ISSUE 153                                                                                   August 4, 2022
Taiwan Weekly
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Taiwan Suffers from Pelosi's Quick Visit
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the United States House of Representatives visited Taiwan. China immediately announced military exercises and imposed economic sanctions and political retaliation against Taiwan. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait is escalating rapidly.
(Photo from: United Daily News)
Featured Editorial

After Pelosi's Departure, PLA Holds Military Drills Around Taiwan for 3 Days

United Daily News Editorial, August 4, 2022

 

As soon as the special flight of Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the United States House of Representatives arrived in Taipei, Communist China immediately announced military exercises encircling the island. When the Office of the President and Legislative Yuan warmly welcomed this third most powerful figure from the United States, tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalated rapidly. Mainland China is currently pressuring Taiwan with three arrows in the military, economic, and political areas, and diplomatic conflict may be inevitable. Several points are noteworthy as future developments unfold.

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From: https://udn.com/news/story/11091/6509923

Featured Opinion
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The government wasted a sizable budget to build an international baseball stadium with many defects, causing player injuries and public dissatisfaction.
(Photo from: United Daily News)

What is the Inside Story Behind the Frustrating Stadium?

By Dai Xia-ling

United Daily News, July 31, 2022

 

On July 22, 2022, after six failed bids, the Hsinchu Baseball Stadium with a total cost of NT 1.2 billion (USD 40 million) was finally opened. On the same day, President Tsai Ing-wen delivered remarks praising the rebuilding of the 46-year-old Hsinchu Baseball Stadium and expressing hopes that exciting professional baseball games will again bring the fullest joy to Hsinchu residents. While the words are still in our ears, the reality to the general public is just like a blow at our head!

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From: https://udn.com/news/story/7339/6500547

Featured Editorial
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Despite Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taoyuan mayoral candidate Lin Chih-chien's continued negative publicity from scandals, President Tsai Ing-wen still insists on not changing the party's nominee.
(Photo from: The Storm Media)

Favorite Boy Caught in Two Scandals: How Will President Tsai Deal with the Crisis?

United Daily News Editorial, July 31, 2022

 

The controversies of DPP Taoyuan mayoral candidate Lin Chih-chien's "thesis gate" and "baseball stadium gate" raged on. Two recent actions of President Tsai Ing-wen have attracted attention: one was to summon Lin and others to the official residence for evaluation and discussion; the other was to immediately cut Lin off on her public itinerary. Tsai Ing-wen can no longer ignore the damage of Lin's double-kill "Double-Gate"; Paradoxically, the consensus at the meeting was still in favor of Lin, and no one advocated "replacing Lin." Tsai Ing-wen reiterated the importance of unity within the party. But if Tsai Ing-wen continues to tie the DPP to Lin Chih-chien, it means that Lin will kidnap Taiwan's democratic values, academic ethics, and integrity politics.

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From: https://udn.com/news/story/7338/6500523

This Week in Taiwan
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President Joe Biden of the United States and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a phone call on July 28. Biden stressed that the U.S. opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, while Xi warned the U.S. against playing with fire.
(Photo from: United Daily News)
July 25: The problem of fraud has been complicated by growth in population of Internet users, in addition to people staying at home to shop online or make friends. According to statistics from the Criminal Investigation Bureau, National Police Administration, Ministry of the Interior, the number of fraud cases continued to rise this year, with 13,300 cases occurring in the first half of the year involving a total amount of NT$310 million (about US$10.3 billion). 
 
July 25: The Wanan exercise was held in northern Taiwan. For the first time, Taipei implemented a drill for air defense evacuation. Vehicles parked on the side of the road, and people had to get off and be guided to nearby air defense shelters. The fire department simulated a drill under a missile attack at the Hulin Substation in Xinyi District. 
 
July 26: The Hankuang No. 38 military exercise by the Armed Forces began on July 25 and lasted for five days and four nights. Twenty (20) ships and 15 fighter aircraft participated in the exercise off the coast of Suao on July 26. President Tsai Ing-wen boarded the Keelung on July 26. This is her second warship review since taking office. 
 
July 26: Financial crisis erupted at major jeans manufacturer Roohsing, and its stock was listed as a full-delivery share by the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The major shareholder, the National Development Fund, suffered a loss of about NT$1.1 billion (about US$36.6 million). It decided to join the Securities and Futures Investor Protection Center for the first time in a class action to seek compensation for damages. Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) legislators question that Roohsing had asked for a capital increase three times but was rejected by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC). But in 2017 after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power and President Tsai Ing-wen visited the company's Nicaragua plant, the FSC permitted the capital increase.
 
July 26: The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee determined in a meeting that the 61 pieces of land, buildings, and cash of Taiwan's China Youth Corps (CYC) totaling NT$1.39 billion were improperly acquired and should be transferred to the state. In response, the CYC responded that it will file a motion to stop execution, calling upon the court to suspend the administrative sanction. 
 
July 28: The Hsinchu Baseball Stadium was closed due to safety issues two days after its reopening on July 22. Acting Mayor Chen Chang-hsien of Hsinchu help a press conference on July 25, admitting that stadium maintenance and engineering were inadequate due to rushed completion, and the stadium reopened before proper inspection was completed. Chen apologized to fans and athletes. 
 
Lin Chih-chien, who resigned from his post of Hsinchu mayor to run for Taoyuan mayor, has sustained considerable impact on his reputation. One player had to undergo surgery on July 28 for a left shoulder lip injury during a game on July 23, and he will be unable play for about eight months. Although the Taiwan Professional Baseball Players Association put forward 27 suggestions to mitigate stadium defects, the baseball league still permitted the game to proceed, causing player injuries. Tsai Chi-chang, head of Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), apologized once more. 
 
July 29: President Joe Biden of the United States and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke for more than two hours on the evening of July 28 (Taipei time). This is the fifth contact between the two leaders. According to American officials, Biden reiterated that U.S. policy on Taiwan will remain unchanged, and the United States opposes unilateral changes to the status quo or actions which would undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Xi stated that Chinese public opinion cannot be violated and warned that those who play with fires will be burned. The U.S. should align its words and deeds by the "One China" principle. 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) stated on July 29 that the United States briefed Taiwan immediately after the call. MOFA thanked President Biden for repeatedly emphasizing the "rock-solid" relationship between Taiwan and the United States after taking office, the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and firm commitment to Taiwan's security. 
 
July 30: Before her trip to Asia, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the U.S. House of Representatives stated that she was "very excited." According to the itinerary announced by her office, she will visit Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea. Although the list does not include Taiwan, many speculate that she will still visit. Regarding Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated his hopes that the U.S. and China would wisely handle their differences on Taiwan. Spokesman John Kirby of the National Security Council stated that the U.S. "One China" policy has not changed, and China and the United States have no reason to start a fight.
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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