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Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Movement How Hong Kong Activists Are Sustaining Pro-Democracy Movement in Taiwan

The News Lens
Date: 2020/07/28
By: James X. Morris

Photo Credit: CNA

After a year of intense protesting, Hong Kong activists in Taiwan are shifting gears, organizing a group called Hong Kong Outlanders to encompass art, education, and lobbying of government figures to sustain interest in their cause.

Taiwan is a second home for many Hongkongers. As Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement enters its second year, some activists residing in Taiwan are shifting toward a new direction.

Enter Hong Kong Outlanders in Taiwan, a civic group established by Hongkongers who hope to sustain social awareness of the pro-democracy protests. The group has organized exhibits and workshops, as well as working with Taiwan’s government to provide humanitarian assistance for asylum-seeking Hongkongers. 

Last month, the Outlanders held its first Taipei exhibition, Surmount, featuring protest materials, art installations, and a series of online workshops with Hong Kong activists.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Kinmen vaccinates 80% of cattle for lumpy skin disease in one week

Taiwan races to nip disease in bud by administering vaccines donated from EU

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/28
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Veterinarian vaccinates cattle in Kinmen (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Over 80 percent of the 6,282 cattle in the outlying Kinmen islands have been immunized against lumpy skin disease, an infectious illness allegedly transported from China and which poses a threat to Taiwan’s beef and dairy markets.

In a bid to contain the outbreak caused by the mosquito-borne disease, Taiwan on July 23 began administering to the cattle 10,000 vaccine doses donated by the European Union. A total of 149 cattle were culled as of July 23, with 100 more scheduled to be killed, wrote CNA.

Inoculation work will be implemented for two to three years per the instructions of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), said Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城), deputy minister at the Council of Agriculture (COA). The race to vaccinate the animals has seen veterinarians from three universities mobilized, and 5,142 cattle had received a shot as of Monday (July 27).
[FULL  STORY]

Control Yuan orders corrective measures over Black Hawk crash

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/28/2020
By: Ku Chuan and Joseph Yeh

CNA file photo

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) The Control Yuan on Tuesday made public its demands that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) under the transportation ministry take steps to correct major errors that contributed to a helicopter crash in January in which eight military officers were killed.

The government watchdog agency said it passed a motion on July 23 demanding the two government agencies take corrective measures to prevent the re-occurrence of mistakes that ultimately led to the fatal UH-60M helicopter Black Hawk crash that killed the nation's top military commander, Chief of the General Staff Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴), among other military officials.

According to the Control Yuan, the MND needs to improve its training of Black Hawk helicopter pilots as lack of training was one of the main reasons for the deadly incident on the morning of Jan. 2.

The chopper, part of the Air Force Rescue Group, carrying 13 military personnel to a base in Dong'ao, Yilan County for a pre-Lunar New Year inspection, went down in the mountains of New Taipei's Wulai District.    [FULL  STORY]

Virus steps for foreign workers vital: experts

CENTRALIZED QUARANTINE: National Taiwan University public health experts said that digital contact tracing for foreign students and workers needs to be improved

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 29, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

National Taiwan University public health experts yesterday said that all foreign students and workers should undergo a centralized quarantine upon arrival in Taiwan, as well as being tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and departure.

The Central Epidemic Command Center on Monday reported a case of a Thai worker who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Thailand from Taiwan last week, saying that it could not rule out the possibility that it was a locally acquired case.

National Taiwan University College of Public Health dean Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權) said that following last month’s case of a student testing positive for COVID-19 in Japan after returning from Taiwan and the new case in Thailand, many people are worried about asymptomatic carriers in local communities in Taiwan.

“The cases imply that there is a remaining threat of potential asymptomatic carriers in local communities,” Chan said. “They also tell us that foreign students and workers should undergo a mandatory centralized quarantine, as it would be difficult to do contact tracing if a positive case is confirmed among them.”    [FULL  STORY]

City urges women to get mammogram, Pap smear

TESTS FOR A PRIZE: To encourage more women to take the tests, the Taipei government and a cancer foundation are offering prize scratch cards from Aug. 1 to Nov. 30

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 28, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Breast cancer and cervical cancer were the second and 14th-most common causes of death due to cancer in Taipei last year, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday, urging female residents to undergo government-funded cancer screening tests regularly.

Breast cancer has the highest incidence rate among women who have cancer in Taiwan, with the 2017 national cancer registry report showing that 13,965 women were diagnosed with the disease that year, which translates to about 38 women per day, Formosa Cancer Foundation chief executive officer Lai Gi-ming (賴基銘) said.

“Getting a mammogram is effective for detecting precancerous breast lesions and cancer, and if breast cancer is diagnosed at an early stage [stage 1 or stage 2] and treated, the five-year survival rate can be as high as 90 percent,” he said.

