By Sheherzad Jamal

Palau Reaffirms Its Taiwan Commitment

Despite sustained political pressure from China, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. last month reaffirmed his commitment to upholding diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In an interview with Nikkei Asia at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum, which took place July 11-14, Whipps noted that while Palau has been “under a lot of pressure” from the Chinese government, “If you want to have relations with Palau, you’re welcome, but you cannot tell us that we cannot have relations with Taiwan.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Joanne Ou lauded the gesture at a news briefing in Taipei, recognizing that since establishing diplomatic ties in 1999, Palau and Taiwan have enjoyed a fruitful relationship, particularly in areas such as agriculture, fisheries, education, and infrastructure. She reaffirmed Taipei’s desire to continue developing bilateral relations over the longer term and added that Taiwan looks forward to engaging Pacific Island states by providing educational, humanitarian, and economic aid.

Ou also alluded to recent attempts by the Chinese government to infringe on the sovereignty of other states in the region, citing the security framework signed between China and the Solomon Islands in May and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s recent tour of the region. She noted that these were likely intended to promote upcoming regional Chinese initiatives, such as the China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision. Ou also stated that Chinese interference in the region was further evident in Taiwan’s exclusion from this year’s United Nations Ocean Conference after Beijing exerted pressure on Tuvalu and Fiji.

Taiwan Mourns Former Japanese Leader Abe

Taiwanese officials in July paid tribute to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, recognizing him as a friend of Taiwan, both in and out of office. Abe visited the country on several occasions, including a 2010 meeting with then legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng at which he was joined by members of the All–Party Parliamentary Group of the Japanese Diet. Regarding disputes at that time over the Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands, Abe remarked that “given Japan and Taiwan’s deep friendship, there are no unsolvable problems.” Former Presidents Ma Ying-jeou and Lee Teng-hui both lauded Abe as instrumental in promoting friendship between the two countries.

Vice President William Lai traveled to Japan to attend a memorial service for Abe, making him the most senior Taiwanese official to visit Japan since the end of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1972. Lai paid his respects at Abe’s Tokyo residence before visiting the Zojoji Temple, where Abe’s funeral was held. In response, China lodged an official protest with the Japanese government over Lai’s visit. PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin criticized Japan for allowing Taiwan’s “political manipulation” of the situation and described Taiwanese independence and sovereignty as a “political scheme [which] can never succeed.”

While in office, Abe was responsible for establishing the Sapporo branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan in 2009, resuming direct flights between Taipei Songshan Airport and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in 2010, and signing the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Accord in 2013. He noted in the Diet that “Taiwan is an important partner and friend, which shares [Japan’s] general values.” Following his resignation in 2020, Abe played a crucial role in Japan’s decision to donate 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan and was critical of the U.S.’ longstanding policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding the defense of Taiwan.

Congress Pushes To Speed Up Arms Deliveries

Amid growing tensions between Taipei and Beijing, Congress is now deliberating on a bill to track and expedite delivery of American arms to Taiwan. The Arms Export Delivery Solutions Act, introduced by Republican members of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Young Kim and Michael McCaul, aims to guarantee that “defense equipment already purchased from the U.S. by Taiwan and other allies in the [Indo-Pacific] region are tracked and delivered as efficiently as possible, as the Chinese Communist Party eyes further aggression.” McCaul noted that the bill was a response to “delayed deliveries of Congressionally approved sales to Taiwan [which] are undermining our ability to deter an attack from China” in an atmosphere of growing Chinese belligerence.

While the Chinese government has continually stated its desire to unify with Taiwan through peaceful means, it has not ruled out a military solution, ramping up economic, political, and military pressure on the island in recent years. Moreover, Beijing has accused Taiwan and the U.S. of attempting to undermine its role in the Taiwan Strait. It has sought to assert its own power in the region through military measures such as sending aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. In light of such growing instability, Kim and McCaul’s bill has garnered substantial support within Congress.

If passed, the act will require the Biden administration to provide Congress with a report before March 1 next year cataloging approved U.S. defense sales of US$25 million or more still undelivered to Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand and to justify the reasons for delay, as well as potential solutions to expedite deliveries.

Taiwan Reduces Carbon Emissions From Fuel

According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), burning fuels contributed to 258.72 million metric tons of Taiwan’s carbon emissions in 2019, a decrease of 3.15% from the previous year. Following a historic peak in emissions in 2017 of 269.46 million metric tons, this marks the second consecutive year of decreased total emissions and a simultaneous reduction of 3.21% in per capita emissions.

The Ministry further noted that the service and industrial sectors showed the biggest declines in fuel-derived emissions – 4.56% and 4.42%, respectively – a major accomplishment given that industry constitutes 48.9% of Taiwan’s net emissions. In addition, residential emissions dropped by 3.29%, while those from the energy and agricultural sectors fell by 1.28% and 0.8%, respectively. This marks significant progress toward fulfilling the government’s commitment to bringing total greenhouse gas emissions to below 50% of 2005 levels by 2050 and creating a sustainable, low-carbon homeland through policy initiatives such as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Action Plan, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Control Action Program, and National Climate Change Action Guidelines.

NCC Approves Digital Services Act

The draft Digital Services Intermediary Act, previously known as the Digital Communications Act, was approved in late June by the National Communications Commission (NCC). The law is intended to regulate digital platforms operating in Taiwan. Influenced by the European Union Digital Services Act, which was passed by the European Parliament in April this year, Taiwan’s draft bill reflects an attempt to ensure greater oversight of providers’ internet connections, caching, and data storage services, with the latter being further divided into the categories of “online platform operators” and “designated online platform operators.”

In the case of designated online platform operators, which include social media and other services that host more than 2.3 million active users in Taiwan, providers will be required to include their recommendation algorithms in user service agreements. Moreover, the act requires service providers, including those based overseas, to disclose local representatives’ names and contact information. Such providers will be responsible for implementing certain measures to achieve greater transparency such as publishing user agreements and transparency reports and offering user information when mandated by a court or administrative agencies.

As for online platform operators, such businesses would also be required to disclose algorithms for advertisements, regulate illegal content, and notify users in case of the removal of such content or the suspension of accounts. NCC section head Liu Chia-chi stated that this “should offer a system for users to dispute content that has been removed or a service that has been suspended or terminated, as well as provide a third-party arbitration mechanism to settle disputes.”

Providers failing to meet such obligations may be subject to fines between NT$1 million and NT$10 million (US$33,690 and US$336,904). The NCC noted that the act would give it the authority to investigate designated platform operators and to mandate an independent audit as well as suspend or terminate contracts in cases of non-compliance. It is likely to seriously impact international social media giants, including YouTube and Facebook.