Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/10/2020
By Wen Kuei-hsiang, Wang Cheng-chung,
Yu Hsiang and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) The Presidential Office on Monday condemned Beijing for its latest provocative military act targeting Taipei after two Chinese warplanes briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line earlier in the day.

According to an Air Force statement, the two Chinese fighter jets, a Shenyang J-11 and a Chengdu J-10, briefly crossed the line to Taiwan's side of the median line at around 9 a.m.

They then retreated to the western side of the line after Taiwanese patrol planes issued radio warnings and with air defense missiles activated on the ground.

The incident came just one day after United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar and his delegation arrived for a visit Sunday. He is the first U.S. Cabinet official to visit Taiwan since 2014.    [FULL  STORY]

RARE OCCURRENCE: Most sea turtles go to beaches in Siaoliouciou, Orchid Island or Penghu to lay their eggs, and do not often visit Dawan Beach, a veterinarian said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 11, 2020
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

Twenty-four baby sea turtles on Sunday night safely returned to the ocean at Kenting National Park’s Dawan Beach with help from government workers and National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium veterinarians.

This was the second time since 2017 that baby sea turtles were found in Kenting National Park.

The turtles were discovered on Sunday night by Kenting Chateau Beach Resort employees, who quickly contacted the Kenting National Park Administration Office.

Representatives from the office, coast guard and the museum arrived at the beach, as the turtles were crawling toward the lights at the hotel.    [FULL  STORY]

A Hong Kong bookseller has recreated his shop in Taipei, and it has become a symbol of Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.

The New York Times
Date: Aug. 9, 2020
By: Javier C. Hernández and Amy Chang Chien

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Inside a hushed bookstore in central Taipei one recent night, Ju Lee-wen stood beneath a large black banner that said “Revolution Now!” and raised her fist into the air.

Ms. Ju, a 26-year-old lawyer, is concerned by China’s increasingly authoritarian policies, including harsh new security laws in Hong Kong. She went to Causeway Bay Books, an irreverent shop stocked with volumes critical of the Chinese Communist Party, to show her support for democracy in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“We have to fight to protect our freedom and our future,” Ms. Ju said.

Causeway Bay Books, which occupies a cramped room on the 10th floor of a drab office building, has in recent weeks become a gathering place for people worried about the future of Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that China claims as its own. As China’s leaders lead a sweeping crackdown on free speech and activism in Hong Kong, fears are growing that Beijing may move to more aggressively bring Taiwan, too, under its control.
[FULL  STORY]

Global Times
Date:  2020/8/9
By: Liu Xu1anzun

Ground and naval forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) have been on concentrated schedules in amphibious landing and maritime exercises in the past weeks and will continue to do so in the weeks to come, at a time when the US has been frequently conducting provocative military activities near the island of Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

The PLA drills are a show of capability and determination, and the US should be warned and should not make dangerous moves to avoid misjudgments that neither side would like to see, analysts said on Sunday.

Ground troops attached to the PLA 74th Group Army, which is based in South China's Guangdong Province, recently conducted a beach assault in a mock confrontation between offensive and defensive camps in South China's Hainan Province, China Central Television (CCTV) reported Saturday.

A brigade boarded landing ships at dusk, started sailing at night and arrived at the frontline in the early morning of the next day. With the help of saturated artillery fire from multiple rocket launcher systems, the landing troops successfully seized the beach, CCTV reported.
[FULL  STORY]

Unmasked crowds spotted at local night markets despite Taiwan’s updated mask-wearing policy

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/09
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Huge unmasked crowds were seen swarming local night markets across Taiwan Saturday (Aug. 8) on the first weekend following the Central Epidemic Command Center's (CECC) announcement of eight public environments where mask-wearing is compulsory.

On Wednesday (Aug. 5), Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) pointed out that a compulsory mask-wearing policy will be implemented at eight public settings, including night markets and shopping malls, in response to the country's recent uptick in coronavirus cases. He said the regulations will take effect immediately, though no fines will be issued to violators for now.

Despite the new regulations, the majority of the people visiting popular night markets Saturday did not put on a face mask, with those at Taipei's Shilin Night Market being the only exception. According to CNA, most visitors also failed to maintain a safe social distance of one meter.

