collecting NT$2,200 from each client, according to the police.    [FULL  STORY]

Tsai expresses government’s determination to protect the country’s sovereignty

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/15
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday inspected the installation of the new Sky Bow III (天弓三型) missiles at a military base on the east coast.

She emphasized the fact that the surface-to-air missiles had been developed in Taiwan by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST, 中科院), the Liberty Times reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/15
By: Emerson Lin and Ko Lin

Manila, Jan. 15 (CNA) A cultural exchange program organized by Taiwan that provides Chinese language lessons to Filipino students has had positive results, according to the Taiwan Education Center Philippines.

Huang Tse-hsiang (黃澤翔), who is in charge of the program, said recently that the classes have been well received and more than 1,000 students have signed up to attend.

Operated by National Sun Yat-sen University with the backing of the Ministry of Education (MOE), the center was set up in Sept. 2017 to promote quality Chinese language education in the Southeast Asian country, while at the same time offering courses to train local Chinese language instructors.

Courses are currently being offered at Trinity University of Asia in the Philippines, which has forged partnership with the center to promote educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries.    [FULL  STORY]