This Week in Taiwan 0330-0403
March 28: The delegation of President Surangel Whipps Jr. of Palau arrived in Taiwan to begin his five-day, four-night visit. This is the first visit to Taiwan by a foreign head of state since the global pandemic. To the surprise of many, John Hennessey-Niland, United States ambassador to Palau, and his wife also accompanied the visiting delegation. This is the first visit to Taiwan by an American ambassador in 43 years since the two countries severed official diplomatic relations.
March 29: A man kicked and battered a 65-year-old Asian woman on New York street and expressed anti-Asian remarks. His conduct was recorded by video cameras, and the man was arrested by police. This is the latest incident of anti-Asian violence in the United States. Hate incidents towards Asian people in the United States have become frequent, triggering demonstrations on March 27 across 25 states and 60 cities, including Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and Portland, demanding an end to anti-Asian violence. According to Taiwanese expatriates participating in a demonstration, this is the first time in years that Asians appear so united.
March 30: There is a major breakthrough in the case where the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau lost 6.5 kilograms of acetylods last year. After a four-month search of the Taipei terminal, it is now suspected that Hsu Su-liang, a former logistics team leader, long acted as an internal rat, using his official position to provide drugs to various cartels. On March 29, investigators went to Hsu's "treasury" and seized more than NT$50 million (about US$1.7 million) cash, tens of Rolex watches, and hundreds of brand-name bags. It is suspected that these are illicit gains due to drug trafficking.
March 31: The National Communications Commission (NCC) approved CTS News to claim channel 52, which was previously occupied by CtiTV News before its licnse was revoked nearly four months ago, attracting criticism. According to the NCC, the parent Chinese Television System (CTS) promises to expand its workforce from 160 to 400 within three years and turn a profit on its finances. Some 1.2 million viewers will be able to view the channel as soon as the middle of April.
April 1: The first Taiwan-Palau tour group of four days, three nights departed. There were a total of 100 participants, of which 20 people registered self-funded, and the other participants were paid by official institutional funds. While the government has been vigorously publicizing tourism in Palau, public response has been poor. Only 10 people registered for the second tour group. Primary reasons include excessively high costs including registration fees, five-day quarantine upon return to Taiwan, in addition to self-health management of nine days.
April 3: The tenure of Director Brent Christensen of the American Institute of Taiwan (AIT) is set to end this summer. Sandra Oudkirk, the deputy assistant secretary of the United States Department of State, will likely take over as the first female director of AIT. Oudkirk is a senior career diplomat of the State Department whose first foreign post in her diplomatic career was Taiwan. In 2019 when Taiwan lost two diplomatic allies, she led a delegation to Taiwan to attend the first Pacific dialogue and express support for Taiwan.
April 3: According to news reporting by the official CCTV, Xi Jinping, in his capacity as general-secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, expressed deep concern over the heavy casualties caused by the derailment of a train in Taiwan. Xi expressed heartfelt condolences to the surviving family as well as injured compatriots, hoping that the injured can recover soon.
This is the first instance since the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016 that Xi expressed condolences over a disaster in Taiwan. In response, Spokesman Chang Chun-han of the Office of the President stated that Taiwan has taken note of the concern by the leader across the strait. He thanks everyone at home, abroad, and across the strait for their concern.