ISSUE 133                                                                                   March 17, 2022
Taiwan Weekly
Reliable report and analysis of the most important issues in Taiwan
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● This Week in Taiwan: 
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Taiwan Learns Lessons from Ukraine and South Korea
Taking the Russia-Ukraine war as a lesson, Taiwan is beginning to revise its system of training for reserve forces every year for 14 days, so as to strengthen their combat capabilities.
(Photo from: United Daily News)
Featured News

Lesson from Ukraine: Strengthen Training of Reserve Forces

Summary Report by Taiwan Weekly

 

Taiwan recently began the “toughest ever” reservist training in history and President Tsai Ing-wen went to inspect the training troop on March 12. President Tsai stated that this training program will implement the spirit of “all-citizen mobilization”, carry out the principle of “local mobilization, local combat”, expedite war time mobilization, and achieve the goal of “training the troops at the locality of combat.”

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Featured Editorial
According to media commentary, a responsible political party cannot only seek to win the next election but should be able to avoid war and build a safe environment for the next generation.
(Photo from: China Times)

Who Will Operate Countless Arms Procured from the U.S.?

China Times Editorial, March 12, 2022

 

Most people sympathize with the weaker Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine War. To our surprise, however, Russia did not win a decisive victory on its first strike.

 

Russia first attacked the military strongholds in Ukrainian with missiles, then gained air and sea dominance, and finally sent ground troops in. This combat mode is similar to that of China's and also not far from the combat scenario of attack from China in the series of Han Kuan Exercise. In this sense, the Russia-Ukraine War serves as a case to re-evaluate the strength and deficiencies of Taiwan's military forces and to guide us how to build Taiwan's military in preparation against war in the future.

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From: https://www.chinatimes.com/opinion/20220312002756-262101?chdtv

Featured Opinion
According to a commentator, the opposition party in South Korea never adhered to a fixed position and prioritized winning as a strategy, enabling its electoral success. Taiwan should learn from this experience.
(Photo from: United Daily News)

Lesson from South Korea: How to Win Elections, Turn Partisan Fortunes

By Dennis Weng

United Daily News, March 13, 2022

 

In the most competitive presidential election in Korean history, conservative Yoon Suk-yeol won by less than one percent, setting a record for a political neophyte to win the presidency for the first time.

 

Five years ago, conservative President Park Geun-hye was impeached and sent to prison — a development which made conservatives wonder when they would be returned to government. Five years later, South Korean voters gave the conservatives a second chance. How did the opposition camp in South Korea manage such a comeback? Is it possible for Taiwan to learn from this experience?

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From: https://udn.com/news/story/7339/6160477

This Week in Taiwan
According to a commentator, opening up to heated cigarette imports is a third bottom line policy regression of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration after U.S. ractopamine pork and Japanese Fukushima food.
(Photo from: United Daily News)
March 8: According to American media reports, the administration of President Joe Biden is pushing to transfer a batch of F-16 fighter jets originally intended to be sold to Taiwan for Poland as compensation for Poland’s assistance to Ukraine with Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets. The Air Force Command called the report as pure conjecture and indicated that the United States has no such plan. 
 
Poland proposed on March 8 to donate its 28 MIG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. military base in Germany and transfer them to Ukraine. The U.S. Department of Defense said on March 10 that the jets were refused. 
 
March 8: Spokesman Zhao Lijian of the mainland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that according to American data, the United States has 26 biological laboratories in Ukraine. The U.S. Department of Defense controls 336 biological laboratories in 30 countries around the world in the name of cooperation in reducing biosecurity risks and strengthening global public health. 
 
The remarks remind observers in Taiwan of a proposal by members of Congress at the end of last year to set up an infectious disease surveillance center at the American Institute in Taiwan. 
 
March 9: The government procurement website published that Taiwan and the United States have officially signed a contract for the United States to sell Taiwan a field information communications system (FICS), including the network management system and related technical support and personnel training. It can not only establish complete communications during combat but also can be used by the Armed Forces to help with disaster relief in areas with poorer communication signals. The winning bid amounted to about NT$6.9 billion (about US$242 million) and will be completed by September 2025.
 
March 9: President Tsai Ing-wen welcomed Prime Minister John Briceño of Belize and his wife with a grand military salute and conferred him a Special Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon. President Tsai stated that it will be 33 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations, and she looks forward to deepening the relationship. This is also the first time that Taiwan has greeted a foreign leader with a military salute since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the end of 2019.
 
March 10: At the Legislative Yuan, Deputy Minister of National Defense Bai Hung-hui stated that as of the morning of March 10, a total of 223 aircraft has intruded Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) this year, more than the same period last year. He also confirmed that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft which crashed in the South China Sea in early March was the Yun-8, but it was unclear whether the aircraft had previously disturbed Taiwan. 
 
March 11: The United States announced a ban on Russian oil imports, and international crude oil prices continued to soar. Taiwan's CPC Corporation started the oil price stabilization mechanism by which the CPC Corporation absorbs half of the price increase. But the most popular 95 unleaded gasoline broke NT$33 per liter (about US$5.26 per gallon), hitting a seven-year high. 
 
March 12: President Biden signed on March 11 the budget bill for fiscal 2022, which for the first time prohibits the executive branch from using funds to produce, procure, or display any maps that incorrectly indicate Taiwan's territory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its gratitude. 
 
March 13: This session of the Legislative Yuan will discuss the latest revision of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, which intends to ban electronic cigarettes and permit heated cigarettes. Experts indicate that permitting heated cigarettes may be the third policy of the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen administration after U.S. ractopamine pork and Japanese Fukushima food to regress its bottom line. Some describe the measure as a modern version of the "Opium War." 
 
Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permitted heated cigarettes from May 2019, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has faced enormous lobbying pressure to lift Taiwan's ban.
Taiwan Weekly is a newsletter released every week by Fair Winds Foundation and Association of Foreign Relations which provides coverage and perspectives on the latest developments in Taiwan.

The conclusions and recommendations of any Taiwan Weekly article are solely those of its author(s) and do not reflect the views of the institutions that publish the newsletter.

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