ENDLESS BATTLE: The Council of Agriculture said the wonton wrapper was the seventh sample that has been confirmed to contain meat from virus-infected pigs

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 22, 2018
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Another sample taken from a Chinese meat product intercepted by customs officials

has tested positive for African swine fever, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday, as it reaffirmed its resolve to prevent the virus from entering Taiwan.

The sample in question came from confiscated yanpi (燕皮), a type of wonton wrapper made from pork that is popular in China’s Fujian Province, COA Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城) said.

Among 602 Chinese meat products sent for testing, it was the seventh sample confirmed to contain the virus, he said.

Port of Taichung officials on Sunday intercepted a Taiwanese traveling from Fujian by ship, Huang said, adding that the yanpi was just one of the illegal products they were carrying.    [FULL  STORY]

Surveys show Taiwanese voters increasingly support dictatorship while rejecting democracy and independence.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/20
By: Dongtao Qi

The results of Taiwan’s 2018 nine-in-one local elections surprised many observers. Surely many of them had been anticipating the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s loss in both votes and seats in the elections, but almost nobody had foreseen that the DPP would be defeated by the Kuomintang (KMT) so badly.

Most observers agree that two factors significantly contributed to the DPP’s disastrous defeat. First, increasingly popular and strong dissatisfaction with the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration’s performance, especially its many controversial reforms. Second, the so-called “Han wave” led by the Kaohsiung mayoral candidate of the KMT Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) who successfully mobilized various discontented social groups in not only Kaohsiung, but also some other places, to vote against the DPP candidates.

Credit: AP / TPGChen Chi-mai (陳其邁) lost the Kaohsiung mayoral election, handing the DPP stronghold to the KMT for the first time in 20 years.
Indeed, these are two obvious reasons for the DPP’s election defeat. The public opinion surveys by Taiwan’s major media had shown the public’s constant decrease of the approval rating for the Tsai administration, and in contrast, a significant increase of support for Han before the elections. However, three other important public opinion trends that paved the way for the DPP’s loss and the KMT’s victory are largely missing in the discussion of the elections.

The first public opinion trend is declining public support for Taiwan’s independence, and rising support for both status quo and unification with China. According to TEDS2017_PA03 and TEDS2018_PA03provided by the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University, the percentage of voters who support Taiwan’s independence had constantly decreased from 31.1 percent in 2016 to 26.1 percent in 2017 and further to 21.9 percent in 2018, a 9.2 percent drop from 2016 to 2018.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/20
By:  Central News Agency

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) reiterated Thursday Taiwan’s claim over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea after the Japanese government issued a protest to the ministry as it found a record number of Taiwanese fishing vessels operating near the islands that are claimed by both countries.

The Tokyo-based Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported a day earlier that Japanese coastguard authorities have found that a record number of Taiwanese fishing vessels have “intruded” into the 12 nautical mile limit — a country’s territorial waters — surrounding the Diaoyutais, known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands, this year.

As of Dec. 17, a total of 310 Taiwanese fishing boats had been found “illegally” operating near the islands, which is three times the number of a year ago, according to the report.

The Japan Coast Guard has issued a protest to Taiwan over the intrusions via diplomatic channels, the report said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/20
By: Miao Chung-han and Flor Wang

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) The Taipei-Shanghai Twin-City Forum opened Thursday, with

both sides stressing the need to boost mutual understanding and build peace across the Taiwan Strait.

“We hope to accomplish sustainable progress through positive competition based on mutual understanding, respect and cooperation, despite the differences caused by long-term separation,” Taipei Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-chi (鄧家基) said at the opening of the forum.

The main significance of this year’s forum is that a consensus has been forged across party lines in Taiwan that the two cities should engage in positive exchanges across the board to build a beautiful and harmonious future for the next generation on both sides, he said.

According to Teng, Taiwan is the first society to have achieved democratization based on Chinese culture, while modern mainland China is a strong power that exercises great influence in the world.    [FULL  STORY]

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/19
By International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said any military actions that escalate tension in the region and damage relations between Taiwan and China are not welcomed by the international community.

