Taiwan Extends Period of Military Conscription
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has announced the extension of the military draft to one year from the current duration of four months, citing the perceived need for increased military preparedness.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has announced the extension of the military draft to one year from the current duration of four months, citing the perceived need for increased military preparedness.
China announced a series of new import bans on Taiwanese products late last week, primarily seafood and beverages, in what appears to be the mainland’s latest effort at applying economic pressure.
Lam Wing-Kee, the only one of the Hong Kong Causeway Bay booksellers to remain free, applied for permanent residency in Taiwan last month on the basis of being a professional in arts and culture. While there is a good chance that his application will be accepted, some other Hongkongers are finding greater difficulty.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is defending a trip to mainland China made by party Vice-Chair Andrew Hsia which provoked criticism from within the opposition party itself as well as from the Taiwanese government.
Although it usually hits the global headlines due to tensions with mainland China, Taiwan is also known for its relatively progressive stance on LGBT issues, which in turn is not unrelated to its government strategies.
Western nations have recently taken up a mantra that claims they will never allow “changes to the status quo by force,” but when it comes to the dangerous crisis in the Taiwan Strait, it’s not entirely clear that all Western commentators even understand what the diplomatic “status quo” is all about.
Although more than ten years have passed, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster still haunts Taiwan’s debate on activating nuclear power plants.
Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Japan has been called a “traitor” back home after making controversial comments about the planned release of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima plant.
An hour’s drive from central Taipei lies a wasteland for Chiang Kai-shek statues, symbols of Taiwan’s authoritarian past.
The Taiwan Postal Workers’ Union (TPWU) held a protest earlier this month at Chunghwa Post’s Taipei headquarters, demonstrating against what they say is an unfair system of pay within the company.