Monthly Archives: April 2016

Costco corrects description of Taiwan as province of China

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/20
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 20 (CNA) Costco Wholesale Corp., one of the world’s largest

(CNA file photo)

(CNA file photo)

retailers, won the applause of its Taiwan branch Wednesday after correcting its identification of Taiwan on its online job application site as a province of China.

Costco Taiwan said in a statement that it approved and respected the correction by the company’s headquarters in the United States, which moved Taiwan from the options for “province” to those for “country” in its online job application system.

Such a situation does not exist in Taiwan because the job application system here is different from that in the United States, Costco Taiwan added.

Costco Wholesale was responding to a request made by the Washington D.C.-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), a non-government organization dedicated to promoting Taiwan’s interests in the United States.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan wins 2 gold, 2 silver medals at Asian Taekwondo Championships

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/20
By: Lee Yu-cheng and Romulo Huang

Manila, April 20 (CNA) Two Taiwanese athletes won gold in the women’s

Lin Yi-ching, Lin Wan-ting, Chuang Chia-chia, Liu Wei-ting (left to right)

Lin Yi-ching, Lin Wan-ting, Chuang Chia-chia, Liu Wei-ting (left to right)

competitions at the 2016 Asian Taekwondo Championships in the Philippines on Wednesday, bringing Taiwan’s total medal count to four – two golds and two silvers.

On the last day of the championships, Taiwan’s Lin Yi-ching (林宜青) defeated Feng Xiao of Macau 5:0 to win the women’s under-62 kg title.

In the under-67 kg division, Chuang Chia-chia (莊佳佳) of Taiwan won the title, beating Ha Thi Nguyen of Vietnam in the finals.    [FULL  STORY]

Hsieh Su-wei advances in Istanbul Cup

TAIPEI EVENT:Hsieh beat world No. 72 Karin Knapp, while the WTA announced that the Taiwan Open would move to Taipei to attract more sponsors and more fans

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 21, 2016
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the second round of the Istanbul Cup on Tuesday after rallying from a set down to oust Italy’s Karin Knapp, while the WTA announced that next year’s Taiwan Open is to be moved from Kaohsiung to Taipei.

Kaohsiung-born world No. 81 Hsieh defeated world No. 72 Knapp 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-1 at the Garanti Koza Arena in 2 hours, 23 minutes.

The Taiwanese No. 1 saved 10 of 13 break points and converted seven of 10, winning 109 of the 207 points contested to set up a second-round clash against world No. 127 Maria Sakkari of Greece, who stunned top seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-3.

Third seed Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine also fell at the first hurdle in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Romanian qualifier Sorana Cirstea, while eighth seed Johanna Larsson of Sweden survived a second-set wobble to down Ukrainian qualifier Maryna Zanevska 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5). Ukrainian seventh seed Kateryna Bondarenko had to rally from a set down to oust Olga Govortsova of Belarus 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.     [FULL  STORY]

U.S. dollar closes lower on Taipei forex

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-20
By: By Romulo Huang, Central News Agency

Taipei, April 20 (CNA) The U.S. dollar fell against the Taiwan dollar Wednesday, shedding NT$0.017 to close at NT$32.248.
Turnover totaled US$571 million during the trading session.

The greenback opened at NT$32.189, and moved between NT$32.155 and NT$32.250 before the close. [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to introduce electronic VAT refund machines in May

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/20
By: Bernie Chiu and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, April 20 (CNA) Electronic machines designed to issue value added tax

(CNA file photo)

(CNA file photo)

(VAT) refunds to foreign visitors will go into operation at nine airports and seven seaports in Taiwan on May 1, Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) said Wednesday.

The machines will eliminate the need for eligible foreign travelers to queue up at airports or seaports to obtain VAT refunds, the ministry said.

Under Taiwan’s regulations, foreign visitors who spend at least NT$2,000 (US$62) in a single day on purchases at an authorized Tax Refund Shopping (TRS) enterprise are eligible to a 5 percent VAT refund within 30 days of the purchase.

