This Week in Taiwan 0807-0813
August 8: Apropos mainland Chinese military exercises from August 4 to August 8 around Taiwan, reports allege that mainland warships had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the 24 nautical mile contiguous zone adjacent to Taiwan's territorial sea. In a press conference on August 8, the Ministry of National Defense did not directly answer whether People's Liberation Army (PLA) warships entered the 24 nautical mile contiguous zone but only stated that no PLA warships entered Taiwan's 12 nautical mile territorial sea.
According to the mainland's China Central Television, PLA aircraft and warships will regularly conduct training east of the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
August 8: In a Facebook post, the Academia Historica shared content from a scholar's speech claiming that the United Nations and the international community have determined that the Republic of China has been represented and succeeded by the Beijing government and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should ask all diplomatic allies to recognize Taiwan, stirring controversy. The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) criticized the Academia Historica for destroying national history and earning salary provided by the R.O.C. but not recognizing the R.O.C. The Academia Historica responded on August 8 that it does not have all the say, and academic speeches will have their respective viewpoints. The Facebook editor quoted the content of the speech without adding quotation marks, a mistake which has since been corrected.
August 9: The master thesis of Lin Chih-chien, former mayor of Hsinchu, at the National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development has been accused of plagiarism. After deliberation by seven members of NTU's academic ethics committee, it was determined that substantial passages were plagiarized, and Lin's plagiarism violates academic ethics and is serious. The committee decided to revoke Lin's master degree.
August 9: The PLA announced an extension of its military drills. From August 9, the Armed Forces conducted an annual "Tianlei Exercise" in the Checheng and Fangshan townships of Pingtung, mobilizing 36 155 howitzers to carry out anti-landing shooting.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu held an international press conference condemning China's extending military exercises and calling on freedom-loving and democratic countries to cooperate and discuss ways to respond together, so as to curb China's intimidation and expansion over Taiwan.
August 10: Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) led a five-member delegation to visit Taiwanese business people and students in mainland China's Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. The KMT stressed that the main purpose of the trip is to take care of the people's livelihood and protect Taiwan. On the basis of parity, dignity, and reciprocity, the party will reflect difficulties faced by Taiwanese farmers, fishermen, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) believes that the timing of the visit is inappropriate, and advised against the visit at the first instance. Mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of the State Council issued a white paper on Taiwan on the same day.
August 10: Mainland China's TAO issued a white paper on the Taiwan issue and Chinese unification in the new era, emphasizing that unification by "non-peaceful means" will be a last resort. Compared with the first two Taiwan white papers in 1993 and 2000, this new version provides more restrictive treatment on Taiwan's autonomy. The sentence about not stationing military and administrative personnel in Taiwan after reunification has been deleted.
August 10: Wafer foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) performed brilliantly in July, with revenues reaching a record high of NT$186.7 billion (about US$6.2 billion), an increase of 49.9 percent over the same period last year. Institutional investors are optimistic that revenues may hit the NT$200 billion (about US$6.6 billion) mark in August or September. In response to growing demand in the next few years, TSMC's capital expenditures this year will reach a record high of US$40 billion to US$44 billion.
August 11: In an exclusive interview by TVBS anchor Jaw Shaw-kong, Su Chi, former secretary-general of the National Security Council, stated that with Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has lowered mutual trust between the United States and mainland China, and Xi Jinping's determination to win Taiwan will be stronger. Xi is the person at the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party who knows Taiwan best. If the Taiwan issue is to be resolved, then it will definitely be in his hands. According to Su, the time of resolution will occur no later than 2027.
August 12: University admission results for the 2022-2023 academic year were released. Affected by a low birth rate, although the admission rate reached a new high of 98.94 percent, but the number of vacancies soared to 14,493, far exceeding 2,732 last year. Only 11 universities including National Taiwan University enjoy full enrollment. Old private universities, including the Chinese Culture University and Tamkang University, have enrollment vacancies.
August 12: On the matter of personal health insurance data stored, processed, and used in the database of the National Health Insurance Agency, Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Constitutional Court ruled National Health Insurance Act is unconstitutional because supervision and protection provisions are not clearly stipulated, which violates the principle of legal reservation and privacy rights. The court held that the law must be amended within three years. Otherwise, parties may exercise the right to withdraw.