Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-08

Taiwan’s government is calling on Taiwanese people who have the new China residency

card to report it to the government. The head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Minister Chen Ming-tong, made that call in the legislature on Monday.

The Mainland Affairs Council is the top Taiwan government body charting relations with China.

China has recently offered new residency cards for Taiwanese who have lived in China for over six months. The card makes life more convenient, but could lead to increased taxes, surveillance and other issues. The Taiwan government is wary of China’s political intentions with the card.    [FULL  STORY]

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/08
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) has said he believes Taiwan and Japan need to conduct more security information exchanges as they both face similar military threats.

According to Wu, the growing number of Chinese military drills in the region means that Beijing is now regularly sending military aircraft or warships through the Miyako Strait to threaten Taiwan and through the Bashi Channel to threaten Japan.

Wu said such threats suggest there should be more exchanges of information between Taiwan and Japan.

The statement comes after members of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party began promoting a Japanese version of the Taiwan Relations Act.    [FULL  STORY]

 

Hundreds of people turned up Saturday, Oct. 6 for march in Taipei  

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/07
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Over the past two years, hundreds of people in Taiwan have mobilized to promote animal welfare, and to protest the consumption of animals along with the use of animal-based products.

The concept of animal rights has gained ground within the consciousness of Western society over the past 10 years. In 2011, American non-profit organization “Our Planet. Their’s Too.” established the National Animal Rights Day, which is now observed in multiple countries all over the world.

The idea is still fairly new to Taiwan, however it appears to be gaining traction, with more and more people coming out each year in active protest against the maltreatment and slaughter of farm animals.

Yesterday, the 2018 Animal Rights March took place around Ximen Ding; a culmination of the efforts of several local NGOs including Taiwan’s premier animal rights organization, Vegan30. Attendees were a mixture of both locals and foreigners, dressed up in animal regalia and sporting vegan flags.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/08
By: Wu Rui-chi and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) American writer and investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann offered a

quote by English novelist George Orwell before leaving Taiwan on Monday to summarize his controversial week-long visit here.

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear,” Gutmann said while answering reporters’ questions before boarding a flight at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

He further said he would take responsibility for his book and his remarks, referring to the dispute he caused by calling Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) “a liar” at a press conference in Taipei on Oct. 2.

The author of the 2014 book “The Slaughter” accused Ko, a surgeon at National Taiwan University Hospital before being elected Taipei mayor in 2014, of acting as an intermediary for rich Taiwanese seeking to receive organ transplants in China.
[FULL  STORY]

ENVIRONMENTAL CLASH: Chan Shun-kuei tried to resign last year because he disliked William Lai’s actions as Tainan mayor, but this time it was due to the lack of policy talks

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 09, 2018
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Deputy Minister Chan Shun-kuei (詹順貴)

resigned yesterday, saying he refused to cave in to pressure from Premier William Lai (賴清德) to sway the agency’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) system.

Chan was a noted environmental attorney prior to being asked to join the Cabinet by then-premier Lin Chuan (林全) after President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration took office in May 2016 .

Chan first tendered his resignation after Lin stepped down and was replaced by Lai in September last year, citing what he said was Lai’s frequent defiance of democratic principles during his time as Tainan mayor, but was persuaded by Tsai to stay.

Amending the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) and the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) were the primary reasons he agreed to join the Cabinet, Chan wrote on Facebook yesterday morning.    [FULL  STORY]

Falun Gong’s campaign against the Democratic Socialists of America shows the potential for right-wing forces to co-opt anti-CCP sentiment in Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/07
By: Brian Hioe, 破土 New Bloom

It may seem ironic to note that the Epoch Times, the multilingual newspaper run in over 30 countries by the Falun Gong (Falun Dafa), has been put on edge by the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). However, perhaps an instructive parable lies in there, somewhere.

