Taiwan English News
Date: January 14, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier

A vigilante mob gathered outside a gated community in Luzhou District, New Taipei City, and a small group managed to infiltrate the building to beat up a man after a video of a domestic violence incident was shared on social media, yesterday, January 13.

On the evening of January 12, a 42-year-old man named Lin sent his 12-year-old son out to buy some spicy meatballs. However, the son returned with un-spiced meatballs. Lin flew into a rage, demanding to know why his meatballs were not spicy. Lin smacked his son around the head several times, and grabbed his wife in a headlock when she attempted to intervene.

Lin’s wife, named Lee, filmed the incident on her phone to use as evidence for divorce proceedings as Lee had grown weary of Lin’s drinking and violence.

Lin accused his son of lying when he said that he ordered spicy meatballs but the vendor didn’t add spice.

Domestic Violence Hotline 113
After the incident, Lee called the domestic violence hotline, “113.” Lee and her son were sent to hospital for treatment and examination. The 12-year-old boy had bruises to his head and hands and facial bleeding. Lee had bruises to her head and shoulders.

Lin was handed a protection order, and Lee and her son taken into temporary housing by social workers.    [FULL  STORY]

A daily breakdown of Taiwan’s top stories and why they matter.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/01/16
By: TNL Daily News

Tsai vows to cope with changing circumstances

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Tuesday that her administration would adapt to changing circumstances to protect the sovereignty and security of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and safeguard Taiwan’s democracy and freedom.

Tsai made her remarks while inspecting and observing a military exercise of the Army Defense Command in Hualien and Taitung.

She reiterated that Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in his Jan. 2 speech on Taiwan, reiterated Beijing’s willingness to unify Taiwan and China by force if necessary.

Tsai has enjoyed a surge in popularity since responding to Xi’s speech by unequivocally rejecting Xi’s proposal of a “one country, two systems” framework for Taiwan, although it remains to be seen whether the goodwill towards her cross-Strait stance will extend to her and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the upcoming 2020 presidential and legislative elections.    [FULL  STORY]

Nude Vietnamese tourist working as prostitute caught hiding in wardrobe in Tainan, Taiwan, 8 other Vietnamese nationals arrested

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/15
By: Keoni Everington,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Vietnamese woman, who came to Taiwan as a tourist but has been working in the sex trade, was caught hiding while nude in a brothel wardrobe raided by police in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City last week, reported Apple Daily.

As part of a raid on three brothels in Tainan City last week, a Vietnamese woman working as a prostitute was caught off guard and tried to hide nude in a wardrobe before she had a chance to wear clothing. She was one of nine Vietnamese woman arrested at three locations that day for engaging in prostitution while visiting Taiwan on a tourist visa.

A 45-year-old Vietnamese woman surnamed Nguyen (阮), who married a Taiwanese man and has lived in Taiwan for 20 years, has opened three “erotic health centers” in Tainnan and has taken advantage of the New Southbound Policy to recruit women from Vietnam, offering them “one month of pay for a day’s work.” Nguyen has allegedly been posting photos of the young women on social media to drum up business, eventually drawing the attention from authorities.

National Immigration Agency received a tipoff and sent a report to the Tainan District Prosecutor’s Office to direct an investigation. On Jan. 8, the Tainan Investigation Bureau, together with Tainan’s Shanhua and Yongkang Precinct police carried out a raid on the three erotic massage parlors.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/15
By: Huang Huei-min and William Yen

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) A Taiwan-held island off the coast of China that was a major battleground during the Cold War will be opened to the public as a tourist destination, starting March 1, the Kinmen County Tourism Department said Tuesday.

However, visitors will have to apply ahead of time to visit Dadan Island, which is part of Kinmen County, the department said, adding that it will begin accepting applications on Feb. 12.

In addition, Chinese nationals, including those living in Hong Kong and Macau, will not be permitted to visit the island, the department said.

The number of visitors will be limited to 150 per day and admission tickets will cost NT$1,500 (US$48.67), which will include the return ferry trip, electric shuttle bus rides and group tour guide services, while residents of Kinmen will get a discounted price of NT$750, the department said.    [FULL  STORY]

ILLEGAL WORK? Kuan Chung-ming continued to submit opinion pieces to Next Magazine for pay while serving in the Cabinet, a Control Yuan member said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 16, 2019
By: Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff writer, with CNA

The Control Yuan yesterday voted seven to four to impeach National Taiwan University

(NTU) president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) for allegedly breaching the Civil Servant Work Act (公務員服務法) by writing opinion pieces for the Chinese-language Next Magazine (壹週刊) while serving as minister without portfolio.

Control Yuan members Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟), Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), Fang Wan-fu (方萬富), Lin Sheng-fong (林盛豐), Walis Perin, Peter Chang (張武修) and Yang Fang-wan (楊芳婉) voted for the impeachment, while members Wang Mei-yu (王美玉), Liu Te-hsun (劉德勳), Chang Jen-hsiang (章仁香) and Chiang Ming-tsang (江明蒼) voted against it.

