This Week in Taiwan 0605-0611
June 7: Eleven (11) F-16 A/B fighter jets deployed by the Air Force at the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona must all be returned to Taiwan and upgraded to F-16V. When one of the first seven jets stopped over in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 7, it made a forced landing due to nose wheel failure. While the nose was damaged, the American pilot was safe. The remaining six jets successfully arrived at the Hualien Air Force Base. A total of four Taiwan pilots participated in the exercise.
June 7: Controversy continues to surround the cremation of corpses infected by the coronavirus (COVID-19). Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, shifted his position and finally admitted that although not explicit, “as soon as possible" in the official documents means to dispose of the remains within 24 hours. Putting the remains in the freezer for relatives to pay respects will not be considered for the time being.
June 8: Ambassador Lee Nan-yang, representative to Slovakia, and Slovak Representative to Taiwan Martin Podstavek signed an agreement on civil and commercial judicial cooperation in Taipei. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), this is Taiwan's first agreement on civil and commercial judicial cooperation with a European nation.
A delegation of Slovak members of parliament and officials arrived in Taiwan on June 5, However, during its visit of the Legislative Yuan on June 9, two members of the delegation hilariously imitated Taiwan legislators fighting, garnering much attention.
June 8: Last year when he applied for a national identification card replacement, Attorney Chen Hung-chi requested that the ID card not contain information about his spouse and parents. He filed a lawsuit after being rejected by household registration staff.
The Taipei High Administrative Court held that the Constitution protects the people's right to information privacy. Chen is entitled to conceal sensitive personal information when filing for a replacement ID card. The director-general of the Department of Household Registration, Ministry of the Interior, will request and assist the household registration office to appeal the ruling.
June 9: According to a June 7 report by South Korea's Choson Ilbo, some Jang Bobo class submarine technology was leaked to Taiwan's CSBC Corporation by Korean companies involved in Taiwan's indigenous submarine program. Korean police have arrested suspects and placed warrants against company representatives in Taiwan.
In a press release, CSBC stated that the two submarines have different configurations, and there is no imitation problem. On June 9, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called upon the people not to believe in false reports but to continue to support Taiwan's indigenous shipbuilding policy.
June 10: The Shangri-La Dialogue which discusses global defense and security affairs was held in Singapore. Mainland China's Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe threatened that the Chinese military will not hesitate to fight if anyone dares to cede Taiwan. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called upon Beijing to cease further destabilizing actions against Taiwan.
June 10: Mainland China's General Administration of Customs issued a notice that due to repeated detection of banned chemicals such as malachite green, it will suspend the import of the Taiwan grouper from June 13. At least 3,000 tons of grouper sales may be affected. President Tsai Ing-wen expressed solemn condemnation, criticizing China for violating international trade norms again and unilaterally damaging cross-strait relations. Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
June 11: The CECC announced that effective June 15, the number of quarantine days for inbound passengers will be shortened from 7+7 to 3+4. The total cap on entrants will be increased to 25,000, and Taiwan will become available to travelers as a transit stop.
The new measures are applicable to all travelers and signify that Taiwan will follow the world in gradually opening up its borders. According to experts, the domestic pandemic is still at a plateau, and Taiwan should be careful of the next virulent wave after border controls are loosened.