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Taiwan on world media  (台灣躍上國際新聞) ;         News about China-Taiwan-US war to click  English version Chinese version    

L.A. Times,  2022-7-31: As tensions flare between the two superpowers — risking the worst crisis in the region in a quarter of a century — people in Taiwan appear by and large to be responding with a collective shrug...The threat of Chinese military action has loomed for so long that few seem to raise an eyebrow when Beijing lashes outca.news.yahoo.com/possible-pelosi-visit-elicits-shrugs-170042930.html
 

New York Times,  2021-11-18 ("What makes people happy" ): Most people in a Pew Research Center survey said that family made them the happiest.  The Australian(56%), New Zealander(55%), American(49%), English(46%), Swedish, Italian, Canadian etc surveyed ranked family first, their percentage is about 3-4 times of that (15%) in Taiwan, the % of Singapore and Japan is about 2 times of that in Taiwan.  Taiwanese ranked Material well-being above family.

 

Pew Research Center , 2021-11-18
   Where People find Meaning in Life

country Family Material well-being occupation
Australia 56% 22% 29%
NZ 55 19 29
Greece 54 13 25
US 49 18 17
UK 46 12 20
Sweden 45 22 37
Canada 42 22 26
Singapore 29 22 25
Japan 26 16 15
S. Korea 16 19 6
Taiwan 15% 19% 9%

 

       NY Times, 2022-5-24: the US is trying to walk a fine line between deterrence and provocation... risk pushing President Xi Jinping of China to order an attack on Taiwan NY Times, 2022-5-24: Former presidents have hinted that the United States would fight for Taiwan but have otherwise remained studiedly vague...Taiwan's defense budget... remains scandalously low  click military for details

 

 

 

  Intro. to Taiwan

 

"We call ourselves the Republic of China, Taiwan", president Tsai has told BBC UK at Jan. 15, 2020, but later BBC changed it to "the Republic of China (Taiwan)".  This self-governing island country lies roughly 100 miles off the coast of southeastern China ( Taiwan's small island, Kinmens,  just one mile off China ) .  Taiwan's current population around 24 million is roughly the same as Australia's, close to New York's, but the area of Australia is 207 times larger than Taiwan's, that of NY is about 4 times Taiwan's.  Taipei's housing price is about triple Tokyo's or Singapore's.  Taiwan's climate is subtropical.
 

      means you should eat & drink nothing for 29.68 years
 to buy a house
in Taipei
  area population data , 2023 Ratio of house price to income
UK 7 Taiwan 3 Taiwan Taipei (Taiwan) 29.68
Japan 10 Taiwan 5 Taiwan Tokyo (Japan) 12.65
Australia 207 Taiwan same Singapore 15.73

  

Taiwan's travel and tourism competitiveness is ranked No.10 among Asian nations (WEF,  9-4-2019), ranked about No.13 in Asia & Pacific (Statista, 2-4-2021) , ranked n/a in 2022 (WEF) . Taiwan's higher education is ranked about No.7~9 in the region (QS  UK, Times, Nature Index, ARWU World 2019~2022) Taipei ranks No.53 in EIU's Global Livability Index Ranking 2022 Taiwan's justice ministry was insufficiently independent and was questioned the impartiality of judges and prosecutors involved in high profile, politically sensitive cases (USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices , 2018, 2019, 2021 ; http://intlhumanrights.com/PoliticalPersecutionsTaiwanENG.htm  ) CTN opinion (4-12-2019): Taiwan's three presidents should be ashamed of Taiwan's judiciary.  Taiwan's physicians density is almost the last in Asia Taiwan was still "in its early days" of building soft power  (abc news Australia, 9-28-2022) .Taiwan's soft power has never entered top 30 before CovID-19, losing Asia-Pacific's Japan, Australia,  NZ, China, Singapore, Korea, UAE, India, Thailand, Qatar in recent years (USC, Portland , Monocle's Soft Power Survey, 2010 ~ 2020)

 

To contrast China's 'authoritarian', Westerners gave too many fulsome compliments to Taiwan's democracy, however, Taiwan's democracy  is at surface level.  USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices (2022-4-12, 2021-3-30) There were allegations of vote buying by candidates and supporters of both major political parties in Presidential election in 2020.  Besides, Taiwan lacks good separation & balance of powers between the ruling party and the opposition, the executive and the legislative, the government and the media.  New York Post (4-25-2020) comments that Taiwan deals with CovID-19 with "a lot more authoritarian".  Global Times, 2022-8-11: under the guise of "democracy", the DPP authorities are practicing "green terror".  Taiwan's ruling party, DPP's official website : human rights abuses occur anywhere and anytime in Taiwan (https://www.gotv.ctitv.com.tw/2020/12/1648383.htm)

 

Economist at 2022-11-29 reported many Taiwanese are tired of squabbles over national identity, especially after president Tsai's refusal to accept an offer of much-needed vaccines from China during a severe coronavirus outbreak.   Guardian, 2021-7-12: Taiwan has rejected China's offers as fake altruism. ... putting politics above its people The priority of the CovID vaccination is to draw votes (electoral interest) instead of saving human lives, which is "cold-blood", "losing their souls " (ref. to China Times, 2021-9-7, United Daily, 2021-9-12, Guardian, 2021-8-14)

 

 Taiwan's press freedom is ranked No.43 in 2020 and 2021.  At end of 2020, Taiwan shuts Pro-China TV channel first ever since Taiwan's liberation, which could have a "chilling effect, strongly impacting press freedom".   The Liberty Times, 1-12-2020, editorial: The administration's rottenness smells already.... It has shown a retrogressive trend in recent years, the freedom of speech, publication, assembly etc were persecuted by excuses such as national security (NHU paper, Jun. '20)Taiwan not only harm its democracy for national security, but also harm its national security for democracy

 

Now China keeps inching closer to Taiwan, Economist (2021-5-1) describes Taiwan as "The most dangerous place on Earth", western experts (e.g., Foreign Policy, 4-5-2021, 10-28-2020, Financial Times (UK), 7-12-2020 ) advise Taiwan to make urgent defense reforms such as lengthening the existing four-month conscription and improving reservist systems, but, Taiwanese politicians are afraid to discuss this issue with the public because of electoral realities, Taiwan's leaders don't want to shift to a policy which could be deeply unpopular among the young voters courted by the ruling party (DPP), according to Foreign Policy (10-19-2020).  N.Y. Times, 2022-6-19: 'A Looming Threat'  ──  but "politicians have electoral considerations".   Most younger generation don't want to be soldiers (China Times, 2022-9-28: 81.5% oppose one-year compulsory military service ).  Financial Times (UK), 2021-9-15 : Washington keeps scolding Taipei over its supposed lack of preparation against an ever mightier Beijing.  New York Times criticized Taiwan's nearly two million reservists "exist in name only" - Eventually, in Dec. 2022, Taiwan extends its mandatory military service - still shorter than that of Singapore, Israel, S. Korea... and president Tsia denied the decision was made under US pressure - it's a lie.    

 

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has identified that Taiwan as part of its territory and its most important core interest, since the Kuomintang (Nationalists or KMT) government retreated to the island in 1949 following defeat in the Chinese civil war.  Beijing regards reunification of the mainland and Taiwan is priceless  and a   "sacred mission” ,  'do or die' prestige issue,  and has traditionally used a double strategy  of “carrot and stick”  towards Taiwan, on one hand, it has vowed to reunite this "breakaway province" by force if necessary, and has been ramping up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since president Tsai I.W. (2016 ~) refused to recognise the "1992 consensus" a 'pseudo'-agreement made by Taiwan's KMT party and the Chinese Communist Party, that proclaimed "the existence of only one China ”, but “ with different interpretations ” (being free to decide which side was legitimate.).  In early 2019,  CCP Xi openly equates One Country Two Systems with the 1992 Consensus to eliminate other interpretations.   Under China's political development and strengthening its trade ties to our allies, Taiwan is diplomatically isolated, has only 14 formal diplomatic relation allies till Jan., 2023, most of them are little, unknown countries

 

On the other hand, China took the "carrots" strategy "Allowance of economic benefits to Taiwan"("讓利" ) so that Taiwanese people may have higher tendency toward unification with China ―― about 52% Taiwanese want closer economic ties with the mainland China.  Brookings, 1-22-2021: Only 23% Taiwanese thought that democracy was more important than economic development.  Washington Post, 2017-1-2:  83 percent chose bread ( economic ties with China) over romance (political independence) Taiwanese understood this interdependence is unavoidable, but over-dependence is risky. New York Times, 2022-6-22:  To Pressure Taiwan, China Flexes Economic Muscle...  L.A. Times, 2022-7-29: (Taiwan) The country's economy relies on China, its largest trading partner .  Washington Post, 2022-10-2142 percent of Taiwan's exports — and 60 percent of its chip exports — go to China.  But after China's largest ever drills around Taiwan to respond Pelosi's visit, New York Times (2022-8-7) comments the policy carrots that China has used to entice Taiwan toward unification may carry even less weight.

 

President Tsai (ruling party DPP) in her inauguration speech at 5-20-2020 reiterated that Taiwan calls for stability in China relations but would reject being ruled by China in the same way Hong Kong is.  Washington Post (7-22-2020) reports: In a major speech in January 2019, Xi offered an ultimatum to Taiwan to come to the table for unification talks or face annexation by force.  Then, in Mar., the PLA warplane crossed the Taiwan Strait "median line" that has served as a "de facto border" (Newsweek, 8-11-2020) or "the de facto cease-fire line" ( Japan's asia nikkei review, 8-13-2020) for the first time since the end of Chinese civil war in 1949 (Newsweek, 8-12-2020). However, Taiwan's government was tight-lipped about this ultimatum, a everyone's life-and-death issue,  according to National Interest (6-16-2020): more than 60.3 percent of the respondents opposed Taiwan's independence if it is followed by China's military invasion...

 

Yomiuri Shimbun, Opinion, 6-22-2017 stated the US is the key to keep the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait ("米国は台湾の防衛力強化を担っており、台湾海峡の平和と安定のカギを握る"。).   The United States,  Taiwan's most important protector,  “acknowledges” there is one China and Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially “recognized” Taiwan as part of China.  The US Congress passed a law ("Taiwan Relations Act") to commit the US to defend Taiwan's sovereignty, and provide necessary 'defensive' services.   After Biden's 4th remark about defending Taiwan in Sept. 2022, it looks like the US has moved from strategic ambiguity to deterrence...  But CNN (2022-9-20) comments Biden's remarks don't necessarily equate to how he would behave in a real crisis.  In Dec. 2022,  the US Senate passed legislation authorizing $10 billion in security aid for Taiwan.

 

Till end of 2022, seeing US' actions on the Taiwan run counter to its clear political promise, the Chinese increasingly and really believe that the U.S. government is “salami slicing” and “hollowing out” the One China policy (US also blames China's salami-slicing behaviors against Taiwan ), as Beijing's ambitions grow and relations between the U.S. and China deteriorate.  Anyway, China has long assumed that the US would intervene to defend Taiwan - maybe not sending their troops.

 

After Vietnam war, Afghanistan withdrawal, and Ukraine-Russia war, Taiwan learns it must defend itself.  But Taiwan's defense budget remains scandalously low New York Times, 2022-5-7: US presses Taiwan to buy missiles and smaller arms for asymmetric warfare (suited to win against China);  But some Taiwanese defense officials are resistant.   Foreign Policy (8-20-2020) comments Taiwan just focus on putting up a good show of being tough, buy enough U.S. weapons for display, and pray that Americans come to our rescue (Politico, 3-15-2021:Trump indicated (in 2019) America might not come to Taipei's defense in the event of a Chinese invasion.  ) Foreign Affairs, 2022-9-14: (US) military's most promising capabilities to counter China will not be ready until the 2030s...This creates a window of vulnerability for Taiwan, most likely between 2024 and 2027.  

 

Taiwan also relies upon its computer chips as "silicon shield" to protect Taiwan, perhaps from a highly optimistic viewpoint.   Taiwan is the source of 90+ % of the most advanced computer chips relying upon importation of key components and advanced technology from the US  and Japan WSJ, 2021-6-19: The world relies on one chip maker in Taiwan, leaving everyone vulnerable.  That's one of the reasons we're trying to produce semiconductors here in the United States, Blinken told CBS (2022-9-25), but this will take years to accomplish at the cost of trillions of dollars (National Interest, 2021-9-11) .  Japan's日本経済新聞 (Nikkei news, Nihon keizai shinbun ) comments in May 2020 that the US asking TSMC-Taiwan to build a factory in Arizona as a "Pressure Point" in tech. fight with China (N.Y. Times, 5-19-2020)  may weaken Taiwan's security .  Some analysts argue that calculations over supply chains are insignificant in a decision over war (NY Times, 2022-8-29).

Wikipedia (Oct., 2022): Taiwan is the 8th largest economy in Asia (Forbes, 2022-5-15: Taiwan is home to the world's 22nd largest economy), although its high-tech sector is falling behind for lacking of key tech. and its low pay to attract university-educated talent.   Global Wealth Report (Credit Suisse, Sept., 2022) shows Taiwanese' "Median wealth per adult", USD 113,940, is higher than Americans' USD93,270, but nation's share (Credit Suisse, Oct., 2018) world wealth (1.3%) is less than USA(31%), Japan(7.5%), China(16.4%) and Korea(2.2%).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defending Taiwan by Taiwanese ??
some human factors ~

President Tsai I. W. youngsters the public
VICE, 2022-9-28: president's prescriptions have been piecemeal, and there is no national plan to overhaul the military. (developing asymmetric warfare capabilities as US experts advise)

Roll Call, 2022-9-28: ...overhaul its military reservist program — our general public, especially young parents, those people from 40 to 50 and their children, will fight against that policy... “It's hard for the ruling party to do it !" Younger voters are a critical base of support for president Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party.
 

New York Times, 2022-6-19: politicians have electoral considerations ( military conscription reform)

United Daily (Taiwan), 2022-10-6: Taiwan government still insists deciding lengthening Taiwan's mandatory military service later - by 2023-1-1, the reason suppose is electoral considerations.
 

Roll Call, 2022-9-28: Most people do not want to join the military... The March opinion poll : lower levels of support (56 percent) among the 20-24 age group for lengthening Taiwan's mandatory military service to one year.

 

China Times (Taiwan), 2022-9-28: 81.5% of Taiwanese youth oppose lengthening Taiwan's mandatory military service to one year.   World media wrongly report Taiwanese people are willing to be on the battlefield.   chinatimes.com/opinion/20220927005188-262101?chdtv


 

PS: By law, all able-bodied men in South Korea must serve 18-21 months in the military under a conscription system; In Israel - men 32 months and women 24 months, minimum.

axios,2022-9-27:  ...the common belief in Taiwan that if China were to invade, Taiwan would have no choice but to surrender immediately.

Economist, 2022-3-5:  Taiwanese seem too uninterested to fight to defend their land.  Taiwan's sloth in reforming its defence capabilities and strengthening its deterrence.
 

