CHINESE CONDUIT: An investigation found that Lin Yao-ting colluded with a firm to forge documents to help 215 Chinese travel to Taiwan on business or work visas
A court yesterday upheld a two-year suspension from work for a Legislative Yuan worker as he serves a four-year sentence for forging documents to allow 250 Chinese to work in Taiwan. The suspension of Lin Yao-ting (林耀庭), a clerk at the legislature’s General Affairs Section, was upheld by the Judicial Yuan’s Disciplinary Court, which is in charge of assessing and imposing punishments for contraventions of the law that civil servants commit in the course of their work. Lin was involved in a 2020 case in which New Taipei City-based Wisbet Digital Entertainment Co (奕智博數位) — purportedly an online gaming firm — was found to have been channeling money from China to be laundered in Taiwan. Investigators found that Lin colluded with Wisbet to forge documents to help 215 Chinese travel to Taiwan from 2018 to 2020 on business visas or to work at Wisbet branch offices in southern Taiwan. Lin was paid a total of NT$1.986 million (US$67,310) in commissions for each person who was approved to travel, investigators said. Lin filled out forms with false information, asked colleagues for help and pressured personnel at the National Immigration Agency and other agencies to fast-track approvals, investigators said. The Tainan District Court found Lin guilty in the first ruling last year, imposing a three-year, six-month sentence for contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例). The disciplinary court early this year ruled that he had breached provisions of the Civil Service Act (公務員服務法) and undermined public trust in government officials, handing him a two-year suspension from his job and confiscating the illegal profit. Lin appealed the disciplinary court’s decision, but his motion was dismissed yesterday. Members of the Taiwan Anti-Corruption and Whistleblower Protection Association during the trial last year had demanded a more thorough investigation. The case seriously undermined government agencies and
A doctor on Monday apologized for saying that sorghum wine could help prevent COVID-19. Chen Cheng-chieh (陳正傑), a doctor at China Medical University Beigang Hospital in Yunlin County, issued a statement apologizing for “misleading the public with false information about disease prevention.” Chen made the claim at a dinner party with friends a few days earlier, which was recorded and uploaded to the Internet. In the clip, he said that drinking half a glass of sorghum wine while eating could kill bacteria in the throat. Eight people who attended a Friends of the Police Association gathering in Yunlin’s Douliou City (斗六) did not test positive for COVID-19 because they had drunk sorghum wine, he said in the recording. Chen said that he would remember this experience and provide accurate, evidence-based information, especially as Taiwan is facing an outbreak of COVID-19. He also apologized to the police association and the hospital, adding that he would accept any punishment that his employer imposes. The hospital expressed regret over the “negative impact of Chen’s words” and said it would investigate the incident before deciding on a punishment. It would provide further training for medical personnel, it added. The Yunlin County Police Bureau’s Douliou Precinct told reporters that it would get a statement from Chen and refer the case to prosecutors. The bureau called on people not to spread unfounded information on the Internet. Spreading rumors or misinformation about COVID-19 that might cause harm to the public or others is a contravention of the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例), it said. People convicted of breaching the rules face up to three years in prison, detention or a maximum fine of NT$3 million (US$101,678), it said.
Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) has erected a statue of Paiwan leader Aruqu Kavulungan and his son, who were killed in the Mudan Incident, with the hope of sharing the Paiwan perspective of the incident. The Mudan Incident occurred in 1871 when Ryukuan sailors were shipwrecked off Hengchun Peninsula. They were massacred by Paiwan when the sailors ended up in their village of Kuskus — which today is Gaoshih Village (高士) in Mudan. The incident is usually told from the Japanese perspective. It was used by the Japanese as a pretense for the 1874 invasion of Taiwan — which at the time was governed by Qing Dynasty officials. The Paiwan, led by Aruqu and his son, were brave heroes defending their homeland, the township said. A plaque next to the statues — which were designed by local Paiwan artists Hua Heng-ming (華恆明) and his daughter Hua Yi-ta (華伊達) — explains that the statues were “carved out of granite to commemorate the firm determination and immortal spirit of the Paiwan to bravely defend their homeland against invading enemies.” “The facts behind the events of 1871-1874 are not well known among Taiwanese,” Mudan Mayor Pan Chuang-chih (潘壯志) said on Saturday. “At a time when the government is focused on transitional justice, there is a responsibility to give a voice to the ancestors of Mudan.” Preserving Paiwan history is an important but challenging process, as most indigenous history was transmitted orally, while written accounts made during the Japanese colonial era largely recorded the Japanese perspective, Pan said. The township office earlier this year restored trails and historical sites where fighting between Paiwan and Japanese took place, allowing people to get a better sense of events at the time, he said.
