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Tsai congratulates St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Harris on reelection

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/07/2020
By: Emerson Lim

President Tsai Ing-wen (left) St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harris attend an evening banquet during her visit to the Caribbean country in July 2019.

Taipei, June 7 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Sunday tweeted a congratulatory message to St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harris, whose party has secured a second term in the country's general elections the previous day.

"Congratulations @pmharriskn on your re-election victory, a testament to what you've accomplished over the past 5 years," said Tsai, who commenced her second term on May 20 after being reelected in January.

"Our shared values give us a strong foundation for cooperation, & I look forward to working with you & the people of #StKittsAndNevis," she tweeted in her message to Harris, leader of St. Kitts and Nevis, one of Taiwan's nine diplomatic allies in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Tsai has also sent a formal congratulatory letter to Harris, who led his coalition Team Unity to a second consecutive victory, in the country's general election on June 5, winning nine of the 11 seats, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).    [FULL  STORY]

In exam, most students choose to run coffee shop

JUNIOR-HIGH ESSAY: Others were more original, with one student saying that he would open an eatery, as cooking noodles brought him and his grandfather closer

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 08, 2020
By: Rachel Lin / Staff reporter

Students answer questions at a school in Taipei on May 17, the second day of the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Most junior-high school students would open a coffee shop if they were to run their own business, the writing test in this year’s Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students showed.

More than 200,000 students took part in the high-school entrance exams on May 16 and 17.

The subject of this year’s writing test was if they were to open a shop, what kind would it be?

A coffee shop was the most popular choice, followed by a grocery store and a restaurant, Affiliated Senior High School of National Kaohsiung Normal University principal Lee Chin-yang (李金鴦), who participated in scoring the essays, told a public briefing hosted by the Ministry of Education in Taipei on Saturday.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s ‘Donald Trump’ Loses in Historic Recall

Bloomberg News
Date: June 06, 2020
By: Samson Ellis and Argin Chang, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) — Residents of the southern Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to remove their mayor from office, bringing to an end the meteoric political rise and fall of a man dubbed Taiwan’s Donald Trump.

Of the 2.3 million citizens eligible to vote, about 40.8% supported the recall of Mayor Han Kuo-yu, while 1.1% opposed it, according to data on the website of the Kaohsiung City Election Commission. Han, Taiwan’s first city mayor to be recalled, conceded defeat in a TV broadcast.

“It’s unfortunate that our team have been constantly discredited, facing distorted, slanderous and unfounded criticism,” Han said. “I wish all the best to the kind citizens of Kaohsiung and that the next mayor let Kaohsiung people live a good life.”

Civil groups initiated the campaign to oust Han after he accepted the opposition Kuomintang’s nomination to run in the presidential election just months after being elected mayor in November 2018, breaking a previous promise he would see out his four-year term. He has been mayor of the city for 18 months.    [FULL  STORY]

Meat cleaver massages may be the next big trend in wellness

New York Post
Date: June 6, 2020
By: Paula Froelich

The Daoliao knife massageShutterstock

An ancient (and visually terrifying) form of massage using meat cleavers is seeing a resurgence in Taiwan — and could be coming to America.

In the practice, known as daoliao — which translates literally to “knife massage” — practitioners pound stress points in your body using the sharpened edge of kitchen instruments usually used for hacking up dinner meats, while soothing your energy and reading your fortune.

Practiced for over 2,000 years, the epicenter of the art is The Dao LiaoI-King Education center in Taipei where locals and foreigners can experience the ultimate relaxation, or learn the ancient technique.

Guests are wrapped in towels and robes before the practitioners start pounding their bodies, targeting pressure points.  Videos of people being “chopped” have surfaced on YouTube and the effect is … like a relaxing “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” — without the blood.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan reports 55 consecutive days without local coronavirus cases

Only seven patients still undergoing treatment in isolation, death toll remains at seven

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

CECC chief Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung  (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan reported no new Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) patients Saturday (June 6), keeping the total at 443.

The announcement by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) means the island country has achieved 55 days in a row without local transmissions. The death toll remains at seven, while 429 patients have been released from isolation after treatment at hospitals, leaving only seven still being treated for the virus.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan reiterates sovereignty rights over Diaoyutai Islands

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/06/2020
By: Emerson Lim

CNA file photo

Taipei, June 6 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Saturday reiterated Taiwan's sovereignty rights over the Diaoyutai Islands, called Senkaku Islands by Japan, amid a reported plan by a Japanese local government to change their district name.