Washington Examiner, 2022-9-20: It's one thing to tell a pollster that you're willing to fight and die for your country. It's a different thing to take painstaking steps to prepare for that eventuality. And the hard truth is that far too few Taiwanese are currently taking those steps
 

Brookings, 2021-1-22: Only 23% thought that democracy was more important than economic development.  16% believed that protecting political freedom was more important than reducing economic inequality.

 

 

  CovID-19 flare-up in Taiwan    (新冠肺炎專題)

◆   Guardian (UK), May 9,2022: Once a zero-Covid poster child, Taiwan learns to live with the virusexperts predict... up to 16,000 dead.   Rules and regulations change almost daily and incrementally. The death of a two-year-old boy last month highlighted communication failures exacerbated by Taiwan’s entrenched bureaucracy.  hospital ...colleagues are understaffed and overworked, there is not enough protective equipment or backup to replace staff who go on leave because they caught the virus...and are still subject to a pandemic ban on health workers leaving the country. theguardian.com/world/2022/may/09/once-a-zero-covid-poster-child-taiwan-learns-to-live-with-the-virus 

◆   New York Times , May 9,2022now moving from zero Covid to the path of coexisting with the virus... (1) quarantine requirements for travelers were stifling economic activity (2) Political considerations are also at play...in contrast to the authoritarian Communist Party of China The shift could also be risky for Taiwan's older adults.   brief from  nytimes.com/2022/05/09/world/asia/taiwan-china-covid.html

◆  Reuters, 2022-5-1:  Taiwan calls China's COVID lockdowns 'cruel' ;  China said Taiwan's new model of handling the pandemic would lead to many deaths.  news.yahoo.com/taiwan-calls-chinas-covid-lockdowns-022237316.html

 

ABC news, 2021-9-29: Taiwan lawmakers brawl amid anger over COVID response.   The KMT party called recently shortened quarantine requirements for pilots a “big breach”.   many Youtubers' comments were supportive of the brawl. Some praised the Kuomingtang for “becoming stronger.   abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/taiwan-lawmakers-break-brawl-policy-speech-80276994

Reuters, 9-28: Scuffles in Taiwan parliament, premier blocked from podium in COVID dispute .  The KMT members then scuffled with DPP counterparts and threw things at the dais...Taiwan's legislature does see unruly scenes from time to time and rivals have been known to punch each other.  news.yahoo.com/scuffles-taiwan-parliament-premier-blocked-102314300.html

New York Post, 9-28 In the ensuing melee, a few lawmakers were shoved to the ground and others poured out bottles of water onto their opponents.  Many had suspected the outbreak had come from pilots returning home who only had to do three-day quarantines. The original source of the May outbreak hasn't been officially confirmed.    nypost.com/2021/09/28/taiwan-lawmakers-brawl-during-policy-speech/


Telegraph (UK), 2021-9-10: People think pilots are murderers because we brought back the virus’: Taiwan’s Covid scapegoats‘Imprisoned’ by quarantine and isolated from their families, flight crews have become social pariahs ...may be depressed and bullied to the point of doing fatal mistakes 民航駕駛成了台灣的 Covid 替罪羊與社會賤民 誹謗仇恨霸凌,歧視日益嚴重  telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/people-think-pilots-murderers-brought-back-virus-taiwans-covid/
● New York Times, 2021-5-25: the emergence of more contagious variants in recent months, a relaxation of quarantine rules and a vaccine shortage gave the virus an opening...  The model citizen of the world now has become a bit of a problem child.(放寬隔離規則以及疫苗短缺給病毒打開了大門世界模範公民變成了問題 兒童)  nytimes.com/2021/05/25/arts/music/taiwan-covid-shutdown-music.html

full text:  CovID-19 (English)  CovID-19 (Chinese 中文) 

 

Seattle Times, 2021-8-14:  In Taiwan, big data turns pig’s blood and century eggs into hot pizza toppings  /    In 2019, Domino’s Pizza created the boba — a pizza served with sweet tapioca pearls as an homage to the popular bubble milk tea.  ... ramen and spicy hot pot pizza. It even made a pizza topped with durian — a thorny fruit ... The latest invention — featuring a street delicacy made of sticky rice and pig’s blood, and preserved eggs — broke Pizza Hut’s previous sales record set by the durian pizza.     “Every now and then, Taiwanese will go crazy over a new popular, well-talked about food” . “Taste does not seem to be their top priority.”  seattletimes.com/nation-world/in-taiwan-big-data-turns-pigs-blood-and-century-eggs-into-hot-pizza-toppings/

 

      

 

  pic. : No.1 "understanding Taiwan" on Microsoft Bing, 2022-5-29, 2022-3-22, 2022-1-30, 2021-12-27, 2021-12-17, 2021-9-23, 2021-8-24, 2021-8-5, 2021-6-24, 2021-6-3, 2021-5-15, 2021-4-22, 2021-3-30,  3-14-2021, 3-2-2021, 1-28-2021, 1-4-2021 ;No.2 at 2022-10-6

 


pic. : No.1"understanding Taiwan" on Yahoo,  2021-9-23,

2021-5-9, 2021-3-30, 1-21-2021, 1-6-2021;

No.2 "understanding Taiwan" on Yahoo, 2022-9-14 

Taiwanese superstition

 Guardian, 2021-8-30: Covid changes Taiwan's Ghost Month - “many temples are closed ... This year the ceremony is not open for humans!”theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/30/not-open-for-humans-covid-changes-east-asias-ghost-month-but-free-spirits-remain
Some suspicions are still common among younger generations. A 
recent survey of Taiwan office workers found a third of respondents avoid working overtime during Ghost Month. The poll found 40% of office workers had reported strange encounters in the late hours. More than 70% reported “eerie sounds” from office corners, while others said they heard footsteps, saw windows open on their own and elevators arrive on their floor without being called, or heard toilets flushing in an empty bathroom

 

 BBC, 2021-4-14, Crisps have a sacred role in Taiwan's office culture.  ‘Kuai Kuai’,  this savoury product  end up assuming near-mythical protective properties... on or around vital machines in many of the island’s laboratories, banks and even hospitals to ensure the machines continue to do their jobs.   the crisps, whose name means ‘listen to me’ or ‘obey’, ‘behave’ or ‘be good’ in both Mandarin and Taiwanese...The bags also cannot be used as amulets beyond their expiration date, so...usually swapped twice a year –  Lunar New Year, and the Ghost Festival . Those in the tech world say the snack shouldn’t be consumed, otherwise you technically void its protective warranty.  Kuai Kuai can even be found at Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s premier research institute. (Chinese: 在台灣,一種鹹味零食在辦公文化中具有神聖的作用,且呈現出近乎神話般的保護性,許多實驗室、銀行甚至醫院的重要機器也放置這種袋裝的“乖乖”,以確保高科技機器繼續運作。“乖乖”中文意思是''服從',但食品到期後神奇功能便會消失,因此通常每年更換兩次-農曆新年初、及七月“鬼節”。而且科技界人士說,不要吃這種零食,否則其保護性也會失效。“乖乖”甚至出現在台灣首屈一指的研究機構: 中央研究院bbc.com/worklife/article/20210414-the-good-luck-snack-that-makes-taiwans-technology-behave

 

★  BBC, 2-10-2021, "Why Taiwan has 'luck-improvement services' ": There’s a pervasive idea running through Chinese culture that things aren’t random, Stevan Harrell, emeritus anthropology professor at the University of Washington said, “There’s a belief in order: there’s some sort of order behind everything.” Many people believed in a simple maxim: “tian zhuding” (“heaven decides”).  Some higher power has plans for each person on Earth, traditional Chinese belief also holds that “heaven never seals off all the exits” – there is always a way out.  “We call [this attitude of openness] ‘youbai youbaoyou’,” (有拜有保庇)“, It doesn’t matter if you believe in gods. If you pray, you’ll be blessed.” So, even the upscale Eslite Bookstore has a cosmological self-help section chock full of do-it-yourself fate-improvement guides.  People in the Chinese-speaking world seem particularly preoccupied with luck, from boarding gates to high-stakes baccarat tables and school exams to political races, (Even politicians are compelled to publicly try their luck, visiting temples to draw fortune sticks ...) yet while many countries have their own superstitions and rituals.  brief (Chinese: 為什麼台灣人特別重視轉運? 雖然許多國家都有迷信風俗然而台灣從登機口到學校考試到政治選舉,人們似乎特別關注運氣有時連政 客也被迫公開到寺廟抽籤試運華盛頓大學 教授認為: 在中國人文化中有普遍的想法,事情不是随沉迷於過去的歷史使 人們相信一切背後都有某種秩序”即"天註定''但同時傳統信仰也認為然天命使臣民之間保持秩序,並進而維持和平一些 位高權重的人為升斗小民製定了人生計劃,但小民力圖掌握自己命運於是"有拜有保庇“即使高檔的誠品書店都充斥著改指南。 有個台灣人曾前往大陸的大華興寺迷信 地認為將硬幣扔進一隻龍石雕的嘴中就會懷孕不久後,他的妻子果然懷孕了,還是個男孩。 ) http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210210-chinas-enduring-obsession-with-luck 
 

CNBC,3-8-2021:Taiwan faces worst drought in 56 years.  China Times, 3-10-2021:Taiwan president prays for rain in temple.   chinatimes.com/opinion/20210309006128-262101?chdtv  Diplomat, 2021-3-12: Taiwan prays for rain as drought threatens chip production.

 

   BBC, 2021-5-6 : The case of a boy who is fighting for his life after being slammed to the floor 27 times during judo practice by his coach and classmate has shocked Taiwan - but it has also highlighted what critics say is a culture of turning a blind eye to abuse against children.  The culture" leads many people to not fully respect children's rights. It's better now, but Taiwan really lags behind other developed countries in this aspect of human rights" . The judicial system also tends to side with teachers, Prosecutors in his son's case did not charge the teacher with causing injury, arguing the family had to prove his injuries were connected to the abuse.  bbc.com/news/world-asia-56967974  (Chinese: 一名男在教練與同學的柔道練習中被摔倒27次後重傷為自己的生命而戰,這震驚了台灣-但也突顯了一種對虐待行為視而不見的文化;  “我們的文化導致許多人不完全尊重兒童權利。台灣在人權方面確實落後於其他發達國家。司法系統也傾向柔道教練檢察官沒有指控造成傷害)

    Can "silicon shield" protect Taiwan?

New York Times, 2022-9-9 Taiwan is protected by something far more subtle —The "silicon shield"...If it is clear that China will be better off with a steady flow of chips from Taiwan, peace is likely to prevail
New York Times, 2022-8-29 Analysts debate how much protection China's reliance on Taiwan gives it.  Some argue that calculations over supply chains are insignificant in a decision over war.
 National Interest, 2022-5-15 Taiwan's “silicon shield”—the name for a strategy that entrusts the island's defense to both Chinese and American reliance on its semiconductors—is an outmoded concept that burdens the United States, emboldens Taiwan, and fails to deter China
VOA News, 2021-5-10 Song Hong, assistant general director at the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences  shrugged off the geopolitical implications of Taiwan’s silicon shield, saying that China views Taiwanese issues as domestic affairs and will not be deterred from its goals by U.S. action
AIT (US), 2021-5-22 Taiwan should not regard TSMC as a guaranteed security blanket.  
Fox News, 2022-8-26  Why would the U.S. fight China over Taiwan, Trade is the key reason and the aforementioned importance of semiconductor production is the glue
The Atlantic, 2022-10-3 The U.S. Has a Microchip Problem. A Chinese attack on the island would imperil the world’s supply of semiconductor components.  Safeguarding Taiwan Is the Solution.  theatlantic.com/international/archive/2022/10/taiwan-microchip-supply-chain-china/671615/  
New York Times, 2022-1-25 75 percent of production takes place in East Asia.  Ninety percent of the most advanced chips are made in Taiwan...China could use economic coercion, cyberoperations and hybrid tactics to try to seize or harm Taiwan's semiconductor industry — Biden promised he would work to bring production of semiconductor chips back to the United States.  nytimes.com/2022/01/26/us/politics/computer-chip-shortage-taiwan.html
 CBS News, 2022-9-25 Blinken said. "[Which is] one of the reasons we're now investing so heavily in our own capacity to produce semiconductors here in the United States. We designed them, but the actual production is done in a handful of places, and Taiwan produces most of them… The effects that that would have on the global economy would be devastating."

 
Taiwan dominates the global production of computer chips /
 
BBC, 2022-1-12, source: The Military Balnce, IISS 2021

Taiwan S. Korea China Other
65% 18% 5% 12%

news.yahoo.com/china-taiwan-really-simple-guide-142542268.html

 
 

 

★  Taiwan's chip industry

Axios, 4-9-2021 Taiwan is home to 92% of the world's leading-edge chip manufacturing operations ...That's because most companies that design chips today — Qualcomm, Nvidia and Apple among them — don''t actually do the manufacturing, instead relying on companies like TSMC. If Taiwan's chip production were permanently disrupted,...estimates it would take three years to build enough capacity to replace it. That's why many in the industry are calling for the U.S. to be clearer about its support for Taiwan and, at the same time, to encourage investment in domestic chip production (Chinese:當今大多數設計芯片的公司實際上並不製造,而是依靠台積電(TSMC)之類的公司 如果台灣的芯片生產受到永久性破壞,估計,將需要三年時間建設來替代台灣。這就是為什麼業內許多人呼籲美國更加清楚其對台灣的支持,同時鼓勵國內芯片生產 )  axios.com/threats-to-taiwan-nightmare-tech-847c1f30-d878-4eb9-b749-b2f17487dd91.html  
WSJ, 2021-6-19

The World Relies on One Chip Maker in Taiwan, Leaving Everyone Vulnerable / Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s dominance poses risks to the global economy, amid geopolitical tensions and a major chip shortage  wsj.com/articles/the-world-relies-on-one-chip-maker-in-taiwan-leaving-everyone-vulnerable-11624075400

Reuters,  2021-5-6 U.S. Commerce Dept. pressing Taiwan to supply more chips to U.S. automakers..."the medium- and long-term solution, though, is like very simply making more chips in America."  

