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- Developers Helping Vietnam, Indonesia with Highway Plans (2017-09-25)
(Taipei Times, By Lee Hsin-fang and Jonathan Chin) As part of Taiwan's New Southbound Policy, Taiwanese developers have been involved in the planning of new highway systems in both Vietnam and Indonesia. Involved firms also will be pursuing contracts to actually build the highways. Winning infrastructure contacts remains to be one of President Tsai Ing-wen's three big points regarding the New Southbound Policy. - Nation Must Be Friendlier to SE Asians: Lawmaker (2017-09-24)
(CNA) Lin Li-chan, a legislator in the Chinese Nationalist Party stated that if the government wants the New Southbound Policy to be successful, the nation needs to work to create a friendlier environment for citizens of Southeast Asian nations. This includes spending more time and money to promote the policy, hiring more Southeast Asian tour guides in Taiwan, boost tourism to Southeast Asian nations, and to include more operators in Taiwan's railway system that speak Southeast Asian languages. - 'Treasure' Online Archive of US Documents Opens (2017-09-24)
(Taipei Times, By Peng Wan-hsin, Jonathan Chin) A new website has launched called the Taiwan National Treasure, an online archive containing archives of official U.S. documents on Taiwan. These materials are meant to construct a history of Taiwan from the U.S. perspective and offer the opportunity for Taiwan to "create its own national identity," according to Lin Yu-cheng of the Chinese Nationalist Party. - Five More Allies Offer Support at UN (2017-09-24)
(CNA) Leaders from Kiribati, Saint Lucia, the Solomon Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Belize have advocated for Taiwan to be included as a member of the United Nations. This brings Taiwan's total support for inclusion in the UN to twelve out of its sixteen diplomatic allies. - Speakers Talk Presidential Elections (2017-09-24)
(Taipei Times, By Sean Lin) Scandals have often changed the landscape of elections, such as the scandal behind former president Chen Shui-bian which later affected the scandals campaigns of Frank Hsieh and Su Tseng-chang in 2008. Besides scandals, China and the U.S. have also attempted to play roles, with the U.S.'s influence being stronger. One example is the United States's criticisms of Tsai during her first presidential election that ended up putting a lot of pressure on the Democratic Progressive Party. - Taiwan Eager to Work on Cyber Issues with US: Tsai (2017-09-23)
(CNA) US Senator Steve Daines led a delegation to Taiwan this weekend, and at the reception, President Tsai Ing-wen expressed her eagerness to work with the United States on cybersecurity issues. She discussed shared goals between the two countries in the region, specifically referencing peace and security in the Asia Pacific. Tsai also mentioned the prior collaboration the two countries have worked on, especially in the fields of defense and security. - Taiwan, India to Work on Healthcare, Delegation Says (2017-09-23)
(CNA NEW DELHI) Taiwan and India have discussed further cooperation in healthcare fields, specifically national health insurance policies and health information technology. The two nations also wish to work together to prevent epidemics. India remains a key player in President Tsai Ing-wen's New Southbound Policy. - Military Hopeful Over Cooperation with US: Sources (2017-09-22)
(Taipei Times, By Aaron Tu and Jonathan Chin) Taiwan's military is hopeful that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will pass in the U.S. Congress for Fiscal Year 2018. This act would potentially allow for U.S. port calls in Taiwan as well as Taiwanese port calls to U.S. ports. Taiwan has also looked into purchasing new weaponry for its air force, but the U.S. has shown reservations at Taiwan's ability to sustain such an advancement. - Chinese Tourist Numbers Up for First Time under Tsai (2017-09-22)
(Taipei Times, By Shelley Shan) Chinese tourists to Taiwan has risen by 0.59 percent last month, which is the first increase since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May of last year. This is after the decline of Chinese tourism to Taiwan from 4.18 million in 2015 to 2.66 million in 2016. - KMT Think Tank Questions Diplomacy "Black Budget" (2017-09-21)
(Taipei Times, By Sean Lin) The KMT National Policy Foundation Think Tank questioned the new budget proposals, which would lower the national defense budget to a record low while almost quadrupling the diplomacy budget. Questions arose surrounding Taiwan's plans for the use of the diplomacy budget, with speculation that it would be used to promote secretive "dollar diplomacy."
- What Was Steve Bannon Doing Meeting With Wang Qishan? (2017-09-25)
(The Diplomat, By Ankit Panda) Ex-White House Senior Advisor Steve Bannon reportedly made a visit to Beijing last week to secretly meet with the CCP head of Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wang Qishan. Wang and Bannon may have met in an effort for the CCP to better understand the inner dynamics of the Trump administration. The meeting also suggests China's inability to figure out the Trump administration's positions on several key issues. - Why Should We Pay Attention to China’s Televised Confessions? (2017-09-23)
(The Diplomat, By Dinah Gardner) Lee Ming-che's televised trial is the latest in a long line of media productions created by the CCP. However, his trial garnered relatively little global attention, compared to those that are routinely conducted by states such as Iran or North Korea. These not only show the CCP suppressing the work of human rights activists -- they also allow for public support of this suppression by encouraging viewers to view Western sentiments as anti-Chinese. - China’s Belt and Road: Where Does the Arctic Angle Stand? (2017-09-22)
(The Diplomat, By Heidar Gudjonsson and Egill Thor Nielsson) The Arctic Ocean has emerged as a new global trade route and is crucial to the success of China's Belt and Road Initiative. China has already begun major trade paths through the Arctic and continues to grow them at a rapid rate. China continues to invest in northern Arctic ports as well. If other interested parties, such as the United States, played more of a role in the Arctic's development, the region could grow even more quickly. - Assessing the Sino-Russian Baltic Sea Drill (2017-09-20)
(Jamestown Foundation, By Richard Weitz) Now the Chinese Navy is developing an enduring international presence, as seen by its recent sending of an “intelligence” ship near Alaska to monitor a concurrent THAAD test (CNBC, July 14). Perhaps the Chinese objections to U.S. FONOPS near China may decline as the PLAN develops the capacity and practice to engage in such blue-water patrols itself. - What is Xi Jinping Thought? (2017-09-21)
(Jamestown Foundation, By Willy Wo-Lap Lam) Instead of speeding up thorough-going reforms, Xi Jinping Thought could mainly serve as a rationale for the party to uphold its Leninist roots, and for its supreme leader to tighten his grip on power. Thus while the enshrinement of Xi Thought in the CCP Charter testifies to his ever-expanding power, it could also significantly bolster the essentially conservative nature of the strongman’s statecraft. - China’s Crackdown on Cryptocurrency Trading – A Sign of Things to Come (2017-09-21)
(The Diplomat, By Andrew Godwin) Since the Chinese government ordered several cryptocurrency exchange services to close down, the evidence that the government views them as threats remains plentiful. The People's Bank of China announced last January that they would issue a digital version of the yuan as well. Doing so will both establish China as a staple rule maker as well as further establish the yuan as an important global reserve currency.
