BOUND BY AGREEMENTS: The premier said that he would limit his engagement in line with a DPP resolution and the Lausanne Agreement in the interest of Taiwan’s athletes

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 07, 2018
By: Chen Yu-fu and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

As criticism from pro-Taiwan independence groups over the Democratic Progressive

Party (DPP) government’s handling of a referendum on the national team’s name at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics mounts in cyberspace, Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday defended his commitment to a pragmatic approach to Taiwanese independence.

An alliance of civic groups has initiated a referendum drive on renaming the national sports team from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan” at the Tokyo Olympics and other competitions.

The DPP government’s perceived lack of support for the referendum has prompted charges that Lai is foxi (佛系) about Taiwanese independence, a Chinese Internet slang term referring to Buddha-like passivity and indifference toward a goal.

Quoting Lai’s description of himself as a “political worker for Taiwanese independence” when he fielded questions from lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan in September last year, a group of pro-localization organizations last month called for Lai to lend his support to the proposed referendum.  [FULL  STORY]

Recent drill a ‘solid step towards comprehensive combat capability’, air force says

South China Morning Post 
Date: 04 August, 2018
By: Liu Zhen

China’s air force has said its new advanced fighter jet, which analysts say was developed to target Taiwan, will soon be combat ready.

The announcement came as the air force said a squadron of J-16s – described as 4.5-generation fighter jets – had conducted a combat training exercise along with J-10, J-11B and Su-30 aircraft.

“[The exercise] was a solid step towards comprehensive combat capability,” according to the PLA Air Force statement late on Thursday, which did not specify the date or location of the drill.

The Shenyang J-16, based on the Russian Sukhoi-30 fighter jet, was introduced around 2012 to 2013 but did not make its official debut until a year ago, during a military parade marking the 90th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army.

It has gone into production over the past year and been deployed in a number of air force regiments.    [FULL  STORY]

Eurasia Review
Date: August 4, 2018
By: Tai-Wei Chen, IPCS

Beijing has extended its ‘sharp power’ strategy to the Taiwan-India relationship. It is important to understand how Chinese sharp power is deployed against the Taiwan-India relationship, and for both countries to proactively initiate counter-measures to safeguard this critical bilateral link.

The concept of China’s sharp power was ideated by a report, Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence, published by the US-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in early December 2017. According to it, sharp power involves three core methods: psychological operations, media manipulation, and legal warfare. This strategy is based on the asymmetry between a tightly controlled press and internet in China on the one hand, and an open society in its rivals on the other. Sharp power therefore weaponises the tools of soft power. In the Taiwan-India case, China is using the media to make India comply with a rigid ‘One China’ policy. Though each individual Indian concession is small and seemingly a public relations exercise, they add up to a deliberate Chinese strategy of using ‘One China’ to create a legal trap for India, even while China continues to undermine Indian sovereignty through similar means. Simultaneously this weakens India’s ties with possible economic and security partners like Taiwan.

Although Taiwan has no formal diplomatic relations with India, both countries have great opportunities for synergy. Taiwan’s has a burgeoning hi-tech sector with a ready job market, and the country has a deep understanding of the Chinese military. India’s need for job creation and search for greater knowledge of the Chinese military offer opportunities for a closer working relationship. Then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao initiated informal contact by establishing the India-Taipei Association. Since then, Taiwan and India have been consistently building contact. The two sides have signed many bilateral agreements on trade, investment, technology, education and culture. Current Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also advanced the relationship. The slow consolidation of relations between India and Taiwan can be traced back to 1995. Then BJP official (now prime minister) Modi visited Taiwan in 1999, and as chief minister of Gujarat in 2011 he hosted the largest Taiwanese delegation sent to India. However, while ‘India first’ is the cornerstone of Modi’s foreign policy, it does not seem be the kind of hard-line patriotism that emphasises military hegemony and expansion, and is instead based on the idea of the “world as one family.”    [FULL  STORY]

The celebration of the birthday of Lord Guan is considered by locals as important as the Lunar New Year

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/08/04
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAOYUAN (Taiwan News) — The two-day celebration of the birthday of the Taoist deity Lord Guan (關聖帝君) in Daxi District, Taoyuan City, kicked off Saturday with around-the-town parades that drew locals and foreigners alike to the street to enjoy the spectacle and be part of it.

