Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Rights activist warns of China extraditions

Taipei Times

Taiwan should reach out to countries that have extradition treaties with China or Hong Kong to prevent the handover of Taiwanese accused of “separatism” or other political crimes by Beijing, human rights activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲) said.

Lee, who was imprisoned in China from 2017 to April this year on a charge of subverting state power, was speaking at a news conference in Taipei to mark Human Rights Day. The event was hosted by Tibetan and Uighur groups, and the “Safeguard Defenders.”

No fish, no chips

Taipei Times Editorials

The Council of Agriculture on Thursday said that China is blocking imports of seafood products from more than 100 Taiwanese exporters. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on the same day said it would not speculate whether the ban was politically motivated, but that is really a moot point. The main concern is that, regardless of motivation, China continues to impose arbitrary bans on Taiwanese exports.

Last year it banned Taiwanese pineapples, wax apples and sugar apples, and in June it banned groupers. After a visit to Taipei in August by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it banned largehead hairtail, citrus fruits and other items. The bans were politically motivated — particularly the bans following Pelosi’s visit, something China has admitted.

US seeks to avert quick, cheap invasion

Taipei Times

The US aims to “ensure that it is not easy or cost-free” for China to use military aggression against Taiwan, a senior US defense official told a seminar in Washington on Thursday.

China is unlikely to attempt a rash invasion of Taiwan in 2027 — a goal assumed by some analysts — but the US would continue to strengthen its regional deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure that China is aware that such an attempt would be very costly, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said.

Draft to bar convicts from elected office

Taipei Times

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) yesterday proposed a draft amendment to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) that would bar people who have been convicted of security breaches from running in national or local elections.

People convicted of offenses relating to organized crime, money laundering, firearms or drugs would be barred from election to civil servant positions if the amendments pass, Lo said on Monday, when the amendments were being drafted.

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