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.
With the successive speeches and position expressions of the new Cabinet members of the United States, the China policy of the administration of President Joe Biden is gradually becoming clearer.
DetailsFebruary 1: The new Judges Act and system for judge discipline took effect July last year, and courts have added two lay judges to participate in the trial process. A first case sentenced former Nantou District prosecutor Wang Chuan-chung a fine of three months pay for unlawfully serving during his tenure as his sister's criminal defense lawyer. This is the first instance in the judicial history of the Republic of China that the people (as lay judges) have participated in trying a judge, carrying special significance.
DetailsWhite House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated on January 29 that the administration of President Joe Biden will review all the national security measures of the Trump administration, including the phase-one trade deal with China signed in January 2020.
DetailsOn January 18, a New York Times reporter revealed that President-Elect Joe Biden stated in an internal meeting that the new government in the United States would not sustain the foreign policy of the previous administration to provoke China on Taiwan.
DetailsNot long after President Joe Biden took office in the United States, China immediately sent military aircraft to harass Taiwan on January 23 and 24.
DetailsJanuary 24: The People's Liberation Army (PLA) dispatched 13 military aircrafts into the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) off southwestern Taiwan, the largest-scale military disturbance by mainland China to date this year. The United States Department of State called upon Beijing to cease using military, diplomatic, and economic means to pressure Taiwan and to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan's elected representatives. The State Department added that U.S. commitments to Taiwan are rock-solid in order to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. This is a first public discourse of policy stance on cross-strait relations since the administration of President Joe Biden took office.
DetailsTVBS and Fair Winds Foundation co-organized a televised public forum yesterday discussing the new state of affairs in international relations after the inauguration of President Joe Biden in the United States.
DetailsGraham Allison, a core strategist of President Joe Biden of the United States, said in an exclusive interview with TVBS that Taiwan is a flashpoint that worries him most.
DetailsRepresentative to the United States Bi-khim Hsiao was invited to the inaugural ceremony of President Joe Biden.
DetailsJanuary 18: Eight individuals who stormed the Executive Yuan in 2014, including Wei Yang, the son of Chairwoman Yang Cui of the Transitional Justice Commission, were sentenced to two to four months, respectively, for incitement in the previous appellate trial. The Supreme Court held that they were innocent, acknowledging a "civil disobedience" defense, revoking the previous decision and remanding the case back to the Taiwan High Court. Compared to the dismissal of the storming of the Capitol as "insurrection" in the United States, Taiwan's judicial decision is rather shocking.
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