The China Post
Date: January 18, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The military simulated an invasion by the People’s Liberation Army,

A M60A3 Patton battle tank demonstrates its combat capabilities during a drill at a drill ground in Taichung on Tuesday, Jan. 17. (CNA)

days after China’s sole aircraft carrier completed its first circumnavigation of Taiwan.

The drill, which saw the 10th Army Corps and the Army Aviation Special Forces Command test their combat readiness, was staged in Taichung on Tuesday morning.

The simulation of a Chinese invasion comes at a time of heightened cross-strait tensions, following the completion of a two-stage circumnavigation of Taiwan by the Liaoning aircraft carrier and an accompanying fleet last Wednesday.

The military played out the possibility of China using the pretense of a naval drill to amass naval and airborne forces on the China’s southeastern shore.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/11
By: Yin Chun-chieh and Lilian Wu

Beijing, Jan. 11 (CNA) The number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan totaled 3.61 million in 2016, a drop of

Chinese tourists in Taiwan (CNA file photo)

nearly 800,000 from the previous year based on an initial estimate, a spokesman from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday.

This represents the first fall in eight years, Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said.

In contrast, Taiwanese made 5.73 million visits to China in 2016, an increase of 300,000 from the previous year, he said.

Asked about the fate of the “three mini links” in the wake of chilly cross-strait relations following the inauguration of Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party in May, Ma said the program will continue.   [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 12, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The military reportedly scrambled jets and navy ships to monitor the Chinese aircraft

In this undated file photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning berths in a port of China. (AP)

carrier Liaoning as it passed through the Taiwan Strait, Wednesday.

The Liaoning, leading a Chinese fleet, entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) from the southwest at 7:00 a.m. Wednesday and continued to sail north along the Taiwan Strait, apparently on their way back to China from the South China Sea after training exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a statement.

In response, the MND scrambled F-16 and IDF fighter jets, P-3C surveillance aircraft, and Navy frigates to monitor the Chinese fleet, according to sources cited by the Central News Agency (CNA). The MND neither confirmed nor denied the responsive action, according to the CNA.

The fleet passed through seas off Shantou city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province in Chinese Mainland, around noon, according to the MND, while Taiwan’s armed forces were closely monitoring their movements.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan on its way to solely Taiwanese identity: academics

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/07
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A total of 43 percent of Taiwanese younger than 40 support independence for

(By Taiwan News)

the island, even if it meant China would launch a military attack, according to a poll mentioned by four Taiwanese academics in a letter to the Washington Post.

“The Taiwanese see themselves as Taiwanese, not as Chinese,” reads the title on the analysis piece published by the authoritative United States newspaper in its Monkey Cage section and written by Fang-Yu Chen, Wei-ting Yen, Austin Horng-en Wang and Bryan Hioe.

In the piece explaining the background to relations between Taiwan and China, the four authors say that attitudes on the island have not been static, and reject U.S. President Barack Obama’s statement that the Taiwanese “won’t charge forward and declare independence” “as long as they can function with ‘some degree of autonomy.’”

The authors quote a survey conducted by the Election Study Center at National Chengchi University originated by Duke University political scientist Emerson Niu.    [FULL  STORY]

CLOSELY WATCHED:Taiwan has missiles at the ready, MND spokesman Chen Chung-chi said in response to reports that the military has deployed missiles on the west coast

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 06, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Taiwanese military is prepared for possible maneuvers by the China’s aircraft carrier group in the

China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning, with accompanying vessels, conducts a drill in the South China Sea in and undated photograph taken last month. Photo: Reuters

Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.

The group — composed of the Liaoning aircraft carrier and five escort vessels — is conducting exercises in the South China Sea, and might sail along the Taiwan Strait’s median line on its return to its home base in the northeastern Chinese port city of Qingdao.

The ministry has an uninterrupted communication channel with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in case the carrier group engages in maneuvers during the president’s nine-day visit to the nation’s Central American allies, which is to begin on Saturday, ministry spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said.

The armed forces have conducted drills during Han Kuang military exercises to simulate possible aircraft carrier maneuvers in the Strait, he added.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/01
By: C.C. Yin and Evelyn Kao

Beijing, Jan. 1 (CNA) A senior Chinese official responsible for Taiwan affairs said on New Year’s Day that relations between Taiwan and China will remain rocky and complex over the coming year with plenty of uncertainty and potential risks.

The mainland will continue its adherence to the “1992 consensus” and its opposition to any efforts to achieve Taiwan independence in order to uphold the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said in an interview with CCTV News.

China will also continue to promote cross-strait exchanges on various fronts to enhance the well-being of Taiwanese people, Chang said, adding that China is working on a slew of measures to benefit Taiwanese people studying, working, starting up businesses and living in the mainland.

“We believe people on the two sides of the strait have the ability and wisdom to overcome present difficulties and remove all obstacles to allow cross-strait relations to advance further,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

BANNED? Netizens were surprised to see Vivian Hsu on the blacklist, while Chthonic said it was not news, as the band has been on a blacklist for more than a decade

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 31, 2016
By: Yang Chi-han, Chen Hui-ling and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer

A blacklist is reportedly circulating within the Chinese music and movie industries that demands that

Fire EX yesterday rehearse for the New Year’s Day flag-raising ceremony in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. Photo: CNA

producers and impresarios refrain from including the named individuals in their productions.

According to a report by the Chinese-language Apple Daily, Taiwanese director Wu Nien-jen (吳念真) tops the list, which also includes Taiwanese artists Bobby Chen (陳昇), Dwagie (大支) and Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄), as well as the bands Chthonic (閃靈樂團), Fire EX (滅火器) and Luantan A-hsiang (亂彈阿翔).

The list also includes Hong Kong artists who allegedly support the democracy movement in the territory, such as Denise Ho (何韻詩), Chapman To (杜汶澤) and Anthony Wong (黃耀明), as well as artists in the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia, the Apple Daily reported.

However, as the list includes some disbanded groups its veracity has yet to be confirmed.  [FULL  STORY]