Taipei Times
Date: Apr 30, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A Chinese student in Taiwan who last month spoke out against Chinese President Xi

Jinping (習近平) yesterday applied with the National Immigration Agency for long-term residence, saying that he is seeking political asylum.

Li Jiabao (李家寶), 21, said that his visa would expire on July 2 and he does not know whether his application would be accepted, as Taiwan has no asylum or refugee laws or mechanisms in place.

He added that he hopes to stay and finish his studies.

“I am planning to stay in Taiwan for a long time, no matter how difficult life gets here,” he said.

He added that he “will definitely be subject to criminal charges of state subversion” if he returns to China.    [FULL  STORY]

Channel News Asia
Date: 28 Apr 2019

PUTRAJAYA: A Malaysian tourist who was injured in an earthquake that hit Taiwan earlier this month succumbed to his injuries late Saturday (Apr 27) night, the country’s foreign affairs minister Saifuddin Abdullah said in a statement on Sunday.

Choo Yip Chean was reportedly hiking the Lushui Trail at the Taroko Gorge National Park in Taiwan on Apr 18 when an earthquake of magnitude 6.1struck the coastal city of Hualien.

Choo was injured after he was hit by falling rocks following the earthquake, The Star previously reported.

He was in intensive care after the earthquake, the statement said.

While in hospital, he had regained consciousness although his condition remained critical, The Star added.    [FULL  STORY]

BBC News
April 28, 2019 

A steam locomotive is back in Wales following an 8,000-mile round trip to Taiwan.

Dougal, built in 1946 for a gasworks in Glasgow, has been resident on the Llanfair line in Powys since 1967.

It was sent as part of a link-up with operators of new heritage railway lines in the country.

Dougal was shown at festivals as part of an agreement for volunteers from the Llanfair line to pass on their knowledge.

The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway was opened in 1903 to link rural villages but closed in 1956.

In 1963, a group of enthusiasts took it over and it now runs as a tourist attraction.
[FULL  STORY]

The president expressed her thanks to the US for its support and promised Taiwan would contribute more to the international community

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/28
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with a congressional

delegation from the United States led by senators Chris Coons and Maggie Hassan on Sunday (April 28) at the Presidential Office.

Tsai told Coons and Hassan that a strong U.S.-Taiwan relationship is essential to regional peace and stability. She also thanked the U.S. government for strengthening military cooperation with arms sales to Taiwan.

Tsai pointed out that Taiwan is ready and willing to contribute more to the international community. She welcomed the two senators, who are first-time visitors to Taiwan.

She also thanked Coons and two other senators for introducing the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 bill. This bill supports Taiwan’s international participation and comprises a bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/28
By: Ku Chuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) A group of people who advocate Taiwan independence said Sunday

they will establish a new political party that will focus on Taiwan’s sovereignty as its main agenda and will field candidates in the 2020 legislative elections.

The party, named the Sovereign State of Formosa and Pescadores Party, will be chaired by Cheng Tzu-tsai (鄭自才), an architect and dissident who was part of a conspiracy in 1970 to assassinate Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), vice premier and later president of Taiwan.

Cheng said the dispute over Taiwan’s sovereignty status arose from the 1952 Treaty of San Francisco, in which Japan renounced territorial claims to Taiwan (Formosa) and its offshore Penghu islands (the Pescadores) after World War II, without specifying the country to which they had been surrendered.

It was clear that the Republic of China (ROC), which at the time was a representative of the Allied Powers, was not awarded sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu, but rather was allowed administrative rights, Cheng said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 29, 2019
By: Hsieh Chun-lin, Huang Hsin-po and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Legislative amendments that aim to counter China’s attempts to annex Taiwan and protect

the nation’s democracy “must be passed” in this legislative session, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday.

The amendments call for changes to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), the Criminal Code and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), as well as for cross-party meetings on measures to protect the nation’s democracy.

Aside from making stipulations regarding potential peace agreements with China, the amendments also call for stripping the pensions of retired military officers who engage in “inappropriate speech or behavior” while visiting China.

