Radio Taiwan International
Date: 18 May, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Experts are saying that the birthrate in Taiwan will see a slight bump by the end of this year. People are staying at home for longer periods of time because of the coronavirus pandemic. Working from home has also reduced the stress on couples hoping to have children.

Last year, Taiwan had the lowest fertility rate in the world. You might think a global pandemic would further dampen the mood, but experts say it might actually help produce a slight bump in the birth rate this year.

Doctors have noticed a 20-30% increase in conception rates since the beginning of the year. One gynecologist says that some of his patients trying for in-vitro fertilization have actually conceived naturally.     [FULL  STORY]

RT
Date: 18 May, 2020 17:298

By delaying the decision to grant Taiwan observer status, the World Health Organization (WHO) is further undermining its credibility and exposing its pro-China bias, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed.

WHO member nations unanimously voted to postpone the decision to grant Taiwan observer status until later in the year, in order to avoid shifting the focus away from the Covid-19 pandemic. This was in spite of the country having previously participated in a non-voting observer capacity between 2009 and 2016.

According to Pompeo, by delaying this decision, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has demonstrated a “lack of independence” that “deprives the Assembly of Taiwan’s renowned scientific expertise on pandemic disease, and further damages the WHO’s credibility and effectiveness at a time when the world needs it the most.”

Pompeo's criticism is the latest in what is a growing line of swipes taken by the US at the WHO, with US President Donald Trump recently accusing the health body of being “China-centric” and threatening to withdraw US funding indefinitely over the UN agency’s alleged mishandling of the global pandemic.    [FULL  STORY]

Back Cihu now allowing onsite registration for groups of under 10 people

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Soon in Taoyuan City groups of under 10 people will now be able to register onsite for visiting Back Cihu — an historic lake where Taiwan's former leader often spent time with his wife.

On days when the park is open, people wishing to visit Back Cihu can now sign up at the Cihu Guided Service Station from 8 a.m., according to a press release on Taoyuan Travel on May 18.

Visitors will have to register with a valid ID and phone number. After registration, visitors will be allowed to enter Back Cihu in assigned groups.

Masks are required on the shuttle buses to the park.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/18/2020
By: Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) There is no indication China will be able to declare an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the contested South China Sea in the near term, a senior Taiwanese defense official said Monday.

China has previously declared its intention to establish an ADIZ in the disputed South China Sea, which it claims as part of its territory, Lieutenant General Ye Gou-huei (葉國輝), in charge of military operations and planning at the Ministry of National Defense (MND), said at a Legislative session.

However, there is no indication Beijing is able to do so, he said, emphasizing that China would have to consider a number of factors before seeking to establish an ADIZ.

For example, announcing a new ADIZ, would likely overlap with the existing Philippines' ADIZ, which is the only designated airspace in the disputed region, he went on.    [FULL  STORY]

SPECULATING: The KMT said that, if true, the suspected cyberattack revealed an ‘appalling’ infringement upon the autonomy of the nation’s independent agencies

Taipei Times
Date: May 19, 20204
By: Lin Liang-sheng and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration to explain its alleged intervention in personnel appointments at independent agencies as suggested in files sent to the media in a suspected cyberattack on the Presidential Office.

Until there is a clear explanation from the government, KMT lawmakers would not approve the DPP administration’s nominees for those positions, the party caucus told a news conference.

Media reports of an alleged cyberattack on the Presidential Office on Friday said that an e-mail account named “ser lo” sent some members of the media on the office’s contact list files purporting to be related to the Cabinet member selection for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) second term, including an assessment report on vice president-elect William Lai (賴清德) from early last year, when he ran against Tsai in the DPP’s presidential primary.

If information in the files is true, the DPP was interfering with personnel appointments at independent agencies, and “undermining the state systems,” KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said.    [FULL  STORY]

The Epoch Times
Date: May 17, 2020
By: Michelle Yang

Taiwan might be barred from attending the World Health Assembly (WHA) this month and sharing there about the methods it used to successfully battle the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

According to a Johns Hopkins University study in January, Taiwan was expected to be the second most at-risk area outside mainland China for the virus. However, it turned out that Taiwan had one of the most effective responses globally.

Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations, has been excluded from the World Health Organization (WHO), a U.N. agency, due to objections from China. The island has not been allowed to take part in the WHA, the decision-making body of WHO, since 2016.

The leaders of U.S. congressional foreign affairs committees wrote a letter to 55 countries on May 8 to support Taiwan’s WHA bid. The lawmakers stated in their letter that as the world fights the pandemic, it is more important than ever to put global health above politics.    [FULL  STORY]

As stockpile reaches over 100 million units, storage is becoming an issue

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/17
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan will accelerate its timeline towards opening mask exports, as the stockpile is reaching 100 million units, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said during the daily briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday (May 17).

When asked about when the country will lift the export ban, Chen said that while the name-based mask rationing measure will continue, the ban on mask exports will be lifted before the end of June, per CNA.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/17/2020
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) Norwegian expatriates in Taiwan held a parade and a flag-raising ceremony Sunday to celebrate Norway's National Day in what may have been the only parade around the world marking the occasion this year.

More than a dozen Norwegians, some with their families, and about 60 members of the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association (TDDA), participated in the 40-minute parade that started in Daan District in Taipei and ended at the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab, where the flag-raising ceremony was held.

The activities were jointly organized by Norwegian nationals in Taiwan and the TDDA, a Taiwanese NGO dedicated to public diplomacy.

"Interactions between Norway and Taiwan usually involve business or government issues. We hope today's event will bring the civil societies of the two countries closer," said TDDA Chairwoman Kuo Chia-yo (郭家佑), who began connecting with Norwegians in Taiwan three months ago.   
FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 18, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A doyen of Taiwan’s “nativist literature movement,” Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政) passed away at his home in Taoyuan on Saturday, his family said. He was 95.

Chung’s son Chung Yen-wei (鍾延威) said the family discovered Chung not breathing at about 7pm.

Despite his father’s age, he was in relatively stable health over the past few years, Chung Yen-wei said.

The family said it is deeply saddened and shocked by his sudden passing, and is preparing for his funeral.    [FULL  STORY]