Taiwan 台灣

Taiwan is determined to become a decisive force for democracy, peace and prosperity, standing side-by-side with its democratic partners to confront authoritarian expansionism and protect shared values, Lai told the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security in Taipei.

Authoritarianism is now a global challenge, Lai said, using as examples Chinese military expansionism, economic coercion and the use of hybrid warfare tactics such as cyberattacks and cognitive warfare.

“We are all fully aware that China’s growing authoritarianism will not stop with Taiwan, nor is Taiwan the only target of China’s economic pressures,” he said. “China intends to change the rules-based international order. That is why democratic countries must come together and take concrete action.”

Australian Senators said UN Resolution 2758 does not establish the People's Republic of China's sovereignty over Taiwan and does not determine the future status of Taiwan in the UN.

Taiwan's de facto embassy in Canberra has heaped praise on Australia after the Senate passed a bipartisan motion criticising China's attempts to use a 50-year-old UN resolution to claim Taiwan as part of its territory.

China's government has consistently tried to use UN Resolution 2758 — which recognises the People's Republic of China as the "only legitimate representative of China to the UN" — to advance its claim that it has sovereignty over the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

It has also repeatedly claimed that Australia accepts that Taiwan is merely a province of China, an argument which Australia rejects.

Under the agreement signed by both countries when they established diplomatic ties Australia recognised the PRC as the sole government of China but only "acknowledged" China's claim that Taiwan is part of its territory.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/2067257

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Two German warships await orders from Berlin, their commander said, to determine whether in September they will be the first German naval vessels in decades to pass through the disputed Taiwan Strait, drawing a rebuke from Beijing.

While the US and other nations, including Canada, have sent warships through the disputed strait in recent weeks, it would be the German navy's first passage through the strait since 2002.

The Taiwan Strait is a major trade route through which about half of global container ships pass, and both the United States and Taiwan say it’s an international waterway.

[...]

Germany, for whom both China and Taiwan, with its huge chip industry, are major trade partners, has joined other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region as their alarm has grown over Beijing's territorial ambitions.

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Palau’s President Surangel Whipps accuses China of pressuring the nation to cut ties with Taiwan through “weaponising tourism”

Palau is one of just 12 states worldwide that diplomatically recognise self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.

Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all switched allegiance from Taiwan to China in recent years, and Palau President Surangel Whipps said China had put pressure on his tiny Pacific archipelago of 18,000 people to follow suit.

"We have a relationship with Taiwan... China has openly told us (that) is illegal and we should not recognise Taiwan," Mr. Whipps told reporters Wednesday.

Speaking during an official visit by New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Mr. Whipps claimed China had told Palau that "'the sky is the limit, we can give you everything you need'".

"We need economic development, but at the same time we have values, we have partnerships, and the relationship we have with Taiwan, we treasure," he added.

"We're willing to be China's friend, but not at the expense of our relationship with Taiwan."

Calls to denounce “die hard" Taiwanese secessionists, a tipline to report them and punishments that include the death penalty for “ringleaders” – Beijing’s familiar rhetoric against Taiwan is turning dangerously real.

The democratically-governed island has grown used to China’s claims. Even the planes and ships that test its defences have become a routine provocation. But the recent moves to criminalise support for it are unnerving Taiwanese who live and work in China, and those back home.

[...]

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office was quick to assure the 23 million Taiwanese that this is not targeted at them, but at an “extremely small number of hard-line independence activists”. The “vast majority of Taiwanese compatriots have nothing to fear,” the office said.

But wary Taiwanese say they don’t want to test that claim. The BBC has spoken to several Taiwanese who live and work in China who said they were either planning to leave soon or had already left. Few were willing to be interviewed on record; none wanted to be named.

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"Information security risks are national security risks," said Tzeng Yi-suo (曾怡碩), an associate research fellow at INDSR's Division of Cyber Security and Decision-making Simulation.

"As long as the app is under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, there will basically be security concerns," he explained.

Tzeng told CNA that commercial companies collect data about app users and then use algorithms to tailor relevant information and marketing.

