Radio Taiwn International
Date: 2017-09-02

President Tsai Ing-wen says the meeting of a new National Cultural Congress is a

milestone for Taiwan’s cultural policy.

Tsai was speaking at the opening of the congress on Saturday. This is the first time a National Cultural Congress has been called in 15 years. It conference follows a series of local cultural forums held across Taiwan earlier in the year. The congress has set the goal of bringing together the views of cultural workers, scholars, and citizens and turning them into policy proposals. The congress’ final recommendations will be included in a government white paper on cultural affairs.

At Saturday’s meeting, Tsai said that while Taiwan is small, it has a cultural soft power that is on par with the world’s major countries.    [FULL  STORY]

Starting from September 3 until the end of the month, Dihua Street Section 1 in Dadaocheng will ban vehicles, an approach taken to cope with the increasing tourists in the area.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/02
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On Saturday, the Taipei City Police Department announced

that Taipei’s Dihua Street Section 1 would become a pedestrian zone every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in September. No vehicles, except for ambulances or fire engines will be allowed in.

Dihua Street is located in Dadaocheng, one of the earliest developed commercial areas in Taipei, famous for Chinese herbal remedies, fabric, and dried food.

Unlike Taipei’s Xinyi business district which was developed much later with modern city planning, old districts in Taipei like Dadaocheng often consists of narrow streets and winding lanes where cars, scooters, and pedestrians are packed together.

In recent years, Dadaocheng has seen various regeneration projects by the city government and local organizations with an aim to develop the area into a thriving tourist zone featuring traditional cultural practices.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/02
By: Tsai Su-ping and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) The government supports interaction between people from

Taiwan and China, as it will help maintain peaceful cross-Taiwan Strait relations, Presidential Office Spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said Saturday.

Lin noted Taiwan’s General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC) will be attending the annual 2017 City-to-City Cultural Exchange Conference in Hong Kong this December to continue to promote cultural exchanges amongst the four cities of Taipei, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

He said the administration is looking forward to the forum and is hoping that Beijing will remove current political hurdles in tourist, academic, and cultural exchanges.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 03, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Lawmakers yesterday weighed in on the Ministry of Finance’s proposed tax

adjustments aimed at making the taxation system more comprehensive and equitable.

The ministry should consider further raising personal income tax “special deductions” from NT$180,000 to NT$200,000 (US$5,969 to US$6,632) to benefit salaried workers, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said.

Under the existing rules, workers are eligible for a deduction of NT$128,000 from their yearly salaries. In cases where taxpayers, their spouses or family members hold disability certificates, a further NT$128,000 deduction applies.

Under the proposal, a worker who earns NT$600,000 a year would receive a tax reduction of NT$3,600, a figure that can be increased by further raising special deductions, Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 02, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Members of the pro-Taiwanese independence group From Ethnos to Nation (FETN, 蠻

番島嶼社) yesterday said their right to freedom of expression was violated by law enforcement officials when one of their members was roughed up and arrested for displaying a banner bearing the word “Taiwan” at the Taipei Summer Universiade’s closing ceremony on Wednesday

Chen Yu-chang (陳俞璋), the FETN member who was arrested, accused the security personnel of overstepping their authority by roughing him up and forcefully taking him away from the closing ceremony to a police station, adding that he sustained minor injuries and bruises in the process.

“I had no problem passing through the security check and I entered the venue,” Chen told a news conference yesterday. “Later I took out the ‘Taiwan’ banner, but four security personnel clad in black swiftly came and grabbed the banner, and they grappled me. They roughed me up and held me down on the ground, saying I was under arrest, and carried me out of the venue to the police station.”   [FULL  STORY]

The third 2017 summer survey shows water at major beaches suitable for family activities

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/01
By: Light McCandless, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)– The Executive Yuan’s Environmental Protection Administration

today announced the results of the third beach water quality monitoring for summer 2017. The beaches surveyed included: New Taipei City’s Fulong and Jinshan (福隆與新金山) Yilan’s Wai Ao (外澳), Miaoli’s Qiding and Tongxiao ( 崎頂與通霄) , Tainan’s Mashagou (馬沙溝), Kaohsiung’s Xiziwan (西子灣) and Penghu’s Guanyinting (觀音亭).

Every summer, the EPA conducts beach monitoring and publishes the results for those going off to enjoy Taiwan’s beaches. The EPA issued a press release announcing the results of the third beach water quality monitoring for summer 2017.

According to the EPA press release, the results of monitoring showed only ‘normal’ level water quality for Taitung’s Shanyuan beach water quality. The other eight beaches, including New Taipei City’s Fulong and Jinshan, Yilan’s Wai Ao, Miaoli’s Qiding and Tongxiao, Tainan’s Mashagou, Kaohsiung Xiziwan and Penghu’s Guanyinting, all had excellent water quality. Qiding and Kenting’s Tiaoshihai beaches were originally included in the monitoring but due to strong winds and waves water sampling operations were cancelled due to safety concerns.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/01 
By: Hsu Hsiao-han and William Yen

Taipei, Sept. 1 (CNA) The Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Friday that it will make

amendments to the Employment Services Act to further strengthen the protection of foreign workers.

Hsueh Chien-chung (薛鑑忠), an official from MOL’s Cross-Border Workforce Management, said Friday in a telephone interview that fines for employing illegal foreign workers are currently calculated on a case-by-case basis, whereas in the future they will be based on the number of foreign workers employed illegally.

He said that traditionally, fines have been between NT$150,000 (US$4,985) and NT$750,000 (US$24,925) regardless of whether one or 10 illegal foreign workers are employed. After the new amendment comes into force, the fine will be multiplied by the number of illegal foreign workers hired.   [FULL STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 02, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The air force yesterday established the Republic of China (ROC) Air Force Air Defense

and Missile Command to better coordinate air defense operations.

Speaking at the formal establishment of the command at Tainan Air Force Base, Air Force Commander General Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴) said the new command, which combines the Air Defense Artillery and Air Defense Missile commands, will allow the air force to better coordinate air defense command and control.

The new command, led by former air force command chief of staff Fan Ta-wei (范大維), eliminates overlap between different commands within the air force, thereby enhancing operational efficiency, Shen said.

The new command has also shuffled personnel from the original two commands to establish five air defense brigades based on the needs of different combat zones.
[FULL  STORY]