NO ACTION: The US aims to safeguard cross-strait stability, and an independence referendum would be a unilateral action aimed at altering the ‘status quo,’ the AIT said

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 14, 2019
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday said it does not support a referendum

on Taiwanese independence, after a former AIT chairman penned an open letter advising against the proposed plebiscite by pro-independence group Formosa Alliance.

“The US has a deep and abiding interest in cross-strait peace and stability. Taiwan is a reliable partner, and we appreciate Taiwan’s efforts to maintain peace and stability,” AIT spokeswoman Amanda Mansour said in a statement.

Mansour reiterated that the US has long been opposed to unilateral actions aimed at altering the “status quo.”

“It has been our long-standing policy that we do not support a referendum on Taiwan independence,” she said, but cited a speech by US Vice President Mike Pence in October last year in which he said that the US would always believe that Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all Chinese.    [FULL  STORY]

Rumors of the demise of ‘Taiwaneseness’ may be greatly exaggerated.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/12
By: T.Y. Wang, Asia Dialogue

The results of Taiwan’s 2018 local elections shocked the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and came as a surprise to some. In a total of 22 mayoral races, the DPP only held on to six seats, down from 13, while the opposing Kuomintang (KMT) won 15 seats, an increase of nine compared to four years ago. The DPP even lost to the KMT in the mayoral race in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, where the DPP had been in control of city hall for 20 years.

Also unexpected was the voters’ rejection of Referendum 13, which proposed that Taiwan participate in international sporting events under the name of ‘Taiwan’ in place of the former (though obscure) ‘Chinese Taipei’. These results have led some commentators to speculate that national identity and the demand for greater autonomy from China might be declining in Taiwan. However, as has been demonstrated elsewhere, such a conclusion underestimates the general trend towards ‘Taiwaneseness’ on the island.

Data source: Trends of Core Political Attitudes. Election Study Center, National Chengchi University.
Figure 1 presents the widely familiar survey data collected by the Election Study Centre (ESC) of the National Chengchi University in Taiwan. It shows that an increasing number of island residents have identified themselves as Taiwanese during the past two-and-a-half decades, with the proportion increasing from 22 percent in 1994 to about 60 percent in 2018. During the same period, the proportion of Chinese self-identifiers declined substantially from 30 percent to less than four percent. The proportion of those identifying with a dual identity, i.e. seeing themselves as both Chinese and Taiwanese, also witnessed a significant decline from 50 percent to less than 40 percent.

Consequently, very few Taiwanese citizens today subscribe to a Chinese identity alone, while more than 90 percent of them now consider at least part of their identity as being Taiwanese. The decline in Chinese identity has been accompanied by a growing view that Taiwan is an independent country separate from China, as Figure 2 shows. Close to 70 percent of the island’s citizens currently consider Taiwan and China as two separate states, and only 20 percent of them view the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as being part of the same country. Thus, a Taiwan-centered identity has become dominant among the island’s citizens.    [FULL  STORY]

CAL canceled 21 flights scheduled for Wednesday, affecting more than 3,000 passengers

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/12
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Following two rounds of failed talks to try and resolve a strike which has been going on for five days, China Airlines (CAL) and the Taoyuan Union of Pilots (TUP) agreed to launch a third attempt at 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Since the strike began last Friday at 6 a.m. amid demands over pilot fatigue, thousands of passengers have seen their flights canceled at a crucial time when the Lunar New Year holiday was ending. Earlier rounds of negotiations Saturday afternoon and Monday evening ended in stalemate, with the two sides accusing each other of inflexibility.

The union announced Tuesday that in order to show how pilots were really overworked and tired, they were demanding the new talks start at 1 a.m. Wednesday and would last a full eight hours, the Central News Agency reported.

Both CAL management and the Ministry of Transportation, which oversees the discussions, agreed to the timing and to a demand to allow the media to attend the full meeting. The two opposing sides earlier accused each other of being insincere and of going back on promises during the talks.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/12
By Wu Hsin-yun, Chen Wei-ting, Ku Chun, Chiu Chun-chin and Elizabeth 
Hsu 

Taipei, Feb. 12 (CNA) After the collapse of the latest round of talks between the Pilots Union Taoyuan and China Airline (CAL) after union members went on strike last week, union officials agreed to return to the negotiating table, but asked that the talks begin at 1 a.m. Wednesday.

The request was agreed to by CAL and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), which is mediating the dispute, the ministry said, adding that the planned talks will be open to the media.

The union asked for talks to resume at 1 a.m. in a statement, titled “Negotiations on Fatigue Flights in Fatigue Hours,” as a protest over what it characterized as CAL’s dismissive attitude over union claims about pilot fatigue.

This will be the third round of talks between the union and CAL, one of Taiwan’s largest carriers, since Feb. 7, when failure to reach agreement on union demands, including pilot “overwork,” broke down, leading CAL pilots to take industrial action at 6 a.m. the following day.    [FULL  STORY]

THE NAME THING: An Air New Zealand airplane en route to Shanghai turned around mid-flight ‘on its own’ because its paperwork referred to Taiwan, a Chinese official said

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 13, 2019
By: Bloomberg

An Air New Zealand flight on its way to Shanghai was forced to return to Auckland after

several hours in the air on Saturday because paperwork for the flight included a reference to Taiwan, news Web site Stuff reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The problem related to documentation from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority that was included as part of Air New Zealand’s application to allow the aircraft to land in China, the report said.