finance.yahoo.com/news/u-commerce-dept-pressing-taiwan-172303485.html   

Taiwan News, 2021-5-22 AIT (US): Taiwan should not regard TSMC as a guaranteed security blanket, U.S. believes China will sacrifice economic interests to achieve political goals.美國警告台灣不能將台積電當作護國神山,中国會為了達成政治目標犧牲經濟利益taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4208369
Reuters,  2021-4-14 Biden... a broader effort to bolster the domestic chip industry. He’s also proposed $50 billion to support chip manufacturing and research (Chinese:拜登加強美國國內芯片產業) reuters.com/article/us-semiconductor-shortage-packaging-focu-idUSKBN2C01AL
Foreign Policy, 2021-4-14 Taiwan and China Are Locked in Economic Co-Dependence /  Cross-strait trade hit a record last year, including indirect trade through Hong Kong and Macao, with Taiwan’s exports representing some 70 percent of the total...The largest proportion of Taiwanese exports is sophisticated electronics, especially cutting-edge semiconductors that China lacks the ability to produce.. (Chinese:兩岸貿易去年創新紀錄,包括透過港澳的間接貿易,台灣對中出口約佔總出口70%,此提振了台灣經濟,也符合北京經濟一體化政治統一的手段。面對美國加諸售中半導體及技術的限制使兩岸陷入經濟依存關係)
GT, 3-1-2021 Taiwan maintains advantage in chip manufacturing. However, it doesn't mean that Taiwan's chip sector has occupied a non-substitutable stance so that it could be "weaponized" against Chinese mainland, South Korea and Japan possess competitiveness and eagerly longing for expansion of market share in Chinese mainland. (Chinese:台灣芯片(chips)並非無可取代, 無法成為對付中國大陸的“武器”韓日也具有競爭力,並渴望擴大大陸的市場 ) globaltimes.cn/page/202103/1216945.shtml
Reuters, 2021-4-23 Taiwan does face other challenges, not least from China where President Xi Jinping has made semiconductors a strategic priority; Samsung Electronics as Taiwan's most serious competitor and also able to match TSMC's advanced chipmaking   finance.yahoo.com/news/taiwan-minister-sees-years-growth-070009822.html   (Chinese:乾旱未造成影響, 但台灣面對習戰略與韓高品質芯片挑戰)
Reuters, 2021-4-14 Taiwan says its chip firms will adhere to new U.S. rules blacklisting China supercomputing entities (Chinese: 台灣依美國政策不對大陸超級電腦出口晶片)  


, 3-16-2021: the U.S. Labor Department placed Taiwan on its 2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor... Greenpeace was one of 34 organizations which last November sent a letter to Taiwan’s parliament seeking action on forced labor it said it uncovered in the country’s distant-water fishing fleet. Greenpeace has called for all migrant fishers on Taiwanese vessels to come under the administration of the Ministry of Labor instead of the Fisheries Agency, as it claims the latter doesn't have labor expertise.    (美國勞工部將台灣列入2020年由童工或強迫勞動生產商品名單...綠色和平組織向台灣議會致函以尋求對強迫勞動採取行動,並呼籲所有外勞漁都應由勞動部而不是漁業部管理,因為後者缺乏勞工專業知識 ) seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/taiwan-fishery-agency-response-to-us-dol-blacklisting

★ Washington Post, 2-17-2021 " Indigenous artists shine as Taiwan’s mainstream embraces its island identity":  Today, 98 percent of Taiwanese are ethnic Han Chinese.  The current president and DPP leader, Tsai Ing-wen, is one-QTR

Paiwan; Taiwan’s indigenous population, which is related to the Austronesian peoples from Madagascar to New Zealand, is increasingly visible in mainstreamculture
. (Chinese: 今天,台灣人中98%是漢族 現任總統蔡英文有原民排灣族四分之一血統 台灣的原民與澳洲人種有關,當台灣主流擁抱對這塊土地的認同,原住民藝術家大放異彩。) brief from  www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/taiwan-china-indigenous-music/2021/02/17/e447f66a-6156-11eb-a177-7765f29a9524_story.html    hacker attacks ! click to see ! no idea why the sentence about Taiwan president's Paiwan blood was cut into 2 pieces

 Reuters(UK), DW (Germany),  12-31-2020 : Chinese court sentences 29 Taiwanese deported from Spain / In recent years, hundreds of Taiwanese nationals, suspected of committing telecoms fraud overseas, have been deported to China instead of their home territory Beijing maintains that the Taiwanese nationals are accused of defrauding Chinese people and should be tried in its courts.  Beijing says it has incurred huge financial losses as a result of telecom fraud, with callers often impersonating law enforcement officials and preying on the elderly, students or the unemployed.

 (Chinese:近年来,数百名涉嫌在海外欺的台灣公民被逐到中国而不是回到台灣本土,最近遭西班牙逐出境29名涉嫌电信欺诈的台灣人北京法院判最高刑期14年等徒刑北京認定指控台湾民欺使中国人蒙受巨大的經濟財務损失,台犯經常冒充法人欺老年人,生或失者。世界上大多数家都遵循''一个中国''政策,因此無選擇,只能嫌犯逐回中国。Taiwan fraud - 全文 台灣詐欺, Taiwan fraud in English ; quora :  "Taiwan largely sees these telecom frauds/phone scammers  as an asset rather than liability..." 台灣把詐欺犯當成資產 而非負債 )  brief www.dw.com/en/chinese-court-sentences-29-taiwanese-deported-from-spain/a-56103248

 

National Geo, 11-25-2020 : Wildlife crimes and human rights abuses plague Taiwanese fishing vessels ...illegal dolphin catching, shark finning, and physical and verbal abuse ...  The assaults,  Indonesian worker Supri says, included his being locked in a freezer when he was still wet from having taken a shower, and being beaten, sprayed in the face with a hose, and shocked with an electric stun gun. In a recent report, the EJF said that abuse of crew members—along with illegal fishing for sharks and dolphins, among other species—is common in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing fleet, one of the world’s largest with more than a thousand vessels. China and Taiwan represent nearly 60 percent of the world’s distant-water fishing vessels. 野生動物犯罪和侵犯虐待人權折磨著台灣的外籍漁工...船員描述了非法捕撈海豚,鯊魚鰭以及身體和語言虐待的情況;  包括將他在洗澡後還很濕的時候鎖在冰箱裡,並遭到毆打用水管對著臉面噴水,然後用電擊槍攻擊。EJF在最近的一份報告中說,在台灣的遠洋捕魚船隊中,普遍存在虐待船員的行為,包括非法捕撈鯊魚和海豚等,台灣是世界上最大的一群漁船,擁有一千多艘船隻。中國和台灣佔全球遠洋捕魚船近60%。(brief)

 

 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/11/taiwan-fishing-vessels-perpetuate-illegal-fishing-human-rights-abuses/  全文 折磨漁工  abuse foreign laborers

 

 

   World Journal, USA,  12-6-2020 :

 

World Journal, USA, 12-6-2020 (largest Chinese news in the US)

www.worldjournal.com/wj/story/121475/5070213

 

(Chinese: 蔡英文總統: 「扭轉過去執政者對轉型正義的不作為」,該做的事還有很多。 促轉會: 當權者對人權的迫害、侵奪,是隨時隨地的,過去發生的,現在到處發生,未來也很可能發生)

 

President Tsai : to reverse ex-presidents' omission on transitional justice issue, there're lots of more out there to do.   TJC Taiwan: human rights persecution and infringement by officials in power are anywhere and anytime - in the past, now, and most likely in the future

 

udn.com/news/story/6656/5069981  

 

    comments: 

   Ignoring persecutions is a Crime of Omission, Taiwanese government should admits no delay working on the issues.  Cracking down today's persecutions is an urgent priority, rather than those happened 70+ years ago because prime suspects were dead. 


   Taiwan has best knowledge to prevent persecutions from happening again in the next
70 years, if Taiwan won't really root it out, it never ends.


   Unlike all other persecutions, the case
( political persecution in Taiwan  政治迫害 ) crosses four Taiwan presidents and ranks No.1 on the net, etc, certainly deserves to be solved immediately. 

 


"不作為"
無視 今日的迫害本身即是刑事犯罪早年白色恐怖(70+ 年前)
 也須
"作為"  但以前的主嫌應該都 已死亡對今日迫害須立即處理

 台灣了解如何永久杜絕
人權迫害
 看看江南案
, 台灣還敢派人到美國行刑嗎?  

 

本網站案例 亙續四任總統

,且排名世界第一疑牽涉高層使用高科技......超越了其他所有迫害
嚴打

 可『一次購足』徹底剷除 具迫害DNA的高官政客與情治目,徹底改造台灣一新國際耳目
其同類在未來多年諒都不敢對人民造次

 

 
   Some important web-pages or even my computers were attacked from time to time by high-tech hackers , Who has the motivation ??
 

 

WSJ, 2021-11-17: Beijing’s arms buildup and menacing of Taiwan make U.S. directionlessness dangerous for the world.  Rather than risk a less feckless president after Mr. Biden, Mr. Xi may feel he has three years to act.  WarOnTheRocks, 2021-11-18: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has abandoned asymmetric defense reform, Washington ought to step in to get Taiwanese defense reform back on track FoxNews, 2021-11-17: Hannity: China 'bullies' Biden in meeting, "Basically his weakness guarantees Taiwan will be taken over by the Communist Chinese and Joe won't do a thing."  NY Times, 2021-11-15: Biden and Xi meet amid tensions in an effort to keep “communication lines open” and avoid military action — American officials remain concerned that the chances of avoiding conflict may be diminishing.

 

BBC (UK), Yahoo News, 1-29-2021 Some Taiwanese vocally support formal independence but most favour the middle ground.雖然一些台灣人主張獨立,但大多數人持中間立場   news.yahoo.com/whats-behind-china-taiwan-divide-100018186.html
What's behind the China-Taiwan divide? 
China
sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the country again...The dispute with China has left relations frayed with a constant threat of a violent flare up that could drag the US into the fray...   Given the huge divide between these two positions, most other countries seem happy to accept the current ambiguity, whereby Taiwan has virtually all of the characteristics of an independent state, even if its legal status remains unclear

How much of an issue is independence in Taiwan?
While political progress has been slow, links between the two peoples and economies have grown sharply. Taiwanese companies have invested about $60bn (£40bn) in China, and up to one million Taiwanese now live there, many running Taiwanese factories

 

New statesman, 2-24-2021:  a demonstration of the desire of the people of Taiwan to continue governing themselves, and not to be used ( ps: not viewed merely as “a cudgel to beat China with”... ) or threatened or colonised ( ps:  brutal suppression by both the colonising Japanese (from 1895 to 1945) ...) by any great power. They deserve that chance; whether the angel of history will allow it is another matter  (Chinese:台灣人民渴望繼續'當家做主',而不是被利用(川普視為“打擊中國的武器”)、或受到任何大國威脅或殖民(台灣人民英勇反抗殖民的日本人(1895年至1945年)和蔣介石...) 。他們應該得到這個機會。歷史的天使是否會允許那是另一回事 )    brief from  newstatesman.com/world/asia/2021/02/why-taiwan-matters

 

 

      

 

   

 

pic. right : No.2 "understanding Taiwan" on Baidu, 2021-5-9

 

 

 

 Bloomberg, 1-25-2021: The U.S. statement signaled continuity with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy of engagement with Taiwan.  The State Department statement indicated a desire by the Biden administration to preserve the longstanding ambiguity about Taiwan’s status. The U.S. pledged to stand by existing agreements with China and spoke of the interests of the “people on Taiwan,” rather than the people “of Taiwan.” (Chinese: 美國要求中共停止施壓與兩岸對話的聲明顯示美國對台政策有其一貫延續性...拜登希望保持長期以來台灣地位的模糊性,並保證遵守美中協議,在談及台灣人時措辭謹慎 ― “台灣島上的人民”(people on Taiwan) 而不是“台灣的人民”(people of Taiwan) )  bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-24/u-s-says-china-military-pressure-against-taiwan-threatens-peace

Foreign Policy, 1-22-2021 : The US-Taiwan relationship is likely to remain more low-key.  Taiwan seeks assurances from Biden admin., but Biden and his team are likely to resist using Taiwan as a cudgel against China the way Trump did.  Many experts expect Biden to hold off on the public saber-rattling and use of US policy toward Taiwan as a war to push back at China that typified the Trump approach.   Biden's objectives are likely to include "viewing Taiwan as a card to be valued, not a card to be played in competition with China".   (Chinese:美台外交關係將轉趨低調;  台灣正尋求拜登保證,拜登很可能拒絕川普利用台灣刺戳中国的方式  )

Financial Times (UK), 2021-9-16 :Washington keeps scolding Taipei over its supposed lack of preparation against an ever mightier Beijing, Taiwan is failing to reorient its military towards an asymmetric strategy, US defence experts are growing exasperated over the Taiwan military’s reluctance to decisively act on their instructions  Financial Times, 2021-8-23: Anti-Beijing sentiment is growing but the government has done little to prepare the public for war...The majority of Taiwanese do not believe there will be conflict with China...Taiwan is avoiding ‘the underlying reality, ...  the Taiwanese public has no appetite for militarising society or even discussing defence. ft.com/content/b0e3fa00-42af-4914-9323-38c75ac46d67  WSJ, 2021-8-23: Will America Fight to Save Taiwan? Will the Taiwanese? President Xi Jinping may decide the time has come to eliminate that troubling democracy in Taiwan brief: wsj.com/articles/taiwan-china-ccp-defense-spending-afghanistan-us-allies-11629498826 

 

Washington Post, 2021-4-3, CNN, 2021-4-4:   Taiwan's worst train crash in decades leaves at least 51 dead. The busy passenger train was carrying 490 people to the country's Taitung region on Friday morning, when it derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan.  The train was so full that many people were standing.  At least 200 people were injured in the crash. (Chinese: 台灣幾十年來最大火車撞擊意外事故 該列車共乘載約490許多乘客是站票,造成51死至少200人傷;  full text: transportation, 交通) edition.cnn.com/2021/04/04/asia/taiwan-minister-offers-resignation-intl/index.html

  Washington Post, 2021-5-13: Widespread blackouts hit Taiwan after power plant trips.  officials said the cause of the outage was still under investigation and urged calm.  President Tsai Ing-wen urged people to stay calm and not spread misinformation.  ( Chinese: 台灣大停電原因調查中  台總統籲民眾勿傳假消息  washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/taiwan-power-outage/2021/05/13/f1be2bc8-b3bf-11eb-bc96-fdf55de43bef_story.html Bloomberg, 2021-5-13: Taiwan’s water shortage was one of the key reasons behind the slow return of power  (bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-13/parts-of-taiwan-go-dark-after-plant-failure-triggers-outage)   Reuters, 2021-5-14: Taiwan blames human error ...

