The Japan Times
Date: Oct 8, 2020

TAIPEI – Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen pledged on Thursday to work with countries in

Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific to ensure sustainable prosperity in the region amid China’s military expansion.

Tsai said at an international forum in Taipei that her government will proactively contribute to the creation of a region that is “open, free, inclusive, transparent and equal, and operates under a rules-based order.”

“We oppose any heavy-handed and unilateral aggression actions that jeopardize regional security and solidarity,” Tsai said via video. “Any political attempt to prevent Taiwan from sharing its experience and making contributions does not serve the collective interests of the region.”

Without naming names, Tsai said Taiwan’s democratic system and security continue to face persistent military threats and provocations from “particular sources,” likely referring to China, which sees Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting unification, by force if necessary.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan's foreign minister slams China for trying to censor Indian media over National Day coverage

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/08
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In response to Chinese wolf warrior diplomacy tactics aimed at bullying Indian media into not covering Taiwan's National Day celebrations, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Wednesday (Oct. 7) told Beijing to "GET LOST!"

On Wednesday, full-page advertisements appeared on India's newspapers announcing that India's WION will broadcast a 25-minute special report on Taiwan's National Day event at 7 p.m. that evening and at 5:30 p.m. the next day. The broadcast is a collaboration between WION and the New Delhi Taiwan representative office as a way to promote the holiday in lieu of traditional face-to-face festivities due to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

That same day, the Chinese embassy in Delhi sent a threatening letter to Indian media outlets admonishing them that there is "only one China in the world," and that the communist autocracy in Beijing is the "sole legitimate government representing the whole of China."

It then repeated the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) mantra that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory." The letter ordered Indian media to "stick to" the Indian's government's position on the "Taiwan question" and not violate the "one China" principle.

NEED TO BE HEARD: Coalition organizer Lin Chun-chieh called for ‘all people of different generations to stand up and speak your vision of the country’

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 09, 2020
By:Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter

A coalition of youth groups yesterday urged lawmakers to draft a new constitution that would better reflect the separate governance of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The coalition, called the Taiwan New Constitution Youth Front, said that it wants a constitution that guarantees more rights, reflects the nation’s current political reality and contains the “voices of the youth.”

The coalition’s call came after the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday formally established an ad hoc Constitutional Amendment Committee, following the approval of a list of 39 committee members from across party lines.

The “first problem” in the amendment process is a bottleneck of more than 30 proposed amendments advanced by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said Feng Hui-lun (馮輝倫), a coalition organizer and Taoyuan City Youth Advisory Committee member.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 07 October, 2020
By: Paula Chao

[Sneak preview: What’s in store for National Day this year?][/caption] Fireworks, jet flyovers, BMX bikes and puppetry — these are just a few of the ways Taiwan will celebrate the 109th anniversary of the Republic of China on Saturday, October 10. We’ll explain this year’s National Day theme colors in Hashtag Taiwan, and explain how you can watch live coverage of the festivities!

One India
Date: October 7, 2020
By: Shreya

New Delhi, Oct 07: Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu on Wednesday reacted sharply to the Chinese mission diirective urging Indian media to follow "One China" policy", and asked the latter to "get lost".

Taiwan's foreign minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu responded in a tweet: "India is the largest democracy on Earth with a vibrant press & freedom-loving people. But it looks like communist #China is hoping to march into the subcontinent by imposing censorship. Taiwan's Indian friends will have one reply: GET LOST! JW".

The Taiwan foreign ministry's Twitter bio states all tweets initialled "JW" are from the foreign minister.    [FULL  STORY]

9 people came in contact with infected Indian man after he left quarantine in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/07
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday (Oct. 7) announced two new cases of Wuhan coronavirus from Ireland and India.

During his weekly press conference Wednesday afternoon, Minister of Health and Welfare and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced two new imported coronavirus cases, raising the total number of cases in Taiwan to 523. The latest cases include a Taiwanese woman in her 20s (Case No. 522) and an Indian man in his 30s (Case No. 523), who arrived from Ireland and India, respectively.

Chen stated that Case No. 522 went to Ireland for work in October of 2019. When she arrived in Taiwan on Oct. 4, she did not report any symptoms of the disease and returned to her residence to begin home quarantine. On Oct. 5, she began to experience a fever and muscle aches.

Health department officials arranged for her to be tested that day for the coronavirus, and she was diagnosed with the disease on Oct. 7. She is currently in a hospital isolation ward.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 10/07/2020
By: Flor Wang and Chang Hsiung-fung

Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) National Taiwan University (NTU) Cancer Center said Wednesday that it recently carried out a successful bone marrow transplant on a leukemia patient from Hong Kong, despite the tight border restrictions and prevention measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 70-year-old patient identified only as Eric, was diagnosed with leukemia last December in Hong Kong and told that he needed a bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant, to save his life, the Cancer Center said.

As that procedure is not available in Hong Kong for people over the age of 60, Eric's doctor suggested that he try Taiwan, the center said.

With the help of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center in Taiwan, Eric was able to make the trip and was admitted to NTU Cancer Center, where he had a hematopoistic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) in August, using the bone marrow of an anonymous donor, according to the center.    [FUILL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 06 October, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Over 35 US politicians have already sent videos and pictures to congratulate Taiwan on its National Day. That’s as Taiwan’s representative office in Chicago invited US politicians to do so as celebrations in Chicago were cancelled this year due to the pandemic.  Taiwan’s National Day falls on October 10. 

US Senator Mike Braun sent his blessings and said he hopes to see enhanced relations between the two sides. US House Representative Jim Banks said Taiwan has been able to defeat authoritarian forces coming from abroad despite being in a difficult situation. Banks said he is glad to see Taiwan open up its borders to US pork imports. He said he hopes it will be the first step towards negotiations for a mutually beneficial trade agreement between the two countries.     [FULL  STORY]