Taiwan Headlines, Apr. 5, 2021

The shipment of the first batch of nearly 200,000 COVID-19 vaccines allocated to Taiwan through the global vaccine sharing program COVAX has arrived.1.02 million doses of AstraZeneca have been allocated to Taiwan through COVAX.On March 3, Taiwan took delivery of its first batch of vaccines: 117,000 doses purchased directly from AstraZeneca rather than through COVAX.Rollout […]
Taiwan Headlines, Feb. 27, 2021

Matsu Pilgrimage gets Matsu’s goahead. DPP suspends 3 lawmakers amid factional fight. Legislator Su quits DPP over SOGO case, but raises suspicions. Unemployment down, retail sales up. Hong Kongers moving in, but not one pro-communist family. China halts pineapple imports.
Taiwan Headlines, Feb. 22, 2021

Foreigners to be allowed back in and vaccines are coming. Chiang announced he’ll run for KMT chair, but not president. KMT not looking good in Taoyuan. Ko joins KMT forum. KMT referendums on track. Su’s popularity dips. Intelligence officers indicted. Hon Hai has vehicles on the way. DGBAS predicts GDP boom, but NT$ problems.
Taiwan Headlines, Feb. 5

Taiwan has one new Covid death, and two new transmissions. School is out for a few extra days. Childcare subsidies to rise. Principal charged with selling Sri Lankans for labour. Military reservists rule changes. HK immigrants up. Taiwan’s 5G is fast. Taiwan democracy tops in Asia. US Navy in Taiwan Strait. Guyana renegs on Taiwan office.
Taiwan Headlines, Jan. 28

Recall drive against Kao Min-lin comes up short. New Party and KMT city councillors questioned. New water measures. Google invests big. Chipmakers up automotive chip capacity. The economy is hot. Cyberattacks are up. Military kit revealed. Beijing increasingly talks war.
Taiwan Headlines, Jan. 19

Coronavirus outbreak grows. Old map in legislature questioned. Large scale corruption in the judiciary. Sunflower activists get repreive. Ex-presidential spox impeached. Foxconn moving into cars. China will sanction US officials over Taiwan.
Taiwan Headlines, Jan. 3

A labor broker has been fined NT$1 million by the Fisheries Agency for deducting too much from the pay of eight migrant fishery workers for the repayment of loans.The fine was levied in September, but only made the news public after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a withhold release order (WRO) against […]
6 lawmakers and NPP chair accused of bribery–Taiwan Report News Brief transcript

Summary: EVA Air offers a dream Hello Kitty trip to nowhere for Father’s Day. Taiwan may be gunning for Hong Kong’s finance industry. Six sitting legislators and the NPP chair are grilled in a bribery probe. Biden’s top foreign policy advisor speaks out on Taiwan, possibly giving us some insight. But up first, some headlines. […]
KMT reform: The backlash begins–Taiwan Report News Brief transcript

Snakeheads seized A criminal group that allegedly collaborated with Chinese “snakeheads,” or human smugglers, has been busted, according to the National Immigration Agency’s Border Affairs Corps.The sold Republic of China (ROC) passports to human traffickers in China, making a profit of about NT$20 million (US$674,309) over the past 12 months, Border Affairs Corps officials said.The […]
Fraud, gangsters and the criminal diaspora–Taiwan Report News Brief transcript

Coronavirus updates The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said Wednesday that it plans to relax its COVID-19 control measures on trains and domestic flights after June 7, as the disease has been slowing in Taiwan.Passengers taking Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and High Speed Rail (HSR) trains will still be required to have their temperatures […]