A doctor on Monday apologized for saying that sorghum wine could help prevent COVID-19. Chen Cheng-chieh (陳正傑), a doctor at China Medical University Beigang Hospital in Yunlin County, issued a statement apologizing for “misleading the public with false information about disease prevention.” Chen made the claim at a dinner party with friends a few days earlier, which was recorded and uploaded to the Internet. In the clip, he said that drinking half a glass of sorghum wine while eating could kill bacteria in the throat. Eight people who attended a Friends of the Police Association gathering in Yunlin’s Douliou City (斗六) did not test positive for COVID-19 because they had drunk sorghum wine, he said in the recording. Chen said that he would remember this experience and provide accurate, evidence-based information, especially as Taiwan is facing an outbreak of COVID-19. He also apologized to the police association and the hospital, adding that he would accept any punishment that his employer imposes. The hospital expressed regret over the “negative impact of Chen’s words” and said it would investigate the incident before deciding on a punishment. It would provide further training for medical personnel, it added. The Yunlin County Police Bureau’s Douliou Precinct told reporters that it would get a statement from Chen and refer the case to prosecutors. The bureau called on people not to spread unfounded information on the Internet. Spreading rumors or misinformation about COVID-19 that might cause harm to the public or others is a contravention of the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例), it said. People convicted of breaching the rules face up to three years in prison, detention or a maximum fine of NT$3 million (US$101,678), it said.
HEATED EXCHANGE: The defense minister had a verbal fight with a KMT lawmaker over allegations that the military was being used for cheap labor in pandemic-related tasks
The live-fire portion of the annual Han Kuang exercises is to continue as scheduled in July, but possibly on a smaller scale due to the domestic COVID-19 outbreak, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday. Asked at the meeting whether the exercises would be postponed as the number of domestic COVID-19 infections continues to rise, Chiu responded that the live-fire exercises would not be suspended, but would likely be downsized, with the number of military personnel participating in the drills to be reduced. The 38th Han Kuang military exercises include simulated tabletop war games and live-fire drills. The tabletop exercise concluded on Friday last week, while the live-fire component is scheduled for July 25 to 29. The tabletop exercise simulated the military’s tactics against possible Chinese invasion scenarios drawn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of National Defense said. The live-fire component is to be based on the outcome of the tabletop simulation. Citing a report by Reuters, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) told the meeting that Washington plans to provide Ukraine with ground-launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles to bolster its war effort, and asked whether those arms transfers could delay the delivery of such weapons to Taiwan, which has placed a NT$86.6 billion (US$2.94 billion) order for 400 of the missiles. Chiu said that the ministry would urge Washington to ship the missiles to Taiwan according to the schedule and quantity stipulated in the contract. “The ministry does not relent in matters concerning the lawful and contractual interests of our nation, which is not subject to change even by contingency,” he said. Meanwhile, Chiu and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Kuei-min (李貴敏) had a table-slamming argument over allegations that military service members were being used as cheap labor in COVID-19 pandemic-related
Washington has been in talks with Taipei for the past few weeks in preparation for the unveiling of its China strategy yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Communications between the US and Taiwan were “intense” in the run-up to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s speech on China policy at George Washington University, the ministry said. The contents of those discussions are being kept private, ministry deputy spokesman Tsuei Ching-lin (崔靜麟) said at a news conference. Blinken outlined US President Joe Biden administration’s policy toward China at the university at 10am yesterday in Washington. The speech, which had been postponed from early last month after Blinken tested positive for COVID-19, came on the heels of Biden’s trip to Asia this week, which ended on Tuesday, and was reportedly aimed at reinvigorating relationships with US allies to counter China’s influence in the region. During Biden’s visit to Japan, he said in response to a reporter’s question that the US would intervene militarily if China were to attack Taiwan. Biden’s off-the-cuff remark was interpreted by some people as a more open commitment of US intervention, or “strategic clarity,” and a deviation from the US’ policy of “strategic ambiguity,” which allows it to remain vague about its response to a potential attack on Taiwan by China. However, Biden on Tuesday said that the US policy of strategic ambiguity on Taiwan “has not changed at all,” after he met with his colleagues at the leaders’ summit of the Quad nations, including prime ministers Fumio Kishida of Japan, Anthony Albanese of Australia and Narendra Modi of India.
