Pingtung preparing response measures following China’s suspension of seafood imports

2022-12-09

The suspension of some seafood exports to China has created a real headache for fishers all over Taiwan. Especially hard hit is Pingtung, which produces more than 11,000 tons of fourfinger threadfin each year, accounting for up to 80% of Taiwan’s output. Farmers say their fish are almost mature, adding that with costs totaling more than $1 million NT for each pond, not selling them is not an option. Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an’s’s response measures will soon be launched. This is a reminder for farmers that it’s not the first time the government has to deal with these kinds of problems. Let’s hear from some of the people involved:

Mr. Hsieh
Fish farmer
We’ll see whether the government can do anything about this. Otherwise, producers like us will be out of work.

Hsieh Ching-yin
Wei-I Foodstuff
We filled in all the forms and documents as instructed, and we made it on the approved list. I don’t know why we succeeded.

Pan Men-an
Pingtung commissioner
We have long had response measures in place. So we need to be self-reliant. Besides checking for what we can do within the county, we also need to look at response measures for storage facilities, cold-chain logistics and processing. There is no need to panic.

The Pingtung commissioner urged fish farmers to stay calm, saying that the government was readying response measures. Over in Tainan, the fishing industry has been affected too, but on a smaller scale. The local government is promoting overnight-drying to extend the shelf-life of fourfinger threadfin to minimize the impact of China’s temporary bans.

中又禁水產屏午仔魚產量占全台8成潘孟安：已做因應、勿恐慌

2022-12-09

中國再禁台灣水產品，讓漁民哀鴻遍野，尤其屏東午仔魚產量佔全台八成，漁民表示，午仔魚就快收成了，每一池成本大約百萬，就怕賠更慘，不過，縣長潘孟安要大家別恐慌，強調之前石斑被禁，就已開始想預防因應。

[[漁民謝先生]]
“看政府有沒有辦法處理，不然，我們這些生產者很快要跑路了”

[[味一食品負責人謝清銀]]
“我們也是整個按照文件去填寫，這一次我們在名單之內，我們自己也不知道是什麼原因”

[[屏東縣長潘孟安]]
“我想這一點，我們老早做好因應，所以我們必須自立自強，縣內這邊整個調查以外，從倉儲、冷鏈、加工都會做好因應，期待大家不用恐慌”

屏東午仔魚養殖量，每年一萬一千多噸，佔全台八成，首當其衝，不過，縣長潘孟安要大家別恐慌。另外，以沿海捕撈為主的台南，雖然影響較小，也開始推廣一夜干，延長午仔魚保存期限，就是要把傷害降到最低。

European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan launches renewable energy market report

Along with many other countries, Taiwan too hopes to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Together with the RE100 initiative, the European Chamber Of Commerce Taiwan in December announced the release of a renewable energy market briefing report. The report analyzed Taiwan’s renewable energy policy and market changes, as well as barriers to renewable energy procurement in Taiwan. Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin attended the event to respond to the report. FTV reporter Stephany Yang has the details.

The ECCT Low Carbon Initiative and RE100 Taiwan presented the findings of the report titled, "Taiwan Energy Market Briefing: Net-Zero Plan and Aggregated PPA." The report showed that compared to 2020, there have been improvements in the renewable energy sector in Taiwan. The demand for renewable energy has grown, and more Taiwanese companies are also committing to switching to renewable energy.

Henry Chang
ECCT chair
Energy transition to renewables is not just a matter of meeting global commitments. It is essential for Taiwan’s energy security and to ensure that companies stay competitive globally.

However, the report showed that companies are still struggling to procure renewable energy in Taiwan. The top two reasons are high costs and low supply. Representatives believe that the solution is an aggregated power purchase agreement, which will bring two or more companies to enter a PPA.

Alisha Lee
RE100 Taiwan representative
I can start with some of the problems that a lot of our members are facing right now, which is, of course, low supply. And with low supply also comes with high costs. So really, the main thing that we would need to work on is upping the supply of renewable energy, and until then, we have our RE100 members who are here to lead the way and to push the government to hopefully improve on renewable energy policies and, in turn, improve on supply and costs. A lot of our members in other companies are finding it difficult to purchase renewable energy in Taiwan. A possible solution that we wanted to look into is APPAs in which they can aggregate their electricity consumption to meet the demands of producers.

A copy of the report was handed to the Vice Premier of the Executive Yuan, Shen Jong-chin, who responded to the points in the report. He said in recent years, the government has made efforts in the power purchasing process. In the past, the approval procedure took a long time, but now the government has changed from paperwork to an electronic process to improve efficiency. Shen added that there should be more discussions on the topic of aggregated PPAs.

Shen Jong-chin
Vice premier
On the topic of the approval process, in the past, the timetable was quite long. It used to be done in a physical format, but now we have changed it to an electronic one. I learned about the collective purchase agreement. This part seems to be relatively high-cost, and the contract period is relatively long. We will need to discuss this. The advantage of this is economies of scale.