Beijing officials had warned the airline to remove any references that suggested Taiwan was a country, but the issue was not resolved, the report said.

In an e-mailed statement, the carrier said that a Boeing Co 787-9 Dreamliner that entered its fleet late last year and was not yet certified to fly to China was “unfortunately assigned” for the Shanghai flight.

Tax cuts are always popular with voters, but do they really help Taiwan’s low-income residents?

The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/11
By: 2019/02/11

The anti-automobile Paris Mayor Anna Hidalgo recently introduced public transportation discounts for teenagers, part of her plans to have a completely free metro service. During an interview with the center-left newspaper La Libération, she said that her plans to build a better Paris started with making the Paris Metro free for children between four to 11 years old and will follow that up in 2020 with free metro travel for all people with disabilities under the age of 20.

The free public transport policy has been questioned by opposition politicians as they believe that a free subway service will not only create overcrowding, but would also increase the financial burden of the city – and would therefore not fully fit in with Hidalgo’s dream of “exiling cars out of Paris.” Her detractors also think that the best policy would be to instead improve the sorry state of the old and deteriorating Paris Metro with basic infrastructure upgrades and the introduction of new train cars.

At this point in time, Hidalgo has reaffirmed her free subway policy, undoubtedly with an eye on the Paris mayoral elections in 2020, as she hopes to rally support from left wing and younger voters to help her bid of being be re-elected as the mayor of the capital.

Credit: Reuters / TPGParis Mayor Anna Hidalgo.
Does this sound like a familiar story? Let’s return our focus to Taiwan. After the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s failure in the November 2018 9-in-1 elections, they immediately announced the latest edition of tax cuts, which mean that in May this year, when taxes have to be filed, certain demographics will be exempt from income tax. They are: single people with monthly salaries of less than NT$30,000 (US$972), families with total annual incomes of less than NT$816,000 (US$26,445) and families with two children under the age of five and earning less than NT$1.232 million (US$39,925)
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan must recognize the economic dangers posed by communist China, in addition to the military threat

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/11
By: Pingtung Ark 屏東方舟, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Some have said that Chinese telecom companies may put private data at risk, not only Huawei, but any Chinese smartphone manufacturer. This is why Taiwan and other nations have moved to block the use of products manufactured by Huawei, ZTE, Jin Hua, and other companies.

Any telecom product that features cloud service functions is capable of being used as a means of surveillance. Consumers should recognize that these capabilities are present and necessary on all telecom devices. Efficient design and service make such monitoring capabilities a necessary evil.

Therefore, the decision to block the use of such telecom products is not based on the monitoring capabilities of the devices alone. In fact, a decision to ban products from the likes of Huawei, ZTE, or other companies is broadly based on two other considerations. Namely, whether a company can be considered trustworthy or responsible, and whether or not there is an appropriate regulatory apparatus to monitor the conduct of that company.

Many nations throughout the world still suffer under totalitarian and autocratic regimes, which refuse others any opportunity for political power in society, keeping government in the hands of an elite coterie. In such societies dominated by oligarchy, the drive for economic gain and a tendency towards corruption are all but guaranteed, since there is no political interference in state affairs.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/11
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) Taiwan on Monday urged all parties involved to halt any action that could escalate regional tensions in the disputed South China Sea amid ongoing construction by the Philippines on an island it occupies in the disputed region.

“Taiwan reiterates its sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and urges all parties to refrain from action that could escalate tensions in the region,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said when asked to comment on Manila’s work on Thitu Island.

It is “indisputable” that the Republic of China (Taiwan) enjoys rights to these islands and their surrounding waters based on international and maritime law, Lee said.

The ROC government has protested the recent unilateral moves taken by all parties involved that heighten tensions in the region, and has urged the parties concerned to halt these actions immediately, Lee said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 11, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

About 200 China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) employees yesterday said that they

opposed the strike launched by the Taoyuan Union of Pilots, at a protest outside the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei.

Protesters also questioned the role of union chairwoman Lee Hsin-yen (李信燕), who is an EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) pilot, saying that she should withdraw from negotiations with airline management, as it involves confidential information.

“I was elected through legal procedures to be the chairwoman of the union, which represents CAL and EVA pilots,” Lee said.

“I am simply fulfilling my responsibility as the chairwoman, which is to represent its members,” she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: February 10, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier

A paragliding coach died, and a passenger was injured, after snagging power lines and falling around 20 meters to the ground in Wanrong Township, Hualien County this morning, February 10.

Shortly after 8:00am, 57-year-old paragliding operator Wang Tian-ming (王田明) launched a tandem flight with a 25-year-old male Chinese tourist named Tao (陶) in what are described in media reports as windy and foggy conditions.

Shortly before 8:30am, the paraglider canopy snagged high-voltage power lines around 30 meters above a betel nut plantation, and Wang and Tao were left suspended at a height of around 20 meters. According to statements by Tao, Wang cut the suspension lines, sending the pair plummeting to the ground.

When firefighters located the pair in the betel nut plantation, Wang had lost vital signs, and Tao was suffering back pain and had difficulty moving his limbs.    [FULL  STORY]