The Diaoyutai Islands are "undoubtedly inherent parts of the Republic of China," the formal name of Taiwan, the MOFA said in a statement on Saturday.

"The fact that our country has the sovereignty rights over the Diaoyutai Islands will not change because of any country's attempt to alter their name," the ministry said.

The statement was in response to a news report by Okinawa Times earlier in the day.
[FULL  STORY]

Consuming alcohol, poor diet linked to liver cancer

RISK FACTOR: If left untreated, a fatty liver can increase the chance of developing cirrhosis or liver cancer by 10 to 20 percent, a doctor at Cathay General Hospital said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 07, 2020
By: Yang Yuan-chi and Lo Chi / Staff reporters

About 20 percent of Taiwanese with liver cancer also have a diagnosis of fatty liver disease or alcoholic liver disease, Taiwan Cancer Registry data showed.

One in four people worldwide have fatty liver disease, while the incidence rate in Taiwan ranges between 11.4 percent and 41 percent, reports released by the National Health Research Institutes showed.

The main causes of fatty liver disease are high cholesterol and ineffective diabetes self-management, which are often related to being overweight and drinking too much alcohol.

The WHO defines being overweight as a chronic condition, and people who are overweight for a long period are more likely to be diagnosed with fatty liver disease and to experience diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, gout and osteoarthritis — and at almost twice the frequency of those with a healthy weight, Health Promotion Administration Cancer Prevention and Control Division Director Lin Li-ju (林莉茹) said on Friday.    [FULL  STORY]

Tsai meets with UK representative to discuss Hong Kong protests

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 05 June, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

President Tsai Ing-wen (right) meets with British Representative to Taiwan Catherine Nettleton (left)

President Tsai Ing-wen has met with British Representative to Taiwan Catherine Nettleton to discuss pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

The Chinese government passed a security law last Thursday aimed at tightening its grip on the former British colony.    [FULL  STORY]

Hong Kong Today, Taiwan Next?

Foundation For Defense of Democracies
Date: June 5, 2020
By: Bradley Bowman

Something is happening in Beijing, and it goes well beyond last week’s Hong Kong power grab. On multiple fronts—from the border with India to the South China Sea to the seas and skies surrounding Taiwan—the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has decided to adopt an even more aggressive policy. If Washington fails to respond appropriately, Beijing could target Taiwan next.

Brushing aside its international obligations under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, Beijing has decided to tighten its authoritarian grip on Hong Kong. The Trump administration, in response, is now moving to end Hong Kong’s special economic status.

That’s appropriate, but Washington should view Beijing’s actions on Hong Kong as part of a larger CCP policy that could culminate in military action against Taiwan.

To be sure, any predictions regarding the likelihood and timing of such an attack should be proffered humbly and viewed critically. The truth is that no one outside of the core group of CCP decision-makers knows for sure.    [FULL  STORY]

Brian Tseng’s ‘Taiwan’ crushes Fanny Liu’s ‘China’

Taiwanese comedian's funny take on Chinese propaganda video gains 5x more viewers

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Brian Tseng tops Fann Liu in video battle. (YouTube screenshots)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese comedian's response to a music video that boasted of the advantages of China has far outstripped views of the original by nearly five to one.

On May 14, Taiwanese singer Fann Liu (劉樂妍) posted a music video titled "China," in which she sang and praised life in the communist country, gaining 1,388,556 views and 3,800 likes. However, it also drew 72,000 dislikes, meaning more than half of the viewers found the video distasteful.

The next day, Taiwanese comedian Brian Tseng (曾博恩) teamed up with DJ Hauer and uploaded his aptly titled "Taiwan," in which he countered by highlighting the negative aspects of China and repeatedly used terms banned by Beijing. As of publication, the video had garnered 5,359,473 views, 238,000 likes, and only 6,100 dislikes.

In the Liu video, which is directed at a Taiwanese audience, as it uses traditional Chinese characters, she lists all the provinces of China and holds a miniature Taiwan in her hand before it is added to a map of the communist state. As she stares enthralled by the map, a muscular man plucks tiny Taiwan from her hand and she glares back at him out of frustration.    [FULL  STORY]