This Week in Taiwan 0307-0313
March 7: Mainland Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended a press conference during the Two Sessions political meetings and stressed three points related to Taiwan: There is only one China in the world; the two sides of the Taiwan Strait shall be reunified; and the "one China" principle is the political basis of U.S.-China relations and an insurmountable red line. According to Wang, there is no room for China to compromise or concede on the issue of Taiwan.
March 7: Central Taiwan has been experiencing an extended drought. The Irrigation Agency, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, and the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple co-organized a prayer for rain. This is also the first rain prayer held by the temple in 58 years.
March 8: On International Women's Day, the Modern Women's Foundation in Taiwan published an online survey on sexual harassment of women in the workplace. According to the results, more than 40 percent of women have experienced workplace harassment in the past, and 80 percent of victims live or work with their perpetrators on a daily basis. However, according to a workplace sexual harassment survey conducted by the Ministry of Labor, merely 3 percent have experienced sexual harassment.
March 11: In his first Congressional hearing as Secretary of State, Antony Blinken pledged to invite Taiwan to participate in the year-end "Summit for Democracy" hosted by President Joe Biden of the United States and will support free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Taiwan. Secretary Blinken commended Taiwan's democracy and technological capacity. He stressed that Taiwan is able to make contributions to the world and qualified to enjoy a seat in the World Health Organization (WHO).
March 11: The Executive Yuan passed a draft amendment to the Income Tax Act, extending the definition of short-term related to property taxes "uniting the base and building." More specifically, sale of property owned two years or less would be levied a heavy tax of 45 percent, while sale of property owned between two and five years would be levied a tax of 35 percent. The ownership duration of pre-sale housing begins from signing the contract, so as to curb speculative transactions. However, no "property hoarding tax" will be introduced for the time being.
March 11: The married Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu from Tainan was exposed by a magazine on March 9 to have frequented an apartment of DPP Spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang. Wang argued that they were only landlord and tenant, and that he had been sub-leasing a room from Yen for a monthly rent of NT$8,000 (about US$283). The explanation was subject of public controversy. Other reporting found that Wang's financial declaration this year is identical to last year's. Wang stated that the Control Yuan mishandled the information, but the argument was later rebutted by the Control Yuan. The DPP fully committed to defend Wang, and DPP-friendly media suppressed related reporting. The scandal attracted hot debate on the Internet.
March 12: The National People's Congress in mainland China passed amendments to the electoral system of Hong Kong, imposing a "Hong Kong governed by patriots" provision that attracted international concern. Former President Ma Ying-jeou expressed regret how the concept of "One Country, Two Systems" formulated by former leader Deng Xiaoping has died and become history. Mainland Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated that adhering to "patriots governing Hong Kong" is also to ensure the long-term stability of "One Country, Two Systems."