Visitors interviewed by media complained that the mask-wearing policy is difficult to follow at night markets and places that serve food. Meanwhile, a few people even stressed that Taiwan's pandemic situation is not serious enough for mask-wearing to become compulsory in outdoor spaces.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/09/2020
By: interns Grace Hu, Meryl Kao, and Eden Wang

Taipei, Aug. 9 (CNA) Three trail builders who have dedicated themselves to constructing eco-friendly hiking trails around Taiwan for decades, preserving traditional skills for the younger generation, were honored with an award in Taipei Sunday.

Lin Hsien-chao (林先朝), Fan Kuang-cheng (范光政), and Ripunu Abalriini were presented with the 2020 Best Trail Builder/Repairer Award by the Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association at an award ceremony at the Taipei Mayor's Residence Art Salon.

The not-for-profit association said it launched the award in 2018 to promote trail building and related traditional building and repair skills, noting that trail builders are adapt at a wide range of construction techniques depending on the geological and soil conditions of different locations.

Abalriini, who uses slate and shale to build stone slab houses and trails, started to learn masonry from his father at the age of 10, according to the association.    [FULL  STORY]

PERCEPTION POLL: While the number of juvenile delinquents has seen a decline, many see problems with young people sidelined in school to become delinquent

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 10, 2020
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

A survey on deviant behavior and delinquency among teenagers showed that nearly 98 percent of the respondents are concerned about substance abuse, with more than 90 percent also worried about street gangs.

The survey, released yesterday by the Professor Huang Kun-huei Education Foundation last month, asked people aged 20 and above about their experiences with and opinions on teenage delinquency, and showed widespread concern over peer pressure leading teenagers to commit crimes.

While 97.9 percent of the respondents said they were most concerned about substance abuse, street gangs (94.9 percent), self-harm (90.9 percent) and theft (90.4 percent) were also significant concerns to the respondents, the study showed.

Bullying on the Internet was a concern to about 70 percent of the respondents, while 61 percent said that they knew of cases in which teenagers were physically bullied.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 07 August, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is set to lead a delegation to Taiwan that will pay respects to late President Lee Teng-hui. Lee passed away on July 30 at the age of 98 due to multiple organ failure. 

The Japanese Diet held a press conference Friday outlining plans for the visit. A total of seven Japanese lawmakers will travel to Taiwan on a charter jet.    [FULL  STORY]

The meeting between top U.S. and Taiwanese officials is sure to provoke a strong reaction from Beijing.

Foreign Policy
Date: Aug 7, 2020
By: Dan Haverty

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will lead a delegation to Taiwan on Sunday to meet with senior Taiwanese officials in a rare high-profile visit to the island. Planned discussions will focus on the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the visit comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing have rapidly escalated. It is expected to provoke a strong reaction from China.

China considers Taiwan to be a part of its national territory, and it has blocked the island from joining several international bodies. The United States broke off formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979 as it began cultivating a closer relationship with Beijing, but it has continued to sell weapons to the country and continues to be its biggest arms supplier. Members of the U.S. government occasionally make trips to the island but visits by cabinet officials are rare.

China threatens countermeasures. In advance of Sunday’s visit, China threatened to take “strong countermeasures in response to the U.S. behavior.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin did not provide details on what retaliatory action Beijing might take, but it threatened to sanction the U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin last month for selling weapons to Taiwan. Recent decisions to close a U.S. consulate in Chengdu and to sanction some U.S. politicians could also provide insight into the Chinese response.    [FULL  STORY]

Chuang dedicated life to compiling visual record of historical objects, people, events, and places since 1895

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/07
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese historian and popular book writer Chuang Yung-ming (莊永明) passed away on Friday (Aug. 7), leaving a legacy as the most informative Taiwanese historian and a prolific writer.

Chuang's family confirmed his death in the morning and said a simple funeral will be held, according to his will. A memorial or musical event will also be arranged to remember the giant of Taiwanese literature.

Born in 1942 and raised in Taipei's oldest district, Dadaocheng (大稻埕), also known as Twatutia, Chuang devoted himself to historical studies and became active in Taiwanese literature in his late 20s. He became a columnist for a top newspaper in 1982 and wrote systematic reviews of Taiwanese culture and history, winning awards and the title of Taiwan's top history expert.

After retiring as an accountant, Chuang turned into a full-time, prolific historian, dedicating his time to compiling a visual record of historical objects, people, events, and places, which can be traced back to Japanese rule (1895-1945).    [FULL  STORY]