Since 2018, The ECCT’s Low Carbon Initiative has partnered with the RE100 to find ways to supply Taiwan with affordable renewable energy. By collaborating with stakeholders, Taiwan hopes to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

2022-12-09

NDAA Clears US House

An American draft law offering Taiwan free weaponry and other military aid worth $10 billion US dollars for the next five years has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA is expected to clear the Senate next week, before President Joe Biden signs it into law. Ely Ratner, a U.S. Department of Defense official says the U.S.’ goal is to ensure that it will never be easy or cost free for China to quickly seize Taiwan.

The U.S. House of Representatives has been deliberating the 2023 National Defense Authorization act or NDAA. The bill, which grants Taiwan US$10 billion in grants for military aid over the next five years, eventually cleared the house with 350 votes in favor and 80 votes against.

Mike Rogers
US representative
H.R.7776 is laser-focused on preparing our military to counter threats from China and other adversaries and it reaffirms our support to allies in the region, especially Taiwan.

Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican and Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, gave his strong support to strengthening Taiwan’s security in a speech before the vote. The content of the bill includes authorizing the U.S. State Department to offer up to US$2 billion in annual grants in the next five years, with an overall price tag of US$10 billion. There’s an additional US$2 billion in loans offered to Taiwan to buy foreign weaponry. The bill also authorizes the U.S. president to create a “regional contingency stockpile” that grants Taiwan priority in obtaining extra defense items from the U.S. if needed. The bill also requires American government agencies to prioritize and expedite processing of weaponry purchase requests from Taiwan. It even calls for Taiwan’s participation in the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise, the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise. A U.S. defense official said he does not think China will recklessly invade Taiwan in 2027, but the U.S. should still send a clear signal to Beijing.

Ely Ratner
US Department of Defense
And the report makes clear that Xi Jinping and the PLA are trying to develop capabilities whereby it would potentially make it easier for them in a way to seize the island of Taiwan or to use military aggression. I think our goal is to ensure that it is never easy for them to do it rapidly or cost free.

Previous reports from foreign media outlets said the U.S. was continually providing Ukraine with a large amount of military aid to fight Russia, and this was causing delays in weaponry deliveries to Taiwan to worsen. The U.S. deputy defense secretary rejected the reports.

Kathleen Hicks
US deputy secretary of defense
The U.S. supporting Ukraine is in no way negatively affecting our ability to provide… to fulfill FMS cases or foreign military sales cares or otherwise support Taiwan.

The National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year 2023 is expected to be voted on by the Senate next week. If it passes, the bill will be sent on to the White House and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

2022-12-09

Government may file appeal with the WTO over Chinese ban on Taiwanese seafood

The Council of Agriculture says it is considering getting the World Trade Organization involved, after China suspended seafood imports from more than 100 Taiwanese companies.Earlier this year, China changed its customs rules with a requirement that all companies needed to register their products before they were granted permission to export to China. The council says Taiwan was given a considerable shorter timeline to adapt to the changes, and that so far only one seafood company has been able to obtain permission. It says it may file an appeal with the WTO on the grounds that China’s new registration system is in fact an administrative trade barrier.

Earlier this year, China introduced new rules for its imports, requiring all food exporters to register their products with the Chinese government. Since then, more than 100 Taiwanese seafood companies and fishing firms have sent the required documents to China. But according to the official webpage of China’s General Administration of Customs, only one company has been granted permission so far. That has put Taiwan’s seafood exports to China on halt.

Chen Chi-chung
Council of Agriculture
They put tougher regulations in place for us. They wanted us to submit the necessary documentation before the end of August. For other countries, the deadline was June 30, 2023. I think this can be considered an administrative trade barrier by the WTO.

According to the Council of Agriculture, the products affected by the measures are worth about NT$6.5 billion. Squid products alone account for more than NT$3 billion of the total. Other products affected include fourfinger threadfin, skipjack tuna and Pacific saury.

Mr. Hsieh
Fish farmer
To be honest, we rely on China. Domestic consumption can only take you so far.

Chen Chi-chung
Council of Agriculture
We hope that the Food and Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare will be able to enquire about this registration process with China’s General Administration of Customs, and ask about which documents are needed. We will also launch all necessary response measures. There’ll be different approaches for squid, Pacific saury and fourfinger threadfin. To a certain extent, this is an administrative trade barrier. We may consider making an appeal with the WTO.

Taiwan says it may file an appeal with the WTO over the disparity in regulations. Over on the official website of China’s General Administration of Customs, Taiwanese exporters who had licenses valid to operate until next year or the year after are now listed as “suspended.” Business leaders say they fear the impact this will have on their finances.

Hsueh Jui-yuan
Health minister
We will communicate more closely with China, but we may not get a response. It’s often this way with China. It bans you from bringing things in without a prior warning, agreement or a buffer period. It just does it like that.

Amid China’s continued targeting of Taiwanese seafood products, the Council of Agriculture is getting ready to launch emergency response measures. Officials say the specifics will be announced once they are finalized.

