POLITICAL MOTIVATION? Rights advocates questioned whether the government was trying to drum up support before elections by showing that it was carrying out justice
By Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Convicted murderer Lee Hung-chi (李宏基), who killed his ex-wife and their six-year-old

daughter, was yesterday afternoon executed by shooting in Kaohsiung.

It was the first execution sanctioned by Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) — 46 days since he took office on July 16 — and the first under the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) since she assumed the presidency on May 20, 2016.

Officials said 39-year-old Lee was informed of the Ministry of Justice’s approval to carry out the order earlier in the day before he was taken to the execution ground at Kaohsiung Second Prison, where he was shot in the heart from behind at 3:37pm.

In addition to the executioner, the process was watched by prosecutors, a coroner, the prison warden and security guards, Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) said in Taipei.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-30

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that democracy is a key element to peace and prosperity

in the Indo-Pacific. He was speaking at a forum about the Indo-Pacific in Taipei.

The Indo-Pacific is the center of trade and power and the home of over 4 billion people. Wu said many economies are growing quickly here and their freedom and prosperity depend on the relations between the countries here. Wu said the security challenges Taiwan faces is a threat to security and freedom in the region. He called on countries to defend the right for countries to be treated with equality and respect.

Wu also said democracy is a key to the region’s stability and prosperity. He called on the strengthening of democratic institutions and said Taiwan would be glad to help other countries by sharing its democratic experience.
[FULL  STORY]

The deportation of Filipino city councilor Ricardo Parojinog, coupled with Taiwan’s backdoor agreement with Australia to treat refugees in Nauru detention camps, raise questions about Taiwan’s lack of any coherent refugee policy.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/30
By: Brian Hioe, 破土 New Bloom

Taiwan continues to prove an unfriendly place to refugees, with the deportation of Ricardo “Ardot” Parojinog back to the Philippines late last month. The News Lens reported on August 9 that Parojinog was suspected of drug trafficking in the Philippines and it is possible that he may be killed after he returns, given current Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign of state-sanctioned violence and extrajudicial executions against drug dealers and users. Nonetheless, political representatives of the Philippines have thanked Taiwan for deporting Parojinog.

In particular, it has long been alleged by human rights groups that Duterte’s bloody war against drugs is simply a means for Duterte to eliminate potential political opponents and that Duterte is executing potential political threats in the name of combating drug trafficking by all means possible. This could also be the case with Parojinog, a former city councilor, reputed to be the “last man standing” of powerful drug family. A number of other members of Parojinog’s family have been killed in Duterte’s drug war.

However, even if criminal wrongdoing by Parojinog is true, it would still be a large human rights violation to knowingly send a man back to his possible extrajudicial execution. As prison executions have taken place before in the Philippines, this could still occur with Parojinog. Unfortunately, despite protests by some human rights NGOs and despite the fact that the horrors of Duterte’s anti-drug war are well known in Taiwan, Parojinog’s plight failed to become popularly discussed, and there has not been any substantive reaction after he was deported.    [FULL  STORY]

Su Chia-chyuan and Stanley Kao to represent Taiwan at US Senator John McCain’s memorial service

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/08/30
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The President of the Legislative Yuan, Su Chia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) will

attend the memorial service of recently deceased U.S. Senator, John McCain, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA, 外交部) said in a statement on Aug. 30.

MOFA said that Su was invited to attend the event, and will travel to the U.S. on Aug. 30.

McCain died on Aug. 25 after a battle with brain cancer, he was 81 years old. McCain was a U.S. Navy Captain, Congressman, Senator and Republican candidate for the 2008 presidential election.

Su will be accompanied by U.S. Representative to the U.S., Stanley Kao (高碩泰) to represent Taiwan and participate in the memorial service held at U.S. Capitol Hill and Washington National Cathedral.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/30
By: Lee Hsin-Yin 

Taipei, Aug. 30 (CNA) Pilots with Taiwan’s two major airlines on Thursday withdrew their plan to strike after the carriers, China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways, agreed to meet the pilots’ most critical demands over a one-year period.

After its fourth round of negotiations with the two airlines, the Pilots Union Taoyuan said the option of a strike had been withdrawn, pending implementation over the next year of the agreements reached by the two sides.

The two carriers have agreed to address the main issues such as pilots’ pay, rest hours and contract terms, the union said, adding that once the airlines stick to their word and work productively toward the September 2019 deadline, there will be no risk of a pilot strike during the one-year period.

In the negotiations with CAL, it was agreed that data collected via the Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) system would be used mainly for educational purposes rather than to determine pilot infractions, the union said.    [FULL  STORY]

DIVERSIFICATION: Steel and aluminum manufacturers have heeded the government’s call to seek other markets by expanding shipments to Europe and Southeast Asia

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 31, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA and Reuters, WASHINGTON

Taiwan has failed to obtain an exclusion from a list of nations whose exports of steel and

aluminum to the US are to be targeted by tariffs.

