Taipei Times
Date: Oct 19, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The Interpol on Wednesday said it does not support Taiwan’s efforts to participate in its

activities.

In an e-mail to the Central News Agency, Interpol said it considers China to be the sole Chinese representative to the organization.

The group did not directly respond to a question on its stance on Taiwan’s efforts to participate as an observer at Interpol’s general assembly, which starts on Nov. 16 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“In 1984, the Interpol General Assembly decided that the government of the People’s Republic of China will be the sole representative to Interpol,” the Lyon-headquartered organization said in the e-mail.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-17

Taiwan has been ranked the world’s 13th most competitive economy in the World

Economic Forum’s 2018 economic competitiveness report.

The report surveyed the strengths and weaknesses of 140 economies around the world. Taiwan ranked fourth among Asia-Pacific economies, after Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Premier William Lai hailed Taiwan’s performance in the report. He noted that Taiwan ranked among the top ten economies in 18 of the 98 criteria used to evaluate competitiveness.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan may be speeding towards an avoidable conflict between a judicial ruling and the popular vote.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/17
By: Brian Hioe, 破土 New Bloom

Efforts to realize marriage equality in Taiwan may be heading into a minefield.

Two referendums on marriage equality and sexual education, backed by marriage equality supporters, have reached the necessary benchmarks and are slated to appear on November’s ballots. They will appear alongside competing referendums backed by groups opposing marriage equality and containing phrasing unfavorable to gay marriage.

It remains to be seen how the Central Election Commission (CEC) will handle the apparent contradiction of two referendums on the same issue with different wording. It would, after all, be illogical for all to appear on the ballot.    [FULL  STORY]

Beijing scholar says Trump expressed his support for Taiwan immediately after he won the presidential election and that Trump’s subsequent action spoke for itself

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/17
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—A Chinese scholar said during a media interview that there will be no possibility of war across the Taiwan Strait, not only because U.S. President Donald Trump supports peaceful Taiwan independence, but also because China has changed its Taiwan policy from unification by armed forces to “peaceful unification,” reported UDN on Wednesday.

In a recent interview with Global Times, a newspaper published by Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily, Yan Xuetong (閻學通), the Dean of the Institute of International Relations, Tsinghua University, analyzed a speech given by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at an American think tank in early October.

During the speech, Pence criticized China and spoke favorably about Taiwan several times.

Global Times asked Yan whether Pence’s stance reflected a significant change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan and China compared to past administrations and whether the chance of a war between China and Taiwan has increased.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/17
By: Chiang Chin-yeh and Joseph Yeh 

Washington, Oct. 16 (CNA) The United States supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, Interpol included, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said Tuesday.

The spokesperson made the statement after Taiwan confirmed Tuesday it is asking friendly countries to speak up at an upcoming Interpol executive committee meeting to support Taiwan’s participation at Interpol’s General Assembly next month in Dubai.

The spokesperson said Washington supports Taiwan’s participation in international organizations whether or not they require statehood.

“In organizations that require statehood for membership, the United States supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation. This includes ICAO, Interpol, WHO, and the more than 60 international organizations in which Taiwan participates,” the spokesperson said.
[FULL  STORY]

DESTABILIZATION: A PTT post claiming Honduras would sever ties with Taiwan was traced to a disinformation mill apparently being sponsored by the Chinese government

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 18, 2018
By: Su Yung-yao and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Beijing has established a government agency charged with disseminating disinformation

in Taiwan for the purposes of influencing public morale and causing rifts within society, a source at a national security agency has said.

The confirmation came after President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) Double Ten National Day speech in which she described the need for alertness in the face of widespread disinformation.

China’s use of “fake” news has also been recognized by Japanese media, including the Sankei Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Asahi Shimbun.

The newspapers all described as fake news Chinese reports of buses dispatched by the Chinese consulate in Osaka to pick up passengers stranded at Kansai International Airport following Typhoon Jebi early last month.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-16

President Tsai Ing-wen says Taiwan will abide by its principles and values and show its

resilience. Tsai was speaking on Tuesday while meeting a delegation from the Center for American Progress, a US-based think tank.

Tsai said the United States is Taiwan’s most important partner in strategy and trade. She said the firm relations between the two sides form the foundation for stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. Tsai said Taiwan and the US have grown closer in the last two years. She noted that US lawmakers last month proposed the Taipei Act to help Taiwan keep its 17 remaining diplomatic allies.

Tsai thanked the lawmakers for their support.    [FULL  STORY]

Health professionals say Taiwan’s elderly care services deserve praise, but its caregivers remain woefully underpaid.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/16
By Matthew Fulco, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

In April this year, Taiwan passed the threshold to officially become an aged society, with more than 14 percent of the population older than 65. That trend is set to accelerate over the next decade. By 2026, 21 percent of the population will be senior citizens, making Taiwan a hyper-aged society.

While the government has tried to boost the fertility rate, those efforts have largely fallen flat. Taiwan’s birth rate of 1.13 is the third-lowest in the world, down from nearly 1.8 at the turn of the 21st century.

Given the growing number of elderly and the low replacement rate – which means fewer young people to help look after their aged family members – the government has felt the need to develop a robust long-term care plan. Currently Taiwan is in the second stage of an ambitious two-decade program. The first stage, from 2007 to 2016 – referred to as LTC (Long-Term Care) 1.0 – established state-subsidized care for the elderly and disabled, covering home nursing, meals, and transportation, as well as rehabilitation and respite care services.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan should look to international examples to boost tourism says Kao Ming-tu

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/16
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan should open an amusement park or consider lifting the ban on casinos to entice international tourism according to Kao Ming-tu (高洺塗), advisor to Taiwan’s travel agent association, reported the Liberty Times.

Taiwan should look to Singapore’s experience in boosting tourism through opening amusement parks in a bid to increase international tourism, and think about new forms of tourism to deal with Taiwan’s tourism deficit says Kao.

According to statistics from the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Taiwan’s tourism deficit totaled NT$374 billion (US$12.13 billion) in 2017, meaning Taiwanese spent significantly more money abroad, than international tourists spent in Taiwan.

Kao suggests that the rise of cheap flights throughout the region has enticed Taiwanese travelers to look abroad, and suggested Taiwanese people will spend NT$780 billion (US$25.3 billion) on international travel this year, reported the Liberty Times.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/16
By: Wu Jui-chi and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) Pope Francis has responded favorably to an invitation to visit

Taiwan, Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said Tuesday upon his return from a trip to the Holy See.

The main purpose of the trip was to attend the canonization ceremony for Pope Paul VI, El Salvador’s Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero and five others on Oct. 14.

During a meeting with Pope Francis before the ceremony, Chen extended an invitation on behalf of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for the pope to visit Taiwan next year during a scheduled trip to Japan.

The invitation received “a cordial and amicable response” from the pope, Chen told reporters upon his arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, without elaborating.
[FULL  STORY]