GOOD FAITH: The government has committed to resolving issues relating to safety, salaries and benefits, the union said, as Taipei hopes to avoid holiday disruptions
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kuo-tsai (王國材) yesterday pledged to continue communicating with members of the Taiwan Railway Labor Union (TRLU) over 16 regulations in the draft Taiwan railway corporation act, after the union on Wednesday canceled a strike planned for the Dragon Boat Festival on Friday next week. “I thank the union for the decision reached on Wednesday following a rational discussion, which was a good start,” Wang told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee in Taipei. “We can now focus on discussions about the regulations with union members. I hope that there will not be strikes on long weekends anymore.” The draft act is expected to be passed at a third reading in the legislature on Tuesday next week following a one-month negotiation between Democratic Progressive Party and opposition lawmakers. The Executive Yuan and the ministry have responded to major issues highlighted by the TRLU in good faith, including enhancing railway safety, resolving issues caused by the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) accumulated debt, a more flexible use of the agency’s assets, and adjusting employee salaries and benefits, the TRLU said. “Union members had different opinions about the strike during the meeting on Wednesday, but I told them that not too many people want to take trains with COVID-19 cases soaring nationwide,” TRLU chairman Chen Shih-chieh (陳世杰) said. “Should we insist on taking June 3 off, it would hurt the union, the TRA and train passengers. In the end, members unanimously agreed to cancel the strike,” he said. Although the union canceled the strike, the TRA said that it has no plans to offer more train services during the holiday as the number of passengers is expected to decline amid a domestic COVID-19 outbreak. Except for four “homebound” services chartered by the Hualien and Taitung county governments, the
Belizian Minister of Health Kevin Bernard on Wednesday expressed sadness over the exclusion of Taiwan from the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, saying he hopes Taiwan can be present at future discussions on global health issues. Speaking after a meeting with Deputy Minister of Health Lee Li-feng (李麗芬) on the sidelines of the WHA, Bernard said he was “very saddened” to see Taiwan denied observer status at the WHO’s annual decisionmaking forum, which began on Sunday in Geneva and ends tomorrow. Belize was one of the 13 countries, all diplomatic allies of Taiwan, that had forwarded a motion to put Taiwan’s inclusion on the assembly’s agenda, a proposal that was rejected at a WHA plenary session on Monday. Bernard said he hopes to see great minds come together “to make the right decision” and have Taiwan invited to the WHO and the WHA next year. Belize stands “strong and firm behind Taiwan,” Bernard said. Bernard had spoken in defense of Taiwan’s right to be at the WHA when the issue was discussed at a closed-door meeting of the assembly’s general committee on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lizzie Nkosi, minister of health for Eswatini, one of the nations that initiated the motion, said that she firmly supports Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHA, as her country’s relationship with Taiwan dates back to 1968. The rejection of Taiwan’s motion marked the sixth consecutive year the Democratic Progressive Party administration, which took office in 2016, has been unsuccessful at securing an invitation to the WHA. As in past years, the government sent a delegation to Geneva, this year led by Lee, to maintain a presence on the sidelines of the WHA and meet with national delegates outside the event. Lee told reporters that Taiwan’s exclusion this year was “very regrettable,” but that the government “would not relent
Taiwan is adding new features to its passport application Web site to allow the upload of digital photographs from next month, in an effort to streamline the process, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said yesterday. The new upload feature, to be added on Wednesday next week, will detail the specifications of the passport photographs, which can be uploaded by applicants before they take their applications to a passport office, bureau deputy head Hsueh Shu-mei (薛秀媚) told a news conference in Taipei. “This will help prevent applicant’s paperwork being rejected due to problems with the photograph,” Hsueh said. If the uploaded photograph is accepted on the Web site, there would be no need for an applicant to take two physical photographs when they submit an application, which would save time and cost, she said. Currently, all passport applications must be submitted in person at a bureau office, either by the applicant or someone designated to act on their behalf, but the application form can be completed online and printed. Supporting documents include two photographs and a national identification card, or a household registration certificate for applicants under the age of 14. While the new feature would allow the upload of digital photographs, applicants would still need to submit the application form and national identification card at a consular affairs office, Hsueh said. People can use the Web site to download the application form and make an appointment to submit the application, which would save time, instead of completing the form at the office and lining up to submit it, Hsueh said. The bureau’s goal is to expedite the passport application process in anticipation of a spike in overseas travel if the nation’s border controls are eased in the second half of the year, she added. At a legislative hearing on May 9, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中)