US President Donald Trump has signed proclamations allowing relief from quotas on steel from South Korea, Brazil and Argentina, as well as on aluminum from Argentina, the US Department of Commerce said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Companies can apply for product exclusions based on insufficient quantity or quality available from US steel or aluminum producers,” the statement said. “In such cases, an exclusion from the quota may be granted and no tariff will be owed.”

Citing national security concerns, Trump in March signed an order under Section 232 of the US’ Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-29

Premier William Lai has set out an agenda for cleaning up areas of southern Taiwan that

have suffered flooding in the past week. The agenda includes clearing water from a flooded town and taking steps to prevent disease in affected areas.

With parts of southern Taiwan still underwater Monday after last week’s flooding, Premier William Lai headed to the government’s disaster response center. There, he was briefed on the floods. He also spoke by video link with the heads of three affected areas- Kaohsiung, Chiayi County, and Pingtung County.

Lai called for faster work to clear floodwater. He set a three day deadline for workers to complete pumping operations in Changtan village in Chiayi County. The village has seen floodwaters approach 70cm, and the water has not receded even after several days.
[FULL  STORY]

Drenched with torrential rains, south Taiwanese have just about had it with the ineptitude of their politicians at managing natural disasters.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/29
By: Eryk Smith

Being a tropical city, Taiwan’s southern metropolis of Kaohsiung does have its ‘monsoon’ or rainy season. But it generally consists of a month or so of off-again on-again cloudbursts, which usually taper off after perhaps a half-hour of torrential rain. Of course, the south of Taiwan is also occasionally treated to massive typhoons.

Naturally, every year’s cycle is different, and when the wheel of fortune hits a heavy rainy season, that year has traditionally featured flooding.

South Taiwan’s recent lucky streak came to an end on August 23, when heavy winds and unrelenting torrential rains brought back the bad old days. Homes across the region flooded and three motorcyclists sadly lost their lives when a scaffolding collapsed. Planes diverted or were forced to make unscheduled landings in Kaohsiung. The city cancelled work and classes the following day, and social media and TV news featured non-stop images of damage and suffering.

Considering that Kaohsiung is the largest city in Taiwan by area, with boundaries including low-lying downtown areas near rivers (Yancheng District) as well as thousand-meter high untamed mountain regions (Namaxia and Taoyuan Districts), it is no surprise that flooding is hard to control. Some districts had, or have, become accustomed to it. Residents of some first-floor dwellings splash out NT$200,000 or more for metal, water-tight panel barriers that can stop floods of over 100 centimeters – when they work properly.    [FULL  STORY]

One police officer slightly injured, woman described as mentally unstable

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/08/29
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A woman brandishing a knife on a Taipei Mass Rapid Transit train

was overpowered by police using fire extinguishers at Longshan Station, reports said Wednesday evening.

Around 7 p.m., a woman later named as Lee (李), 56, produced a knife while sitting on a Blue Line MRT train. When a couple sitting next to her asked her what she was doing, she started insulting them, the Apple Daily reported.

As they arrived at Longshan Temple Station, the couple warned other passengers, who ran out of the train as fast as possible.

Police arrived while images showed smoke billowing around the scene as someone used a fire extinguisher to subdue the woman. Several civilians with backpacks first took the knife away from her and kicked it away before forcing her to the ground.

One person, a police officer named Yang (楊), was slightly injured in the incident, the Apple Daily reported. Footage showed him with a gash in his knee being pushed away in a wheelchair on his way to hospital.

Lee was being questioned at the Guilin Precinct Station in the Wanhua District. She was reportedly shouting she wanted to go home, and was generally believed to be mentally disturbed, the Apple Daily reported.    [SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/29
By: Chiang Pei-ling and Flor Wang

Taipei, Aug. 29 (CNA) The 2018 Asia Pacific Film Festival (APFF) will take place in Taipei Saturday, drawing the participation of top actors from 18 countries in the region.

The big stars expected to attend the annual event include Kai Ko (柯震東), Janine Chang (張鈞甯) and Rainie Yang (楊丞琳) of Taiwan; Ray Lui (呂良偉), Christy Chung (鍾麗緹) and Daniel Chan (陳曉東) of Hong Kong; Pikotaro and Mikio Osawa of Japan; and Chanon Santinatornkul of Thailand, as well as celebrities from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

The Taiwanese movie “the Road to Mandalay,” directed by Midi Z. (趙德胤) and co-starring Kai Ko and Wu Ke-xi (吳可熙‬), has been nominated for eight awards, including best film.

In that category, it will be competing against Thailand’s “Bad Genius,” Australia’s “Lion,” and Indonesia’s “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts,” each of which has earned seven nominations.    [FULL  STORY]