Taiwan Weekly is a newsletter released every week by Fair Winds Foundation, Association of Foreign Relations and Taipei Forum that provides coverage and perspectives into the latest developments in Taiwan.
Recently, supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the United States Capitol, killing five, of which four were private persons and one was a police officer.
DetailsTaiwan's Sunflower Movement, Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement, and America’s recent protests storing the Capitol: The power of karma is really quick to transfer with the turn of history!
DetailsJanuary 5: Taiwan is approaching water shortage. The Council of Agriculture (COA) announced that it would suspend irrigation for nearly 28,000 hectares (about 69,190 acres) of land in the first phase. Accounting for earlier suspension of farm irrigation in Chiayi, Tainan, Taichung, Hsinchu, and Miaoli, the total suspended irrigation land area is more than 74,000 hectares (about 182,858 acres), more than 24 percent of the total irrigation area and the largest total area in two decades. The COA assessed that compensation for suspending irrigation due to the present drought, which persisted from the second phase last year to the first phase this year, will exceed NT$7 billion (about US$250 million).
DetailsThe tensions in the Taiwan Strait continued and the United States is about to see a transfer of power, new changes may emerge in the cross-strait relations.
DetailsAt the beginning of the new year, the leaders of both sides of the Taiwan Strait each mentioned their hopes for future cross-strait relations.
DetailsBecause of the ravaging coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the global economy has seen a rare depression in a century, and the competition between the United States and China has promoted the transformation of the international order; some people have called year 2020 as the first year of an "Asian Century".
DetailsDecember 28: President Donald Trump of the United States signed on December 27 appropriations legislation worth $2.3 trillion. The legislation package included the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020, which calls for the normalization of arms sales to Taiwan, support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations, and review of Department of State guidelines for engaging with Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed welcome and gratitude.
DetailsFour months after President Tsai Ing-wen's sudden announcement to ease import restrictions on U.S. pork containing ractopamine and beef from cattle over 30 months old, the Legislative Yuan passed all 9 executive orders to allow such imports on Christmas Eve with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) majority in the Parliament.
DetailsGrowing up in an authoritarian eras, I can say with certainty that authoritarian control does not require continuous use of a large police force.
DetailsThe Ministry of Culture stipulated that effective February 1, 2021, publishers in Taiwan must apply for prior MOC approval before they publish books authorized by mainland China and converted from simplified and traditional Chinese script.
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