A total of 110,650 residents received the free mammograms last year, up 10.86 percent from the year before, Taipei Department of Health Commissioner Huang Shier-chieg (黃世傑) said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese Army holds event commemorating historic battle

Army organizes ceremony marking 70th year since battle of Dadan, Erdan islands

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/26
By: Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Army holds commemorative ceremony on Dadan Island. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Army Command Headquarters on Saturday (July 25) invited veterans of the battle of Kinmen's Dadan and Erdan Islands to participate in the ceremony commemorating 70 years since the conflict.

The Army held the event on Dadan Island in order to express gratitude to those who participated in the skirmish, support active-duty officers and soldiers guarding the front lines, and let Taiwanese understand the historical significance of the battle so as to build a consensus on national defense, CNA reported.

Army Commander General Chen Pao-yu (陳寶餘) pointed out that the islands are strategically important for safeguarding the security of Taiwan, adding that the military should keep in mind its historical experience when continuing training to develop solid combat capabilities. Before the ceremony, Chen joined the group of veterans and representatives from the Kinmen Defense at the Taiwu Mountain Cemetery to present flowers to past martyrs.

The historic battle began on July 26, 1950, when China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began shelling the area and subsequently launched an invasion with more than 700 troops in an attempt to capture the two islands. The 1st Battalion of the 225th Regiment of the Nationalist Army had less than 300 troops defending the territory.    [FULL  STORY]

Elementary school students on sailor training reach Penghu

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/26/2020
By: William Yen

Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) A group of Taiwan elementary school students, who were on a sailor training and marine education exercise, arrived in the offshore country of Penghu on Sunday, after a 17-hour trip on a sailboat.

The 60-foot boat, the "Barefoot," sailed into Argo Yacht Club in Penghu at dawn Sunday, carrying the captain, nine students, three teachers, and a cameraman who had embarked on the 155-kilometer journey from Kinmen Island the day before.

The boat trip was part of a program initiated by Yueming Elementary School in Yilan to allow students to learn boating skills and gain firsthand knowledge of the marine environment, "Barefoot" captain Chang Kuang-chung (張光中) said.

During the 17-hour trip, the students were taught how to raise, lower and trim the sails, Chang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Age no obstacle to seeking divorce for Pingtung man

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 27, 2020
By: Lee Li-fa, Wu Sheng-ju and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writer

A 101-year-old man has become one of Taiwan’s oldest plaintiffs in a divorce case after he filed for divorce from his 81-year-old Chinese-born wife, who has countersued, seeking half the couple’s assets.

The man, surnamed Chou (周), said his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), had left their Pingtung County home last year, saying she was “heading back to China for medical care.”

However, he later discovered that Chen was instead living in “the northern part” of Taiwan, and “several hundred thousand” New Taiwan dollars were missing from his bank account, which led him to file for divorce, he said.

Chou told the Pingtung District Court that he met Chen while visiting relatives in China about two decades ago, after his first wife died.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan extends visa-free entry for Brunei nationals

Borneo Bulletin
Date: July 26, 2020
By: James Kon & Azlan Othman

Taiwan on Thursday announced a one-year extension of trial visa-free entry for nationals from Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, and Russia from August 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021.

However, in line with COVID-19 prevention measures, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced entry regulations for foreigners during the outbreak.

The adjustments to visa measures for foreign nationals are based on previously existing policies and do not take precedence over temporary border control measures put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether restrictions will be relaxed for foreign nationals (apart from the exempted groups listed above) coming to Taiwan for tourism depends on the assessment of the worldwide development of the COVID-19 pandemic.    [FULL  STORY]

Top marks for EVA Air

Air101
Date: 25 July 2020

Travel + Leisure readers voted EVA Air in the Top-10 International Airlines of the magazine’s recent  25th annual World’s Best Awards reader survey. Based on personal travel experiences, readers were invited to rate airlines for cabin comfort, ground and inflight service, food and value. Survey results are available on the Travel + Leisure website now and will appear in the August 2020 print edition. 

The magazine points out that 4th ranked EVA moved up one spot from last year as readers praised its service, food and premium economy seats. One reader had even higher praise for flying in sitting up front: “My business class trip from Chicago to Taipei was the best airline experience I’ve ever had. Steak cooked to order, hot food options between mealtimes, plush down comforters and tons of legroom. Some business-class seats have a very narrow spot for your feet when the seat is laying flat but EVA’s seats had enough space for rolling over and getting a great night of sleep.”

“We are grateful for all of the support from passengers around the world,” said EVA President Clay Sun. “We never stop trying to excel and aim to make every passengers’ flight delightful with services and experiences that exceed expectations. Now, as we work to address impacts of COVID-19 on our own operations and our entire industry globally, we are also doing our best to maintain basic services to most of our major destinations. We continue to pay careful attention to details while we are simplifying services and taking additional measures to help prevent infection spread. We thoroughly sterilize cabins and follow strict protocols to safeguard our passengers’ health so they can be confident  when they choose to fly with us.”
[FULL  STORY]