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.
This Week in Taiwan 0905-0911
September 7: Two-term Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien proposed the merger of Hinchu county and city to become Taiwan's seventh special municipality. Legislator Ker Chien-ming, whip of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus, stated that as long as Article 4 of the Local Government Act is successfully amended by the end of this year, lowering the population threshold of special municipalities from 1.25 million to 1 million, the merger would be just in time before the local elections next year. Mayor Lin can run for mayor, and so can the Kuomintang's Hsinchu County Executive Yang Wen-ke.
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Candidates for KMT Chairman Emphasize Cross-Strait Relations
The only televised debate for the Kuomintang (KMT) chairpersonship election was held on September 4.
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Dilemma Behind Direct Election of Party Chairman
The chairmanship election of the Kuomintang (KMT) will be held in late September.
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Xi Pushes "ReMaoization" by Concentrating Power in His Hands
As part of a lecture series discussing the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, Academician Wu Yu-shan of the Academia Sinica indicated that since Xi Jinping became leader, the notion that power is highly centralized with the term limit has been lifted.
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This Week in Taiwan 0829-0904
August 31: In the morning, President Tsai Ing-wen delivered remarks for the Ketagalan Forum—2021 Asia-Pacific Security Dialogue in English. She stated that Taiwan does not seek military confrontation and hopes for peaceful, stable, and beneficial existence with its neighbors. But the official press release of the Office of the President translated "neighbors" as "neighboring countries," interpreted by the opposition Kuomintang as a reprint of the "Two-State Theory" promoting independence. Some scholars indicated that President Tsai's deliberate ball-scoring will only let cross-strait relations continue to deteriorate.
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Six Sudden Deaths in Five Days After the Vaccination of Domestic Vaccine Medigen
Taiwan's Medigen COVID-19 vaccine inoculation started on August 23, and President Tsai Ing-wen led to receive the first jab in Taiwan.
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Deaths after Inoculation：Government and Medigen Must Provide Reasonable Explanation
The deaths of four young adults and many cases of adverse reactions occurred within three days after people were vaccinated with Taiwan’s indigenous Medigen vaccines for coronavirus (COVID-19).
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U.S. Attempt to Win Over Southeast Asian Nations May Prove Futile
Vice President Kamala Harris of the United States concluded her visit to Singapore and Vietnam on August 26.
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The KMT View：Taiwan Will Not Become the Next Afghanistan But Ought to Take Caution
The withdrawal of United States troops culminated in the abrupt collapse of Afghanistan's government and the return of the Taliban, prompting a debate within Taiwan about the credibility of American commitments.
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This Week in Taiwan 0822-0828
August 23: The Central Disaster Response Center on the African swine fever stated that the authorities seized for the first time smuggled meat infected with the virus, totaling more than 71 kilograms. The products were imported by air from Vietnam. Premier Su Tseng-chang went to Taoyuan International Airport to supervise the X-ray inspection of air express parcels. He furiously criticized the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, for ineffective inspection control.
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