, 3-2-2021: Taiwan to fine prominent chemical engineer Lee Duu-Jong for allegedly managing research projects funded by the Chinese mainland without approval from the island’s authorities  is intended to send a message to the research community that Taiwan’s government can classify research activities as political whenever it wishes   (Chinese: 因涉嫌未經批准而管理中國大陸資助的研究項目 台灣對傑出的李姓工程師罰款 旨在向研究界傳達信息,即台灣政府可以根據需要將研究活動歸為政治活動 )

 

 Global Times, 2021-4-16, Japan's decision to dump radioactive water from Fukushima plant into the sea is opposed by international organizations, the Japanese people, Koreans, Chinese people, but no strong opposition was expressed from DPP (Taiwanese government).  Japan is yet to offer convincing data to explain and justify its move  (Chinese: 日本決定將福島核電站的放射性廢水傾倒入海後,日本仍未提供令人信服的數據儘管亞太國家,國際組織以及日本人民強烈反對執政的台灣民進黨並未表示強烈反對。一位台灣的FB用戶說將改為素食,因為海鮮和豬肉不再安全 globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1221243.shtml

Newsweek, 3-2-2021:  Tsai's guiding economic plan since her first year in office has been her government's "New Southbound Policy," whose goal is to remove reliance on the Chinese market and instead build trading—and security—relationships with partners in South Asia, Southeast Asia and extending as far as Australia and New Zealand.  According to Taiwan's Ministry of Finance, more than 40 percent of the island's exports went to China and Hong Kong last year, accounting for $151.4 billion of its $345.2 billion  newsweek.com/taiwan-allies-rally-defy-chinas-economic-coercion-pineapples-1573124   (Chinese: 蔡上任以來的指導性經濟計劃一直是“新南向政策”,其目標是消除對中國大陸市場的依賴,取而代之的是與南亞東南亞的合作夥伴建立貿易和安全關係,遠至澳洲和紐西蘭。 據台灣財政部統計,去年台灣對大陸和香港的出口額佔台灣出口總額的40%以上,即出口總額3,452億美元中的1,514億美元.  ps:   China Times, 3-3-2021: 大陸對台的讓利政策。多年來大陸每年通過貿易逆差給台灣送去800至1000億美元的紅利。以經濟部1月8日公布,2020年台灣對大陸(含香港)出口額達1514.52億美元,創歷年新高,同比增長14.6%,占台灣總出口額的43.9%。大陸(含香港)穩居台灣地區最大出口市場和最大順差來源地。2020年台灣總出口額為3452.76億美元,同比增加4.9%;進口額2864.86億美元,同比增長0.3%,貿易順差587.9億美元。若扣除對大陸(含香港)的貿易順差866.73億美元,台灣2020年進出口貿易則出現逆差。   陳思奕 )

New York Times, 3-14-2021: Taiwan is selling a life without fear of the virus. Every day, droplets fly with abandon in packed restaurants......The influx helped make Taiwan one of last year’s fastest-growing economies — including Steve Chen, the Taiwanese-American entrepreneur and co-founder of YouTube ...  many wonder how long Taiwan’s status as a Covid-19 outlier can last, especially amid vaccine campaigns elsewhere. Officials have been slow to procure and distribute vaccines (Chinese:台灣是CovID19的異常之域,每天,擁擠的餐廳裡都是口沫 橫飛的景象。大量湧入的人口使台灣成為去年增長最快的經濟體之一,但許多人想知道台灣的異常能持續多久,尤其是其他國家 的疫苗計畫展開後,台灣取得疫苗的步伐很慢  brief; nytimes.com/2021/03/13/world/taiwan-a-covid-19-outlier-is-selling-something-scarce-life-without-fear-of-the-virus.html  )

  CNN, 2021-3-19,  Washington Post, Guardian, 2021-3-18: Taiwan official urges people to stop changing their name  to 'salmon' to get free sushi.  A chain restaurant announced it would give away free sushi to anyone whose name included the characters “gui yu” ("salmon" in English) .   A college student said he together with friends already ate more than Tw$7,000 (£176)” ...      theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/18/taiwan-official-urges-people-to-stop-changing-their-name-to-salmon  edition.cnn.com/travel/article/taiwan-names-salmon-scli-intl/index.html

 
Brookings, 2021-3-30: I don’t think China today actually seeks to place severe psychological stress on Taiwan. Most of its actions are more formal and symbolic — like the current “pineapple boycott” .   brookings.edu/on-the-record/understanding-beijings-motives-regarding-taiwan-and-americas-role/

Wall Street Journal, 3-7-2021: These days, pineapple consumption is seen as an act of patriotism.  But, a whole pineapple contains about 1,000 calories, and  there’s a risk that pineapple mania could cannibalize demand for the more than two dozen other fruits Taiwan produces. (Chinese: 如今,買鳳梨成為愛國主義行為 但一顆鳳梨含約1000卡路里熱量,影響體重,且吃鳳梨狂潮可能 排擠其他二十多種台產水果的需求) wsj.com/articles/taiwan-stuffs-itself-with-pineapple-smoothies-pineapple-burgers-and-pineapple-cake-11615144454 ;

Global Times, 2-26-2021: The mainland has long been Taiwan's most vital pineapple export destination. Taiwan exported 41,661 tons of fresh pineapples to the mainland in 2020, accounting for 91 percent of the island's total pineapple exports that year,  said the wholesaler surnamed Liao. "But my cost decreased by nearly a half after replacing Taiwan's pineapples with the mainland's,"  Taiwan, therefore, has a deep, unidirectional dependence on the mainland's economy, and "this situation won't easily change in the future,"  The mainland remained Taiwan's largest export market in 2020, accounting for 43.8 percent of the region's total exports that year, the highest level in the past decade. The proportion was followed by the US' 14.7 percent (Chinese: 2020年台灣向大陸出口新鮮鳳梨,佔該年鳳梨總出口的91% , 2019年大陸生產鳳梨數量是台灣進口的33倍, 大陸受訪者表示: 用大陸的菠蘿後成本降低了近一半, 因此台灣對大陸經濟有著深刻的,單向的依賴......2020年,大陸仍然是台灣最大的出口市場,佔當年台灣總出口的43.8%,是過去十年中的最高水平。) globaltimes.cn/page/202102/1216679.shtml 

 

英國 Financial Times, 2-7-2021: Chinese users flock to Clubhouse app to debate Xinjiang and Taiwan.  Netizens are racing to pay up to Rmb500 ($77) per invite for access to invite-only platform to chat about sensitive topics away from censors (Chinese: 中國網民湧向當局不作審查的Clubhouse, 每人最高支付USD77, 以討論新疆和台灣的議題 ft.com/content/7adb20d1-df60-4e11-9b1b-fe8a269862cb  Diplomat, 2-13-2021: ClubHouse gave Taiwan and China a rare opportunity for cross-strait dialogue (Chinese: Clubhouse提供兩岸溝通的難得機會  ) GT, 2-8-2021: ClubHouse is no 'free speech heaven', say Chinese mainland users

 

  Only with the one-China principle in place can the Taiwan Straits avoid miscalculation
Biden administration should sent out a clear political signal
/ Global Times (China), 1-25-2021   

 

Biden's "signals"

Washington Examiner, 1-24-2021 : The United States does not recognize Taiwan as an sovereign country, but U.S. strategists regard the island as a crucial link in a chain of islands that restrains the Chinese Communist military’s ability to operate away from the Chinese coast and threaten U.S. forces and other allies. (Chinese: 美國不承認台灣為主權國家,但戰略上視台灣為島鏈之重要樞紐)
 

Bloomberg, 1-24-2021: The State Department statement indicated a desire by the Biden administration to preserve the longstanding ambiguity about Taiwan’s status. The U.S. pledged to stand by existing agreements with China and spoke of the interests of the “people on Taiwan,” rather than the people “of Taiwan.”  (Chinese:保持台灣地位的模糊性,對於"台灣人"措辭 ―“台灣島上的人”(people on Taiwan)而不是“台灣的人民”(people of Taiwan)  )
 

Washington Post, Associated Press, DW, 1-24-2021: “We urge Beijing to ... engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives," spokesperson Ned Price said in the statement.  (美國敦促北京應與台灣民選代表進行有意義的對話   ps: 以台灣民選代表』 稱呼"台灣總統"等 !?  )

 

Reuters, 2-4-2021: 美國務院說美國“一個中國”政策沒有改變 U.S. State Department says U.S. "one-China" policy has not changed
 

 Bloomberg, 1-26-2021, 1-22-2021 :  the World Is Dangerously Dependent on Taiwan for Semiconductors. ... Assuming Taiwanese forces were to be overwhelmed during an invasion, “there is no reason why they would leave these facilities intact,”...     Taiwan is not the only player in the semiconductor supply chain. The U.S. still holds dominant positions, notably in chip design and electronic software tools; ASML Holding NV of the Netherlands has a monopoly on the machines needed to fabricate the best chips; Japan is a key supplier of equipment, chemicals and wafers ... a choke point in the global supply chain that’s giving new urgency to plans from Tokyo to Washington and Beijing to increase self-reliance. (Chinese: 全球意識到如果依賴台灣供應芯片將是冒險之舉 從東京華盛頓到北京都緊迫轉向自力供應 台灣不是半導體供應鏈的唯一。美國仍然佔據主導地位,特別是在芯片設計和電子軟件工具方面;荷蘭壟斷了製造最佳芯片所需的機器; 日本是設備,化學品和矽片的主要供應商。假設台灣難以抵抗中國的入侵,生產芯片的設施“沒有理由"倖免bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-22/the-architecture-of-covid-vaccine-distribution

 New York Times,  12-14-2020 :  After World War II, only two major emerging economies managed to grow faster than 5 percent for five decades in a row and to rise from poverty into the ranks of developed economies. One was Taiwan, the other South Korea...  Taiwan always managed to stay near the cutting edge, at first by borrowing technology from Western nations.  South Korea nurtured giant conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai, which exported consumer products under their own brand names. Taiwan cultivated smaller companies focused on making parts or assembling finished products for foreign brands. Today the flexibility goes a long way toward explaining its success.  (brief) www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/opinion/taiwan-computer-chips.html
(Chinese: 二次世界大戰後,只有兩個主要的新興經濟體連續五年增長速度超過5%,並從貧困中躍升為發達經濟體。一個是台灣,另一個是韓國。首先,台灣是從西方國家借用技術,以保持前沿。 韓國培育了三星和現代這樣的大型企業集團,它們以自己的品牌出口消費品。台灣培養了規模較小的公司,這些公司專注於為外國品牌製造零件或組裝成品。如今,靈活性足以解釋其成功。(brief) ) 

 L.A. Times,  12-17-2020 : TSMC has tried to be the Switzerland of the chip industry, but those days are over. Tension could be further strained if the U.S. maintains pressure on the firm to starve Chinese companies of its valuable chips.  TSMC is caught in between two superpowers. It needs China for future growth and the U.S. for its technology and its biggest customers today.   TSMC, makes more than half the world’s contracted semiconductor chips and lies at the center of the technology supply chain   “To both the United States and China, being able to dominate in the semiconductor space is crucial to winning the next generation of technology.”  (Chinese: 台積電曾經想成為芯片產業的瑞士,但那段日子已經一去不返。如果美國繼續向台積電施壓不 准提供芯片給中國,那麼台海局勢將可能更加緊張 。台積電陷入兩個超級大國間左右為難它需要中國以實現未來的成長,也需要美國技術和當今最大的客戶 美國和中國都主導半導體領域才能贏得下一代的科技競爭。台積電和台灣總統辦公室都否認面臨白宮的壓力。)  brief www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-12-17/taiwan-chips-tsmc-china-us

 SCMP,  2-12-2021: Taiwan's Tsai I W faces referendum over lifting ban on ractopamine US pork (Chinese: 台灣政府面臨進口美國萊豬公投)

 

  Taiwan-China-US diplomatic battle in Latin America  落敗的外交戰  

 

 

■  The Guardian, 2-4-2021:   After Beijing criticizes 'mistake, Guyana said it was rolling back the agreement – and that it continued to adhere to the “One China” policy.  Earlier Taiwan’s foreign ministry announced it had signed an agreement with Guyana to open a Taiwan office – effectively a de facto embassy for the island that China claims as its sovereign territory with no right to diplomatic ties. (brief  稍早台灣外交部宣布已經與蓋亞那簽署協議,開設台灣辦事處 - 實際上就是台灣的"使館"在北京“錯誤”後,蓋亞那突然終止了與台灣達成的協議  ) theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/04/guyana-taiwan-office-agreement-beijing-criticism
 

■  Reuters, 2-4-2021: Taiwan has opened a representative office in Guyana, the island’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, drawing praise from the United States, worried about deepening Chinese influence in Latin America, and a rebuke from Beijing.  (Chinese:台灣外交部周四表示,已經在亞那開設了以台灣為名的代表處,這受到美國的稱讚,美國一直擔心中國在南美(拉丁美洲)的影響力不斷深化亞那傳統上與中國有著密切的聯繫)   Guyana has traditionally had close ties with China.  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-guyana-idUSKBN2A404T
 

Newsweek, 1-20-2021:  Xi Jinping's top political adviser demanded more progress on Taiwan's "unification" with China in 2021... Taiwan affairs staff should  insists on adherence to Beijing's "one-China principle" and the "1992 Consensus," the latter referring to a vague and disputed agreement allowing for different interpretations of which government claims China;  Since 2016 Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen government has rejected the 1992 Consensus and China's "one country, two systems" model of governance currently applied in Hong Kong and Macau  ... ... bilateral trade between Taiwan and China stood at $235 billion for the year until November. Exports from China accounted for just $54 billion, with Taiwan recording a significant trade surplus.. the figures showed Taiwan's economy was "inseparable" from China's (Chinese:習最高政治顧問要求在2021年就“統一”取得更多進展...  堅持“一中原則”和“ 92共識”,促進“和平與全面發展”,“ 92共識”係指含糊有爭議的協議,即雙方可各自詮釋"一個中國"為何; 自2016年台灣蔡政府已拒絕“一中原則”與一國兩制 ... 截至11月的一年中,台灣與中國大陸的雙邊貿易額為2,350億美元,大陸出口僅540億美元 , 顯示台灣經濟已經是中國“密不可分” 的一部分)  newsweek.com/chinese-communist-party-apparatchik-demands-progress-taiwan-unification-1562999

 
   

a letter from Saint Just Culture Loisirs France to Taiwan cartoon-artists and friends  (法國來函)

 

More than a year ago, during the commemoration of the attacks of Charlie Hebdo, the Minister of Culture in office at this time, M. Riester, announced the plan to launch the creation of the « Maison du Dessin de Presse et du Dessin Satirique », that meant to be « a meeting place allowing creation, enhancement and promotion of cartooning, as well as a place to support the creators ».

We will host a delegation from the Minister of Culture on February 1st and 2nd at both places. We should be by then in competition with the BNF and two other places in Paris, as well as a proposal in Strasbourg.