This is not a problem in a democratic country governed by the rule of law such as Taiwan, the cyber-security expert said, because if the information involves judicial cases, the government will need to go through certain legal procedures to obtain the information.

However, the National Intelligence Law of the People's Republic of China and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets empower Chinese government agencies to require platform service providers to hand over users' data "as long as they determine that national security is involved," Tzeng said.

"How the Chinese government obtains the data and what they will do with it is not transparent," the security expert added.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/1687028

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Several countries recently cancelled preferential visa treatment for Taiwan passport holders due to pressure from China, the government in Taipei says

A number of countries have decided in recent months to cancel preferential visa treatment for Taiwan passport holders due to pressure from China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) alleged Tuesday.

Botswana, for example, recently changed Taiwan's designation on the drop-down menu on its e-visa application system from "Taiwan" to "China" due to pressure from the People's Republic of China (PRC), MOFA said in a written statement.

The change meant that Taiwan passport holders could no longer apply for an e-visa to Botswana, it said.

Colombia also canceled its visa-free treatment to Taiwan passport holders in 2023. Now, only Taiwanese citizens who also hold United States or Schengen area residency or visas can travel visa-free to Colombia, MOFA said.

Taiwan said it discussed the issue with Colombia before the change, but the South American country insisted on going through with it, and MOFA said it suspected that PRC could be behind the decision, without providing any other details.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/1653814

“Obviously we [Taiwanese] were targeted because Chinese fans were sitting in the front row seat on the lower level holding a Chinese national flag that exceeded the size allowed by the IOC” (International Olympic Committee)," said Sandy Hsueh, president of the Taiwanese Association in France.

A staff member told her they had “received an instruction from the Olympic Games saying that anything related to Taiwan or showing Taiwan cannot appear,” Hsueh said.

Many spectators recorded evidence of a Chinese woman holding a mobile phone, who stood next to the security personnel and directing them to confiscate signs and banners from Taiwanese supporters, Hsueh said.

Another supporter took pictures of the woman thanking the staff and volunteers after the game and giving them badges, she said.

The incidents follow similar scenes during Lee and Wang’s semi-final on Friday, when a Taiwanese spectator’s banner was snatched by an unidentified man, who was reportedly ejected by venue staff.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/1597354

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned incidents in which signage supporting Taiwan was snatched from spectators watching badminton at the Paris Olympics, saying it contravened the spirit of the Games and freedom of speech.

The incident took place during the men’s doubles match on Friday, when Taiwan’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin advanced to the final after beating Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.

A unidentified man in a pink shirt was seen seizing the sign from a female spectator — later identified as Yang Chih-yun (楊芷芸), a Taiwanese studying in France — before being removed from the stands by security. The sign was cut out in the shape of Taiwan proper and said: “Go Taiwan” in Mandarin.

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The “malicious individual” who forcibly took the sign has “seriously violated the cultural spirit of the Olympic Games, showed contempt for the rules and harmed freedom of speech,” the ministry said.

Although the Republic of China (ROC) flag is prohibited, there is no explicit ban on items that have the word “Taiwan” written on them, the Taipei Representative Office in France said.

[...]

Taiwanese athletes compete in the Olympics under the name “Chinese Taipei.”

Yang said whenever she cheered “Taiwan go” during the match, the man in the pink shirt shouted “Chinese Taipei” or “Taipei team.”

In a separate incident during the same game, an Olympics staff member was “overzealous” in removing a green towel that read “Taiwan In,” the ministry said adding that it has instructed officials to issue a complaint to the Paris Games’ organizing committee.

[...]

In yet another incident on Friday, two Reuters journalists saw a spectator with a green banner reading “Taiwan go for it” being bodily removed up a staircase, shouting, while Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien-chen was playing.

Hi folks,

I've been living in Taiwan for years so I have the NIH. Recently my knee is acting up and will get super painful during runs. As much as I want to deny it, I suspect that I have a meniscus tear 😢.