Taiwan Women’s Link yesterday called on the government to use the term “vaginal corona” rather than “virgin membrane” to refer to the hymen. The civic group at a news conference at the legislature in Taipei unveiled the results of an online survey, which showed that 88.93 percent of respondents agreed that the term should be changed, while only 6.31 percent disagreed. Among those that agreed it should be changed, 38.9 percent thought “vaginal corona” should be used, 27 percent “vaginal membrane” and 15.76 percent “vaginal valve,” the results showed. The 1,220 respondents were 76.97 percent biologically female and 19.51 percent biologically male, showing that women take their rights and interests seriously, and are more willing to take action to protect them, the group said. Some respondents disapproved of the word “virgin,” while others thought that the word “membrane” should be omitted because it has the connotation that it can be “broken,” Taiwan Women’s Link secretary-general Chen Su-fang (陳書芳) said. Taiwan Women’s Link founder and chairperson Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said that 41 civic groups had joined a petition to change the term, adding that she hopes the government would respond to public opinion. She questioned the term “virgin membrane,” asking: “Is being a virgin or not so important?” Huang said she would visit the Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday afternoon to submit the petition and the results of the survey. Huang said that the Mandarin term for lochia — e lu (惡露), which translates as “bad exposure” — should also be changed. The lochia refers to the blood and endometrium tissue discharged after giving birth to protect the fetus, she said, suggesting that it should be called chan lu (產露), which translates as “discharge during childbirth.” Taiwan Society of Plastic Surgery director-general Tai Hao-chih (戴浩志) said that the society supports the campaign, as “the hymen has nothing to do with
ASTRONOMY Venus eclipse visible today Astronomy buffs have a chance to see the moon eclipse Venus today, albeit in less-than-stellar viewing conditions, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon, known as a lunar occultation, should be visible in Taiwan from noon to 1:03pm, and can also be observed in Hong Kong and parts of Southeast Asia, the museum said. The last time a lunar occultation of Venus could be seen in Taiwan was in 2003, and the next time will not be until 2036. Because the eclipse will occur during the day, it cannot be seen with the naked eye, although people with star tracking equatorial mounts can train their telescopes on Venus before dawn and track the planet until the occultation occurs, the museum said. Weather permitting, a narrated livestream of the event is to be broadcast on YouTube beginning at 11:40am. WEATHER Falling rocks injure driver A scooter rider was taken to hospital with a broken arm after being hit by falling rocks in New Taipei City’s Wugu District (五股) on Wednesday, as areas across the nation were soaked under heavy rainfall. The man in his 50s lost his balance and broke his right arm after being hit by rocks that fell on Laiyi Road, the city’s fire department said. A weather station in the city’s Bali District (八里) recorded Wednesday’s rainfall at 184mm as of 8:50pm, while nine other locations in New Taipei City and Taoyuan recorded 157.5mm to 178mm of rain. In Alishan Township (阿里山), falling rocks damaged two cars in separate incidents on Wednesday, county police said, adding that the occupants of the vehicles were uninjured. DIPLOMACY Delegation tightens EU ties A delegation led by Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) met with European Commission officials to discuss bilateral economic ties during its trip to Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, the
TEMPORARY MEASURE: As the new policy has just been implemented, testing stations will continue to offer PCR tests for people who have tested positive with a rapid test