You can send your support, appreciations, testimonies in any form you like – drawings, texts, at our permanent center salon.humour@wanadoo.fr

brief Feb. 2021

 

 

★ Global Times, 2-23-2021 Young celebrity Ouyang Nana from the island of Taiwan forwarded a Sina Weibo post from the People's Daily that paid tribute to the PLA martyrs killed in the Galwan Valley border clash with India ... but causing her to become the center of attacks by Taiwan media. (Chinese: 來自台灣的歐陽娜娜向在中印邊境衝突中遇難的解放軍烈士致敬,"寸土不讓", 使她成為台灣媒體攻擊的靶心 ) globaltimes.cn/page/202102/1216298.shtml

comment: 反對胳臂往外彎,雙手奉送土地給印度

 

 Asia Media Center, 2-24-2021: The vaccine picture in Taiwan is as complex as the island’s political status itself,  Taiwan announced that Taiwan had secured approximately 20 million doses of vaccines, but he was unable to offer a clear timetable for delivery (Chinese: 台灣的疫苗情況與該島的政治地位一樣複雜台灣宣布已獲得約2000萬劑疫苗,但無法提供明確的交貨時間 )    asiamediacentre.org.nz/opinion/the-complexities-of-taiwans-vaccine-situation/?stage=Live

台灣 China Times, 2-26-2021: 媒體爆料去年東洋代理BNT的破局,「仇中」只是表相,真正的原因是民進黨內部的資源鬥爭;衛福部長陳時中面臨嚴重的指控,卻只做擠牙膏式的澄清,更是啟人疑  chinatimes.com/opinion/20210225005491-262101?chdtv

美國 Newsweek, 2-17-2021: Beijing May Have Scuppered Taiwan's Vaccine Roll-Out, Hints Health Minister ;  英國 Guardian, 2-17-2021: Taiwan suggests China to blame after deal for 5m Covid vaccine doses is pit on hold;  法國 France 24, 2-17-2021: Taiwan says "political pressure" block Coronavirus vaccine deal  (Chinese: 台灣衛生部長暗示北京可能阻止了台灣購買疫苗 ... 台灣表示“政治壓力”阻止疫苗交易

英國 Reuters, 2-18-2021: BioNTech says will provide vaccines to Taiwan, talks ongoing / BioNTech signed a deal with Chinese firm Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd to exclusively develop and commercialize COVID-19 vaccine products developed by using BioNTech’s mRNA technology in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan reuters.com/article/healthcoronavirus-taiwan/biontech-says-will-provide-vaccines-to-taiwan-talks-ongoing-idINL1N2KN35P
美國 CNN, 2-19-2021: Taiwan blames 'external forces' for blocking BioNTech vaccine deal. China says it had nothing to do with it ... it was "purely fabrication" (Chinese:中國大陸說與它無關 台灣無中生有 edition.cnn.com/2021/02/18/asia/taiwan-biontech-vaccine-deal-intl-hnk/index.html  )
中国 GT, 2-19-2021: Taiwan Affairs Office slams DPP authorities' conspiracy on failure to buy CovID-19 vaccine from BNT (Chinese:買不到疫苗諉過給大陸是台灣的陰謀 ) (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202102/1215856.shtml)

台灣 China Times, 2-18-2021 (chinatimes.com/opinion/20210217004090-262103?chdtv); United Daily, 2-18-2021 (udn.com/news/story/120940/5257496): 綜觀陳時中的說法,推測可能是因為陳時中想要直接向德國BNT購買疫苗,但該公司已將包括台灣在內的大中華地區銷售代理權交給了大陸的上海復星公司,因此與台灣的這項「私下交易」被喊卡 台灣以為可以暗中交易的方式繞過代理商,實在是太天真也太投機了。Apple Daily, 2-19-2021 (tw.appledaily.com/headline/20210219/QRI2KT5ECZDRDE6N33RIVKYRVI/): 政府為了化解辦事不力的質疑,有意無意地將無法順利外購歐美疫苗的原因,歸責於中國在背後阻撓,並對中國疫苗品質採取近乎完全否定態度( English brief: Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co.,Ltd. is general agent or authorized distributor for BNT vaccine company, therefore Taiwan can not and should not secretly make a deal with them. )

 

 

asia nikkei
 (Japan
日本),

 1-12-2021

美國給中国的承諾
■  (1) In the first communique of 1972 /  the U.S. said it "acknowledges" and "does not challenge" that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China.
(Chinese: 美國表示“認知”並且“不挑戰”台灣海峽兩岸的所有中國人都只有一個中國,台灣是中國的一部分)
■  (2) In the second communique of 1979 /  the U.S. declared that it recognizes the Beijing government as the "sole legal government of China." But it said the people of the U.S. will maintain cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan. (
美國宣布承認北京政府為“中國唯一的合法政府”)

■  (3)  In the third communique of 1982 /  the U.S. said it has no intention of "pursuing a policy of 'two Chinas' or 'one China, one Taiwan.'" (美國表示無意``尋求或奉行'兩個中國'或'一中一台'政策。)

中国批評美國違反承諾  The Chinese side is criticizing Pompeo's declared new policies as infringing on those long-held American promises

asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Trump-takes-parting-shot-over-China-s-bow-with-envoy-to-Taiwan

Int. Policy Digest, 1-20-2021: Blinken  iterated his endorsement for expanding Taiwan’s international space in multilateral forums where statehood is not required, and even said that he wants to deliver Pompeo’s decision to lift the limitations on diplomatic engagements with Taipei “through to conclusion, if it hasn’t been completed.” ...  Washington’s sentiments under Biden have sent strong messages in supporting Taipei’s democratic endeavors, time will tell how Washington will maintain the delicate balancing act of elevating their bilateral partnership without closing all windows of opportunity for cooperation with Beijing  (Chinese: 美國國務卿 Blinken 重申在不觸及臺獨的情況下支持擴大台灣的國際空間,他也將繼續前任國務卿的決定,取消美台外交互動的限制... 拜登政府感性的傳遞強烈信息支持台北的民主, 時間將證明華盛頓將如何維持微妙的平衡,一邊增進美台雙邊夥伴關係,另一方面也開啟所有與北京合作的機會之窗)  intpolicydigest.org/2021/01/20/where-u-s-taiwan-relations-might-find-itself-under-biden/

Washington Post, 1-14-2021 :  American relations with Taiwan have warmed under President Donald Trump, largely due to strong bipartisan support in Congress, but also because the administration has been willing to defy Beijing’s threats and promote Taiwan as an alternative to Chinese Communist Party authoritarianism. (Chinese:美台關係升溫,很大程度上是國會支持以及 川普政府意圖促使台灣成為中共的替代品washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-ambassador-to-un-and-taiwans-president-meet-virtually/2021/01/14/d64548b0-5639-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html

  SCMP, 2-2-2021   scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3120122/taiwan-lawmakers-seek-remove-references-mainland-unity   南華早報

DPP (民進黨 綠營) KMT (國民黨 藍營)
Taiwan lawmakers seek to remove references to mainland unity from constitution, Pro-independence politicians also want to change island’s emblem and anthem, the constitution reflects a ‘Greater China’ mentality rather than reality - so-called territory does not reflect our reality – we don't have  not China and even Mongolia.”  (Chinese:台灣立委試圖刪除憲法中關於統一的內容贊成獨立的政客也想改變該島的國徽和國歌,獨派說,憲法反映的是“大中華區”的心態,而非現實我們所謂的領土並沒有中國甚至蒙古都沒有。 ) “If President Tsai Ing-wen really thinks this should be done, she should clearly and loudly declare her intention followed by bold actions. But obviously she dares not.  “All the DPP wants is to increase the anti-mainland sentiment and increase support from the pro-independence camp, which is not in the interest of the Republic of China  (Chinese: 如果蔡總統真的認為應該這樣做,她應該明確並大聲宣布自己的意圖,然後採取大膽的行動。但是顯然她不敢。“民進黨想要的只是增加反大陸情緒,增加支持獨立陣營的支持,這不符合中華民國的利益。" )
The move is unlikely to succeed because of the difficulty in changing the constitution, but it reflects consistent efforts by supporters of independence to change the status quo. (Chinese:由於難以更改憲法,此舉不太可能成功 )

 

Economist, 1-15-2021 :  New rules on mutual ties could make trouble for both America and Taiwan - Biden. Either he embraces the move, in which case he starts off on the wrong foot with China, or he gets flak at home for not standing up for gallant little Taiwan.  This move as a trap for Taiwan, too. Over the past few years China has increased its bullying of Taiwan with military posturing and diplomatic isolation. Crossing China now might prompt it to conduct even more air sorties(combat mission) or pick off (shoot a member of a group of people) Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies ... To advance the cause of independence there is “no briar patch Taiwan wouldn’t jump into”.  (Chinese:十年前AIT已升起美國國旗,但直到現在台灣還不敢在華盛頓使館外面懸掛國旗,川普放寬美台互動準則使拜登與台灣一起落入陷阱,拜登會因不夠勇敢支持台灣而受到挫敗或對中国採取錯誤步調,也會讓台灣承受更多共軍壓力或被挖走盟邦 ) economist.com/asia/2021/01/14/have-departing-american-officials-made-taiwan-into-a-booby-trap


Foreign Policy, 1-13-2021  "Taiwan Needs Real Allies, Not Opportunists, Not Partisans "  : U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted the trip, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft would soon be visiting Taiwan,  in what was essentially a footnote to a press release condemning China for arrests in Hong Kong. That confirmed the suspicion of many Taiwan analysts that this administration views the island primarily as a card to play against the People’s Republic of China and as a convenient foil to it—or the “free China” per Pompeo’s press release.  Pompeo moves away from the U.S. government norm of describing official counterparts in Taipei as “Taiwan” adjective or “Taiwans” noun, using instead “Taiwanese”—which Washington believed held certain sensitivities—apparently in line with his voiding of relevant sections in the Foreign Affairs Manual or Foreign Affairs Handbooks. Nonetheless, he stresses the unofficiality of the relationship and the continued role of the nonprofit American Institute in Taiwan.   (  foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/13/taiwan-contact-guidelines-pompeo-partisan-china/  Chinese: 台灣需要真正的盟友,而不是機會主義者 /  Pompeo公開強調駐聯合國大使Kelly Craft訪台,實際上是譴責中國逮捕港人新聞稿的一份註腳。這證實了許多台灣分析人士的懷疑,即台灣被主要看成是與美中抗衡的一張牌,而且是個便利的陪襯物,或者是Pompeo新聞稿中所謂的“自由中國”刪除美台互動準則並不違反“一個中國”政策   Pompeo將"Taiwan" 或"Taiwans" 改使用“台灣人(Taiwanese)”一詞(華盛頓認為它具有一定的敏感性)強調了雙方關係的非正式官方性

Japan Times, 1-17-2021 :Trump’s whiplash diplomacy on Taiwan  the sudden cancellation of Craft’s visit was a blow to Taiwan and apparent a victory for the CCP.  Despite the advances the Trump administration made with Taiwan, it left two important actions incomplete: First was the realization of an official presidential visit. And second is the reestablishment of formal diplomatic relations (Many people throughout the Indo-Pacific region had hoped) ...“Everything Pompeo did will be undone soon.”  (Chinese: 川普 對台外交大迴旋 /  Craft 與環保署長的訪問突然取消 對台灣是打擊,也是中共明顯的勝利。川普未完成兩項重要的行動,對台灣來說是不幸的。一是正式的總統訪問。二是重建正式的外交關係  印太地區許多人都希望 但一切將很快被 扭轉。)  japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2021/01/17/commentary/world-commentary/trump-taiwan-us-china/

★    State Dept. lifts US-Taiwan restrictions in move likely to anger China  (國務院取消美台官員互動指導方針與限制  可能激怒中國)

 

New York Times (US),
1-9-2021

 State Dept. Moves to Ease Restrictions on Meeting With Taiwan Officials is meant to signal a warming of relations with Taipei and a tougher line with Beijing, but the Biden administration could easily reverse the move.

 the move was likely to have little practical effect. “It looks like a publicity stunt”

■  The moves, some outside experts said, are meant to lay a trap for Mr. Biden, forcing him either to pay a domestic political cost if he unwinds them or to sour relations with Beijing if he does not.

 Mr. Biden could discourage high-level contact with Taiwan officials.

nytimes.com/2021/01/09/us/politics/state-dept-taiwan-united-states-china.html   (Chinese: 美國務卿放寬與台灣官員會晤的限制 ,在傳遞與台北關係正在升溫,以及對北京更加嚴厲的訊號,但是拜登政府很容易就能扭轉這一舉動  “此舉沒有什麼實際效果  看起來像是一個宣傳特效把戲"   這樣一個相對重要之舉意在為拜登設下陷阱,迫使他要麼付出國內政治代價,要麼攪糟北京的關係  拜登先生可能仍舊不鼓勵與台灣官員的高層接觸)

 Guardian (UK),
1-9-2021

  Pompeo lifts US-Taiwan restrictions in move likely to anger China

■   The guidelines set out restrictions including where representatives of either government could meet, and limited the ranks allowed to attend Taiwan’s national day celebrations. It also said the US should not refer to Taiwan as a “country” or “government”In recent years the guidelines have been followed less and less, and the official change was not unexpected ...
 “Decades of discrimination, removed,” Taiwan’s representative in the US, Bi-khim Hsiao, said on Twitter. “A huge day in our bilateral relationship. I will cherish every opportunity.”  
■   A spokesperson for the Biden transition team told the Financial Times the incoming president was “committed to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act” which defined relations between the two governments, and to the US’s one-China policy.
full text:  theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/09/mike-pompeo-restrictions-us-taiwan-china (Chinese: 取消美台官員互動指導方針與限制  可能激怒中國    原先的指導方針作了各種規範限制,包括政府代表在哪裡開會、限制了參加台灣國慶慶典的行列、美國不應將台灣稱為“國家”或“政府”... 近年來,官方越來越少遵循準則,因此正式的更改並不出乎意料  台駐美代表:“消除了幾十年的歧視” “是我們的雙邊關係重要的一天我會珍惜每一個機會"  拜登發言人告訴《金融時報》,新任總統一向致力於《台灣關係法》,該法定義了兩國政府關係以及美國對華政策)

 DW (Germany)
, 1-9-2021

  Taiwan's unofficial embassy said the move showed the "strength and depth" of the US-Taiwan ties

  Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson : some "anti-Chinese politicians" like Pompeo would do everything in their remaining term to undermine relations between the US and China.
www.dw.com/en/us-ends-restrictions-on-official-contacts-with-taiwan/a-56183292  (Chinese:中國外交部發言人說,像Pompeo 這樣的“反華政治家”將在剩餘任期內竭盡全力破壞美中關係台灣的非官方使館: 此舉表明美國與台灣關係的“實力和深度”)

Japan Times (日本 ),

1-10-2021

 

■ 川普政府對台政策試圖從根本上改變現狀 The Trump administration’s policy toward Taiwan is ending much as it started — by attempting to fundamentally alter the status quo.

■ 川普政府將取消所有幾十年來為安撫北京的共產黨政權美國政府單方面“複雜的內部限制” ,日本也視這個島國為抗衡日益強大中國軍力的堡壘Trump admin is lifting all of complex internal self-imposed restrictions which was in an attempt to appease the Communist regime in Beijing... 50 years of engagement with Beijing has not worked and that a different and tougher approach is needed...  Japan, too, views the island nation as a bulwark against growing Chinese military assertiveness.

