What you need to know
Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.
The Financial Times is reporting that Taiwan's National Security Council (NSC) Secretary General David Lee (李大維)) says the government is seeking to urge the public to boycott airlines that altered Taiwan's designation on their websites.
According to the UK newspaper, Lee says the government will make it clear that the public can choose not to fly on airlines that have caved in to pressure from Beijing to change the island's designation to "Taiwan, China" on their websites.
The Financial Times is quoting the former Taiwan foreign minister as saying other measures could include taking legal action against companies that now describe Taiwan as part of China.
The report also quotes American Institute in Taiwan Chairman James Moriarty as saying Beijing is using unfortunate interference in commercial matters to prove a political point that at its core is not accurate, as Taiwan is not a province of the People's Republic of China.
China's aviation regulator has given international airlines until the end of this month to amend their websites and remove any references to Taiwan being independent of China.
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Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is asking Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗) to express her deepest sympathy and concern to Japan after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake rocked the western part of the country Monday.
Photo Credit: Reuters / TPG
Presidential Office spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) says Tsai has asked Wu to extend sympathy to Japan on behalf of Taiwan's government and its people after the quake rocked Osaka Monday morning, killing at least four people, according to early reports.
According to Lin, the president hopes that damage from the earthquake will be as limited as possible, and that the people of Japan are safe. She has also asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to offer necessary assistance to Taiwan expats and tourists affected by the quake.
No Taiwanese nationals either in the city or the surrounding were injured in the earthquake.
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Police in New Taipei City say they have found the dismembered remains of a 30-year old woman believed to have been murdered by her archery instructor.
According to police, the suspect cut the woman's body into seven parts before burying them on in a mountainous area in the city's Wanli District.
Law enforcement officials say the body parts are being examined by forensic teams and officers are gathering evidence from the dump site and the suspect's studio.
The suspect, Chen Bo-qian, has been questioned several times in connection with the case. And police say the 37-year old has now admitted to killing the woman and has told them he strangled her after they met for drinks at his archery school at the Huashan Creative Park in Taipei.
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Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), the state-owned electricity producer, says it will ensure that operating reserve margins remain above 6 percent before July, amid fears that ongoing strains on Taiwan's power supply could lead to regional blackouts.
According to Taipower, operating reserve margins will be above 6 percent through the end of June and the company will carryout maintenance work on holidays when electricity consumption is lighter in order to minimize the impact on consumers.
The company says power supplies for households and companies during that time will be sufficient, and that Tai-Power is also considering reducing power generation at thermal power plants to help reduce pollution.
The statement comes after the No. 2 reactor at Taiwan's Second Nuclear Power Plant began generating electricity at full capacity on Sunday for the first time in more than two years.
It had been offline as a result of problems with its electrical system. The reactor was given the green light to re-start operations on June 4.
The reactor can generate 985,000-kilowatts of electricity, or about 2.7 percent of Taiwan's total operating reserve margin, when running at full capacity.
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Premier William Lai (賴清德) says the government continues to believe that some 20 percent of Taiwan's power supplies can come from renewable sources by 2025.
Speaking during a tour of a major offshore wind development site in Changhua, Lai told reporters that wind power remains a major element of that goal.
According to the premier, the government believes it will be able to replace the 12 to 15 percent of the island's energy sources currently generated by nuclear power with renewables, including wind and solar power.
Lai also touted Changhua County on Taiwan's west coast as being the prime site for offshore wind development, suggesting seven sites there will produce 3 GW of wind power when fully operational.
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Minister without portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) says Taiwan's democratic development has been boosted tremendously by open governance.
Speaking in New York, Tang said Taiwan has found ways to break down boundaries, despite Taiwan's international isolation, and the country has a lot to share with nations who also enjoy common values of democracy and freedom. Tang is responsible for the government's digital technology policy and was in New York to attend the Personal Democracy Forum, which focuses on assessing technology’s impact on government, politics, media, and democratic societies.
Tang highlighted the work of vTaiwan, an online-offline platform that brings together government ministers, elected representatives, scholars, experts, business leaders, civil groups and citizens to share and discuss various issues in Taiwan with an eye to streamlining the government policy making process.
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Read Next: Taipei and the Tactics of Everyday Life
This news bulletin was provided courtesy of International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT), Taiwan’s leading English-language broadcaster.
Editor: David Green
