Page Two

How China’s dollar diplomacy is really setting a debt-trap for developing countries

US$3.1 billion seems to have been the price for China to secure diplomatic recognition from the Dominican Republic, but the long-term effects of the decision could cost the Caribbean nation an awful lot more

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/05/03
By: David Spencer, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

If you ask 100 people in the street to point to the Dominican Republic on a map, the

Person pushing up Chinese yuan. (Image by pixabay user Tumisu)

overwhelming majority would be unable to do so.

This small country (which for your information is located just to the south-east of Cuba in the Caribbean) shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and is as far from being a global power as you can get. It is home to 10 million people and the world’s 76th largest economy, which is largely built on tourism and mining.

And yet the Chinese Communist Party has judged that diplomatic recognition from the Dominican Republic is worth US$3.1 billion. The reason might seem obvious. China is ramping up its ongoing diplomatic assault on Taiwan by trying to steal its diplomatic allies at any price.

This is a factor of course. The Communist regime in China is fundamentally opposed to the democratically elected Taiwanese government given its unfounded claims to sovereignty over Taiwan. Any action which could be seen as damaging to the Taiwanese government and Taiwan’s international standing is therefore of interest to Beijing.
[FULL  STORY]

Fast self-test for dengue virus to be introduced in Taiwan this year

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/05/03
By: Chu Tse-wei and Ko Lin

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) A new device to self-test for dengue and zika viruses in less than 10

Image taken from Pixabay

minutes will hit the market in Taiwan in August, the company that developed it said Thursday.

The startup medical firm, BluSense Diagnostics, which has bases in both Taipei and Copenhagen, has designed the device to use one drop of blood for the test, its Executive Vice President Jessie Sun (孫偉芸) said.

The blood is analyzed and a positive or negative reading is given in just nine minutes with 90-95 percent accuracy, Sun said.

On average, laboratory testing for dengue infections can take up five hours and require the services of medical professionals, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

First Ever Gov’t Money Laundering Report Released

ICRT Radio News
Date: 2018-05-02

The government has released its first-ever official report on money
laundering in the country.

The report lists eight types of illegal behavior as ‘very high threat’ causes
of money laundering, including drug trafficking, fraud, corruption,
smuggling, and tax evasion.

It identifies intellectual property theft as another ‘high threat’ factor in
money laundering.

Premier William Lai says these areas are already high priority for the
government, which will continue its efforts to crack down on these types of
crime.    [FULL  STORY]

Tsai oversees Han Kuang computer-aided war games

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-05-02

President Tsai Ing-wen was at the nation’s military joint command center on Wednesday

Tsai oversees Han Kuang computer-aided war games. (CNA photo)

to oversee the computer-aided war games section of this year’s Han Kuang military exercises.

The war games began on Monday with a simulation of an invasion by Chinese forces and will run until May 4.

The president posted on her Facebook page that she was impressed by the commitment of Taiwan’s troops and their determination to defend the nation. She said she also is looking forward to the live-fire section of this year’s drills, which will take place in June. The president said she believes the display by the country’s armed forces will give the public confidence in the nation’s defense and security.    [FULL  STORY]

Jackie Chan’s estranged daughter blames homophobic parents for homelessness

Etta Ng says she has been living under a bridge with her Canadian girlfriend

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/05/02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Superstar Jackie Chan’s (成龍) estranged daughter, Etta Ng (吳

Etta Ng (right) with Andi Autumn (photo from YouTube).

卓林), blames her “homophobic parents” for having to live under a bridge with her Canadian girlfriend, according to media reports.

Ng was born in 1999 after an extramarital affair between Chan and former Miss Asia Elaine Ng (吳綺莉). She never had any contact with her father, who is reportedly worth US$395 million (NT$11.7 billion).

She released a video last week with her girlfriend, Andi Autumn, a 30-year-old Canadian described as a “social media influencer.”

“We’ve been homeless for a month due to homophobic parents. We pretty much slept under a bridge and other things,” Ng said, after introducing herself as Chan’s daughter. In previous statements, she had said that Chan had never been part of her life, and that she only regarded him as just another famous actor, not as her father.   [FULL  STORY]

University autonomy not a shield for personal responsibility: Premier

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/05/02
By: Ku Chuan, Hsieh Chia-chen, Fan Cheng-hsiang and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) Society will not accept anyone using “university autonomy” as a

Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德, center)

shield to avoid personal responsibility, Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said on Wednesday in response to critics who are urging the government to confirm Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) as president of National Taiwan University (NTU).

