Taiwan Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Reporter Roundtable Looks Back And Ahead To Final Days Of 2024 Session

On this episode of The Legislature Today, we sit down a day early for our weekly reporter roundtable. Randy Yohe, Emily Rice and our newest reporter Jack Walker discuss some of the legislation that has moved so far this week.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, we sit down a day early for our weekly reporter roundtable. Randy Yohe, Emily Rice and our newest reporter Jack Walker discuss some of the legislation that has moved so far this week.

Also, the Senate Wednesday night passed a bill that would reduce overall unemployment benefits but increase initial benefits, and they approved a bill that would affect transgender people in the state. Briana Heaney has the story.

In the House Thursday, global partnerships and international politics took center stage, along with a continuing legislative effort to address the mental health crisis among the state’s first responders. Randy Yohe has the story.

And, a bill allowing suspended school employees to attend public functions at schools has now passed both education committees. Chris Schulz has more.

Finally, it was Arts Day at the Capitol, a day when artists and organizations gather in the rotunda to spread the word on the variety of arts in West Virginia. Landon Mitchell has the story.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Taiwan Partnership, First Responder Mental Health Highlight House Happenings

Global partnerships and international politics took center stage in the House of Delegates Thursday, along with a continuing legislative effort to address the mental health crisis among the state’s first responders.

West Virginia And Taiwan

Stepping down from his podium, Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, read House Resolution 9, reaffirming the longstanding sisterhood partnership between West Virginia and Taiwan. The state and the embattled Asian nation have worked together as trade and cultural partners since 1980.

Taiwan delegation member Robin Chang spoke of the strong West Virginia/Taiwan relationship through trade, economic ties and cooperation in education and related fields, including a united stand supporting global democracy.

“Even as our democracy thrives, the people of Taiwan continue to face harassment and aggression from our neighbor across the Taiwan Strait,” Chang said. “That is why it has been so encouraging and important for the 23 million Taiwanese people to have received the strong support of our friends here in West Virginia, and the United States.”

Delegates back from a recent mission to Taiwan talked about Taiwan’s hill and hollow topography being similar to West Virginia. However, they said they were getting 5G broadband everywhere. Delegates said Taiwan’s tunnel, bridge and rail infrastructure was exemplary. Now, legislators are studying Taiwan’s related laws and regulations to see how West Virginia can match up.

Hanshaw said it’s a win-win situation to maintain strong relations with a country fighting to remain independent and free.

“Taiwan is a democratic country,” Hanshaw said. “When we talk about growing and cultivating export markets for West Virginia’s businesses and creating new opportunities to grow our state’s economy, we know that the export markets are how we’re going to do that. And if we want to do business in Asia, we want to do business with people whose values are aligned with ours outright.”

First Responder Mental Health

House Bill 5241 requires the Insurance Commissioner to audit PEIA claims for the treatment of PTSD of first responders. The commissioner is also charged with filing an annual report.

The state EMS Department is among many working to address a mental health crisis among first responders.

Del. Heather Tully, R-Nicholas, sponsored the audit bill. She said first responders from her county and elsewhere told her their PEIA insurance mental health claims were consistently rejected.

“A lot of times in PEIA, they were seen to be denied or they were delayed,” Tully said. “As a result of this, we wanted to make sure the insurance commissioner had no oversight over PEIA claims related to this whatsoever, unlike the insurance commissioner being able to audit private insurance. The end goal is to really see how we can work forward and see if we can’t get coverage for our first responders.”

The first responder PTSD audit bill passed the House 90-0 Wednesday evening and was sent to the Senate.

Dealing With A Particularly Awful Allergy Season, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, if allergies are making you more miserable than usual this spring, you’re not alone. We hear from a West Virginia allergy specialist who confirms this year is a tough one for seasonal allergy sufferers.

Meanwhile, a trade delegation just got back from opening a West Virginia Trade Office in Taiwan. They say they learned much more than increasing global markets.

Also, we now know why part of the John Amos power plant was down during December’s Winter Storm Elliott, an industrial park at the Raleigh County Memorial Airport is set to begin construction and Toyota is expanding its high school education program in West Virginia.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Improving W.Va. Infrastructure With Taiwanese Technology

A trade delegation just got back from opening a West Virginia Trade Office in Taiwan. The office will serve as a hub for promoting the state as a prime location for Taiwanese investment and assisting West Virginia businesses with exporting their products and services to Taiwan.

