Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-10-03

President Tsai Ing-wen says it is important to strengthen national security exchanges

between Taiwan and the US. Tsai was speaking on Tuesday while meeting with the senior vice president for Asian affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Michael Green.

Tsai said the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region has undergone changes since Green last visited Taiwan four years ago. She said Taiwan, China and the US continue to play important roles in the region and share the same values and benefits. The president also thanked the US for its commitment to Taiwan ties and the latest arms sale announced in June.

Tsai said Taiwan has continually enhanced its role in securing stability in the Asia-Pacific. Tsai talked about the importance of defense exchanges. She said, “We think that strengthening national security exchanges between Taiwan and the US is very important. For example, it is important to enhance dialogue between senior officials on both sides. Such a move would be beneficial to upgrading strategic relations between the two sides.”    [FULL  STORY]

‘Mid-Autumn Festival’ – A wonderful day of family celebration in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/10/03
By  Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals for Taiwanese people as its celebration is a chance to have family members reunite to appreciate the beauty of the full moon and enjoy some delicacies together.

The festival, which has a history of over 3,000 years, will take place in the middle of 8th month in the lunar calendar, which is on Oct. 4 of this year.

It is also known as “the moon festival” as it is celebrated when the moon is believed to be the biggest, fullest and brightest. Under the moonlight, family members gather together and enjoy delicious food as part of an age-old tradition carried out by many generations of Taiwanese people.

Along with traditional ways to celebrate this meaningful festival, several new customs have been invented by the modern society.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/03
By: Wang Cheng-chung and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said Tuesday that

Taiwan’s military is strong enough to resist a possible Chinese invasion for “more than two weeks” — longer than one of his predecessors, Lee Tien-yu (李天羽), had envisioned nearly a decade ago.

Feng made the remarks in answer to opposition Kuomintang lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), who asked him how long Taiwan’s armed forces would be able to resist a Chinese attack now, as Lee had once said the country could “hold on” for just two weeks in such a scenario. Lee was defense minister from May 2007 to February 2008.

“It’s been quite a long time since Lee was minister of national defense, and our military has become much stronger since then. We will be able to resist (such an attack) for longer than that,” Feng said.     [FULL  STORY]

RESPONSIBILITY:Taipei’s mayor continued to deny responsibility for organizing the controversial event, saying it was authorized by the MAC and immigration agency

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 04, 2017
By: Lin Hsiao-yun and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The “Sing! China: Shanghai-Taipei Music Festival” was organized by the Taipei

Department of Cultural Affairs and therefore not a commercial activity, National Taiwan University (NTU) said yesterday.

The controversial concert abruptly ended on Sept. 24 amid student protests. Scattered incidents of violence were reported, including three students allegedly injured by members of the Chinese Unity Promotion Party.

The university said that it had twice denied a request from the department and Mu Chieh Ta Co (幕婕塔), the company commissioned by the city to organize the event, to use the school’s athletic field for the concert.

The school was informed that Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) had expressed concern over the denial and the school subsequently allowed the concert, NTU said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-10-02

Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung says Taiwan should welcome more young people from

Southeast Asia to stay in Taiwan. He said that ASEAN countries have similar cultures to Taiwan and are not politically sensitive like China is. Therefore, he said, there are good reasons to promote more exchanges. His comments came in a recent exclusive with Radio Taiwan International.

 

“In addition to new immigrants and migrant workers, [Southeast Asian] students studying in Taiwan should settle in Taiwan and help develop the economy and society here. Developing ties not only applies to foreign spouses but also to other people from Southeast Asia as well. The more bigger the flow of people and capital, the better it is for development,” said Lin.

Lin said that ASEAN countries have a joint population of 700 million people. He said the region is full of opportunities for economic, trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.
[SOURCE]

The 52nd Television Golden Bell Awards were held Sept. 30 at National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei City

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/10/02
By:  Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The 52nd Television Golden Bell Awards—Taiwan’s

equivalent to the Emmys—were held Sept. 30 at National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei City.

The big winner at this year’s Golden Bells was the Q series, launched by Q Place Creative Inc. and Taiwan Television Enterprise. “Close Your Eyes Before It’s Dark,” one of eight different programs in the Q series lineup, took home the awards for Best Television Series, Best Supporting Actress and Best Sound Effects, while romance series “Love Storm” bagged Best Newcomer and Best Actress.

President Tsai Ing-wen congratulated this year’s winners via her Facebook page, praising the creativity and high quality of the country’s TV productions. Noting another award-winning drama series, “The Teenage Psychic,” Tsai called the show a pioneer of the country’s TV industry.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/02
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) Transportation Minister Ho Chen Tan (賀陳旦) said Monday that

one his primary goals is to reduce the number of road fatalities in Taiwan, which now averages eight per day, but it would also require the efforts of the wider society.

Some of the preventative measures adopted by the transportation ministry include stricter laws on drunk driving and tighter controls on drivers’ licenses, Ho Chen said.

For instance, he said, drivers 75 years old and over are now required to renew their driver’s licenses every three years, on condition that they pass cognitive and physical coordination tests.

The minister said that since he took office last year, he has been focused on the incidence of road traffic deaths, which remains high at an average eight per day despite a decline in recent years.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 03, 2017
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Worried that detained human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲) might have been

sentenced in secret, civic groups and legislators yesterday urged the government to take immediate action to protect Lee’s right to appeal.

Yesterday marked the 197th day since Lee went missing after a trip to China in March. Beijing later said he was being detained on charges of subversion of state power.

After a video was released of Lee confessing his crimes in court on Sept. 11, his situation has again become unknown, the groups said.

The video showed that Lee was prosecuted on Aug. 8, and according to China’s Criminal Law, the court must reach a verdict within two month after accepting a case, Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary-general Chiu Ee-ling (邱伊翎) told a news conference yesterday.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: 2 October, 2017
By: The China Post staff

TAIPEI – The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested four suspects for allegedly assisting and laundering money for overseas phishing scam rings.

According to the CIB, the four began establishing a caller center in July 2017 from where they called to threaten victims in mainland China using fake arrest warrants they forged and put online. Victims were directed to key in their online bank information and passwords on a faked Chinese prosecutors office website set up and used by overseas scammers to con the victims into wiring money to their dummy accounts.

The four also helped laundered money for the overseas scammers by buying online gambling chips with scamming proceeds and reselling them. The CIB said the four laundered NT$130 million in total and earned around NT$19 million for their service.
[SOURCE]

The Japan Times 
Date: October 1, 2017

TAIPEI – The first shipment of Japanese beef to Taiwan in 16 years passed through

customs in Taipei on Saturday following the lifting of a ban earlier last month.

Some 200 kg (440 pounds) of Japanese beef from Miyazaki Prefecture was imported by the Kanpai Group for distribution to businesses that included the Regent Hotel and Breeze Center supermarkets, and its 46 barbecue restaurants and hot pot joints across the island.

Japanese beef is an increasingly popular and sought-after food around the world because of its rich marbling, which makes the meat especially juicy and tender.

Nearly 95 percent of the beef consumed in Taiwan beef is imported, with the United States its No. 1 supplier by weight and value last year, followed by Australia and New Zealand.    [FULL  STORY]