Democratic Progressive Party News

South Korean authorities cited the risk of Chinese economic retaliation when they charged marine technology firm SI Innotec last year with violating trade laws for its work on Taiwan's new military submarine program, according to a police document seen by Reuters and two people familiar with the matter.In a Feb. 17, 2022, affidavit to a judge seeking the arrest of SI Innotec executive director Park Mal-sik, police said authorities feared a repeat of the sweeping sanctions imposed by Beijing in 2016, after Seoul decided to install THAAD, a U.S. anti-missile system.

A Chinese carrier group has sailed through the narrow Taiwan Strait that separates the self-ruled island from its giant neighbor but no unusual activity was detected, Taiwan said on Wednesday, amid heightened tension with Beijing. Beijing has taken an increasingly hostile stance toward Taiwan since the election two years ago of President Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party. China suspects Tsai wants to push for formal independence, though she has said she wants to maintain the status quo and is committed to ensuring peace.

Taiwanese container carrier Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp should merge with state-owned port company Taiwan International Port Corp. (TIPC), report local media quoting a member of Taiwan's parliament. Legislator Chen Ou-po of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposed that Yang Ming, which is 33% government-owned, can merge with state-owned TIPC, Taipei Times reported. Taiwan’s ministry of transportation and communications is working on the possibility of merging container carrier Yang Ming, island’s second largest containerline, and TIPC. The merger is mooted as part of reform measures aimed at helping the weak maritime sector.

Taiwanese President-elect Tsai Ing-wen and Chinese President Xi Jinping have both been invited to the inauguration ceremony of the newly expanded Panama Canal on June 26. Tsai Ing-wen's invitation from its Panamanian diplomatic ally is drawing local media attention as Chinese leader Xi Jinping has also been invited to the same event. Aside from focusing on the possibility of a "Tsai-Xi" meeting on the sidelines, Panama's intentions need to be scrutinized with regard to a possible resumption of a diplomatic recognition tug-of-war across the Taiwan Strait. A report in Reuters say that China reacted frostily after Taiwan ally Panama said it had invited leaders from both China and self-ruled Taiwan to attend the inauguration, in what would be an awkward diplomatic encounter.

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan attract strong opposition from Beijing. China expressed anger on Friday after the U.S. State Department said it had authorized the sale of two surplus U.S. Navy frigates to Taiwan for $190 million, subject to congressional approval, amid rising tension in the South China Sea. China considers self-ruled Taiwan a wayward province, to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan in 1949 after the Chinese civil war. U.S. arms sales to democratic Taiwan always attract strong opposition from Beijing, though they have not ended up causing lasting damage to ties between China and the United States or between China and Taiwan.

A Taiwanese company has withdrawn notice to use Chinese vessels on a renewable energy project off the island, the port authority said on Thursday, after opposition lawmakers cited security concerns about the joint operation. The last-minute decision to drop the vessels underscores the island's concerns about possible surveillance by Beijing, and comes a day after the Taiwan government said it was making security checks on a Chinese smartphone company. The "Huadian 1001", a Chinese platform vessel, and a towing vessel, departed China's Nantong in Jiangsu Province earlier this month for Taichung port, after getting the all-clear from Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau to ply Taiwan waters. The Chinese-registered vessels had been contracted to work on Taiwan's first offshore wind project.

What's in a name? Quite a bit if you're talking about China-Taiwan relations, reports the China Post. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and is deeply suspicious of any move that downplays the island's cultural and historical ties to China or suggests the island is an independent entity. The two sides split in 1949 when the Nationalists were forced to flee China after a protracted civil war. Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party headed by embattled President Chen Shui-bian, however, favors a stronger Taiwanese identity. On Monday, Chunghwa Post, the island's postal service, became Taiwan Post Co., a move the government said was necessary to distinguish it from the Mainland's China Post. "Chunghwa" is another term for China.