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 1206-1212
December 7: The Central Bank has announced the strictest housing credit controls in a decade. From now on, companies are limited to a loan limit of 60 percent and individuals 60 percent beginning with the third housing mortgage. Furthermore, mortgages for purchasing land and residual units of real estate developers will be capped at 50 percent. The policies hope to release available housing to the market from developers, reduce hoarding, increase supply, and guide the rationalization of housing prices.
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70 Pork Import Firms Sign Petition Not to Import Ractopamine Pork
Taiwan will begin importing American pork containing ractopamine next year.
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After Ractopamine Pork, Radioactive Food Also Coming to Taiwan
While the controversy of lifting import restrictions on pork containing ractopamine has not been resolved, the timing to lift the ban on food from Japan's Fukushima has become the focal point recently.
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Honorable to Block TV, Ban Children's Book, and Inspect Water Meters？
A picture book for children, Waiting for Dad to Come Home, depicting a child who misses his father, a doctor saving people and cannot return home during the pandemic, was banned in Taiwan.
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The Blind Spots in DPP Foreign Policy
In the spring of 2008, Taiwan had a close call with disaster.
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This Week in Taiwan 1129-1205
November 30: The number of additional external coronavirus (COVID-19) cases on this day spiked to 24, including 20 Indonesian migrant workers. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), announced that effective December 4, Taiwan will suspend Indonesian workers from entering Taiwan for two weeks, affecting about 1,350. To date, of 107 confirmed cases which involve foreign migrant workers, Indonesian workers account for 83.
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Opposition to "Ractopamine Pork" Turns Legislature into Chaos
As Taiwan's import restrictions on United States pork containing ractopamine are expected to be lifted "as scheduled" on January 1, 2021, ruling and opposition party legislators fought all out in the chambers of the Legislative Yuan.
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Amid Protest, Premier Su Finally Addresses Legislative Yuan
Under the protection of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, Premier Su Tseng-chang of the Executive Yuan has finally completed his policy report at the Legislative Yuan—in a mess of raw pork viscera.
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The U.S.-China-Taiwan Triangular Relationship Under Biden
The first wave of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's cabinet announcement includes Antony Blinken for secretary of state and Jake Sullivan for national security advisor, both being longtime advisors to Biden.
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This Week in Taiwan 1122-1128
November 24: The opening ceremony for the "Haichang Plan" to produce submarines domestically was held at the Kaohsiung plant of Taiwan's ship-building CSBC Corporation. President Tsai Ing-wen presided over the ceremony and announced that domestic production of submarines has reached the building stage. A prototype submarine is expected to be handed over in 2025.
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