The Ministry of Education (MOE) decided on April 27 not confirm Kuan’s appointment as NTU president, citing conflict of interest during the selection process.

Since then, there have been accusations by NTU and people in the society of political interference and government intervention in university autonomy.

In response, Premier Lai told the press that the government would not dare intrude on university autonomy, nor would society allow it.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese rally at embassy

SUPPORT: The government would protect the rights and interests of Taiwanese in the Dominican Republic, despite the setback, Ambassador Tang Ji-zen said

Taipei Times
Date: May 03, 2018
By: William Hetherington  /  Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwanese expatriates in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday converged on the nation’s

A group of Taiwanese expatriates pose at the Republic of China embassy in the
Taiwanese rally at embassy
Dominican Republic yesterday during a visit to show their support fort Taiwan after the Caribbean nation on Monday cut its diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Photo courtesy of the Overseas Community Affairs Council

embassy in Santo Domingo to express their support after the Caribbean nation severed diplomatic ties with Taipei.

The Dominican Republic on Monday announced it was cutting ties with Taipei, ending its 77-year-long diplomatic relationship with the Republic of China.

The government would fully protect the rights and interests of Taiwanese living in the Dominican Republic, despite the development, Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Tang Ji-zen (湯繼仁) said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday attributed the development to China’s promise of a US$30 billion investment in the Dominican Republic.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan says China dangled $3 billion to grab ally Dominican Republic

Reuters
Date: April 30, 2018
By: Jess Macy Yu, Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) – China offered the Dominican Republic a $3.1 billion package of investments and loans to get them to sever ties with Taiwan, a Taiwan official said on Tuesday, after the Caribbean nation switched allegiance to China in a diplomatic blow to the self-ruled island.

China said there were no economic pre-conditions.

Taiwan, claimed by China as its own, has formal relations now with only 19 countries, many of them poor nations in Central America and the Pacific like Belize and Nauru. China says Taiwan is simply a wayward province with no right to state-to-state ties.

China and Taiwan have tried to poach each other’s allies over the years, often dangling generous aid packages in front of developing nations, though Taipei struggles to compete with an increasingly powerful China.

Panama ended its long-standing relationship with Taiwan last year in a major diplomatic victory for China. The Vatican is possibly next on the list, as the Holy See and China edge closer to an accord on the appointment of bishops in China.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan marks anniversary of meteorology pact with Solomon Islands

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-05-01

Taiwan and the Solomon Islands are marking a year of successful cooperation in the field of meteorology.

In 2017, Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding with the allied Pacific island nation on cooperation in meteorology. Since then, Taiwan has helped the Solomon Islands set up facilities for observing both weather conditions and earthquakes. Taiwan has also helped the country build systems that provide early warnings of natural disasters and that use weather data to predict outbreaks of dengue fever.

The two sides celebrated the past year’s accomplishments on Tuesday. The head of Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, Yeh Tien-chiang, spoke about the international attention the cooperation between the two sides has received.

Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands’ ambassador to Taiwan, Joseph Pius Waleanisia, said that his country needs accurate weather prediction and an early warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis. The ambassador said that the cooperation plan is important for his country and thanked Taiwan for its assistance.    [SOURCE]

Taiwan rock star politician has complicated feelings about Trump: Washington Post

Taiwan should give hope to oppressed peoples in East Asia: Lim

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/05/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwanese rock star and politician Freddy Lim (林昶佐) wants to

NPP lawmaker Freddy Lim (left). (By Central News Agency)

build a better Taiwan but has “complicated” feelings about United States President Donald Trump, the Washington Post reported Monday.

Lim, 42, first gained prominence as the front man for death metal band Chthonic, but in 2014, he was elected to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei for the New Power Party, the third force in Taiwanese politics.

In the title of the profile in the Washington Post, he is described as a “death metal singer (who) aims to breathe new life into Taiwanese, and Asian, democracy.”

Even though Taiwan has been isolated from the international community, people can still make an effort to make it a better place, Lim told the U.S. publication.    [FULL  STORY]