NOT UNIQUE: Absence of capital outflows would cause foreign-exchange reserves to swell and place appreciation pressure on the New Taiwan dollar, the central bank governor said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 30, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s persistent financial account deficit reflects a continuous search by Taiwanese

life insurance companies for recurring income to match their debt obligations, a move that is common in nations with current account surpluses, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told reporters in Taipei yesterday.

Yang called the unscheduled news conference after Taiwan in the second quarter recorded a net outflow in its financial account for the 32nd consecutive quarter, with a total outflow of US$380.42 billion.

“The phenomenon is neither unique nor problematic, as seen in 20 of 37 advanced economies [that had current account surpluses] last year,” Yang said.

Domestic life insurers have to seek fixed-income assets overseas due to a lack of investment tools in Taiwan, he said, adding that the financial health of the central and local governments have rendered bond issuances unnecessary.    [FULL  STORY]

Oren Shlomo Mayer allegedly murdered a Canadian teacher in a drug-related dispute. With the help of an accomplice, Mayer allegedly dismembered the body before escaping to the Philippines disguised as a backpacker; His accomplice confessed the crime, and local authorities expect Mayer to be extradited soon.

y Net News
Date: 08.28.18
By: Itamar Eichner

An Israeli-American citizen who is suspected of the murder of a Canadian English teacher in Taipei has managed to escape Taiwan to the Philippines, but faces extradition.

The suspect, Oren Shlomo Mayer, 37, was identified by the Taipei authorities as a tattoo artist. He allegedly committed the murder with the help of an American citizen, before fleeing to the Philippines.

According to media reports in Taiwan, Canadian teacher Ramgahan Sanjay Ryan was murdered last week following a dispute between drug dealers.

Mayer, known as “Oz” in Taipei, ambushed the victim together with his accomplice, Ewart Odane Bent. The two men then murdered Sanjay and dismembered the body. The dismembered body was discovered in a local park on August 22.

Local police say Mayer, who is described by local media as “the biggest marijuana dealer in northern Taiwan,” was captured on security cameras when he entered a local supermarket with his accomplice. The two bought beers to celebrate the murder.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-28

A survey of marine trash around Taiwan’s coast has found that the large number of beach

cleanups held each year have had only a limited impact.

The two-week survey was conducted in July by Greenpeace and local organization the Society of Wilderness. It involved taking samples from stations set up at 10-kilometer intervals around the whole of Taiwan’s coastline.

The first report on the survey was released Tuesday. In it, the two organizations estimate that enough garbage lines Taiwan’s coastline to fill over 2,000 garbage trucks.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s top court ruled in May 2017 that preventing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional but there has been little progress on the issue since. (Photo: AFP/Sam

Channel News Asia
Date: 28 Aug 2018

TAIPEI: Conservative campaigners on Tuesday (Aug 28) threw a roadblock in the path to legalising same-sex unions in Taiwan, proposing a public vote on the issue and saying any reforms would jeopardise “family values”.

Taiwan’s top court ruled in May 2017 that preventing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional and gave a two-year deadline for its legalisation – which would make the island the first place in Asia to do so.

But there has been little progress on the issue since then, with President Tsai Ing-wen saying society is still divided on the issue.

The anti-gay marriage Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance submitted a referendum petition to election authorities on Tuesday to try to prevent the civil code from being amended to recognise same-sex partnerships.    [FULL  STORY]

US sees Taiwan as part of a broad anti-China alliance

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/08/28
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The relationship between the United States and Taiwan has grown

solid beyond fears of President Donald Trump using the island as a bargaining chip in his quarrels with China, reports said Tuesday.

Analysts suggested that the administration was regarding Taiwan as part of a wider Pacific Rim alliance, while officials and members of Congress saw the island as an “antidote” to China, the Voice of America reported.

Each time Beijing bullied Taiwan, the island’s support base in the U.S. expanded and deepened, said Yun Sun, an East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

Arms sales, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) recent high-profile stopovers in the U.S. which included a visit to NASA, and sharp U.S. comments about El Salvador switching diplomatic ties to Beijing were all signs that Washington was interested in improving relations with Taipei, analysts said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/28
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Aug. 28 (CNA) The United States and Taiwan can be close partners in the Indo-

Pacific Strategy in terms of infrastructure, energy and the digital economy, among other issues, the U.S. top envoy to Taiwan said Tuesday in Taipei.