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced that the policy of using a positive COVID-19 rapid antigen test result for diagnosis would be expanded to the public starting today, and it reminded the public of the five steps when taking a positive test result to a doctor for assessment. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the policy would be officially expanded to everybody, starting today, and the case definition for COVID-19 had been revised accordingly. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC spokesman, said the previous case definition was being tested positive in one of two testing methods — a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or a rapid antigen test assessed by a doctor — but the eligibility for diagnosis based on the rapid test result was limited to people in home quarantine, home isolation, self-disease prevention, people aged 65 years or older, and residents of indigenous areas and outlying islands. Starting today, the definition has been revised to include people who test positive with a rapid antigen test without regard to age or ethnicity, who can be diagnosed as a confirmed case after a doctor confirms the test result, or if the positive rapid test result was performed by a health worker, he said. The positive test result could be assessed by a doctor through a telemedicine appointment or taken to a doctor at a community testing station or healthcare facility, he said, adding that people who tested positive should remember the following five steps: They should write their name and testing date on the rapid test cassette with the positive result, put their National Health Insurance (NHI) card next to the cassette and take a photograph, then put the cassette in a bag and take it to a
Law enforcement authorities yesterday said they have arrested 10 people suspected of illegal logging after finding sawn-off blocks of valuable trees and working tools at their camps in the mountains of Chiayi County. The 10 were taken to the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning, with a man surnamed Yeh (葉), 27, suspected of being the leader of the illegal logging operation. Yeh and three other suspects were denied bail and placed in detention. Prosecutor Lee Peng-cheng (李鵬程) headed the investigation, working in coordination with the National Police Agency’s Seventh Special Police Corps and other law enforcement units to carry out the arrests at the camps and other locations in the county’s mountainous areas. Lee and other officers put on display 20 wood blocks, three tree burrs and two vehicles allegedly used to transport the cut-off timber sections from the mountain areas to meet buyers. The wood blocks were cut from valuable and protected species, including Taiwanese cypress, Formosan red crypress and Taiwanese yellow cedar, Lee said, adding that the total loot weighed about 113kg and would have fetched an estimated NT$3 million (US$101,502) on the black market. Lee said Yeh and his father were in charge of a group of “mountain rats” (山老鼠) — a criminal ring that puts up camps and temporary shelters in mountainous areas to illegally cut trees or poach wild animals, including endangered species, or engage in other illegal activities that cause environmental damage. Yeh and his father also hired undocumented Vietnamese workers who had skipped their contracts and taken on jobs in the underground economy, Lee said, after questioning two Vietnamese, surnamed Nguyen and Vo, who were among the 10 people arrested. Lee credited the arrests to the Seventh Special Police Corps, which had been investigating the case for more than five months, conducting surveillance, following up on tips
Authorities on Tuesday raided the offices of the local unit of GigaDevice Semiconductor (Beijing) Inc (北京兆易創新科技) on suspicion of illegally recruiting Taiwanese technology talent to infiltrate Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Nine people, including Wang Wen-hao (汪文浩), a Taiwanese who heads GigaDevice Taiwan’s office in Taipei, along with the company’s chief accountant, surnamed Liu (劉), and other employees, were summoned for questioning, Taipei prosecutors said. Wang was released on bail of NT$100,000 late on Tuesday night. It is the first major investigation into talent poaching by suspected Chinese-funded businesses following the legislature’s passage on Friday of amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) which impose stiffer punishments on the illicit transfer or theft of core technologies. According to business registry records, Wang in 2013 set up the Taiwan office as the local unit of GigaDevice Semiconductor (HK) Ltd (香港商香港商芯技佳易微電子), saying it would create jobs by conducting research and development into semiconductors and flash memory devices. However, a preliminary investigation indicated that it was a ruse — that the Taiwan office is a shell entity for Wang and his deputies to penetrate Taiwan’s high-tech sector, aiming to poach Taiwanese talent in the IC design and memory device sectors, and to obtain proprietary technology. The Taiwan office was set up to represent the Hong Kong firm, but both companies are controlled by GigaDevice Semiconductor (Beijing) Inc, contravening Taiwanese laws banning Chinese investment in Taiwan’s high-tech sector, court filings showed. Chinese scientist and entrepreneur Zhu Yiming (朱一明) is the founder and owner of GigaDevice Semiconductor (Beijing), and he has total control and provides all the funding for the Hong Kong and Taiwan offices, the investigation showed. Zhu reportedly has good connections to the Beijing government and close ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He is Anhui Province’s representative to China’s National People’s Congress, and had studied and worked in the US
