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.
Reappearance of an Authoritarian Personality
Growing up in an authoritarian eras, I can say with certainty that authoritarian control does not require continuous use of a large police force.
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Portrayal of Tsai as Elected Dictator Not Ungrounded
The 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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This Week in Taiwan 1220-1226
December 20: Following the U.S. destroyer USS Martin's passage through the Taiwan Strait on December 19, China's aircraft carrier Shandong (CV-17) and four ships of its frigate forces sailed through the strait and continued to sail south. Taiwan's Armed Forces dispatched six warships and eight aircrafts to monitor the whole process. This is the second time that the Shandong aircraft carrier passed through the strait. According to the Ministry of National Defense, Shandong set sail south from Dalian Port in Liaoning Province and sailed through the strait on December 20.
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Su: If Prosecuted, Shall Request President Tsai to Testify as Witness
Clinical psychiatrist Su Wei-shuo, who asserted that ractopamine is harmful to human body, has allegedly "had his water meter checked" (a euphemism for certain citizen been visited to the residence by police in a gesture of intimidating political dissenters), and this incident led some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and several civic groups to stand out in support of Doctor Su.
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Double Face of Democracy
Clinical psychiatrist Su Wei-shuo, who followed closely the issue of pork containing ractopamine, published a comment claiming that ractopamine pork is poisonous.
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Please Excuse the Tough Mayor
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen recently received the Director Brent Christensen of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and directly expressed the municipal government's opposition to importing pork containing ractopamine.
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This Week in Taiwan 1213-1219
December 14: Recently, the Internet circulated that President Tsai Ing-wen held a ministerial-level meeting and consumed Michelin restaurant bento boxes valued at NT$6,980 (about US$246) apiece. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) refuted this as false information, and after Premier Su Tseng-chang ordered strict enforcement, the police arrested individuals based on the Social Order Maintenance Act. Five courts in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, and Taoyuan found that the speech did not constitute violation of law and ruled that the seven Internet users not be fined.
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In Taiwan, Government Celebrates Human Rights Day While People Protest
December 10 marked the international Human Rights Day.
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Human Rights Day: Has Taiwan "Upgraded" Human Rights Protections or Violations？
December 10 is Human Rights Day. President Tsai Ing-wen attended an activity organized by the National Human Rights Commission, Control Yuan, with the body’s president Chen Chu.
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Stay Alert on the U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations Next Year
The big data of the traditional Chinese calendar seems to have borne out the legend that the year of Gengzi, every sixty years, has always proven to be eventful.
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