Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/09/2020
By: Chen Yun-yu and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, June 9 (CNA) Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil will lead a delegation of political, business and scientific leaders to Taiwan later this year, traveling on a government aircraft in keeping with the protocol of an official visit, Czech media reported Tuesday.

The visit is planned for Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, Vystrčil announced at a press conference Tuesday, saying the country needs to stand up for Taiwanese sovereignty and democratic values in the face of political pressure and threats by Beijing, according to Czech broadcaster CT24zive.

In practical terms, Vystrčil said, the visit will serve as a means to strengthen economic, educational, scientific and cultural ties between the two sides, the TV station reported.

Vystrčil's predecessor Jaroslav Kubera, who died of a heart attack in January, was a long-time supporter of Taiwan and was planning to visit the country in February.    [FULL  STORY]

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS: The invitation to a free tour of the island on Aug. 1 for people whose names include the word ‘turtle’ has been criticized as a stunt

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

The Northeast Coast and Yilan National Scenic Area Administration has planned a series of events in August to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of Turtle Island (龜山島) to the public, but one promotion has landed the agency in hot water.

The island off the main island’s northeast coast was designated a military restricted zone in 1977 and the government forced its residents to relocate to Taiwan proper. The restriction was not lifted until 2000, when the government decided to turn it into a tourist attraction.

The Tourism Bureau agency has invited those who used to live and work on Turtle Island to return for a visit on Aug. 1, including those who attended elementary school on the island, teachers, military personnel, police, doctors and nurses.

It also invited people whose names include the word “turtle” to visit the same day and take a free tour of the island.   [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 08 June, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Guishan Island[/caption] A small uninhabited island off the coast of Yilan County in eastern Taiwan is commemorating 20 years of tourism. People once lived on the island but were evacuated for safety reasons. Four decades later, people that came from Guishan Island are returning in search of their roots.

It’s like a scene from a movie: the tiny Guishan Island which is named for its turtle-like shape. In 2000, Taiwan opened the island for tourism. Visitors can take a boat out to see the dolphins, or set foot on the island and explore the lush natural scenery.

Today, Guishan Island is uninhabited. But that wasn’t always the case. Before 1977, there were close to 200 families living there. The government even built a school for the local children. But the authorities relocated Guishan Island’s residents to Taiwan proper for safety reasons. 

In 1994, a hundred fishing boats transported the former residents back to their island home so that they could pay tribute to their ancestors.     [FULL  STORY]

Watch how the defense of tiny islands test the U.S. resolve this summer.

The American Conservative
Date: June 8, 2020
By: Ted Galen Carpenter

The recent behavior of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on multiple issues should be setting off alarm bells throughout the international system. 

Beijing’s duplicity and attempted blame-shifting regarding the coronavirus pandemic is one example, but the decision to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong is even more troubling. That measure greatly dilutes, if not eliminates, Hong Kong’s promised autonomous status. On the heels of that move, the PRC government appears to be turning its malevolent attention to Taiwan. 

In a speech on May 21, Premier Li Keqiang noticeably left out the word “peaceful” in referring to Beijing’s intention to “reunify” with Taiwan. That omission signaled an ominous policy shift, even as Beijing’s ties with Taipei already were on a downward spiral. Relations between Taiwan and the mainland have become increasingly tense ever since the landslide victory of Tsai Ing-wen and her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party in the island’s 2016 elections. Tsai’s even wider re-election victory in January 2020 increased Beijing’s frustration and anger. Among other provocations, Taiwan complains about growing PRC military harassment since the coronavirus pandemic began, with fighter jets and naval vessels regularly approaching the island on drills. 

Confirmation that Beijing is no longer committed to “peaceful” reunification came just days after Li’s speech. Speaking on the 15th anniversary of China’s Anti-Secession Law (a 2005 measure directed at Taiwan), Gen. Li Zuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff Department and member of the Central Military Commission stated bluntly that China will attack Taiwan if that move becomes necessary to stop it from seeking official independence. Such a statement from one of the PRC’s most senior military leaders indicates that Beijing’s patience on the Taiwan issue is wearing very thin.    [FULL  STORY]

TSP Legislator Chen Po-wei says existing regulations are outdated, need overhaul to cut Chinese reliance

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/08
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) joined a number of critics on Monday (June 8) calling for stricter rules regarding Chinese investment in Taiwan as the island country seeks to reduce reliance on China.

