Monthly Archives: April 2016

US pork decision lies with leaders: AIT

OPEN DOORS:Joining a US free-trade agreement proposed for the trans-Pacific region would require Taiwan to make concessions and convince other nations to let it join: AIT

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 29, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin Moy yesterday said that the

People pose for a photograph yesterday at Taipei’s National Chengchi University where American Institute in Taiwan Director Kin Moy gave a speech. Photo: AIT

People pose for a photograph yesterday at Taipei’s National Chengchi University where American Institute in Taiwan Director Kin Moy gave a speech. Photo: AIT

decision to open the Taiwanese market and allow the import of US pork containing ractopamine residue should be made by the nation’s leaders in consultation with the public, but added that adjustments are necessary to build trade ties with the international community.

Moy made the remarks at a question-and-answer session after he gave a speech, titled “US-Taiwan Relations: Our Shared Future,” at the National Chengchi University, the first time he had visited a university in Taipei to interact with students.

The speech came at a time of growing public discontent over president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) reported plan to open the nation to US pork containing ractopamine residue, an additive that enhances leanness, which has been regarded as a major hurdle to Taiwan’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“There has been a lot of media attention on this issue, but our position has not really changed at all. You have to put this into a larger context: overall trade,” Moy said in response to a student’s question regarding his opinion on the import of ractopamine-laced US pork.     [FULL  STORY]

NTU law professor to head Ministry of Interior

More Cabinet members announced

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-28
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Premier-designate Lin Chun on Thursday announced five more future 6751061Cabinet members, including interior minister and minister of transportation and communications.

National Taiwan University law professor Yeh Jiunn-rong was named as interior minister. Yeh has been a minister without portfolio and minister of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission.

Taipei Rapid Transit Corp chairman Hochen Tan has been tapped for minister of transportation and communications. He has been chairman of Chunghwa Telecom Co, the nation’s largest phone operator.

Hsieh Shou-shing, professor at National Sun Yat-sen University’s Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering, has been appointed chairman of the Atomic Energy Council.     [FULL  STORY]

Hong Kong bikers following navigation to freeway stopped by police

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/28
By: Worthy Shen and Kay Liu

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) Six Hong Kong tourists riding heavy motorcycles who

The heavy motorbikes towed back to the police bureau.

The heavy motorbikes towed back to the police bureau.

were following a navigation system were stopped Thursday by police on the National Freeway No.5, where motorbikes are not allowed.

The National Highway Police Bureau said that it received a call about motorcycles traveling northbound on the freeway between the northeastern county of Yilan and Taipei, which is not open to motorcycles, Thursday afternoon.

The bikers, who have been on a road trip around Taiwan, said they followed Google’s navigation system on their handsets and took the freeway from its start at the Su’ao interchange in Yilan, but did not notice the sign that says the freeway is only for cars.

The travelers from Hong Kong were on the third day of a five-day trip, they said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan steps up interparliamentary diplomacy

Taiwan Today
Date: April 28, 2016

Legislators from Taiwan’s ruling and opposition parties are promoting 642713402771interparliamentary diplomacy with their counterparts around the world as evidenced by the establishment of over 40 international friendship groups in the Legislative Yuan.

This approach has reached a new level following the commencement of the ninth Legislative Yuan in February. The past two months saw a flurry of tie-ups between Taiwan’s highest lawmaking body and those in Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, as well as Australasia and Latin American countries.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuan Bi-ling, chairwoman of the newly founded Taiwan-India Parliamentary Friendship Association, said her group plays a substantive role in complementing the diplomatic efforts of the government.     [FULL  STORY]

MOFA to summon Japanese diplomat

VIEW FROM TOKYO:Foreign minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference that his government does not accept Taiwan’s stance that Okinotori is not an island

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 29, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with CNA

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) is to summon Japan’s

President Ma Ying-jeou speaks at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

President Ma Ying-jeou speaks at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

representative to Taiwan today to protest against Tokyo’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing boat in waters near the Okinotori atoll on Monday.

“It is the ministry’s duty to do everything in its power to negotiate with Japan and lodge a protest against the incident,” Association for East Asian Relations Secretary-General Peter Tsai (蔡明耀) told a morning news conference at the ministry in Taipei.

Tsai said Representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) was scheduled to meet with Interchange Association, Japan President Tadashi Imai at 4pm yesterday to hand over the government’s formal complaint about the seizure of the Tung Sheng Chi No. 16, while Lin would meet this morning with Japanese Representative to Taiwan Mikio Numata.

However, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida told a news conference in Tokyo that his government does not accept Taiwan’s stance that Okinotori is not an island.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Hsieh advances in Prague

TOUGH TEST AWAITS:The Taiwanese and her Belgian doubles partner next face the top-seeded US pairing Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears in the quarter-finals

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 28, 2016
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei eased into the quarter-finals of the doubles at the Prague Open on Tuesday, while second seed Lucie Safarova returned to winning ways in the singles.