The statement comes after the Ministry of National Defense confirmed that a number of Chinese aircraft, along with two naval vessels, were operating near Taiwan Tuesday. The ministry said it spotted Xian H-6 bombers, Shaanxi Y-8 transport aircraft and Sukhoi-30 fighter jets, but did not comment on the type of vessels.

According to Huang, it is irresponsible to launch any military actions that can disturb security and stability in the region and negatively impact cross-strait relations.

The defense ministry confirmed that Chinese aircraft flew over the Bashi Channel on their way to the Western Pacific Ocean for a routine far-seas exercise    [FULL  STORY]

U.S. students in Taiwan also record increase, but proportion falls

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/19
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The number of Taiwanese students heading for the United States to continue their studies has been rising again after diving 20 percent over the previous decade, according to Ministry of Education data released Wednesday.

Figures show that during the academic year 2017-2018, a total of 22, 454 students from Taiwan were registered in the U.S., a slight rise from the 21,516 during the previous year, the Central News Agency reported.

Taiwan was maintaining its position as the seventh largest source of foreign students in the U.S., while over the previous 10 years, the number of Taiwanese had slipped by 5,611, or about 20 percent, the ministry said.

The most popular area of study included science, engineering and mathematics, followed by business management and arts or social studies.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/19
By: Ku Chuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) Taiwanese passport holders are eligible for expedited

entry into Germany through the automated border control system EasyPass, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday.

The EasyPass system, which is available at seven airports in Germany, has included Taiwan on a trial basis since this summer, MOFA said.
[FULL  STORY]

MILLIONS IN DAMAGES: The man, who had to drop out of college to assist his mother, crashed into four parked Ferraris while delivering joss paper over the weekend

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 20, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Several people have called the police about donating money to a young driver

who crashed into four Ferraris over the weekend, the New Taipei City Police Department’s Sindian Precinct said on Tuesday.

The calls were from people inquiring about ways to reach the driver, because they wanted to help financially, police said.

The 20-year-old, who was identified only by his surname Lin (林), was out on a delivery at about 5:40am on Sunday, when he nodded off and crashed into four parked Ferraris near Danlan Suspension Bridge in New Taipei City’s Shihding District (石碇).

There were no reported injuries, police said.    [FULL  STORY]

If the food ban referendum was a strategic maneuver by the KMT, it seems to be working as intended.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/18
By Brian Hioe

It is unsurprising that Taiwan may not be admitted to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) because of the referendum vote against food imports from Fukushima-affected areas held in late November concurrent with nine-in-one elections. Namely, the issue of food imports is one upon which Taiwan has long been pushed around by larger, more powerful countries, who dangle the threat of being denied admittance to international free trade agreements if Taiwan does not allow food imports.

The administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has in the past made allowing food imports from Fukushima-affected areas a condition for stronger diplomatic relations with Japan. This would be part of a more general effort by the Abe administration to promote the prefecture of Fukushima as safe, with concerns that lingering radiation may still cause harmful effects in the region after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The Abe administration has thus attempted to promote food exports from the area, as well as to encourage tourism to the area.

Credit: Reuters / Toru HanaiAn anti-nuclear protester holds a placard depicting Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a rally in front of the parliament building in Tokyo on Mar. 11, 2017, the six-year anniversary of the Fukushima disaster.
Concerns over whether food from Fukushima is safe are valid, seeing as this is an issue of contention in Japan itself. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is seen as being closely tied to the Japanese nuclear industry, with an unusual willingness to push for nuclear energy in spite of outbreaks of large-scale public protest. There have also been pervasive concerns and allegations that the LDP has been unwilling to provide accurate nuclear assessments for the Fukushima area, or sought to mislead through official statistics.

After the results of the referendum in late November, in which 7,791,856 voted against allowing food imports from Fukushima, the Japanese government initially expressed understanding regarding the results of the referendum, suggesting that not allowing food imports from Fukushima would not be an obstacle for Japan-Taiwan relations going forward. However, this appears to have not entirely been the truth.    [FULL  STORY]