They also call for travel restrictions of up to six years for retirees privy to national secrets, redefining “foreign aggressors” in the Criminal Code to include Chinese, and amending the Classified National Security Information Protection Act to prohibit the leaking of business and development secrets to China, other foreign governments or terrorist organizations.    [FULL  STORY]

philstar Global
Date: April 28, 2019 
By: Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino workers continue to power Taiwan’s electronics and technology industry, a visiting expert from a Taiwan-based think tank said.

Kristy Hsu, director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung Hua Institution for Economic Research (CHIER), said Filipinos now outnumber other foreign workers in Taiwan’s technology companies, with many employed in the largest companies.

“We have 122,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan. If you look at the breakdown of sectors, you will find that Filipino workers have a unique presence in computer and electronics [technology]. More than 60 percent of foreign workers in electronic parts [assembly] are from the Philippines. Filipino workers make up a major workforce in [Taiwan’s] large companies,” she said during a recent public symposium jointly held by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), Philippine APEC Study Center Network and CHIER.

Despite the country’s huge contribution to Taiwan’s labor force, Taiwanese investments to the Philippines remains low compared with other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, Hsu said.    [FULL  STORY]

The American Institute in Taiwan penned a strongly worded letter opposing government plans to institute new rules which would affect Uber services in Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/04/27
By: Daphne K. Lee

The controversial “Uber Clause” has not only sparked multiple driver protests, including a rally outside the Presidential Palace on Sunday, but has also attracted heavy criticism from the American Institute of Taiwan (AIT), the country’s de facto United States representative office.

Calling for stricter regulations on the operations of ride-hailing companies in Taiwan, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) had proposed a draft amendment to Article 103-1 of the Automobile Transportation Management Regulations in February 2019.

The potential amendment requires Uber to charge its customers for a minimum of a one-hour rental regardless of distance. For every completed trip, the driver would have to return his or her vehicle to the rental shop before taking the next customer. Uber Taiwan says these measures would significantly increase fares and wait times, as well as air pollutant emissions.

Credit: Daphne K. LeeUber drivers parked on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard during a rally against Article 103-1 held on April 21, 2019.
In response to the “Uber Clause,” the AIT submitted a letter of comments warning against the proposed regulations that would make Taiwan “an unfriendly environment for innovators and a risky place for foreign companies to invest.”    [FULL  STORY]

Committee on Foreign Affairs of the French National Assembly praised Taiwan’s conduct amid rising regional tensions

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/27
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the French National Assembly recently published a 77 page report on the territory disputes and rising tensions in the South China Sea.

The report concludes that Taiwan’s increased engagement with multiple partners in the region will be crucial to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, and in formulating a multilateral approach to solving disputes in the South China Sea.

The report is signed by lawmakers representing two of France’s three major political parties, Jean-Luc Reitzer of the Republican Party, and Delphine O of the En Marche! Party.

The report by the Committee’s South China Sea strategy group is the result of a year’s worth of research and input received from countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea. Taiwan’s envoy in Paris, Wu Chih-chung (吳志中), was also interviewed as part of the report, according to CNA.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/27
By: Miu Tsung-han and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) Thirty-three Taiwanese visitors to Hong Kong, who had planned to participate in a rally against proposed amendments to the territory’s extradition laws, were denied entry on Friday, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Saturday.

The 33 Taiwanese were members of the Falun Gong religious organization, which is perceived as a threat by the Chinese government, but Hong Kong’s Immigration Department has declined to say whether they were barred from entry because they were Falun Gong practitioners.

According to a statement issued by MAC, the Taiwanese visitors were planning to join a protest rally on Sunday against proposed amendments to Hong Kong’s extradition law, which was being organized by the Civil Human Rights Front, a Hong Kong pro-democracy group.

The pro-democracy group planned the rally after the Legislative Council of Hong Kong held the first discussion on April 17 on the amendments to the law, which is known formally as the law on Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.    [FULL  STORY]