CHALLENGE: Chen Forng-shean was invited by the French astronomical society to beat the world record on the smallest sundial made by an Italian
Taiwanese miniature craftsman Chen Forng-shean (陳逢顯) has broken the Guinness World Record by making the world’s tiniest sundial from a grain of rice grown in Taiwan. The French astronomical society had asked the French Office in Taipei to contact Chen and invite him to make a record-breaking sundial, which he completed after failing dozens of times. The society provided Chen with information and photographs of the smallest sundial in the world — measuring 0.65cm by 0.5cm — that was created by an Italian in 1999. After a careful assessment, Chen told the society that he had no problem making a smaller sundial. He used a grain of a type of Taiwanese rice to make the sundial, which, at 0.5cm by 0.3cm, set a new record. A sundial is a device that uses the position of the sun to tell the time of day. The basic structure consists of a flat surface and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial. The shadow moves on the surface as the position of the sun changes and its tip aligns with different lines drawn on the surface to indicate the time. A gnomon can be made from a wooden bar, a metal wire or a decorative sculpture, Chen said. Chen said that the secret of making a sundial out of a rice grain lies in securing the position of the grain during the process. He used tools such as a steel needle and writing brush to write tiny Arabic numbers from 6 to 18, covering the period between sunrise and sunset. Chen said that with the help of a magnifying glass, he wrote the numbers and drew lines on the sundial while holding his breath. The spacing of each number had to be carefully arranged since the rice grain was so small, he added. Chen said he found the work meaningful because it
‘GEOGRAPHICAL VACUUMS’: Japan’s representative said the world needs to learn from successful public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘such as Taiwan’
Japan, the Czech Republic and nine of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies on Tuesday voiced their support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Assembly (WHA) after it was not invited to the annual conference for a sixth straight year. In a prerecorded address played during the third day of the WHA in Geneva, Switzerland, Japanese Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Shigeyuki Goto said the world needed to learn from successful examples of public health responses in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, “such as Taiwan.” “We should not make any geographical vacuums created by leaving specific regions behind in addressing global health issues such as infection control. This will serve the purpose of preventing the spread of infection worldwide,” Goto said. Vaclav Balek, the Czech Republic’s permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva, said in his in-person address that in the global fight against COVID-19, “no one can be left behind.” “This is the reason why the Czech Republic fully supports Taiwan to be granted observer status to the World Health Assembly,” Balek said. Speakers representing nine diplomatic allies — Haiti, St Kitts and Nevis, Nauru, Eswatini, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Palau, Tuvalu and Belize — all used parts of their respective addresses to make similar appeals. The Taiwan issue was not brought up by speakers representing two other nations that officially recognize Taiwan. The speaker from Honduras did not mention Taiwan in his address, while the representative from the Marshall Islands was about to raise the issue before his prerecorded address was cut off because he exceeded his time limit, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs source said. Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Li-feng (李麗芬), who is in Geneva heading a delegation despite Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHA, told the Central News Agency that the government was still grateful to Honduras and the Marshall
SKEPTICS: Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng disagreed, saying that a sign of US respect would have been advanced warning via diplomatic channels
