Taiwan is under pressure from Xi’s China, but Trump’s America is pushing right back.

The National Interest
Date: July 4, 2018  
By: Scott B. MacDonald
As Asia’s international relations digest the significance of the Trump-Kim Singapore Summit, Taiwan has returned as a point of contention between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States. As a result, relations between Beijing and Taipei are frosty and will likely get worse before they get better.

For its part, the PRC regards Taiwan, also referred to as the Republic of China (ROC), as a breakaway province which will eventually be reunited with the mainland. The current government in Taiwan has its roots in the end of the Chinese civil war (1945-1949) when the Nationalists (Kuomintang or KMT) retreated there after being defeated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Although Taiwan remained in opposition to the PRC, it adhered to the idea of eventual reunification with the mainland, in that there was “one China.” The one China framework allowed Beijing and Taipei to live with the idea that they could co-exist until the day was reached when both parties would find reunification mutually attractive. At the same time, the message from the PRC has been consistent – military force would meet any attempt by Taiwan to become an independent country.

What helped maintain Taiwan’s functional independence vis-à-vis China was the support provided by the United States. Although the U.S. opted to diplomatically recognize Beijing as the de jure Chinese state over Taiwan in 1979, it maintained a strong relationship with the ROC, including the sale of weapons and occasional naval support. At the same time, Taiwan’s political system gradually changed from a dictatorship into a representative democracy, which was marked by the island’s first legislative elections in 1992. The first direct presidential elections were held in 1996, and in the 2000 presidential contest, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalists to the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). From that point forward, Taiwan held regular elections with peaceful transfers of power in 2008 and 2016.    [FULL  STORY]

Tropical Storm Maria could soon form into typhoon which could threaten Taiwan by Tuesday

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/07/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tropical Storm Maria, the eighth tropical storm of the year, formed last night and though the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) initially forecasted that it would not have a direct impact on Taiwan, if a high pressure system strengthens, the storm could change its course and lash northern Taiwan early next week.

The CWB says that the Maria is currently about 2,750 kilometers east-southeast of Eluanbi, the southern tip of Taiwan, and is moving 14 kilometers on a northwesterly trajectory towards Okinawa. At present, it does not appear that it is headed toward Taiwan, and if high pressure over the Pacific remains weak, the storm will likely continue its path toward Japan.

However, if high pressure over the Pacific strengthens, the storm could turn to a more southernly course and lash northern Taiwan, but it is too early to make an accurate prediction at this stage.

According to weather risk analysis companies on Facebook, Maria is expected to follow the edge of a Pacific high pressure ridge over the next five days on a northwesterly trajectory, before changing to a west-northwesterly path toward the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. The United States Global Forecast System (GFS) predicts that the Pacific high pressure system will be weak and therefore it expects the storm to move in a north-northwesterly direction toward the southern Japanese Island of Kyushu.     [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Intermational
Date: 2018-07-04

Taiwan is working to give a brighter future to students in Myanmar by bringing computers

into classrooms. Through a donation program, a government ministry and a civic group have teamed up to provide used computers to some of the country’s schools.

210 donated computers from Taiwan sit ready for shipment to schools in Myanmar. The Southeast Asian nation is a developing country, and there are local schools that do not have computers.

These 210 used computers are destined for schools catering to students of ethnic Chinese heritage. The computers were collected by a Taiwanese civic group and the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the government ministry in charge of liaising with ethnic Chinese communities abroad.    [FULL  STORY]

Kylie Robinson, 14, lived in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/04
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A 14-year-old girl moved the public at a baseball game in the U.S. state of North Carolina by performing Taiwan’s national anthem in the original Chinese language, reports said Wednesday.

The reason for the performance was a visit by the Taiwan baseball team to Little League team the Durham Bulls’ arena on June 30 as part of the International Friendship Series, the North State Journal reported.

Even though Kylie Robinson had to perform the song a capella, she said she lived in Taiwan from 2013 to 2015. “At school, we had to sing it every week, at weekly assembly. So it’s kind of in my brain,” the North State Journal quoted her as saying.

The invitation was based on her singing the Star Spangled Banner at the same baseball stadium in front of 5,000 fans at a game between the Durham Bulls and the Charlotte Knights on June 12.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: July 03, 2018

The 2018 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Online-to-Offline Summit kicked off July 2 in

southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, bringing together business representatives and officials from 20 APEC member economies to discuss the latest digital opportunities and trends.

Jointly organized by the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Kaohsiung City Government, the two-day forum aims to foster digital transformation among SMEs and new ventures from across the region through promoting integration of innovations in fields spanning artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, financial technology and Internet of Things. Attendees include industry heavyweights such as Airbnb, IBM and Google as well as almost 100 startups from home and abroad, according to the ministry.

The seminar will include emerging technology presentations, international investment and networking meetings, panel discussions and pitch sessions for startups. The following day, a workshop will be staged for participants on digital resilience.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-07-03

Agriculture minister Lin Tsung-hsien said Tuesday that measures have been taken to boost

domestic sales of local produce that are experiencing bumper harvests.

Lin said the plan is three-pronged, including helping to boost sales of 10% of the crops for exports, 10% of processed products and another 10% using direct marketing. The plan is for the sales of bananas, pineapples, onions, and garlic.

Lin said the goal is to cut down on the frequency of gluts in the next five years. Lin said this would include a complete sales information platform, adjusting regulations and tariff quotas, setting up a flagship logistics center and a regional refrigeration system.

Lin said July to October will be the harvest season for dragon fruit. He said the ministry will have an early response mechanism to avoid unusually productive months.
[FULL  STORY]

Magnitude 4.5 temblor rocks southern Taiwan’s Taitung County

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/07/03
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook southern Taiwan’s Taitung County at 5:20 p.m. this afternoon (July 3), according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the temblor was located 47 kilometers north-northwest of Taitung County Hall, at a shallow depth of 5 kilometers, based on CWB data.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/03
By: Wu Hsin-yun, Yu Hsiao-han and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) The 33rd Convocation of Academicians of Academia Sinica adopted a

resolution Tuesday in favor of university autonomy in Taiwan, while calling on the Ministry of Education (MOE) to respect national university president selection results.

The convocation approved the proposal presented by the Humanities and Social Sciences Division with a vote of 80-44. It came in the wake of the controversial election of Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) as National Taiwan University (NTU) president.

Kuan was elected as president of NTU Jan. 5 and was expected to take office Feb. 1. After he was elected, however, the Ministry of Education put off its approval as a string of allegations arose against Kuan, including plagiarism, conflict of interest and a flawed selection process.

The MOE finally decided April 27 not to approve his election, leaving the ministry and the university at a stalemate on the issue.    [FULL  STORY]

UNANIMOUS DECISION: The former minister contributed capital to Spiranthes Biotech, which is in contravention of the Public Functionary Service Act, the Control Yuan said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 04, 2018
By: Aaron Tu and Chien Huei-ru  /  Staff reporters

Former minister of education Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆) was yesterday impeached by the

Control Yuan for contravening the Public Functionary Service Act (公務員服務法) and Act on the Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflict of Interest (公職人員利益衝突迴避法) after he was found to have applied for patents for a technology owned by National Dong Hwa University in the name of his company.

The Control Yuan in April launched an investigation into Wu’s involvement with a company called Spiranthes Biotech LLC, which he founded in California in 2015, after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) accused him of illegally founding the company and applying for patents for technology he invented with a research team at the university.

Members on the Control Yuan’ examination committee unanimously voted to impeach Wu. It was the first time an examination committee at a government branch held an open vote that resulted in a unanimous decision.    [FULL  STORY]