Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/08
By:  Central News Agency

Taiwan ranked 20th in the international intellectual property (IP) index issued Thursday by the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The GIPC report released its International IP Index, “Inspiring Tomorrow,” which assesses the IP environments of 50 world economies representing 90 percent of global GDP in 2018.

In the report, Taiwan’s ranking remained the same as in 2017, with a score of 28.05 points, among the 50 countries surveyed, while China ranked 25th, according to the report.

Among Asian countries, Taiwan came behind Japan in eighth, Singapore at 10th and South Korea in 13th. The United States, Britain and Sweden took the top three positions.  [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/07
By: Liu Shih-yi and Evelyn Kao 

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) A species of native free-range chicken bred at Mingde Minimum-Security Prison in Tainan was the best-selling jail-made food across Taiwan in 2018, according to the Agency of Corrections under the Ministry of Justice.

Sales reached NT$10.60 million (US$344,870) last year with more than 4,000 customers, many placing occasional orders, said an agency official.

Mingde Minimum-Security Prison is situated in a mountainous area with fresh air and good quality water, with 30,000 chickens housed in several coops each year.

The Taiwan black-feathered country chickens are medium in size, with a single comb and red earlobes. They are also more disease-resistant than other species, according to the prison.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/06
By: Pan Tzu-yu an Flor Wang

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Migrant workers likely remitted more than US$3 billion out of Taiwan in 2018, reflecting their growing numbers in the country, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

In the first 11 months of 2018, migrant workers remitted US$2.8 billion out of Taiwan, compared with US$3 billion for the whole of 2017, said Ho Pei-chen (賀培真), deputy head of the central bank’s Foreign Exchange Department.

That amounted to remittances of more than US$300 per migrant worker on a monthly basis, which accounts for as much as half of their income, she said, based on statistics compiled by the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

The MOL estimates that foreign caregivers in Taiwan earn an average of US$647 per month and industrial workers average US$902 per month, Ho said.    [FULL  STORY]

Seven representatives answered media questions about strikes Monday afternoon

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/04
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China Airlines president Hsieh Shih-chien (謝世謙) led a press conference of seven company representatives Monday afternoon regarding disagreements over working conditions with the Pilot’s Union.

Taoyuan International Airport’s Pilot’s Union announced a potential Lunar New Year strike earlier this month. China Airlines said the company cannot know if it will go ahead or not.

Hsieh said if a strike does happen, China Airlines cannot guarantee it will definitely transport passengers to their destinations on time, but will undertake appropriate measures and make its best effort to see all reach their destinations.

Hsieh also mentioned that the union launched 21 labor disputes last year, five of which have been resolved. The other issues were left to be dealt with in further talks.
[FULL  STORY]

Despite mixed messaging and incorrect reports, Foxconn expresses confidence in the Mount Pleasant project with a revised 18 month timetable

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/02
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following several concerning reports about the state of Foxconn’s business abroad, and some rumors that the company was considering abandoning their multi-billion dollar panel production project in Wisconsin, the company has re-confirmed that despite some shift in focus, the Mount Pleasant panel factory remains on track.

The statement from Foxconn followed a reported phone conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and CEO Terry Gou. Trump released a tweet reading “Great News on Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou,” with a link to a CNBC article on the company doing “damage control” in Wisconsin.

Despite failing to meet hiring expectations for 2018, and failing qualify for tax incentives, Foxconn in mid-January said that they were confident in their hiring prospects and the pace of development for the US$10 billion Wisconsin factory.

That was before a Reuters report emerged days later saying the company was “refocusing” some aspects of its Wisconsin project.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/02
By: Chiu Po-shen and Ko Lin

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) More than 96 percent of full-time workers in Taiwan are hoping to find short-term jobs during the nine-day Lunar New Year break, according a recent survey.

Online job bank yes123 said that since it started conducting the annual poll in 2009, it is the first time that such a high percentage of employees have indicated they are interested in temporary jobs during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The poll showed that 96.1 percent of people who are currently employed in full-time jobs are seeking opportunities for short-term work over the nine-day break, which started Feb. 2.

On the question on why they are looking for temporary jobs, 50.9 percent said they are worried about not having enough money to spend during the holiday break, while 47.7 percent noted that the pay is generally higher during that period.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
01 February, 2019
By: Andrew Ryan

Radio Taiwan International’s English Service Has an Opening For a Contract-based News and Social Media Editor

Responsibilities include:

writing, copy-editing, broadcasting, and maintaining web page and social media presence

Applicants must:

— have graduated from university

— have a good speaking voice

— be fluent in spoken and written English

— have knowledge of Taiwan news

— have experience editing news and managing social media presence

Proficiency in Mandarin Chinese and video editing experience are a plus.  [FULL STORY]