An investigation into Kuan’s allegedly illegal work was launched by Control Yuan members Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) and Tsai Chung-yi (蔡崇義) in April last year.

The case is to be forwarded to the Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission.
[FULL  STORY]

A daily breakdown of Taiwan’s top stories and why they matter.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/01/15
By: TNL Daily News

EU group backs Taiwan, slams Xi
The European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group called the “one country, two systems” formula proposed for Taiwan by Chinese President Xi Jinping a failure yesterday in a letter authored to Federica Mogherini, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security.

The letter expressed grave concern over Xi’s Jan. 2 speech calling for unification with Taiwan, saying it posed a danger to regional peace, according to the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium.

The letter was signed by group chairman Werner Langen, vice chairman Andrey Kovatchev and former vice chairs Hans van Baalen and Laima Andrikiene. All are current EU parliamentarians except for Andrikiene, who is a former member of the European parliament.

It comes amid a wave of international support for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)’s rebuke of Xi’s “one country, two systems” offer and her refusal to recognize the so-called “1992 Consensus.”    [FULL  STORY]

Riot breaks out in Jiangsu, China after 145 children sickened from expired polio vaccines, Taiwan offers to help on Twitter

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/14
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A riot broke out in eastern China on Friday (Jan. 11) after news broke that at least 145 children had been sickened by expired vaccines, and in response, the Taiwan’s government posted a Tweet on Sunday (Jan. 13) offering help.

Hundreds of angry parents massed in front at the Licheng Health Center in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province on Friday after news broke that 145 children ranging in age from three months to four years had become ill after being given expired polio vaccines. In response, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs two days later retweeted a Breitbart news report on the riot and offered help to the communist country.

According to local Chinese media reports, in the latest scandal, over 21,000 children under the age of 14 might have received expired vaccines over the past 10 years, reported Asianews. Despite claims by authorities that such expired vaccines were harmless, at least 145 children have reported symptoms including fever, skin rashes, colds, and vomiting for months, according to the report.

Far-right syndicated news website, Breitbart also posted an article about the riot in front of the health center. The report included an embedded video which described a Chinese official being surrounded by the enraged parents, who can be heard chanting, “Beat him! Beat him!”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/14
By: Wang Cheng-chung, Matt Yu, Ku Chuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and his Cabinet members were sworn into office Monday at a ceremony hosted by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office.

Su later went back to the Executive Yuan and received the seal of office from his predecessor Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who led his Cabinet in resigning en masse Jan. 11 to take responsibility for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s electoral defeat last November.

After that, Su presided over the changeover ceremony for the new Cabinet members in his capacity as premier.

At the seal handover ceremony, Su said he understood the heavy responsibilities associated with the position of premier and he thanked Lai for his contributions to the country, the policies he made and what he did for the people.    [FULL  STORY]

EXAMPLE PROVIDED: The European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group said that Hong Kong has shown ‘one country, two systems’ to be a failure

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 15, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group yesterday warned against the

implications of mounting cross-strait tensions for regional peace, calling China’s “one country, two systems” formula a failed model in a letter to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

The letter, signed by group chairman Werner Langen, vice chairman Andrey Kovatchev and former vice chairs Hans van Baalen and Laima Andrikiene, expressed concern over Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) call on Jan. 2 for cross-strait unification, the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium said yesterday.

In a speech in Beijing marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan,” Xi said: “The history of the development of cross-strait relations has proven that no individual or force can change the historical and de jure sense of facts that Taiwan is a part of China and that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same China.”    [FULL  STORY]

He said non-peaceful means would only target external forces that resist, and the “extremely few pro-Taiwan independence separatists” and their movements.

After 40 years of peace efforts since Beijing’s ‘Message to compatriots in Taiwan’, president’s forceful words show threat of conflict has only grown

South China Moring Post
Date: 13 Jan 2019
By: Cary Huang

From war towards peace and peace towards war. This is how relations across the Taiwan Strait have evolved over the past 40 years. Efforts to seek peace have instead culminated in a greater threat of war.

Beijing’s “Message to compatriots in Taiwan” on January 1, 1979 is seen by many as having ushered in a new era after decades of hostility. The policy statement not only declared an end to Beijing’s routine artillery bombardment of Taipei-controlled islands, it marked a shift in its basic approach to Taiwan – from one of “liberation” (which implies the use of force) to one of “peaceful unification”.

However, a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping on January 2 to mark the 40th anniversary of that message has been widely interpreted as opening the door to an eventual war.

Editorials across the world ran with headlines such as “Will China go to war over Taiwan?” and “Is Taiwan’s military really ready to take on China?”.    [FULL  STORY]