One delegation member, however, said he learned much more than increasing global markets.

Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, chairs the House Committee on Technology and Infrastructure. He said he is already back in touch with the Taiwan Foreign Ministry after viewing ways to improve West Virginia’s infrastructure challenges.

Linville said the mountainous island nation had an incredible number of high-end road and rail tunnels.

“They’re a very mountainous country, like our state,” Linville said. ”Certainly they build roads over and above their mountains and those sorts of things. But both for rail service, and for traditional vehicle service, they had an incredible number of tunnels and seem to have really mastered that art.”

Linville also said broadband and cell service was everywhere in Taiwan, strong even in the most remote areas.

“Folks were able to take pictures and share them with friends and those sorts of things,” Linville said. “You could tell that all the people were connected. It didn’t matter if someone had an AT&T phone or a Verizon phone or something like that. We all had service while we were over there just about everywhere. So how is it that they were able to accomplish that?”

Linville said he believes Taiwan’s technology on tunnel building and broadband connectivity is adaptable to the Mountain State, and he is working on that adaptation.

State Opens New Trade Office With Taiwan

A trade delegation of state leaders is in Taiwan for a ribbon cutting of a new West Virginia Taiwan Office at the Taipei World Trade Center.

According to a press release from the state Senate Communications Office, the trade office will serve as a hub for promoting West Virginia as a prime location for Taiwanese investment and assisting West Virginia businesses with exporting their products and services to Taiwan. As more companies in Taiwan seek to expand their global footprint, the West Virginia Taiwan Office will make the state more competitive in its mission to attract those new investment opportunities.

During Thursday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, pledged to build a long-term relationship with Taiwan and that this new office would be a strong platform to foster that growth.

“When I first visited Taiwan in 2018, I knew that it was a special place, and I began working on ways we could set up a West Virginia trade office here,” Blair said. “The people of Taiwan are exactly like the great people of West Virginia. They’re both family oriented, industrious, innovative, and extremely warm, caring and welcoming. In fact, the song ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ is as popular in Taiwan as it is in West Virginia. Everyone knows the words regardless of the language barrier.”

APG Polytech, owned by Taipei based, Far Eastern New Century Corporation, is already in Mason County. The company produces polymer resin for manufacturing companies.

Blair said this week’s trade mission has opened even more doors and led to more discussions for future investment.

House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, agreed, and said he is eager to see West Virginia’s relationship with Taiwan continue to strengthen.

“We’ve all learned that even though we can do just about anything virtually, there’s still something special about a handshake and a face-to-face conversation,” Hanshaw said. “Our relationship with our friends here in Taiwan is special, and I’m excited West Virginia will be on the ground here to actively recruit companies that would be a great fit for the economy we’ve been building here in the Mountain State. I appreciate the work our Department of Economic Development has put in here already and I’m eager to see how that continues even after we leave here this week.”

Also attending on behalf of the West Virginia Legislature were Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, Senate Minority Whip Robert Plymale, D-Wayne; and Delegates Wayne Clark, R-Jefferson; Paul Espinosa, R-Jefferson; Daniel Linville, R-Cabell; and Kayla Young, D-Kanawha.

The Chinese Communist Party has ramped up provocative moves against the island following high profile meetings with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and current U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Despite bilateral relations with Taiwan, the U.S. does not have a formal diplomatic relationship with the island, which China considers is part of its sovereign territory.

While Taiwan still dominates the world’s chip industry, producing over 60% of the world’s semiconductors, the country has faced recent resistance on the part of some U.S. investors over the lack of a formal tax treaty between the two countries.

Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 3 percent during the first quarter of 2023 and the country’s economy has slipped into recession.

Slowing global demand for semiconductors is blamed for the country’s poor economic performance.

West Virginia Delegate Traveling to Taiwan this Week

West Virginia Delegate Joshua Higginbotham is traveling to Taiwan on a trade promotion trip this week.

The House said in a news release that the Putnam County Republican and some other lawmakers were leaving Friday and returning Aug. 4. The Taiwan Economic Cultural Representative Office is organizing the trip.

Higginbotham and others will meet with representatives from Taiwanese manufacturing and energy companies to promote economic investment opportunities in West Virginia.

Higginbotham said he will meet with Taipei-based Far East New Century Corp. executives and officials from other similar companies. Far East New Century purchased the former M&G Polymers plant in Apple Grove earlier this year.