Originally founded in 1982, the DSA has been for decades one of America’s largest socialist organizations, though many on the left did not view the DSA as particularly radical. But the DSA has seen a new wave of momentum with the influx of tens of thousands of new members after the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders pushed socialism into America’s mainstream. There have been attempts to push the DSA further leftwards, and various attempts by left sectarian groups to co-opt the group from within.

On the other hand, the Epoch Times is run by the Falun Gong, the Chinese religious organization persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for decades. The Falun Gong emerged in the 1990s following a boom in spiritual practices in China after economic liberalization under the watch of former leader Deng Xiaopin. However, the group eventually came to be seen as a threat by the CCP. It is frequently alleged that the CCP engages in live organ harvesting from members of the Falun Gong and sells these organs internationally.    [FULL  STORY]

 

Earthquakes in Manila Trench could cause tsunami of up to 5 meters in height, experts warn

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/07
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — According to reports, Taiwan could be hit by a huge tsunami within the next 100 years, due to the Manila Trench entering a new earthquake cycle.

Southeast Asia has already been hit by a series of devastating tsunamis this year, including the recent disaster in Indonesia which has caused over 1600 deaths.

Taiwan is not usually as affected by tsunamis as it is earthquakes and typhoons, but experts warn citizens not to lower their guards, as the new earthquake cycle of the Manila Trench has arrived with the potential for shocks of up to 8.0 magnitude.

Although earthquakes are frequent in Taiwan, there have been no recent large-scale tsunamis. The Central Weather Bureau does, however, hold an updated forecast and warning system in case one occurs.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/07
By: Jay Chou and Shih Hsiu-chuan 

Palu, Indonesia, Oct. 7 (CNA) Medical resources and relief supplies mobilized by Taiwan’s government and charity groups have been made available to disaster-hit Palu on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi to help the area recover from a devastating earthquake and tsunami on Sept. 28.

Taiwan is among the 25 countries and four international organizations providing help to survivors of the natural disasters, according to Indonesian deputy foreign minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir.

The Indonesian office of Taiwan-based Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation has set up a shelter for survivors at Vihara Karuna Dipa, a local temple, and provided urgently needed items such as water, food, medical care and other emergency supplies.

Immediately after the disasters hit, Tzu Chi began to coordinate the delivery of relief supplies from all of its branches in Indonesia to Palu, Subektti, an executive member of the foundation, told CNA.    [FULL  STORY]

ILL-GOTTEN PARTY PROPERTY ACT: The Council of Grand Justices said that the right to request an interpretation lies with the Judicial Yuan, not the Control Yuan

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 08, 2018
By: Wu Cheng-feng and Chung Li-hua  /  Staff reporters

The Council of Grand Justices on Friday dismissed a request by the Control Yuan for a

constitutional interpretation of the legality of the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例).

The council said it was not within the remit of the Control Yuan to request a constitutional interpretation.

The Control Yuan in 2016 received a petition asking it to investigate the legality of the act — through which the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee was created — and it found that the act and the committee were unconstitutional, with the latter contravening the Basic Code Governing Central Administrative Agencies Organizations (中央行政機關組織基準法).

The Control Yuan last year filed the request for a constitutional interpretation.
[FULL  STORY]

English language test website joins airlines, hotels, global brands and governments to accept the self-ruled island as part of China

South China Morning Post 
Date: 06 October, 2018
By: Mimi Lau

Taiwan has criticised China for “barbaric intervention” after another international English proficiency test modified its website to fall into line with Beijing’s claims over the self-ruled island.

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) changed its reference to Taiwan on a drop down menu to “Taiwan, China” on Friday, according to Taiwan’s United Daily News.

A Taiwan foreign affairs ministry spokesman expressed “strong discontent and condemnation” against the “barbaric intervention” of mainland Chinese authorities over civilian business activities and operation.

Two months ago the Test of English as a Foreign Language website changed the island’s reference to “Taiwan, China” triggering a protest by Taiwanese students.
[FULL  STORY]