Hsieh and 21-year-old Ysaline Bonaventure completed a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Slovakian duo Jana Cepelova and Viktoria Kuzmova in 62 minutes.

The Taiwanese-Belgian pairing conceded only one break point and converted three of five, winning 56 of the 107 points contested to advance to a tough-looking quarter-final against top-seeded US duo Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears.

In the singles, second seed Safarova, returning from a bacterial infection that forced her to skip the Australian Open, rallied from a set down to overcome Mariana Duque-Marinoa of Colombia 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 2 hours, 2 minutes.     [FULL  STORY]

TWSE trading on Wednesday

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-27
By: Central News Agency

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange opened at 8,561.37 points today. After moving between 8,597.64 and 8,537.03, the index closed at 8,563.05, down 18.52. Turnover totaled NT$66.955 billion.

The weighted index, excluding the financial sector, closed at 7,285.78 points, down 15.18.

A total of 2,311 stocks closed up, and 2,941 ended down with 548 unchanged. The top 10 stocks in terms of trading volume were 2887, 00637L, 00633L, 2002, 2886, 2409, 3481, 2498, 2303 and 2330.

The top 10 stocks in terms of trading value were 2330, 3008, 2498, 2454, 2317, 2474, 00633L, 1536, 2887 and 2308.     [FULL  STORY]

TWSE to hold workshop on corporate social responsibility

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/27
By: Tien Yu-pin and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) will hold a conference on May 5 201604270004t0001for auditing executives of listed companies to improve their professional knowledge and raise awareness of their companies’ social responsibility.

Leading executives in the auditing departments of 109 listed companies across several sectors, including semiconductors and electronic components, have been invited to attend the conference covering corporate social responsibility and a whistleblower reporting mechanism, TWSE has said.

The conference will be the latest in its series of gatherings on corporate governance, part of the TWSE’s ongoing campaign to promote better corporate management and help enterprises compile corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports.

CSR means that beyond doing everything they can to pursue revenue growth and maximize the benefits of their stockholders, companies should also contribute to society and minimize their environmental footprint through their core capabilities, TWSE said.     [FULL  STORY]

Economy continues to contract: NDC

ANOTHER FLASH OF BLUE:National Development Council Director Wu Ming-huei said that almost all economic barometers showed negative movements last month

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 28, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporterBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The government’s business monitoring system flashed the 10th straight “blue” signal last month, reflecting a continued weakness in the nation’s economy without signs of a recovery, the National Development Council said yesterday.

The council’s Taiwan Business Indicators stood at 15, shedding one point from February, dragged by slacker imports of machinery and electric equipment, the monthly report said.

“Almost all barometers showed negative movements, although the pace of decline did not widen,” council Director Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙) told reporters.

A “blue” light indicates economic weakness, while “green” suggests stable conditions and a “red” light signifies overheating.

Chance of a signal change is slim before the second half of the year as the current quarter is a slow season for technology product sales, Wu said.     [FULL  STORY]

Hackers Bolstering Cyber Security in Taiwan

The News Lens
Date: 2016/04/27
Translated and compiled by Bing-sheng Lee

On April 25, Hacks in Taiwan (HIT) association celebrated its first anniversary. Vice Premier

A hacker, who requests not to have his name revealed, works on his laptop in his office in Taipei July 10, 2013. Taiwan is the frontline in an emerging global battle for cyberspace, according to elite hackers in the island's IT industry, who say it has become a rehearsal area for the Chinese cyberattacks that have strained ties with the United States. The self-governing island, they say, has endured at least a decade of highly-targeted data-theft attacks that are then directed towards larger countries. Picture taken July 10, 2013. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY POLITICS) - RTX11RDE

A hacker, who requests not to have his name revealed, works on his laptop in his office in Taipei July 10, 2013. Taiwan is the frontline in an emerging global battle for cyberspace, according to elite hackers in the island’s IT industry, who say it has become a rehearsal area for the Chinese cyberattacks that have strained ties with the United States. The self-governing island, they say, has endured at least a decade of highly-targeted data-theft attacks that are then directed towards larger countries. Picture taken July 10, 2013. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN – Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY POLITICS) – RTX11RDE

Woody Duh attended the anniversary party and praised the group for its efforts, showing the government’s support.

Duh said that in the past, hackers were always worried that the government was against their ideas, but his attendance of the party shows the government now recognizes the hackers’ efforts.

In recent years, HIT has developed new talents, honed hackers’ skills, and improved Taiwan’s information security by organizing a wide array of activities and forums, which the government is willing to support and invest in, according to Duh.

Duh said that the conventional education system is unable to develop talent for information security, so Hackers in Taiwan Conference (HITCON) is an important platform for the exchange of skills and information. The association can train hackers not only to become the best in the country, but also shine in international hacker contests.

In his speech at the party, Duh said that the government always thought that it had to take the initiative in launching important policies and campaigns, but the myth is now debunked. The government hopes more people from private sectors can take the initiative and it can offer help when they are in need.     [FULL  STORY]