■ 共和黨政府試圖在離任前撒下混亂的嘗試 這樣的籠統聲明,廢除了多年來所有指南,卻沒有明確取代的框架,只會加劇華府混亂  This could be seen as an attempt by the Republican administration to sow chaos before it’s departure.  “A blanket statement such as this, abrogating all of the guidance in place for years, without articulating what framework will replace it simply amplifies perceived chaos in DC”
■ 這只是方便了美台的外交來往 This just eases doing diplomacy with Taiwan.   japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/10/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/taiwan-us-china-pompeo-trump-biden/

CGTN, CCTV, GT(China)
The Week via Yahoo
,

1-11-2021

Chinese state media (CGTN, CCTV) blast Trump admin. for " cowardly act of sabotage" a "cowardly act of sabotage" that "crossed a dangerous red line." “越過危險的紅線”的“膽怯的破壞行為”
Global Times (China), warned — in a since-delated tweet — that Taiwan could face repercussions for Pompeo's actions, The Associated Press reports. "The option of using military means to solve [the] Taiwan question will also be put on the table" 台灣可能會因美國的舉動而受到打擊,美聯社報導。 “使用軍事手段解決台灣問題的選擇也將擺在桌面上”
The move may not be universally applauded stateside, either, per Reuters. Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and InternationalStudies, predicts the Biden administration will "rightly be unhappy that a policy decision like this was made in the final days of the Trump administration." 根據路透社,這一舉動可能不會在美國得到普遍讚揚。華盛頓戰略與國際研究專家Bonnie Glaser預測,拜登政府“對在Trump政府最後幾天做出這樣的政策決定感到非常不滿
Wall Street Journal, 1-21-2021

US Sends Important Foreign-Policy Signal With Taiwan Inauguration Invite /  Taiwan envoy formally attends presidential swearing-in for first time since 1979; China restrained in response. Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the U.S. overcame four decades of precedent when she accepted a formal invitation to attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration, calming fears on the self-ruled island that U.S. support would erode in the post-Trump era.  (Chinese: 拜登在台灣就職典禮上發出重要的外​​交信號台灣駐美特使克服了長達四十年的先例,應邀參加拜登就職典禮時,平息了人們對台灣的擔心,即美國的支持會在後川普時代逐漸削弱。 ) www.wsj.com/articles/biden-sends-important-foreign-policy-signal-with-taiwan-inauguration-invite-11611230623

 

Washington Post, 1-28-2021: Why is Taiwan so important?

To the U.S. and Japan, Taiwan is a vital link in the “First Island Chain” that they rely on to contain China and protect trade routes. The island has thrived under American protection to become a critical supplier of semiconductors and other high-tech goods. Today, it’s also among Asia’s most vibrant democracies, a rejoinder to Communist Party arguments that Western political structures are incompatible with Chinese culture. (Chinese:台灣為什麼如此重要?  對於美國和日本來說,台灣是“第一島鏈”的重要樞紐,以圍堵中國並保護其貿易路線。該島在美國的保護下茁壯成長,成為半導體和其他高科技產品的重要供應商。如今,台灣與中國共產黨認定西方政治結構與中國文化不相容的觀點相對。 )   Washington Examiner, 1-24-2021: The United States does not recognize Taiwan as an sovereign country, but U.S. strategists regard the island as a crucial link in a chain of islands that restrains the Chinese Communist military’s ability to threaten U.S. forces.   Taiwan democracy & freedom, No.1 on Bing, Yahoo, etc  at 1-27-2021. (Chinese: 台灣民主自由)

 

 COVID-19  news  

Washington Post, 2-3-2021: Governments around the world are desperate for coronavirus vaccines, with many battling publicly for limited doses and accusing others of hoarding. Yet amid this rush, some countries are not only refusing potential doses produced by rivals but officially banning them. In Taiwan, where officials have spoken out since last year against vaccines made in China, authorities recently reiterated that imports of these vaccines are banned and warned that

Taiwanese civilians living in China could face quarantine when they return home.  It is an inversion of the logic of vaccine nationalism, which has led powerful nations to scoop up as many doses as they can in hopes of emerging from the pandemic. More than 80 million vaccine doses have been given out in more than 50 countries, with some speeding well ahead.   “There are political concerns, but there are also big concerns about the safety and effectiveness of China-made vaccines,”Although vaccinations are not expected to begin until March, Taiwan has procured around 15 million doses for its population of 25 million. Ten million of the doses come directly from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and 5 million through the Covax program.  (Chinese: 全世界都迫切需要冠狀病毒疫苗,許多國家公開爭奪有限劑量並指責其他國囤積然而一些國家拒絕或禁止了對手的疫苗◦  台灣官員重申禁止進口中國 大陸生產的疫苗...這 些是邏輯的顛倒,它導致了強大的國家盡可能多搶疫苗,以期擺脫疫情大流行。已經有50多個國家/地區取得了超過8000萬劑疫苗, 其中一些國家的速度遙遙領先   對於中國生產的疫苗 台灣有政治上的憂慮, 也安全性和有效性 方面很大的擔憂。台灣已經購買了大約1500萬劑疫苗其中一千萬劑來自英瑞 阿斯利康,五百萬劑來自Covax計劃  UDN, 2-5-2021: 台灣何時能拿到新冠疫苗,一直不樂觀台灣向國際說「我OK,你先打」其實只是為掩飾當下四處買不到疫苗的窘境罷了全球四、五十國已經施打疫苗,屆時國際間皆具備免疫力準備開放國境,台灣要怎麼辦?繼續鎖國嗎,或者國民繼續被他國封鎖 udn.com/news/story/7338/5233189?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2 ;  CTN, 2-4-2021: 政府的態度夠不夠積極、投入的資源夠不夠多---非常重要。全球接種率第一的以色列,是因為總理徹夜打電話 和輝瑞總裁「盧」, 以色列的說服力,更體現在拿3倍價砸錢的豪氣上。Apple Daily, 2-5-2021:在足夠疫苗運抵前,仍存在各種不可測變數當前全球疫情嚴峻情況下,取得疫苗並非靠單純商業機制銀貨兩訖,也夾雜著國力與政治因素;  New York Times, 2-4-2021 "Vaccines to poorer countries 給窮國的疫苗":  Covax是一項國際計劃,旨在以低成本或免費向世界提供Covid-19疫苗 世界上許多最貧窮的國家仍可能在疫苗接種方面遠遠落後  China Times, 1-27-2021, 政府自我重重設限,中國製造,不要;外國公司製造,但有中資股份(德國BNT,中資占0.7%股權),不要;外國公司委託中國製造(牛津),也不要chinatimes.com/opinion/20210127000022-262103?chdtv  蔣里快評》笨死了,還搶不到疫苗   ) Reuters, 1-12-2021: Taiwan on Tuesday reported its first locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 since Dec. 22  (Chinese: 台灣自12月22日以來出現第一例本土傳播的COVID-19病例)  ps :中時(1-14-2021)社論: 新冠肺炎疫苗估計最早春季才能拿到少量,大概僅有醫護人員可打,下半年有多少很難說。TVBS, 1-17-2021, 楊志良籲 太多雙標和政治掛帥(ps:選票考量對醫界寬鬆了點etc),防疫就會失敗。

CNBC, 1-12-2021: Biden could struggle with Taiwan issue rocking U.S.-China relations. The incoming Biden administration could struggle in managing its relationship with Taiwan — a precarious issue that has contributed to worsening U.S.-China relations. (Chinese:拜登政府可能難以管理與台灣的關係,這是一個不穩定的問題,加劇了中美關係的惡化。)  cnbc.com/2021/01/12/how-biden-will-handle-taiwan-issue-thats-rocking-us-china-relations.html

Brookings, 1-11-2021:     brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/01/11/after-lifting-restrictions-on-us-taiwan-relations-what-comes-next/

The Biden administration upholds Pompeo’s decision to lift all restrictions on contact with Taiwan or publicly countermands Pompeo’s announcement is low-probability scenario.  Options more likely are: (1) Instruct the State Department to resume reviewing and approving contacts from across the United States government with Taiwan counterparts to ensure that such contacts adhere to the spirit of longstanding policy, if not necessarily the letter of past contact guidelines   (2)  Use Pompeo’s announcement as a spur to launch a Taiwan policy review to develop updated guidelines for contacts with Taiwan counterparts based on a fresh assessment of America’s interests and priorities in its unofficial relationship with Taiwan.  (Chinese:拜登政府若取消Pompeo的宣布會使美台關係陷入困境,而贊成其決定可能會引發風險,從而在台灣海峽產生意外升級的壓力,因此較可能的選擇是指示國務院恢復和批准美國政府與台灣同行的聯繫,或是製定美台交往聯繫的新準則。)

 ABC news (Australia),  12-30-2020 : 

Unlike western countries like Australia and the US where face coverings still aren’t compulsory,  to the Taiwanese, wearing masks represented a kind of “real freedom”, refusing to wear a face mask can still incur a fine between $140 and $700 ...The line between individual freedoms and the welfare of the state were also blurred...anybody in quarantine or isolation were forced to share their location data with authorities (Chinese: 澳美國等西方國家仍然不強制戴口罩 但對於台灣人來說,戴著口罩卻代表著一種“真正的自由” 拒絕戴口罩會被罰款140至700美元個人自由與國家福利之間的界限也模糊了...。)

brief : news.com.au/world/coronavirus/global/how-taiwan-largely-escaped-the-covid19-pandemic/news-story/b2a2fe7545b333b3afbf1c1bf5a83a87

 

media Taiwan Lawmakers Approve Imports of Additive-Fed US Pork  (Chinese:台灣立法院通過進口食用添加物的美豬)
Japan NHK, 12-25-2020
(
日本)
The Nationalist Party is calling for a referendum to be held on the issue in August next year. Public sentiment on US pork imports may affect the government's stance regarding import restrictions on some Japanese foods. (Chinese:國民黨呼籲在明年八月就問題舉行全民公決...  公眾對美國豬肉進口的看法可能會影響政府對某些日本食品(福島核事故)進口限制的立場) www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20201225_03/
China, Global Times, 12-24-2020 ( 中国 ) DDP is obtaining from the US is nothing but an illusory promise and short-term psychological comfort at the expense of the health of the island's 20 million people. ETtoday:over 75 percent of Taiwan residents are concerned about their safety on consuming problematic US meat... DPP leaflet to persuade Taiwan residents to make a sacrifice; Chiu notes that 2021 is not an election year, and the DPP has no electoral pressure, so it can ignore public opinion (Chinese:進口美豬 華盛頓除了虛幻的承諾外什麼也不會回饋台灣 卻損害了2000萬人的健康 民調顯示超過75%的台灣居民擔心食用美的安全性民進黨在網上說服台灣居民做出犧牲專家指出2021年不是選舉年,民進黨沒有選舉壓力,因此它可以無視公眾輿論)  globaltimes.cn/content/1210957.shtml
Voice of America, USA, 12-24-20 (美國) This has roiled Taiwan politics. KMT: the move is a health risk;  DPP: importers have publicly said they will not import ractopamine pork; The de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan has decried "disinformation" from politicians about food safety (Chinese: 進口萊克多巴胺美豬動搖了台灣政治; 國民黨: 對健康構成威脅; 民進黨: 進口商公開表示進口豬肉不含萊克多巴胺; 美國駐台單位譴責食安的“假訊息” ) www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/taiwan-lawmakers-approve-imports-additive-fed-us-pork
 Reuters, UK, 12-16-2020 (英國)  In Taiwan pig country, U.S. pork decision rankles, divides families /  "It's a free market. If it's no good it will be phased out. Nobody is forcing you to eat it."  That's an argument the government makes, and says its decision brings Taiwan into line with international practice. Taipei is also hoping the move eases the way for a free trade deal with Washington.  Pork is Taiwan's most popular meat, with the average person consuming almost 40 kg annually .. imports will be cost effective. But it can't be forced on us, bringing chaos to our industry and taking it down.  brief (Chinese: 美豬進口使家庭分裂 這是一個自由市場 沒有人強迫你吃它 這是政府的論點,決定與國際慣例一致為華盛頓自由貿易協定鋪平道路。豬肉是台灣最受歡迎的肉類,平均每人每年消耗近40公斤。進口成本低強加會給我們的行業帶來混亂及崩潰  brief ) news.yahoo.com/taiwan-pig-country-u-pork-015503475.html  


 
Bloomberg,  12-24-2020 : Taiwan deserves legitimate criticism for letting politics, especially relations with Western countries, pose a risk to the health of her own citizens.  e.g., a U.S. delegation entered Taiwan without meeting quarantine requirements, Czech Senate President and other 80 were allowed to bypass the two week confinement everyone else faced.  In contrast, one Filipino worker was fined $3,500 for stepping outside his quarantine room for 8 seconds, while others are reported to have been allowed to roam more freely. (Chinese: 台灣屈服政治因素與洋國關係,而危及本國公民健康,比方美國代表團來台未達到檢疫要求、捷克代表團來台被允許繞過兩週的檢疫期。但菲律賓工人因離開檢疫室8秒鐘而被罰款$ 3,500,據報導其他人可以自由遊蕩)  Taiwan diplomacy  台灣外交   brief  bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-23/taiwan-enjoys-an-i-told-you-so-moment-after-tangling-with-china-and-the-who

 Guardian, 12-22-2020 : Pilot blamed for Taiwan's first local Covid transmission since April...undergo a less strict three days of self-quarantine after each overseas trip and the new case has sparked debate about whether those measures should be tightened. (brief) theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/22/taiwan-confirms-first-local-covid-case-in-more-than-250-days  長榮機師被指責引起台灣4月以來首次本地Covid案例台灣對機師管理寬鬆自我檢疫僅三天(空姐五天)  Washington Post: Taiwan snaps world’s longest covid-free streak after pilot infects local resident. (ps: UDN 12-24-2020 editorial: the myth of Taiwan covid-free streak has been questioned for a long time because dozens people were detected positive after leaving Taiwan, ...  台灣是否真維持了二五三天「零本土」確診,這個「神話」一直受到外界質疑。原因有二:一、不少旅客或移工從台灣出境後,在他國入境被驗出確診;二、不少移工或國外表演者在十四天居家檢疫,才驗出確診。說明台灣若干社群角落確存在著輕症傳播,所幸因國人普戴口罩的好習慣有效阻擋病毒,未釀成大災情  brief)

 Bloomberg, Japan Times,  12-19-2020 : An epic year of market events shook China, Hong Kong and Taiwan /   Beijing’s passing of a sweeping national security law in June elicited global condemnation, but The Hong Kong dollar has remained strong in the face of economic and political pressure,... Concerns about a possible Chinese military invasion were heightened, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at Taiwan’s markets.    Take China’s equity market, whose value topped $10 trillion for the first time since the 2015 crash...The yuan tested a record low offshore before commencing a rally that some say could take the currency to levels not seen since 1993.  (Chinese: 史詩般的市場事件震撼了中國大陸,香港和台灣 /  北京通過新版國安法,引起了全球的譴責 但港元一直保持堅挺 央行還須採取了創紀錄的干預措施,以防止港元升值超過允許範圍;  共軍可能入侵台灣引發的擔憂加劇了,但單從台灣股匯市看你不會知道; 中國股市自2015年股市崩盤以來,首次突破10萬億美元,人民幣可能升至1993年以來的最高水平。)  brief  japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/19/business/financial-markets/china-hong-kong-taiwan-stock-markets/   ;  Bloomberg


