KMT decides training needed after suffering ridicule by Taiwanese netizens

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/01
By: Eric Chang, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After failing to successfully occupy the Legislative Yuan in protest of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) nomination of Chen Chu (陳菊) for the head of the country’s government watchdog, former Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Chu Li-lun (朱立倫) announced over Facebook on Wednesday (July 1) that he and four other KMT legislators had taken boxing classes.

Chu Li-lun along with KMT legislators Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷), Chen I-hsin (陳以信), Hsieh I-feng (謝衣鳳), and Li Kuei-min (李貴敏) took boxing lessons in order to get stronger in preparation for future fights, according to Chu. Chu’s office released photos and video of the KMT members during their training, adding that future classes will cover rock climbing and flywheel training, CNA reported.

Taiwanese netizens were quick to poke fun at the KMT’s very short occupation of the legislature and the ineffectiveness of KMT legislators, which caused members within the party to come up with the idea to take boxing classes to show the public their tough side.

KMT party members also noted that Chu a few days earlier had said that there was a need for checks and balances in a democratic society and that there should be opposition to one-party dominance. Chu said the Control Yuan cannot be dominated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and asked the media and society to keep an eye on the DPP.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/01/2020
By: Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, July 1 (CNA) Taiwan and Somaliland, a self-declared state in East Africa, have signed an agreement to set up representative offices in each other's territory, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Wednesday.

The agreement was signed between Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and his Somaliland counterpart Yasin Hagi Mohamoud on Feb. 26, when Mohamoud led a delegation to Taipei, Wu said at a press conference.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu shakes hands with Somaliland Foreign Minister Yasin Hagi Mohamoud after signing the agreement/ Photo courtesy of MOFA

Mohamoud also met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during the trip, Wu said.

Wu's announcement on Wednesday came after a report a day earlier by the Somaliland Chronicle, which cited sources as saying that Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi had appointed a representative to Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

SOUTH WINDS: Taiwan’s southeastern region, as well as central and southern regions, would see regional showers and thundershowers, the Central Weather Bureau said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 02, 2020
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the afternoon in the next two days might cause damage in affected areas, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday, urging people to stay vigilant.

With the weakening of a Pacific high-pressure system and with a frontal system in the north moving south, the nation would come under the influence of southwest and south winds today, the bureau said.

People in the nation’s southeastern region, as well as in central and southern Taiwan, are likely to experience regional showers or thundershowers, it said.

Chances of afternoon thundershowers are high nationwide, and people in some regions are likely to experience heavy or extremely heavy rainfall, the bureau said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 30 June, 2020
By: Paula Chao

The foreign ministry says opening Taiwan’s borders to EU member countries will pose a risk of COVID-19 transmission. That’s the word from Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Joanne Ou on Tuesday.

Ou said the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe has not been curbed yet and the Central Epidemic Control Center has yet to include EU member countries in its list of countries with “low and medium-low risks.”    [FULL  STORY]

Straits Times
Date: July 1, 2020
By: Shaffiq Alkhatib, Court Correspondent

A Taiwanese woman, who was not wearing a mask when she tried to enter Ion Orchard mall, purposely sneezed in a security guard's direction when denied entry amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Sun Szu-Yen, 46, then said: "You get it? You get it already!"

After that, she took her passport out of her bag and said: "I am China. I am Taiwan."

Sun, who is in Singapore on a long-term pass, pleaded guilty in a district court yesterday to one count of performing a rash act and an unrelated harassment charge.

On April 12, security guard Devika Rani Muthu Krishnan, 56, was deployed to one of the entrances of Ion Orchard at Lift Lobby A on the fifth storey.

One of the Singaporean's tasks was to ensure that shoppers' particulars were recorded on a form for contact tracing. She also had to ensure that they wore masks before entering the mall.
[FULL  STORY]

Ministry of National Defense refuses to comment on latest aircraft movements, says no cause for concern

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/30
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hours after Beijing's top legislative body unanimously passed the controversial national security law for Hong Kong, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon airplane was observed flying over the Taiwan Strait Tuesday morning (June 30), according to the Peking University Institute of Ocean Research's SCS Probing Initiative.

In a Twitter post published at 11:50 a.m., the Beijing think tank said an American warplane appeared north of the Taiwan Strait and less than 45 nautical miles off the Chinese baseline. It said the aircraft departed the U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan and was traveling in the direction of the South China Sea.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/30/2020
By: Su Mu-chun and William Yen

Taichung, June 30 (CNA) A Thai migrant worker died after being struck on the head by a machine component in Taichung on Tuesday, according to the city's fire bureau.

Taichung Fire Bureau received a report at 6:53 a.m. Tuesday of the worker needing urgent medical attention after he fell into a stirring furnace at a cast iron factory in the city's Wuqi District.

Upon arrival at the scene, the 43-year-old man was discovered already carried to an open area within the factory with injuries to his head and no vital sign of life, a first responder said.

The man was rushed to Tungs' Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival, the first responder said.    [FULL  STORY]

A DEPRIVATION? The Taiwan Higher Education Union said the program, which drew much student criticism, deprived the students of their right to an education

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 01, 2020
By: Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter

The Taiwan Higher Education Union on Monday accused Ming Chuan University (MCU) of sacrificing its students’ right to education by altering the English-language instruction for first-year students.

The university, which has long emphasized the value that it places on English-language education, in the 2019-2020 academic year changed its English program for first-year students to a combination of self-learning through online videos and weekly lab sessions, during which students would take online tests, the union said.

The change has deprived more than 3,000 students of in-person instruction and of interaction with their teachers, the union added.

The online program drew much criticism from students online, the union said, adding that it deprived the students of their right to education, as well as equality of education. 
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 29 June, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

Taiwan’s legislature has launched a three-week special legislative session despite protests from opposition Kuomintang lawmakers on Monday morning.

One of the main goals of the session is to approve nominees for the Examination Yuan, the Control Yuan and the National Communications Commission (NCC).

On Sunday, more than 20 KMT legislators stormed into the legislature, blocking entry to the main chamber with chairs and chains. They were protesting the nomination of former Presidential Office Secretary-General and former Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu to head the government’s Control Yuan.

The Control Yuan is the investigative agency that monitors the other four branches of government. It consists of 29 members, who are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature every six years.    [FULL  STORY]

The Straits Times
Date: June 30, 2020
By: Katherine Wei Taiwan Correspondent

"Revenge outing" is the latest thing in Taiwan, where the Covid-19 outbreak has been kept well in check, with under 450 confirmed cases and seven deaths since the first case was reported in January.

After months of staying at home, people have turned to domestic travel and outdoor sports with a vengeance. Many have also resumed visits to Taipei's vibrant night markets, popular for local specialities and street food, shopping and their heady atmosphere.

"Things are looking so much better now. Look, I have people lining up for a table! My regulars started coming back in May," said Mrs Huang Su-mei, 54, who runs a pepper shrimp stand with her family in Ningxia Night Market in Taipei.

Customers expressed surprise at having to line up on a Wednesday night, with some saying that the coronavirus scare had started to die down.    [FULL  STORY]