November 9: The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will set up a 7-nanometer and 28-nm fabrication plants in Kaohsiung. The current plan is to begin construction in 2022 at the old side of the Kaohsiung oil refinery plant of the Taiwan CPC Corporation and commence mass production by 2024.
November 9: According to the Climate Change Performance Index published by non-governmental organizations including German watch, Taiwan ranked 60th (fifth to last) out of 64 countries in the world, behind mainland China, Japan, and South Korea. The Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, stated that the evaluation understated Taiwan's population by 3 million and used incorrect emissions data, both of which negatively impacted Taiwan's ranking.
November 11: A delegation of some 10 people led by Senator John Cornyn of the United States arrived in Taipei on November 9 by the Navy C-40 administrative plane and left Taiwan on the evening of November 11. During the three-day itinerary, the delegation met with President Tsai Ing-wen and visited the Ministry of National Defense to listen to a briefing, TSMC, and Black Bat Squadron Memorial Hall. The whole trip was low-key.
November 11: A video of Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), drinking and singing without wearing a mask has been widely circulated on the Internet since November 10. Although Chen claims that the video was recorded on June 15 last year, and he sang only two songs, some have criticized Chen for then requiring others to wear a mask while singing indoors but violating such guidance himself.
Director Ling Tao of the Culture and Communications Committee, Kuomintang (KMT), indicated three major acts of Minister Chen, including attending improper banquets, which make him unfit for his public duties and demanded that he apologize and resign. Some ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators deduced that China purposely leaked the video, while others pointed to factional struggle within the party.
November 12: Before the 2020 presidential election, the spy case involving Wang Li-chiang broke out. Wang claimed to be instigated by chairman Hsiang Hsin and his wife of the China Innovation Investment Corporation to manipulate a cyber-army and develop organizations to campaign for presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu. The case triggered a lot of attention in Taiwan, with President Tsai even stating that China's intention to intervene in Taiwan's elections is obvious. But after two years of investigation by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, no evidence that Hsiang Hsin and his wife were spies was found. A disposition of no prosecution was made on November 12.
November 12: Internet celebrity Yang Hui-ju was accused of slandering the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka during the Kansai Airport incident in Japan in 2018, to shift the blame from Ambassador Frank Hsieh, representative to Japan. Based on phone records, the Taipei District Court determined that Yang is an owner of a cyber-army group, which instructed a man Tsai Fu-ming to post online. The posts constituted insult to a public official. Both Yang and Tsai were sentenced to six months in prison or alternative fines of NT$180,000 (about US$6,478). The case may be appealed.
November 13: The United States and China announced while presidents Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping will have a video conference on the morning of November 16, Beijing time. In preparation for this meeting, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call on November 13 with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Wang stressed that if the United States really wants to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, then it should clearly and firmly oppose any actions of Taiwan independence. White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that President Biden will clarify the intentions and priorities of the United States and express its concerns with China clearly and frankly.
November 13: Taiwan's domestically produced Medigen vaccine is currently only recognized by four countries, including New Zealand, Palau, Indonesia, and Belize. The CECC announced that those who have received one dose or two doses of the Medigine vaccine but must travel abroad for education and other reasons may subsequently mix-and-match and receive internationally recognized AstraZeneca, BioNTech, or Moderna vaccines. The medical community criticized the policy, as no clinical trial has confirmed the safety of such combinations.