 ABC news, USA,  12-15-2020 : The Latest: Taiwan sets 60% of population vaccination goal  (Chinese:台灣已設定目標,為60%的人口接種COVID-19疫苗https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/latest-korea-opening-dozens-free-virus-test-sites-74710084 (ps: UDN editorial 12-17-2020: 在排除輝瑞疫苗後,陳時中的態度愈顯曖昧,忽而說「已確定簽約可取得一千萬劑」、忽而說「最快明年第一季可開始施打」、「COVAX承諾會分配給台灣」,但細節始終說不清楚。這和多數國家疫苗研發、對外採購授權、誰優先施打都攤在陽光下的做法,可謂大相逕庭。udn.com/news/story/7338/5098840?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2)  VOA(美國之音中文網), LTN, 12-25-2020: 專家認為,為了達到群體免疫力,必須有約70%人口接種疫苗或產生天然抗體。news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3391701

  CNN,  Jan. 2021,  Taipei Performing Arts Center was selected as one among "the transformative buildings set to shape the world" in 2021, in that the eye-catching building has a planet-like sphere protruding from one side - will undoubtedly serve as a contemporary landmark for the Taiwanese capital;  however, some look-alike sphere buildings were already designed earlier  ― all "plug" into a central cube.   edition.cnn.com/style/article/anticipated-architecture-2021/index.html
 

 

 Taipei Performing Arts Center

www.world-architects.com/en/architecture-news/insight/year-in-architecture-2020

slideshare.net/manishkhageeshrestha/desing-concept

ge.com/news/reports/sphere-of-turbulence-whats-hiding-inside-a

PS: 台灣建築Taipei Performing Arts Center 因為似球形的球體從一側伸出引人注目入選 "the transformative buildings set to shape the world" in 2021之一,  且"無疑將成為台灣首都的當代地標"。然而 ―  球體崁入 "plug" into a central cube 已見於較早設計的多座國際建築

 

 

 Bloomberg,  1-7-2021 : Taiwan Is Doing Everything Possible to Avoid Negative Yields /   Taiwan’s  Central bank Yang has garnered attention for his so-called “smoothing” of the local dollar, generally considered intervention elsewhere. In a rare public appeal on Thursday, Taiwan’s central bank asked “everybody” - widely interpreted as being directed at manufacturers and exporters - to refrain from selling U.S. dollars in order to maintain the local forex market’s stability.   (Chinese:台灣正在盡一切可能避免負收益 / 央行楊以所謂的“平滑”美元引起關注,這通常被認為是在干預。在罕見的公開呼籲中,台灣中央銀行要求“所有人” - 通常解讀為針對製造商和出口商 - 避免出售美元以維持外匯市場的穩定;     bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-07/taiwan-is-doing-everything-possible-to-avoid-negative-yields

 EuroGamer,  12-6-2020 : TV adaptation of Taiwanese horror Detention is out now on Netflix /  www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-12-06-taiwanese-horror-detention-tv-adaptation-is-out-now-on-netflix
PS: ◆  1.
therefore, nowadays Taiwan only have obedient people. The Liberty Times, 1-4-2016:  Taipei city mayor Ko expressed Taiwanese have always been bullied and toyed, ...  Taiwan only has obedient, docile citizens who surrendered to their "lord", because according to medical gene experiments, docile dogs mating give birth to docile dogs, those some of Taiwanese revolted, resisted or rebelled were all killed by their rulers, the rest of Taiwanese are docile citizens, their children or descendants are even more docile.  (Chinese: 台北市長柯文哲指台灣歷史上不是沒有反抗,但反抗者被殺,剩下比較乖的跟比較乖的結婚,生下來更乖因此今日台灣多順民 )
      
◆  2.  Political persecution is still a reality in today's Taiwan.  (Chinese:  政治迫害仍現今日台灣)

 Seattle Times, Associated Press, Washington Post,  12-11-2020 :  A leading pro-China cable news channel prepared to halt its broadcast operations at midnight Friday after Taiwan’s government refused to renew its license, citing accuracy issues...In its ruling in November, NCC Chairperson Chen Yaw-shyang made no specific allegations of a pro-China bias, but said the channel appeared susceptible to outside influence.   www.seattletimes.com/business/leading-pro-china-news-channel-in-taiwan-ends-broadcasts/  (  台灣政府以準確性為由關閉親中電視頻道主管機構NCC(ps:應該是中立獨立)並未具體指控親中偏見,但表示該頻道似乎容易受到外界影響   )

Reuters, 1-13-2021  U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft had been due to visit Taiwan from Wednesday to Friday, prompting China to warn that Washington was playing with fire. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that all travel this week had been cancelled, including his own trip to Europe, as part of the transition to the incoming Biden administration. (Chinese: 在中共"玩火自焚"警告聲中美國臨時取消駐聯合國大使訪台作為方便拜登順利交接的部分) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-taiwan/ahead-of-biden-transition-us-cancels-un-envoys-trip-to-taiwan-idUSKBN29H2QJ

 

 L.A. Times,  12-1-2020 :  Some Taiwanese immigrants fear Biden will ‘Make China Great Again.’ ... For Jack Tseng,  He worries that Biden will not defend Taiwan if China attacks.  ... What they all have in common is a deep concern for their native island ...   Barney Cheng : Trump puts his own personal interests first.   John Wu active in Taiwan’s Kuomintang party voted for Trump — because of the president’s economic and domestic policies, not Taiwan.  He thinks Biden will cool the growing cross-straits tensions and will probably try to repair relations with China.
Biden emphasizes that the future of Taiwan should be settled by peaceful means, and to the one China policy.  Biden is probably familiar with standard protocols governing Taiwan relations, which would preclude a phone call such as the 10-minute conversation Trump had with Tsai ...   (brief)

(Chinese: 一些台灣移民擔心拜登會“讓中國再次偉大” ... Jack Tseng擔心,如果中國攻,拜登將不會捍衛台灣這些華裔美國人共同點是對台灣的深切關注 ... 活躍於國民黨的John Wu 支持普-因為其經濟和國內政策。 他認為,拜登將為兩岸日益緊張的局勢降溫,並可能試圖修復與中國的關係。Barney Cheng : 普以個人利益優先

美官員表示拜登致力於《台灣關係法》與一中政策,台灣未來應和平解決。拜登嫻悉國際關係標準協議,故不會像川普與蔡進行十分鐘對話的電話)

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-01/taiwanese-immigrants-biden-homeland

 CNN, 11-28-2020 : https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/11/28/taiwan-lawmakers-pig-guts-ndwknd-vpx.cnn

Lawmakers in Taiwan threw pig intestines and punches at each other as a brawl broke out in parliament over a proposal to ease restrictions on pork imports from the United (Chinese: 由於放寬美豬進口限制,台灣國會立委爆發鬥毆 互扔豬腸) NY Daily News,  11-28-2020: The issue at hand: U.S. pigs consume ractopamine, a feed additive that’s been banned in more than 150 countries, including China and the entire European Union (Chinese: 美豬食用150多個國家/地區禁止 的萊克多巴胺。) ( ps: 台灣 聯合報 11-23-2020: https://udn.com/news/story/7338/5036190   蔡政府以黑箱開放萊豬拒絕區隔標示,更反對立法禁止萊豬進校園,犧牲學生食安;  SETN, 2-8-2021: 學生營養午餐均全數採用本土肉品)

AFP, France 24, 11-27-2020 :  Taiwan's notoriously rambunctious legislature frequently sees chaotic clashes between rival lawmakers but Friday's scuffles were particularly novel. Lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party dumped buckets of pork offal on the debating chamber floor and then proceeded to hurl intestines, hearts, liver and other organs at their rivals...  to protest the government's decision to ease restrictions on pork imports from the United States. ... The DPP campaigned heavily against ractopamine when they were in opposition, and the KMT have accused them of hypocrisy (Chinese: 法新社: 臭名昭著的台灣立法院經常出現混亂衝突,但周五的混戰特別"新鮮"。反對黨立委倒了數桶豬肉內臟到地上,然後向對手投擲豬腸子,心臟,肝臟和其他器官 以抗議政府放鬆進口美豬 國民黨指責他們虛偽因民進黨在野時大力反對萊克多巴胺)。Reuters: U.S. pork containing ractopamine, an additive that enhances leanness but is banned in the European Union and China  (Chinese: 英國路透社: 萊克多巴胺是一種增強瘦肉的添加劑,歐盟和中國禁止進口)  Washington Post (11-27-2020) : scholar says Taiwanese voters generally viewed brawls negatively but that they were important ways to send signals to each party's die-hard supporters. Taiwan has long had a history of cameral chaos as legislators seek to demonstrate to constituents their, well, gutsiness. (Chinese: 台灣長期以來一直存在議場混亂的歷史,因為立委議員試圖向選民展示他們的膽識。 研究發現,台灣選民普遍對鬥毆消極 以待,但這是向雙方死忠支持者發送信號的重要方式。)  Reuters (UK), SCMP (HK) and WION (India) all made report by headline "Fists and pig guts fly". (香港南華早報與英國路透、印度 WION這次都以「拳頭和豬膽齊飛」 作標題報導)。https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/taiwan-pig-intestines-parliament-fight/2020/11/27/6eca3be0-3097-11eb-9dd6-2d0179981719_story.html   https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201127-pig-guts-fly-in-taiwan-parliament-protest

 

 

 

 

 L.A. Times, 11-22-2020: thousands march in Taiwan streets against US pork imports,  a giant inflatable pig (slogan: Betraying pig farmers) flown above the crowd.
www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-22/thousands-march-in-taiwan-streets-against-us-pork-imports
Guardian UK, 11-27-2020: Parliamentarians in Taiwan have thrown pig guts at each other before coming to blows over plans to allow US meat imports.  www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/27/taiwan-politicians-throw-pig-guts-meat-row
UDN 11-23-20: gov. refuses "import from US" mark and allows US pork on campus ( to smooth trade relations with the Trump adm.)

Voice of America, 11-26-2020 :  Taiwan Killed a TV News Broadcasting License Despite Legal Freedom of Speech because the openly pro-China outlet had aired inaccurate reports (such as  a report that farmers had discarded pomelo fruit in a reservoir ) and ignored warnings to reform.  CTi News broadcasts pro-China material – unpopular with much of the island’s population – as well as criticism of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party.  Reporters Without Borders said in a statement that it “regrets” the license revocation because it affects the CTi News staff. It asked the commission to disclose all evidence that renewing CTi's license would have endangered the public.  The media should take a government watchdog role but not just put out content that suits in-house agendas, At the same time, the commission’s move doesn’t violate press freedom. CTi  called the license revocation “illegal” and cited lack of “due process” as well as “flimsy reasoning.”  The National PolicyFoundation, attributed the decision to politics. "Although the National Communications Commission will never put 'political censorship' as their main reason to shut down CTi, it's an open secret to everyone".    (brief)  www.voanews.com/press-freedom/why-taiwan-killed-tv-news-broadcasting-license-despite-legal-freedom-speech   台灣撤銷了中天新聞許可證,因它公開播出不準確的報導(比方農民將柚子丟棄在水庫),並忽略改進的警告。中天播出了親中國的內容以及對執政民進黨的批評。無國界記者組織(Reporters Without Borders)聲明遺憾,因為影響了新聞工作人員。它要求委員會披露所有證據,證明續播將危及公眾媒體應該扮演政府的監督者角色,而不僅僅是發布"適合符合他們利益"內容 “您不希望[政府官員]濫用權力,而要追究他們的責任,這就是新聞自由; 同時,委員會的舉動並未侵犯新聞自由 中天稱吊銷許可證是“非法的”,並稱其缺乏“正當程序”及“虛假推理”。  National Policy Foundation 將這一決定歸因於政治 儘管NCC不會將“政治審查”作為關閉CTi的主要理由,但這對每個人都是公開的秘密。”

 

 Bloomberg,  12-17-2020 :  Strong Dollar, Excess Cash Put Taiwan in a Bind /   “The central bank won’t have many tools at its disposal that can keep the exchange rate in check next year,” the best way to ease the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar would be to encourage capital outflows (brief, Chinese:  “央行明年將沒有太多可用來控制匯率的工具  緩解新台幣升值的最好方法是鼓勵資本外流 www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/strong-dollar-excess-cash-put-taiwan-in-a-bind-decision-guide?utm_source=google&utm_medium=bd&cmpId=google

 

 

NY Times briefing , 11-24-2020 : China, Taiwan and Biden’s long to-do list ...President-elect Joe Biden has said he will work to deepen ties with Taiwan, but is expected to favor a more low-key approach than President Trump.預計拜登將比川普總統更傾向於低調的態度 不會那樣具有對抗性。

 

USA Today, 11-21-2020:  No lockdowns, no downturn: Taiwan attracts skilled expats with (mostly) COVID-free life  ... But settling in Taiwan is not without its drawbacks ...Foreign professionals run up against a protectionist mentality in e-commerce segments ... Personal connections matter, too, in breaking into a market ... Taiwan’s English fluency lags Hong Kong and Singapore ... Taiwan regularly ranks as one of the most densely populated places on Earth, meaning ... outside easily overpower the sound of one’s own TV set ...Locals fret about the looming threat of China...  CovID 在台灣沒有封城等限制,因此吸引了專業技術的外籍人士前來 然而在台工作也有缺點 比方 保護主義的心態; 對相對較小的市場,個人關係也很重要; 台灣的英語流利程度落後於香港和新加坡; 台灣通常被列為地球上人口最稠密的地方之一,這意味著噪音使人無法承受;  當地人也擔心中國的迫在眉睫的威脅。https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/11/21/taiwans-relatively-covid-free-life-attracts-skilled-expats/6322040002/

 

Reuters (英國路透社), 11-23-2020: Thousands of people took to Taipei's streets on Sunday for the annual "Autumn Struggle" protest march organised by labour groups, with much of the anger focused on the government's decision to ease restrictions on imports of U.S. pork.  (成千上萬群眾走上台北街頭,參加“秋鬥”抗議遊行,其中大部分憤怒都集中在開放美豬 ps: 其它還有反對關中天電視)
"Taiwanese pigs don't eat ractopamine and yet you are asking Taiwanese people to?" (台灣豬不吃萊克多巴胺,你要台灣人吃嗎?) The KMT is also trying to organise a referendum on the U.S. pork imports. (國民黨試圖舉辦美豬全民公投)   https://news.yahoo.com/thousands-join-annual-taiwan-protest-072836916.html

Associated Press (美國美聯社), 11-23-2020: The drug is banned by the European Union, but is legal in the United States... “I feel these days many who do business are not ethical. If they mix the U.S. pork with Taiwan pork and then sell it to us average consumers, we as individuals have no way to know the source of the pork.” (萊克多巴胺被歐盟禁止,但在美國是合法的。受訪市民: “我覺得近來很多人做生意都不道德。如果他們將美豬與台豬混合出售,我們就無法知道豬肉來源。”) https://apnews.com/article/global-trade-tsai-ing-wen-trade-agreements-taiwan-food-safety-cf76e2db33063462632bfd383e0b7dbf 

WSJ , 11-22-2020: Recognition of Taiwan wouldn’t lead to a dramatic “chill” with China, but the fundamental collapse of diplomatic relations.  承認台灣不會導致與中國的戲劇性“冷漠”   https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-bolton-and-avoiding-a-china-taiwan-war-11606076329

BloombergQuint, 11-21-2020: Total approved investment from Taiwan to China rose to $4.7 billion in the first 10 months of this year ... China is retaining its appeal for many Taiwanese businesses, even as President Tsai Ing-wen’s government offers incentives to bring investment back home.  (台灣對中國大陸的核准投資較2019年同期增長47%  即使蔡政府提供了鼓勵投資回國的措施,中國仍對許多台灣企業保持吸引力)https://www.bloombergquint.com/china/taiwanese-businesses-boost-investment-into-china-during-pandemic

  Taiwan Shuts Pro-China TV Channel in Battle over Press Freedom   11-18-2020

world media

  Cti TV side

NCC side

Reuters 11-18-2020 ...citing evidence of interference from a Beijing-friendly tycoon amid fears over China's campaign to win support on the island.
there was no evidence that CTi had received Chinese government funding.  and key shareholder Tsai has previously rejected accusations of newroom interference.

