Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/11/2020
By: Wen Kuei-hsiang, Yeh Su-ping, Chen Yun-yu and Emerson Lim

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Taiwan's representative-designate to the United States, has vowed to develop a trust-based partnership with the U.S. on many fronts, especially in the area of technology security.

The former legislator and National Security Council advisor was appointed as Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S. in June and will become the first woman to hold the position when she takes it over by the end of this month.

"I lived in the U.S. for 10 years, went to high school and graduate school and then found a job in Washington D.C. I feel like God wants me to serve as a bridge between Taiwan and the U.S.," she told CNA in an exclusive interview.

"Aside from that, I've been in close contact with the U.S. over the past three decades due to the nature of my work," she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 10 July, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

People arriving in the UK from Taiwan no longer need to self-quarantine for 14 days. The governments of Wales and Northern Ireland lifted self-quarantine measures for people entering their territory from Taiwan starting Friday. Both the English and Scottish governments had already removed such restrictions — meaning the entirety of the UK no longer requires travelers from Taiwan to quarantine.     [FULL  STORY]

CNN
Date: July 10, 2020
Opinion by: Lanhee Chen

(CNN)Public health professionals around the world have lauded Taiwan's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Along with nearby countries such as South Korea and Singapore, Taiwan has employed policy responses to Covid-19 that are worthy of emulation around the world. Taiwan, in particular, effectively contained Covid-19 by springing to action early, coordinating a government-wide response to the virus, and clearly communicating with its citizenry.

A society of about 24 million people, Taiwan has had only 449 confirmed cases of Covid-19 — and seven deaths. These numbers are remarkable given that Taiwan is less than 100 miles off the coast of mainland China, where the outbreak initially began. The two sides maintain strong commercial and cultural ties, though relations have grown frosty since the election of Taiwan's current president in 2016.

Taiwan has exported both its expertise and its medical supplies around the world. For world leaders looking to emulate Taiwan's strategy, four factors are key to understanding why it has been successful in the fight against Covid-19.

First, the geopolitical fight between Taiwan and the mainland, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), which considers the self-governing island a part of its territory, has fueled Taiwanese skepticism of Beijing's claims. Thus, when news of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan initially broke in December 2019, Taiwan did not rely on official Chinese pronouncements that the virus could be controlled and that it could not be transmitted between humans. Instead, it immediately started screening passengers on inbound flights from Wuhan, and moved quickly to identify and isolate any travelers who exhibited symptoms of Covid-19.   [FULL  STORY]

New Taipei resident frustrated over regular court summons, urges public not to ‘randomly enter’ ID card number

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/10
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hsieh Tiao-ken (謝條根), a Taiwanese citizen and the owner of national ID number "A123456789," said he has been troubled by constant illegitimate usage of his card by others and has received many court summons over the years.

According to Liberty Times, the 63-year-old New Taipei resident said he has frequently been misunderstood as a law offender by prosecutors until recently, when they decided to stop asking him to stand in court when related cases came up. He said his ID number is often used by government agencies as an example or by others for illegal purposes, resulting in him having been investigated for sex trade-related offenses, internet fraud, forgery, tax evasion, and registering on illegal adult websites.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/10/2020
By: Yang Shu-ching and intern Melissa Wu

Taipei, July 10 (CNA) Students in Taiwan are having trouble finding summer jobs in an economy that has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the results of a survey released Friday.

The "2020 post-pandemic students' summer work intention survey" conducted by Taipei-based 1111 Job Bank found that 82 percent of respondents were planning to work summer jobs to earn pocket money or help pay for school or living expenses.

More than four in five respondents (83.7 percent) said they have struggled to find jobs, and attributed their difficulties to fewer openings available, increased competition for the jobs on offer, and fewer shifts being scheduled by employers, the survey found.

1111 Job Bank spokesperson Vivi Hwang (黃若薇) said students are facing economic pressure before they enter the workplace and having "negative assets," such as student loans, is forcing them to work summer jobs to reduce their economic burdens.    [FULL  STORY]

TRAVEL EASING: The center welcomed a decision by Wales and Northern Ireland to exempt Taiwan from quarantine rules, but advised against unnecessary travel

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 11, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday announced two imported cases of COVID-

19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the nation to 451.

Case No. 450 is a woman in her 20s who returned on Sunday from work in the US, but did not report any symptoms until two days later when she was in home quarantine, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.

Health authorities have identified 35 people who have had contact with the woman, including 24 needing home isolation, he said.

Central Epidemic Command Center spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

The other 11 are flight attendants who only need to practice self-health management, as they had adopted proper protective measures onboard, Chuang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 09 July, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

Plans to open a Taiwanese representative office in Somaliland and a Somaliland representative office in Taipei are on hold due to COVID-19. That was the word from the foreign ministry’s chief of African affairs, Ali Yang, on Thursday.

Somaliland is a self-declared state in the Horn of Africa region. Its 1991 declaration of independence from Somalia is not internationally recognized. However, it maintains informal diplomatic contacts with a range of countries through a network of representative offices.
[FULL  STORY]

VN Express
Date: July 9, 2020
By: Phan Anh

Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) finds 30 Vietnamese nationals on a fishing vessel off the coast of Pingtung County, July 6, 2020. Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration.

A total 30 Vietnamese were discovered in a fishing vessel bound for Taiwan on Monday, its Coast Guard Administration (CGA) revealed Wednesday.

Three women and 27 men from Vietnam, aged 25-30, were found on a ship off the coast of Pingtung County, said Huang Shih-hsien, deputy head of the CGA’s Investigation Branch, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

The Vietnamese were later transported to a quarantine facility in Taichung City, where they would stay for 14 days per existing Covid-19 prevention measures. None of them had a fever or any respiratory symptoms, according to the CGA.

Once the quarantine period is over, the Vietnamese would be handed over to Taiwan’s Immigration Agency, it was confirmed.

ATAYAL Organization works with Taiwan to donate 3,000 face masks to Native American tribes in Washington State

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/09
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An organization that connects indigenous communities around the world coordinated with the Taiwan government to donate 3,000 masks to two Native American tribes and a county government official in Washington State late last month.

On June 29, representatives of the Nisqually and Lummi tribes and Snohomish County received 1,000 masks each at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Seattle with the assistance of the organization ATAYAL. Attending the ceremony were TECO Director-General Alex Fan, Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Nisqually Tribal Council Leader Hanford McCloud, Nisqually Economic Development Michael Mason, and Lummi Tribal Council Leader Freddie Xwenang Lane.

The meeting and donation were facilitated by ATAYAL, which is is a non-profit organization registered in Washington State and Florida. It was founded in 2001 with the mission of building bridges between indigenous tribes throughout the world, in order to promote cultural, educational, and economic exchanges.

During the meeting, Fan and Somers shared Taiwan's coronavirus containment strategy and policies with McCloud, and Lane and discussed cultural exchanges. McCloud shared stories of previous exchange experiences with visitors from Taiwan's Tao Tribe and "how it has created a relationship, a good one."    [FULL  STORY]