Speaking during a smart cities symposium in Taipei, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen quoted from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum held last month, explaining the U.S. vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific Strategy proposed by President Donald Trump last year.

“Free means economies should be free from outside coercion. Open means we should all adhere to market economy principles. This is what the U.S. stands for in the Indo-Pacific, and what we intend to work for every day in our relationship with Taiwan,” Christensen said.

He further pointed out the three key economic pillars of the strategy — that Washington and Taipei could closely cooperate in infrastructure, energy and the digital economy.
[FULL  STORY]

POLITICAL OPPRESSION: Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang said the identity of Taiwanese firms that make donations and have Chinese operations should be protected

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 29, 2018
By: Chiu Yen-ling and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday decried an alleged Chinese

investigation into political donations made by Taiwanese businesses that operate in China, saying that the democratic value of transparency should not be used for political oppression.

The Chinese government is allegedly looking into whether Taiwanese corporations with operations in China have donated to the pan-green camp — which in Taiwan is public information — and aims to have the firms make “political statements” akin to that made by Taiwan-based cafe and bakery chain 85°C (85度C), a source said yesterday.

The cafe on Aug. 15 declared its support for the so-called “1992 consensus” and the peaceful development of cross-strait ties when Chinese netizens threatened to boycott the chain after one of its branches in Los Angeles allegedly gave President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a gift package while she was en route to Paraguay and Belize.

Some Taiwanese corporations have already approached pan-green politicians and legislators “seeking help,” the source said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-27

Heavy rains have brought floods to southern Taiwan and the military is assisting with post-

disaster relief. President Tsai Ing-wen went to Tainan to see the flooded areas and to meet with local officials and residents.

Heavy rains have caused floods in central and southern Taiwan since last Thursday. On Sunday, President Tsai Ing-wen went to flooded areas in Tainan amidst public discontent over the disaster.

President Tsai went to the Tseng Wen drainage system and met with local officials to talk to them about post-disaster relief. She said spending money is not an issue, and has asked the military and Water Resources Department to bring pumps to heavily flooded areas and to sanitize affected areas.    [FULL  STORY]

The slick re-launch of Pasuya Yao’s mayoral campaign drips with spin and begs the question: Can voters really complain when they vote on style over substance?

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/27
By: TJ

Since securing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s nomination to be its Taipei mayoral candidate, Pasuya Yao (姚文智) has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, beginning with an ill-staged effort to appeal to younger voters by trotting out his cat, Togi, for a photo call and peaking with a call for members of his own party to resign if they failed to declare loyalty to him over his incumbent rival Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).

Then, less than 100 days before voters hit the polls, Yao decided to reboot his campaign, asking voters for forgiveness and the energy to re-familiarize themselves with “the real” Pasuya Yao.

The first thing that potential voters (or more precisely, eagle-eyed netizens) noticed following the relaunch of his campaign was that Yao’s writing style had changed.

This stylistic transition led observers to speculate that the reboot of Yao’s campaign and the Facebook page that fronts it were actually executed by Yao Jen-to (姚人多) – President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) former deputy secretary-general and the newly appointed vice chairman and secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).
[FULL  STORY]

Work, classes canceled in Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Chiayi due to ‘rain bomb’ falling on the area

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/08/28
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As a low pressure zone and moist southwesterly winds have

combined to generate a “rain bomb” over Kaohsiung, the city government at 6:12 a.m. this morning announced the cancelation of work and classes, much to the chagrin of many commuters who had already headed out to work or school.

As many areas of Kaohsiung began flooding due to torrential rains and because the Central Weather Bureau predicts continued downpours over the area today, the city government announced the cancellation of work and classes for the day. Angered netizens who had already hit the roads when the late announcement was made posted comments like, “If you want to cancel work and school, you need to announce this sooner, people are already out the door!”

In addition to Kaohsiung, Pingtung County has announced that work and classes have been canceled and some schools in Chiayi have canceled classes.    [FULL  STORY]