Panda cub slated to make its public debut around Christmas

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/29
By: Lyla Liu, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei Zoo's giant panda welcomed her second baby on Sunday (June 28).

The giant panda Yuanyuan (圓圓) gave birth to her second cub You Zai (幼仔) after suffering five hours of labor pain in Taipei Zoo yesterday (Jun 28), according to the Zoo's Facebook page. Yuan Zai (圓仔), Yuanyuan's first child, was born in 2013.

The spokesperson for the zoo, Tsao Hsien-shao (曹先紹), shared that workers tried to let the mother panda take care of her baby, but she seemed to be very tired and lacked nursing experience, so they had to take over, reported CNA. Tsao said the cub had back injuries and was not fed until 5 hours after it was born.

However, Yuan Zai is now in good shape after treatment by the veterinarian.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/29/2020
By: Ku Chuan and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) The Executive Yuan is scheduled to release a national human rights action plan that will detail Taiwan's ongoing efforts and accomplishments on Dec. 10 to mark Human Rights Day, a senior Cabinet official said Monday.

Minister without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said the action plan will describe progress on human rights protections, including on how it plans to operate a Human Rights Committee under the Control Yuan that will begin operations in August.

Another major focus will be on how the government intends to regulate private companies to prevent, address and remedy human rights abuses committed by businesses, Lo added.

Lo made the comments at a Cabinet press event during which Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) released the nation's third human rights report.    [FULL  STORY]

To improve ties with Beijing, Delhi has been reluctant to work with Taipei. Shed the diffidence, engage more

Hindustan Times
Date: Jun 28, 2020
By: Sana Hashmi 

The India-China border stand-off in the Galwan Valley, following China’s incursion into Indian territory, is a reminder of India’s perennial problems with China. The recent violent clashes are an indication of Beijing’s hardline approach towards India. The statements issued by Chinese officials and the ministry of foreign affairs have made it clear that the Chinese are in no mood for a rapprochement. What these clashes have confirmed is that this is not just about differing perceptions of the boundary, but China’s blatant attempts to change the status quo. This is in clear violation of the Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas signed in 1993. A full-fledged conflict is not in the interest of either country. In this context, India has no option but to engage China in a dialogue to defuse tensions.

But dialogue and confidence-building measures alone will not lead India towards a resolution of the problem. History shows that China goes for boundary dispute resolutions only when it finds that the gains are tangible. For now, it is in its interest to keep the dispute alive. China’s aggressive posture towards India and the boundary dispute set the right context for why there could not be a better time for India to engage Taiwan meaningfully.    [FULL  STORY]

Straits Times
Date: June 28, 2020
By: Lim Ruey Yan

Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou set up his Instagram (IG) account in August 2017. It was the first social media account he set up after 17 years in the entertainment industry.

His Facebook and Weibo accounts are run by his editing team.

Chou's first photo on his newly-set up Instagram was a photo of himself with his mother Yeh Hui-mei. His new account attracted more than 35,000 followers in a day.

Since then, Chou has been an active IG user, posting about his personal as well as professional life. He has written posts on his family and with his celebrity friends.
[FULL  STORY]

Crowds prompt thirsty resident to wonder aloud when convenience store refrigerators will be replenished

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/28
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An Orchid Island (Lanyu Township) resident mocked the sight of drink shelves emptied quickly by tourists at a local convenience store during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, saying, "Is a typhoon coming?"

Since the beginning of the long holiday on Thursday (June 25), more than 3,500 tourists have landed on Orchid Island, which is off the coast of Taiwan's southeastern Taitung County. As a holiday heatwave has been roasting much of the nation, including Orchid Island, most of the drink shelves at the 7-Eleven convenience store on the island were emptied by tourists as soon as they were replenished, according to CNA.

The fact that the island's Hongtou (紅頭) and Dongcing (東清) villages are also holding millet harvest festivals during this period has contributed to a larger than usual number of visitors to the island. Each ferry to the island reached its passenger capacity during the first three days of the holiday.

A convenience store clerk said that as the sun was belting down on tourists over the holiday, drinks were the hottest merchandise, and other items such as instant noodles, bread, and packaged snacks were selling well, too.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/28/2020
By: Matt Yu and Emerson Lim

Taipei, June 28 (CNA) An American P-8A maritime patrol aircraft was spotted Sunday operating over the Bashi Channel, a strategic water way connecting the South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean, according to Chinese think tank South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI).

"Regular U.S. reconnaissance in the #SouthChinaSea of June 28, #AE68A2," the SCSPI, a South China Sea movement tracker established by Peking University, tweeted at 2:24 p.m., referring to the P-8A.

"There is also a P-3C purportedly, but we can not confirm," the tweet further said.

Both P-8A Poseidon and P-3C Orion are U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft with anti-submarine capabilities.    [FULL  STORY]

Mainichi Japan
Date: June 27, 2020

TAINAN, Taiwan (Kyodo) — An annual mango festival kicked off in the Taiwanese city of Tainan on Friday, with officials pointing out that sales of the popular fruit remain brisk, despite the hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Tainan International Mango Festival, which runs this year from June 26 to July 12, comes at the peak of the city's mango season and includes a variety of mango-themed events.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che told the crowd at Tsou Ma Lai Farm in Tainan, southern Taiwan, that despite COVID-19, the city's export of mangoes has grown by 14 percent since January this year compared to the same period last year.

"We hope the number will increase to 20 percent at the end of the mango season," Huang said.    [FULL  STORY]