The miaohui (literally a temple event) parade for the birthday of the Lord Guan of the Pu Ji Temple has lasted for over a century and is considered by the Daxi local people as important as the Lunar New Year celebration.

Every June 24 in the lunar calendar and the day before it, the statue of the Lord Guan is carried out by the temple staff to tour around the town, with dozens of ‘Din Tao’ clubs formed by local people giving various performances in dramatic costumes and makeup. Traditional eastern music and fireworks will also join the procession to make the whole event noisy and therefore more festive.

Shortly after the parade began at 1 p.m. on Saturday, however, a sudden shower poured down, dispersing the parade and driving people to rush under a roof. Yet local people said it was the god’s will to clean up the floor and cool down the temperature before the Lord Guan could depart from the Pu Ji Temple.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/04
By: Tien Yu-pin and Frances Huang 

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said Saturday that some of its production lines had suffered a computer virus attack but the damage was under control.

In a statement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), where TSMC shares are traded, the chipmaker said part of its production equipment was attacked by computer viruses the previous evening.

The chipmaker said the affected production lines were recovering and were expected to return to normal in one day.

The statement was released by TSMC after local media reported Saturday that the chipmaker had been hacked, which led some of its production lines to grind to a halt.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 05, 2018
By: Hsu Shih-ying and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) member Chen Chih-chiang (陳志強) yesterday said that Taiwanese-Australian model and actress Hannah Quinlivan (昆凌) supported Taiwanese independence, after uncovering an interview she did five years ago.

In a post on Sina Weibo, Chen shared a photograph of Quinlivan during the 2013 interview, in which she said she represented two nationalities — Taiwan and Australia.

She was visiting her family in Australia at the time.

In his post, Chen called on Quinlivan’s husband, Taiwanese singer Jay Chou (周杰倫), to “educate” her.

In a separate post yesterday, Chen tagged a Sina Weibo account shared by two Chinese Ministry of Public Security offices, asking whether Quinlivan’s comments are against the law.    [FULL  STORY]

China warns against increasing tension after US Senate approves law endorsing improved defense cooperation with Taiwan

Anadolu Agency 
Date: 03.08.2018
By: Fuat Kabakci

China on Friday opposed the U.S. law endorsing improved military and defense cooperation with Taiwan.

“We firmly stand against the U.S. having official contact in any form or maintaining military relation with Taiwan,” Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s State Council, said while commenting on the U.S. law.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which endorses expansion of joint military drills, and increased military and non-military high-level contacts with Taiwan.

Taiwan issue is a concern for the China’s sovereign right and territorial integrity, Xiaoguang added.

He underlined that Taiwan is the most significant and fragile issue for the China-U.S. relations, while warning the U.S. to not increase tension in the Taiwan Strait.
[FULL  STORY]

Lessons in love stretch from the Netherlands to Taiwan

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/03
By: Maureen Welscher

When Dominque Geels, now 54, wanted to have children with her then-husband, she knew one thing for sure: There were enough children in the world who were looking for a good home. She was more than willing to adopt. And it did not necessarily have to be a healthy child. A handicap – even a severe disability – was not a problem.

And so, Zoë (now 25), Maxime (23) and Luuk (20) came into their lives. Three children adopted from Taiwan via Cathwel, a children’s home in Taiwan, all with varying special needs – of which Zoë’s is the most severe.

Cathwel Service is a branch of Catholic Relief Services, the relief and development agency of the United States Catholic bishops. The Taiwan agency was officially established in 1971 to take care of premature and abandoned children, and to offer shelter and counseling to unwed mothers.    [FULL  STORY]

Visitors are invited to stop by feline-themed venues in the city

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/08/03
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – To time with the “Cat Festival”—a room escape game presented by the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum (故宮南院), the Culture & Tourism Bureau of Chiayi County invites the public to sign up for the event while planning a trip to the city in southwestern Taiwan that boasts kitten-themed tourist attractions.

The “Cat Festival” (迎貓祭), taking place between August 17 and 19, is open for registration from 12 noon August 3 through 5 PM on August 7.

Cat Festival room escape game (Photo/Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum)

According to the Culture & Tourism Bureau of Chiayi County, the Jingpu Community (菁埔社區) at Minxiong Township (民雄鄉) boasts a plethora of cat mural paintings, vividly depicting the cuteness and capriciousness of the animal, one of the best places to take pictures in Chiayi.    [FULL  STORY]