This Week in Taiwan 0212-0218
February 13: Terry Gou, founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Company (Foxconn), paid a visit to Wang Jin-pyng, former speaker of the Legislative Yuan. On the 2024 presidential election, Gou stated that he will wait for the Kuomintang's (KMT) election rules to be promulgated before deciding whether to run. Gou believes that Chairman Eric Chu will learn from the lessons from four years ago. He also stated that his quitting the party four years ago was naive and impulsive. Now if he can do something for Taiwan, Gou is willing to fulfill his duty no matter the option.
February 14: According to Japanese media, company JERA assessed that the impact of geo-political risks in the Taiwan Strait would spread to Japan and planned to sell its 44 percent stake in the Haiding offshore wind power project in Taiwan. The Ministry of Economic Affairs responded that JERA withdrew because it did not meet the company's requirements for return on investments, and a well-known French company has already expressed its willingness to take over.
February 14: The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced that starting from 9 AM on February 20, free travel will resume between Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and entry regulations on Hong Kong and Macau residents implemented during the pandemic will be canceled. Whether Taiwanese tourist groups will be permitted to go to mainland China and Taiwan's restriction on mainland Chinese tourists will be lifted will be handled according to the professional judgment of the Central Epidemic Command Center.
February 15: At the invitation of the Taipei City Government, Deputy Director Li Xiaodong of Shanghai's Taiwan Affairs Office arrived in Taiwan on February 18 to participate in the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival held in Taipei and tour the infrastructure of the city. This is the first time that a current official from the mainland has come to Taiwan since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The MAC approved Li's visit to Taiwan on a special case basis and reiterated its support for cross-strait exchanges under norms and without political preconditions. It will carefully evaluate gradually resuming cross-strait personnel and transportation exchanges in the future.
February 15: The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suffered defeat in the local elections in November last year, and controversies surrounding underground corruption was a chief contributing reason. The Central Executive Committee of the DPP revised its anti-crime clause. Those involved with black gold, gun violence, and drugs and those who have been disciplined for these reasons will not be able to hold party positions or represent the party as candidates for public office.
February 17: Spokesman Chen Chung-yen of the Executive Yuan was accused of accepting sexual entertainment from businesspeople many times when he served in the Tainan City Government 11 years ago. Vice President William Lai was mayor of Tainan at the time. Chen denied the allegations, but less than five hours later, his resignation was approved. His term in office was only 18 days, making him the Executive Yuan spokesman with the shortest tenure in history.
February 17: The Taiwan Power Company's plan for the fourth natural gas receiving station has been protested by local residents, and the plan for the fifth station has also been met with backlash from environmental groups. The fifth station is planned to be built on the outer wall embankment of the Taichung Harbor, but this area conflicts with the migration route of white dolphins. White dolphins may break into the area and not be able to swim out. The environmental groups called for the plan to be revoked.
February 17: Mainland Chinese man came to Taiwan for a round-island trip in 2018. When transiting through Kaohsiung, he was electrocuted by a street lamp and died. His family filed a lawsuit across the strait and applied for some NT$10 million (about US$329,000) in compensation. The Kaohsiung District Court and the Kaohsiung Branch of the Taiwan High Court both held that, according to the Constitution, people of the mainland area are also people of the Republic of China, so the State Compensation Act applies. The Public Works Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government, was ordered to pay NT$4.6 million (about $152,327) in compensation.