Taiwan's main opposition party, said it opposed the decision, as it could have a "chilling effect, strongly impacting press freedom"

CTi had been fined for several violations such as failure to check facts and endangering the public interest
Bloomberg 11-18-2020 Taiwan Shuts Pro-China TV Channel in Battle over Press Freedom
TV station says its closure is politically motivated
the latest example of the often fraught relationship between press freedom and concerns over Chinese influence in Taiwan’s fiercely competitive media landscape.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-18/f-16-disappears-off-taiwan-s-eastern-coast-fate-still-unclear
NCC says Chung T’ien News violated broadcast regulations     The key issue is its largest shareholder Tsai Eng-meng is directly and indirectly involved in the production of news programs
 
Guardian, 11-18-2020 “Today is the darkest day for freedom of the press and freedom of speech in the 30 years since Taiwan’s liberation,”
CTi has been accused of acting as a mouthpiece for Beijing and lobbying against the Democratic Progressive party (DPP) government, led by Tsai Ing-wen, and in favour of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT)
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/18/pro-china-tv-station-in-taiwan-ordered-off-air-over-disinformation
Pro-China TV station in Taiwan ordered off air  after Taiwan’s media regulator found it had failed to address serious and frequent findings of bias and disinformation.
CTi had devoted 70% of its airtime to the KMT mayor of Kaohsiung, Han Kuo-yu, who unsuccessfully challenged Tsai in the presidential election. In January, CTi was fined  for airing false statements by a KMT politician without factchecking or interrogating the claims before broadcast
AFP, Yahoo News Australia, 11-18-2020 Many of the large media outlets are openly partisan, backing Beijing-friendly politicians or their opponents
"It is completely and utterly hypocritical for governments to invoke press freedom only when it fits their agenda," tweeted KMT chairman Johnny Chiang.
 
It called for NCC to make public all the evidence it examined and apply the same standards to all future license reviews regardless of their political orientation.https://au.news.yahoo.com/taiwan-pulls-plug-china-friendly-100647362.html 
He has sparked criticism in the past for being overtly pro-Beijing and imposing his political preferences on the media outlets he owns.
The NCC accused Tsai of making direct and indirect interventions in news coverage by CTi.

One example was a false report that local farmers had to dump massive quantities of pomelo fruit last year because they were unable to sell their produce to mainland China as relations soured.

Times of India, 11-18-2020 The channel, which vowed to fight the decision in court, says the government is seeking to silence those who do not support its policies. Taiwan's government has repeatedly said China has stepped up efforts, including a media campaign, to infiltrate and gain influence on the democratic island
SCMP, 11-18-2020 CTI: The Tsai government has closed CTi; press freedom is dead! CTi is seen as pro-China and the decision marks the first time the regulator has effectively shut down a television news station  It cited evidence of editorial interference from major shareholder Tsai Eng-meng
The Straits Times, 11-18-2020
The rejection of CTi cable's request is the first time Taiwan has shut, even though indirectly, a television news station since the regulator, the National Communications Commission was set up in 2006.
The decision provoked immediate anger from CTi and Taiwan's main opposition party, which called it an attack on media freedom.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/taiwan-cti-cable-shut-down-china-tycoon-tsai-eng-meng-13585436
CTi had been fined for several violations such as failure to check facts and endangering the public interest
Focus on Taiwan, 11-18-2020 at the time of the hearing that the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) government was looking to close the station, effectively threatening Taiwan's media freedom
CTiTV called the day "the darkest" for the freedom of press and speech since martial law was lifted over 30 years ago.
In denying the license renewal based on two reasons -- the number of complaints that led to fines imposed on the station and the interference of a major shareholder -- the NCC "ignored the issue of political manipulation and disregarded communication theory and practice," CTiTV said.
"Under the NCC's current standards, every news stations in Taiwan should be shut down,"
Though CTi News submitted eight measures during the review process to improve the situation, Chen contended that none of them would have eliminated the interference of major shareholders in its news.

For Chinese version pls. click  上方表格 中文請點選 Taiwan free speech

 

 

Voice of America, 11-24-2020 : China Is Buying Up Computer Chips Made in Taiwan ...Taiwan reported a six percent jump in exports from July through September of this year. Experts say the jump is most likely a result of increased orders from technology businesses in mainland China. They say Chinese technology companies are buying up computer chips, or semiconductors, made in Taiwan.  中國正在購買台灣製造的電腦晶(芯)片... 由於COVID-19危機,全球經濟萎縮,台灣出口卻在增長。從7到9月,出口增長6%中國的科技公司正在購買台灣製造的電腦芯片或半導體
 

Asia News , 11-23-2020:  Like China, Taiwan is the only major economy to grow during the pandemic  台灣與大陸是新冠疫情期間唯一經濟增長的國家  其他亞洲主要經濟體日韓,都處於衰退 http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Like-China,-Taiwan-is-the-only-major-economy-to-grow-during-the-pandemic-51667.html 
 The Telegraph (UK),  11-30-2020 :  .
.. the country (Taiwan) acted fast, tightening border controls and putting in quarantine regulations, using lessons learned from the SARS outbreak of 2001  “It’s surreal, because it looks like the pandemic never happened,” If you want to get jealous, try this: on November 7, 10,000 people gathered in Taipei’s Dajia Riverside Park for a full-on, one day festival, Though safety measures were in place, masks and social distancing were advised but optional, and the full-scale production was absolutely spellbinding. (brief)  ( 英國Telegraph: 新冠病毒開始時,台灣從SARS吸取了教訓迅速採取行動,“現在是超現實的,因為新冠似乎從未發生過。” 台灣的Ultra Taiwan節 雖然已經採取了安全措施,但口罩和社交距離並非強制執行的 ) www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/looks-pandemic-never-happened-taiwan-075532490.html

★  Reuters, Yahoo news, 1-29-2021: Taiwan asks Germany to help obtain coronavirus vaccines after Berlin asked for the island's assistance in easing a shortage of automobile semiconductor chips news.yahoo.com/taiwan-asks-germany-help-obtain-091522962.html   (Chinese: 台灣要求德國協助獲得新冠疫苗)

Reuters, 1-24-2021 : Taiwan to put 5,000 into quarantine over hospital COVID-19 cluster  news.yahoo.com/taiwan-put-5-000-quarantine-130047308.html)
 

 

 CNN,  12-11-2020 :Today, what was once a roadside stall is now a burgeoning empire, whose growing fame on the Taiwan food scene owes far more to its delicious specialty than it does its brush with international fame ...

Tainan is known as the epicenter of Taiwanese street food culture, but turkey rice is a bit of an anomaly there. The dish actually hails from Chiayi ... they were recruited into their third location, a stall at the food court in Taipei 101 -- the tallest building on the island. There's a proud CNN logo on their signage ... In Taiwan, there's prestige attached to being mentioned by international media.   edition.cnn.com/travel/article/taiwan-turkey-rice-rou-bo/index.html  

(Chinese:  曾經的路邊小攤如今已成為一個新興的帝國,在台灣食品界聲名鵲起的原因在於特殊美味,而非國際聲譽 ;  台南被譽為台灣街頭飲食文化的中心,但是火雞飯有點反常它來自嘉義   這家肉伯火雞飯被招募到台北101美食廣場,他們攤位上有一個引以為傲的CNN徽標  在台灣,國際媒體報導提高了商店聲望。 全球認可的印記極為重要。在台灣,多年來人們緊緊抓住媒體的報導(無論規模多麼小)並不少見)  The secret of gua bao: The Taiwanese street food taking over the world ; "With the perfect gua bao, everything dissolves, the softness of the braised pork belly is only met with a slight texture of the fermented mustard greens and peanut powder. Sweet and savory with a sourness from the pickle in one go."  ( Chinese: 刈包的秘密:台灣街頭食品佔領世界 / 完美的 藍家包,一切都溶解了,紅燒五花肉的柔軟度配搭一點發酵芥末和花生粉的味道... edition.cnn.com/travel/article/gua-bao-taiwan/index.html  click Taiwan restaurants

 

 

 FoxNews,  12-9-2020 : as Trump seeks to draw down U.S. troops throughout the world, the bill as it stands puts limits on troop withdrawals and gives the power back to Congress  foxnews.com/politics/house-freedom-caucus-presidents-ndaa-veto-threat-military

(Chinese: 當川普試圖在全球範圍內裁減美軍時,該法案限制部隊撤離,並將權力交還國會  ​​,川普揚言否決此一《國防授權法》(NDAA)法案 )

     Taiwan News 12-9-2020 The parts of the bill related to Taiwan include a section calling for continued arms sales to the country, a “timely review and response” to Taiwan’s request for defense articles, and to expand the bilateral military partnership. The section also suggests increased medical security cooperation, including research and production of vaccines and joint conferences with scientists and experts. taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4073210

(Chinese: 《 2021年國防授權法》(NDAA)中支持台灣的部分是: 繼續出售武器,對台灣的國防要求提出“及時審查和回應”以及擴大雙邊軍事夥伴關係。還建議加強醫療安全合作,包括研究和生產疫苗以及與科學家和專家的聯合會議 )

 

 CBS,  12-9-2020 :  The diverse selection of sweet and savory items can be found throughout different parts of Taiwan, “whether it’s a bite at one of the food stalls or fine dining at one of the many Michelin star restaurants,...There is “something for everyone’s price range,” ; ...   Like any metropolis, the food in Taipei is just better. core Taiwanese dishes like lu rou fan, shabu shabu, beef noodle soup, Taiwanese breakfast, and more.   https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/12/09/explore-taiwans-food-scene-with-hailey-and-adam/   video;  https://www.willflyforfood.net/taipei-food-13-must-eat-restaurants-night-markets-in-taipei-taiwan/

(Chinese: 台灣各地都有各種各樣的甜鹹食品選擇,“無論是在小吃店裡,還是在許多米其林星級餐廳裡用餐” ... “每個人可找到適合價格的食物”  ;  像任何大都市一樣,台北的食物也更好。台灣核心料理,例如滷肉飯,牛肉麵湯等 

 

Guardian (英國), 11-21-2020: US and Taiwan sign five-year agreement on health, tech and security (台美簽協議: 建立了有關全球衛生安全,科學技術,5G和電信安全,供應鏈,增強婦女經濟權能等工作組) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/21/us-and-taiwan-sign-five-year-agreement-on-health-tech-and-security

 

 L.A. Times,  12-6-2020 : https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-12-06/think-trumps-toughness-toward-china-helps-taiwan

Trump being tough on China doesn't help Taiwan ...

To small groups of immigrants, he put a spotlight on Cuba, Venezuela and Taiwan... The problem is this kind of parent eventually wrecks the lives of their children. We, as a country, will also in time pay the price for these indulgences (Chinese:“使美國再次偉大”這個口號並沒有錯,但是,與其他國家交戰不會實現目標。對於少數移民群體,他將重點放在古巴,委內瑞拉和台灣。作為一個國家,我們遲早為這些放縱付出代價)

 

 

 

 

 
Emad Hajjaj, FECO Jordan President, was arrested by the Government of Jordan for drawing that caricature criticizing the agreement signed between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

We strongly condemn the arrest of Emad.

In the Declaration of Human Rights the Article 19 states this:
Article 19.
 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Now, Emad is waiting for his trial.

"I’m still facing dangerous charges , many people are trying to work in behind scene to resolve the case , but what I’m facing right now is law suits that could end up in putting me in prison. Your support is much needed", Emad said.
Facebook : www.facebook.com/AbuMahjoobNews

Please, send your cartoon to support Emad ; contact https://www.fecocartoon.com/
   
 

 

 
breaking news
updated news (2-21-2019) from FECO, Europe
" Turkish cartoonist MUSA KART TO RETURN TO PRISON" !!
 
 
 In the summer of 2017, Federation Cartoonists Organizations have published a gallery for Musa Kart:
https://www.fecocartoon.com/index.php/news-mainmenu-53/older-gallery

FECO supports this action  (2-28-2019) !  click for details;  Azerbaijan's free expression (3-2-2019)

 

   

Till a meeting with professor John Lent in Feb. 2019 I eventually knew the International Journal of Comic Art (with my article on it) was mailed to me in 2017, but was lost in middle way, this happened again and again before, including press card  and Feco News from Euro., IJOCA from USA.    Recall around 2009, post office sent a man to my house and explained that unit(s) other than post office can 'touch' the post...

 

   

damaged web-pages of the site

so many dirty attacks for years !  free speech is worse ever  !   prime suspects are ... ?   attacks continue till present 2020

Taiwan justice  (e.g., page1, page2, etc). New form attacks happened at 11-20-2018 ... each char. being typed in took a long time (seconds, even 10+ minutes, or forever) to be shown on the screen while updating my web-pages concerning Taiwan judicial systems and prosecutors...  attacks last ...  
 

 

   
 

 

pic. Taiwan's president Tsai promised to clarify the operations of white terror in Taiwan (釐清白色恐怖運作)

      This site urges :
       (1) The clarification is not clear enough, if only keeping one eye open on those happened 1947 ~ 1987.  
       (2) White Terror should include state violence, political persecutions ... - like the definition in Western world.
       (3) Open to public all the evil crimes and the whole picture !

 

 

   
 

 

pic. Federation Cartoonists Organisations sent me at May 11, 2018  the cartoon for freedom of press in S. America.  
       Pls. concern all the damages to freedom of expression around the world.