China positioning itself to nudge Taiwan out of Panama?
Panama is interested in positioning itself as a gateway for Chinese products in Latin America. The permanent representative of China’s Office of Commercial Development in Panama Wang Weihua (王衛華) said Panama’s reputation as a logistical center also boosts its potential as a manufacturing base, China Daily reports.
Reuters reports that a Chinese delegation is in Panama, and members have expressed interest in investing in the energy and port sectors. Panama is one of the 22 countries with formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that it is monitoring China’s potential investments in Panama, according to Reuters.
DPP chief whip attacked at protest
Taiwan works with Germany, U.S and Europol to bring down malware network
The Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau, in cooperation with the Lüneburg Police in Germany, the U.S. State Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, Eurojust and Europol, brought down “Avalanche,” an international criminal infrastructure platform on Nov. 30 after four years of investigations. The Taiwanese authorities, working with the Taiwan Network Information Center blocked more than 30,000 botnets and malware domains, Liberty Times reports. The Avalanche network was used to attack online banking platforms and caused an estimated US$6.4 million in damages on German online banking systems alone, according to a press release from Eurojust. However, the domains that were seized by Taiwanese authorities have not yet been registered, so Taiwanese banks have yet to be affected.
U.S. officials call for U.S.-Taiwan military exchange
The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2017 fiscal year will include provisions for military exchanges between senior Taiwanese and U.S. officials. The report was released on Nov. 30, and exchanges will include threat analysis, military doctrine, force planning, logistical support, intelligence collection and analysis, operational tactics and humanitarian assistance, Taipei Times reports. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the provisions, which will increase cooperation between the two countries, and Liberty Times reports that National Chengchi University professor Ding Shuh-fan (丁樹範) thinks that if the NDAA is passed it will allow U.S. officials to openly visit Taiwan and understand the situation here.
Tougher penalties on food manufacturers who cut corners
The Supreme Court has passed a resolution that will increase penalties on food manufacturers who use illegal additives in their products, regardless of whether the additives are harmful to human health, CNA reports. The penalties will also apply to manufacturers who try to pass off fake products as genuine. Violators of the new law could face up to seven years in prison, and a fine of up to NT$80 million (about US$2.5 million), Focus Taiwan reports.
New Southbound Policy benefits tourism sector