The US’ disclosure of Taiwan’s exclusion from a Washington-created Indo-Pacific economic initiative a day before its launch was a sign of respect to Taiwan and followed a long-standing “no surprises” policy, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. Tien made the remarks when asked by an opposition lawmaker at a legislative session whether Taiwan’s exclusion from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) showed that Taiwan-US relations were not as “rock solid” as claimed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government. Tien quoted White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan as saying on Sunday — a day before US President Joe Biden launched the IPEF in Tokyo — that Taiwan would not be a part of the IPEF for now. Sullivan had been replying to a journalist’s question on the US presidential airplane as it flew to Japan. “I believe that, in so doing, the US was showing respect to Taiwan, and following Taiwan’s and the US’ practice of keeping things surprise-free,” Tien told Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞). However, Tien said that he was not personally informed in advance by the US, but only became aware that Taiwan was being excluded from the IPEF when he read US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks in the media. Tien added that he could not speak on behalf of Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) or the entire government. Taiwan might be included in the framework later — maybe in the next round, when the IPEF is opened to new members, he added. Tien quoted a previous remark by Blinken that the US would “engage virtually every country” in the region and that “there is nothing that closes the door on anyone, including Taiwan.” Despite Tien’s reassurances, lawmakers across party lines yesterday were not convinced that Washington was showing Taipei respect by giving it one
US President Joe Biden’s off-the-cuff vow to defend Taiwan militarily was aimed at deterring Chinese aggression against Taiwan and was consistent with US policy on Taiwan, US experts say. Amid China’s increasing use of political suppression and military coercion against Taiwan, Biden’s statement in Tokyo on Monday was meant to convey to Beijing the US’ intention to intervene if it were to attack Taiwan, former US official Robert Wang (王曉岷) told the Central News Agency (CNA). “The purpose is to deter China from doing so, especially following Russia’s example in Ukraine,” said Wang, who served as senior US official for APEC from 2013 to 2015. At a news conference after his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Monday, Biden was asked: “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?” “Yes. It’s a commitment we made,” Biden said. It was the third time that Biden had answered similar questions the same way, following his remarks in an interview with ABC News in August last year and then at a CNN town hall event in October last year. Biden’s statement was interpreted by some as a deviation from the US’ policy of remaining vague regarding its response were Taiwan to come under attack by China, known as “strategic ambiguity,” and a move toward a more open commitment of intervention, or “strategic clarity.” However, Biden on Tuesday said that the policy “has not changed at all.” The White House and the US Department of State did not reply to CNA requests for comment on the issue, but Wang believed Biden’s answer to the question was consistent with fundamental US policy on Taiwan, citing Section 2 of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). The act says that any effort to determine Taiwan’s future by non-peaceful means is considered as a threat to
Large over-the-top (OTT) television operators would be required to register with the government and subject to other special obligations under a new draft act regulating Internet audiovisual services (網際網路視聽服務法草案), the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday. The agency unveiled the legal framework of the new draft after an old draft, which was created in 2020 following a controversy involving Chinese streaming service operator iQiyi, was criticized for requiring operators to divulge what might be considered sensitive business information and for not incentivizing operators to generate new content. Some criticized the government’s failure to effectively tackle rampant copyright infringement on some online streaming sites. NCC Deputy Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) told the commission’s weekly news conference that Chinese OTT TV operators are regulated by the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), not the new draft act. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has since 2020 banned Taiwanese firms from serving as agents for Chinese streaming platforms, he said. The OTT TV operators regulated by the draft act are those that establish service bases in Taiwan or have substantial ties with the nation, he said. They are also those that have a substantial number of subscribers, such as Netflix, LiTV, Line TV, MyVideo, friDay, Hami Video, KKTV and Catchplay, Wong said. The draft would not regulate platforms featuring user-generated content, such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, he said. The regulated operators would be those that have a large user base, or who could affect the welfare or well-being of the public, he said, adding that the commission would publish a list of operators who must register. The commission has yet to decide how many users or subscribers would qualify as operators, he said. The draft stipulates obligations common to all OTT TV operators and obligations that only apply to registered operators, Wong
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