Former president Lee Teng-hui passes away
Former Taiwan president Lee Teng-hui passed away on Thursday, July 30, at the age of 97. Lee was the first democratically-elected president and is considered a leading democratic figure in Taiwan.
Among Lee’s major political legacy was his two-state theory regarding Taiwan and China, which he told a German radio network in 1999. While apparently it caused offense to both Beijing and Washington, Lee was absolutely right.
Here’s an interesting tribute to Lee from long-time Taiwan democracy and pro-independence activist Peng Ming-min.
US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will visit Taiwan soon, making him the highest ranking US official to visit in several decades. While stunning, it is a welcome move and shows that US-Taiwan relations are indeed seeing an upgrade. It also makes practical sense given the coronavirus pandemic and Taiwan’s successful response. Though I do think that visiting a few months ago would have been more useful for the US back when its coronavirus outbreak was not so severe.
Bloomberg looks at the increasing risk of China attacking Taiwan following its actions in Hong Kong and India.
Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd also mentions Taiwan as a significant issue in a Foreign Affairs essay on China-US tensions. He thinks that a potential military attack from China would happen later this decade as opposed to anytime soon.
Taiwan has a history with aircraft carriers, specifically American ones, which helped protect the island from a Chinese invasion in the 1940s and helped deter Chinese aggression during Taiwan’s presidential elections in 1996. With China building up its aircraft carrier fleets, perhaps Taiwan might need to have one of its own.
Taiwan-India ties have a lot of room for growth but will need a framework that encompasses goals, objectives and policy programs, according to an Indian research fellow in this op-ed.
Taiwan’s GDP contracted slightly in the second quarter of 2020 as private consumption declined.
Taiwan’s manufacturing expanded in July after three straight months of contracting.
Taiwan might have a local coronavirus case after a Belgian, who had been in Taiwan since May, tested positive on the weekend. Authorities are still investigating as his test results suggest a possibility that he might have had the coronavirus before coming to Taiwan.
Taiwan will not ease border controls in the near term, not surprising given the worsening global coronavirus pandemic and the resurgence of outbreaks in nearby places like Hong Kong and Japan.
Taiwan experienced record-hot temperatures in July, which means there is a serious need for sustainable measures like building more green buildings and roads, according to this local daily editorial.
149 persons from other countries have received Taiwanese citizenship since 2017 as “high-caliber foreign professionals,” meaning that they were able to retain their home country’s citizenship without having to relinquish it as most Taiwanese citizenship applicants are required to do.
Taiwan airlines are getting in on the fake travel experience by offering flights that circle Taiwan and even fly to Japan, but come back to land at the same airport they take off from.