There is an urgent need for a review of a regulation pertaining to investment activity in Taiwan conducted by Chinese people, companies, and organizations, which has not been revisited since 2015, said Chen at a press conference. He was accompanied by Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強), convenor of the civic group Economic Democracy Union (經濟民主連合), and Shen Pao-yang (沈伯洋), assistant professor of the National Taipei University’s Graduate School of Criminology.

According to Lai, Taiwan opened up a number of areas for Chinese investment during President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) administration between 2008 and 2016. Lai was a supporter of the Sunflower Student Movement in 2014 that protested the forced passage of a trade pact with China.

As a result of President Ma's policies, the Chinese have been allowed to invest in domestic sectors from manufacturing, public construction, public transportation, IT services, to new urban development projects, Lai stated. This runs contradictory to President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) plans to cut back dependence on China, CNA quoted him as saying.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/08/2020
By: Yeh Su-ping, Chen Yun-yu and Emerson Lim

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) vowed on Monday to develop Taiwan into a sustainable maritime nation as the country marked World Oceans Day and its first-ever National Oceans Day.

"Taiwan is surrounded by ocean. Oceans connect us to the world and bring limitless possibilities," Tsai said on a Facebook post.

"Aside from continuing to strengthen maritime security, we will diversify our maritime industries, in consideration of ecological conservation and sustainable maritime development," Tsai said, adding that she will encourage the country to embrace the oceans through friendlier regulations and policies.

June 8 was recognized as World Oceans Day by the United Nations in 2008, 16 years after the concept was introduced by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit.    [FULL  STORY]

According to Taiwan's Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, Mr Han Kuo-yu (left) will not be allowed to run for Kaohsiung mayor again in the next four years. PHOTO: REUTERS

Straits Times
Date: June 7, 2020
By: Katherine Wei Taiwan Correspondent In Kaohsiung  

Ousted Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu will be relieved of his position and duties by Friday at the latest and the by-election for the new mayor will be held before Sept 12, within three months of Mr Han's termination.

According to Taiwan's Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, Mr Han, 62, who is from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which traditionally favours close ties with China, will not be allowed to run for Kaohsiung mayor again in the next four years.

But the by-election will be put on hold should Mr Han and the KMT decide to file a recall lawsuit to challenge the results. A total of 939,090 people voted for Mr Han's removal last Saturday – more than the number of people who voted for his mayoral election in November 2018.

Many of these residents in Kaohsiung, in the unprecedented recall vote, showed their disapproval over Mr Han's unfulfilled campaign promises, as well as his taking months off for his presidential campaign last year just months after he was elected as Kaohsiung mayor.  [FULL  STORY]

Epoch Times
Date: June 7, 2020
By: Frank Fang

Hong Kong democracy activists said they were greatly inspired by the historical recall election in Taiwan on June 6, after a Beijing-friendly mayor was voted out for being “unfit” for office.

“Han Kuo-yu, who’s aligned himself with authoritarian China’s interest, has been booted as mayor of #Kaohsiung by democratic vote,” tweeted Joshua Wong, the secretary-general of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy party Demosistō on Saturday evening, after the election results.

Wong added: “A great victory for #democracy and a clear message from Taiwanese saying ‘no’ to [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping and Beijing’s influence on #Taiwan.”

In southern Taiwan’s city of Kaohsiung, more than 939,000 voted in favor, while slightly over 25,000 voted against, the recall of mayor Han Kuo-yu, a member of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party. The vote marked the first time that a Taiwanese official was removed this way.    [FULL  STORY]

Ko traveled around world, fascinated by dance

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/06
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — One of the top photographers in Taiwan, Ko Si-chi (柯錫杰), passed away in his hometown of Tainan on Friday (June 5) at the age of 90.

Ko received his first camera at the age of 19, setting him on the path to become the country's foremost photographer, CNA reported. During his teenage years, he witnessed the loss of his well-to-do family's fortune, the death of his mother, and the destruction of his family home during bombing raids by the United States Air Force on the Japanese-held island.

After the war, Ko spent time in jail for deserting from the army. He studied photography in Japan and applied his new-found knowledge in Kaohsiung. In the 1960s, he moved to the United States, where he continued to specialize in photographing dancers, according to a report in Taiwan Today.

However, commercial photography did not satisfy him, so he found his mission in life was to travel around the world and take pictures in order to let his compatriots in Taiwan see what the outside world was like, reports said. At the time, Taiwan was still relatively poor and isolated, and most people did not have the opportunity to travel overseas.    [FULL  STORY]