If that is the case, I don't know if I have the financial means to support the treatment, so I want to ask if there's anyone here with an experience with knee meniscus repair or ACL reconstruction surgery in Taiwan?

Any recommendations for a hospital or doctor? How much did it cost or did you get quoted?

Thank you very much!

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Local and international experts and diplomats on Wednesday discussed in Taipei what they called China's "bad governance model" in Africa, criticizing it for creating unpayable debts for countries in that continent.

They highlighted Taiwan's model in Somaliland as an alternative, at a half-day symposium, themed "China's Bad Governance Model for Africa -- Alternative Visions," which was organized by the Taipei-based non-governmental organization, Taiwan Inspiration Association.

• Citing the example of Zambia, as the landlocked African country is widely considered "Ground Zero" for China's Investment on the continent. Its Patriotic Front government assumed power in 2011, and Zambia has worked hand-in-hand with China on a number of major construction programs.

• Unfortunately, as part of these China-Zambia deals, only Chinese companies were allowed to compete, meaning the profits were ultimately shared by Chinese companies and government officials, while ordinary Zambians received none of the benefits.

• In total, Beijing provided more than US$10 billion in loans to Zambia during the Patriotic Front administration -- from 2011 to 2021 -- which was as much as 50 percent of the country's GDP.

• An alternative to China's bad governance model, is the relationship between Taiwan and Somaliland, according to Taiwan's representative to the East African state Allen Lou (羅震華). Lou praised Somaliland as the "only country to say no to China in Africa."

• In contrast to the Chinese model in Africa, Taiwan's model of cooperation focuses on "people centric, knowledge transfers, and capacity building," Lou said at the symposium. Ultimately, Taiwan wants to create a model in Somaliland to win more friends in East Africa, the envoy said.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) Summit in Taipei has gotten underway, but not without some final hitches.

IPAC delegates flew in over the weekend, and met with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Monday, but there was drama in the preceding days as China reportedly tried to dissuade legislators from attending.

Tuesday July 30 will be the main event of the summit, with meetings and discussion between delegates and a press conference to follow. Taiwanese security is expected to be high on the agenda.

Chinese diplomats contacted legislators from several countries, asking them about their travel plans, or directly telling them not to come to Taiwan, the Associated Press reported on Sunday July 28. “Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and one Asian country that declined to be named” were listed as those countries whose delegates were contacted, although of course other nations’ attendees may also have been pressured. The above list doesn’t contain any delegates from the larger economic powers in IPAC, although without more information it’s impossible to know if this common denominator is significant.

Language Exchange 語言交換活動 Every Sunday from 7pm 星期天 7:00pm @ Brass Monkey Fuxing 銅猴子復興店 銅猴子現在開始與LEIT合作在每個星期天晚上推出語言交換活動！ The Brass Monkey and LEIT are teaming up to bring you Language Exchange every Sunday Night! Minimum charge NT$200 ($150 can be exchanged for food or drink) 最低消費 $200 （NT$150可折抵飲料或食 ...

Constanze Han documented the lives of “betel nut beauties,” young women selling the addictive stimulant across Taiwan.

DPP government says more than 760 statues of Chiang, who ruled the island for nearly three decades, will be swiftly removed.

Some people might not know where to go for night life activities so here is a non-exhaustive list.

• Revolver - social bar
• Maji square (at yuanshan) cheap night, Triangle club, Tiki Hut, etc
• Xinyi qu - expensive night with local Taiwanese clubs. This is good for going with friends, but the locals typically won't chat with you.
• La Fin - new night club in xinyi qu
• AI - club in xinyi qu, has some Taiwanese gangsters
• 1001 Nights - $600 get three drinks, Latin music, mostly foreigners, closes at 6am.
• Pawnshop - City outskirts, some drug use
• Studio 9 - $500 cover, one drink, techno music
• Pipe Live Music - Gong guan area, has outdoor bars and techno music night club
• Game over - this is a video game bar

If you got questions just let me know. Most foreigners just go to maji square on Fridays / Saturdays cause it's cheap and is foreigner friendly.