January 17: In an interview with an Indian television station, Prime Minister Janez Jansa for Slovenia stated that Slovenia is negotiating with Taiwan on establishing representative offices. He expressed support for self-determination by the people of Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed welcome and thanks.
January 17: Prosecutors alleged that Lin Huai, head of the Taiwan Association of Changsha, Hunan Province, accepted financial aid from China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, hosting an event in a hotel in Changsha in December 2019 for more than 500 Taiwanese businss people and students to rally for the Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu. The court sentenced him to three years and 10 months in prison. Lin stated that he was wrongly accused and hope that his travel restrictions would be lifted as soon as possible.
January 18: The pandemic has hit the aviation industry hard. The Taoyuan International Airport counted 909,000 passengers last year, the lowest record in the airport's 43-year history of operations.
January 19: After a review period of more than two years, the National Communications Commission (NCC) approved the application for establishing Mirror TV news station, the first news station to be established in Taiwan in 10 years. The NCC set more than 40 strict conditions, including the unprecedented right to rescind the license in case of non-compliance. The conditions for license recission include if the news station receives direct or indirect investment from mainland Chinese capital or is infiltrated by hostile forces.
January 21: Taiwan's vaccine passport was launched. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) requires individuals to receive two vaccine doses before they may go to night club, hospitals, and long-term care institutions. Visitors must present their vaccine passports, including their proof of vaccination, National Health Insurance mobile application, or coronavirus (COVID-19) digital health certificate. The regulations do not apply to restaurants at this time.
January 21: General Manager Chuang Feng-chia of the Chinese Television System (CTS), in which the government owns 80 percent of the shares, asked the Kuomintang (KMT) to withdraw its budget bill asking CTS to review its long-term losses. Otherwise, he would "teach" the KMT a lesson. The KMT angrily threatened to boycott the CTS budget. Legislator Ker Chien-ming, whip of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, also indicated that Chuang's intimidating the parliament crossed the red line. Chaung resigned at a board of directors meeting on January 21.
The Chuang case is a rare case of consensus between the ruling and opposition parties. After reviewing the general budget, the Legislative Yuan deleted NT$27 billion, or 1.19 percent. Funding for policy promotion was cut 30 percent, more than the original 20 percent.
January 22: After seven years of construction and maintenance, the Chi-Hai residence of former President Chiang Ching-kuo opened as a presidential library, the first of its kind in Taiwan. It is also the largest presidential memorial library in Asia. President Chiang lived in the Chi-Hai Residence for 19 years before his death.
January 22: The pandemic continues to spread in Taiwan. The day saw 82 additional domestic cases and 48 imported cases from abroad, setting a new high this year. The domestic cases are primarily concentrated around an electronics plant in Taoyuan (64 cases) and the Port of Kaohsiung (15 cases). Religious groups are suspending gatherings and activities, and railway services are prohibiting eating and drinking at stations and inside trains.