The VAT refund machines will become operational at the start of May at Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Songshan Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport, and at airports in Hualien and Taitung in the east, Taichung in the central Taiwan, Tainan and Chiayi in the south, and Magong in the offshore Penghu County.     [FULL  STORY]

Export orders beat ministry estimate

SURPRISING RESULTS:The Ministry of Economic Affairs said the scale of the annual decline in export orders last month was the smallest decline since October last year

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 21, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

The value of export orders for last month dropped 4.7 percent annually, much better than the government’s estimate of a 10 percent decline, but it still marked the 12th month straight of annual contraction in orders, the latest government data showed.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs attributed the better-than-expected results to the stronger-than-expected demand for international smartphone vendors’ new mid-end handsets.

“We were surprised by the results,” Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) said. “The scale of the annual decline last month represented the smallest decline since October last year.”

In addition to Apple Inc’s launch of its iPhone SE, Chinese smartphone vendors also introduced new mid-end handsets to the market last month, allowing Taiwanese components suppliers to receive more orders, which helped narrow the size of the annual drop in export orders last month, Lin said.     [FULL  STORY]

Solving problems is priority of cabinet: premier-designate

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-20
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

“Solving problems and doing things is the primary purpose of [this] Cabinet,” 6749392Premier-designate Lin Chuan shrugged off a question that the new Cabinet lineup is “not eye-opening” after his announcement of more government members Wednesday.

The Cabinet lineup has mostly been completed after Lin presented his fourth list of appointments Wednesday.

However, Lin faced questions from the media talking about comments from so-called outsiders that his choices for ministers were not refreshing, since they included many holdovers from local governments and previous administrations.

Lin said he was not so concerned about the question of whether the lineup is eye-opening or not because he had only paid attention to whether they can solve problems. There is no honeymoon, and “[I] hope they can get the hang of it on May 20, the day of the takeover,” Lin added.     [FULL  STORY]

White Terror letters put on display

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 21, 2016
By: Huang Ming-tang and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A National Human Rights Museum exhibition featuring 10 undelivered letters

A person on Tuesday points to a letter written by White Terror era victim Chen Chen-chi, which is on display at National Taitung University. Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times

A person on Tuesday points to a letter written by White Terror era victim Chen Chen-chi, which is on display at National Taitung University. Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times

composed by people just before their executions during the White Terror era opened at National Taitung University on Monday.

In the White Terror era, many death-row inmates awaiting execution for charges of political offenses wrote letters to their families and gave them to prison guards in the vain hope that they would be delivered, exhibition organizers said.

Instead, the authorities collected the unsent letters and deposited them in a classified government archive. By the time of declassification, some of the letters had been sealed for more than 60 years, organizers said.

In 2011, the museum completed cataloging the archive, counting letters from 112 prisoners who were executed.

After ensuring surviving family members would receive the letters, the museum chose 10 documents from the archive to use in an exhibition to commemorate White Terror history.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan, China jointly compile Chinese dictionary

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/20
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 20 (CNA) A comprehensive dictionary of Chinese words used on 201604200024t0001both sides of the Taiwan Strait was published Wednesday, much to the delight of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

The publication of such a dictionary was one of Ma’s campaign promises in 2007, before his first election as president in May 2008.

“I’m gratified that my campaign promise has been realized before the end of my second term (next month),” he said.

“Chung Hua Yu Wen Ta Tzu Tien” (中華語文大辭典), or “A Dictionary of Chinese Lexicons,” was a joint effort by hundreds of scholars and language experts from Taiwan and China.

It is a compilation of 13,004 words frequently used in Taiwan and in China, and 88,728 multisyllabic terms and phrases, in 101,732 entries that include different usages on both sides of the strait.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan and France share cultural technology concept

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-20
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan and France jointly organized the “French Tech 6749395Culture 2006” event Wednesday and Thursday in Taipei City.

Culture Minister Hung Meng-chi, French representative in Taiwan Benoit Guidee, Greater Avignon president Jean-Marc Roubaud and a host of Taiwanese and French experts were present to lend their support to this example of French creativity and technology.

For several years, experts have predicted that France would host Europe’s version of “Silicon Valley,” providing lessons for Taiwan from its conjunction of fashion design, culture and history, arts and esthetics.

Hung expressed the hope that Taiwan could learn from France’s experience. The French success story shows that combining culture and technology does not push cultural development into a corner, but adds to its value, he said. Hung said he had the program at work during a visit to France last year.     [FULL  STORY]