2022-12-09

Massive leak in October included data on vice president, security officials

A few months ago, New Power Party lawmakers exposed a massive data leak , and now it’s been confirmed that the data included that of Vice President Lai Ching-te, the head of National Security Bureau Chen Ming-tong 陳明通, and other national security officials. The incident happened in October, when a hacker claimed to have collected over 23 million data entries from Taiwan’s official household registration system to sell online. The lawmakers are calling on the government to address cybersecurity problems and identify the source of the leaks.

A large image of the nation’s flag on a foreign online forum. With it was a message from a hacker peddling personal data on Taiwanese people at a rate of US$5,000 for 23.57 million data entries. It was tantamount to a leak of personal data belonging to the entirety of Taiwan’s population.

Claire Wang
NPP lawmaker
In the past few days, anonymous white hat hackers contacted the media again. They said the leak had affected household registration data relating to Vice President Lai Ching-te, National Security Council Secretary General Wellington Koo and others. It’s confirmed to have a high degree of authenticity.

The sweeping personal data breaches did not only involve Vice President Lai Ching-te and National Security Bureau Director General Chen Ming-tong, but also National Security Council Secretary General Wellington Koo and other top security officials. There were roughly 23 million items of personal information, including people’s registered home addresses, ID numbers and marital status, revealing security problems in Taiwan’s household registration system.

Member of public
This really does sound like an invasion of privacy. Information security should be further strengthened, because now there are so many scams, so we need to be vigilant from the beginning.

Member of public
I think this is more about being aware about what you put out in the first place. Actually everyone else is talking about government controls, but I don’t think we can’t control what gets put out on the internet.

With the leakage of this private data, members of the public say they will be more vigilant. The New Power Party lawmakers say that even though the proverbial horse has bolted from the stable and it’s too late to shut the door, the government needs to find out how the leak came about.

Chiu Hsieh-chih
NPP lawmaker
What is the first thing the government has done? It just shirked responsibility. Which government agency was responsible? At what point was the data leaked so that even the household registration data of such important national figures was affected?

Lawmakers say that frequent data breaches could expose personal information that could be used for illicit activities.

2022-12-09

Taiwan weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun wins two silvers at world championships

2022-12-09

FTV wins three awards at 2022 Asian Television Awards, including Best News Anchor Celia Chan

Formosa Television has won three awards at the 2022 Asian Television Awards in Singapore. FTV’s Hall of Dissent bagged two trophies for Best Single News Story, and Best Current Affairs Programme. And our very own anchor Celia Chan won the award for Best News Presenter.

FTV scored three trophies at the 2022 Asian Television Awards. The first was for Best Single News Story or Report Lasting 10 Minutes or Less, which went to the story “A Lesson from the Sea” featured in the FTV program Hall of Dissent. The award was picked up by reporter Hsu Ching-ming. The story discusses the recent eruption of a volcano in the Pacific Ocean, which sent a large amount of pumice floating to Taiwan. The event had left an unusual landscape of coastlines covered in stone, while wreaking havoc in the fishing industry. The in-depth report won over the panel of judges.

Hsu Ching-ming
FTV reporter
Thank you Formosa TV for supporting our quality program. Thank you everyone. Thank you.

FTV’s second award of the night Best News Presenter or Anchor went to Celia Chan of Formosa News, FTV’s English language news program. Chan thanked the judges and her team, saying that it was an enormous honor to receive the distinction.

Celia Chan
Formosa News anchor
My team and I promise to continue to work hard and to provide the most accurate and best news in and about Taiwan to the world. And lastly, and most importantly, thank you God, and thank you all. We will continue striving to produce the best news we can for everyone, and let Taiwan’s news shine. FTV’s English news program has been running for 17 years, almost 18 years now, and I hope that can continue.

FTV program “Hall of Dissent: Sugar-coated Lies” picked up FTV’s third and final award for Best Current Affairs Programme. Through its investigative journalism, the program has brought to light online shopping fraud schemes and dating app scams. During the pandemic, the programme also became a voice for disadvantaged groups in society.

Hu Wan-ling
FTV vice president
What an honor. This is very important validation of FTV news. It also validates our long commitment to journalism. Thank you to the judges for choosing us as the best of the year, and thank you to Madam Dorothy, who is chairperson of FTV, for always supporting our quality journalism. Winning three awards in a row at this year’s ceremony breaks our previous record for FTV news. But I must still say, being nominated is an honor in itself. This is the result of many accumulated efforts from our colleagues. I would like to thank the upper management for providing such a broad space for FTV news to express itself. Thank you.

FTV Vice President Hu Wan-ling led a delegation to the awards ceremony, the first held by the Asian Television Awards since the end of the pandemic. With six nominations and three awards, FTV shone once again on the international stage, showing the world the high-quality journalism that Taiwan can produce.

2022-12-09

Postal worker astonished by white rainbow at Wuhe Tableland in Hualien

2022-12-09

Temperatures to drop as low as 12 degrees in Northern Taiwan next week

2022-12-09

Pingtung preparing response measures following China’s suspension of seafood imports