‘PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE’: Tomorrow’s drill is a far cry from the ones held in 1995 and 1996, when the PLA simulated missile attacks and marine landings, an expert said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 17, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A Chinese military exercise scheduled to take place in the Taiwan Strait tomorrow is just a

National Security Bureau Director-General Peng Sheng-chu talks to reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.  Photo: CNA

routine drill of no major significance, and the nation’s military has not increased its level of combat readiness, Ministry of National Defense and security officials said yesterday.

“The military has not raised its normal level of combat readiness,” the ministry’s Office for Operations and Planning Director Lieutenant-General Chiang Chen-chung (姜振中) said.

“The military is fully prepared to deter any foreign attack,” he said in response to questions from lawmakers on the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.

National Security Bureau Director-General Peng Sheng-chu (彭勝竹) agreed, saying that the scale of the Chinese military exercise is roughly at a battalion level, and it is not aimed at any specific political party in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: April 15, 2018 
By: Phillip Charlier

A man drove over the edge of a wharf at the Port of Keelung last night, after being dazzled by lights reflecting on the water, and thinking the surface of the water was a road.

Shortly after 8:00pm, 70 year-old Mr Su drove onto the wharf to start his shift as a night guard when he became disoriented by lights reflecting on the water, and turned left too soon. Officers on a coast guard vessel were shocked to see Su’s car plunge into the water just off the bow of their ship.

Mr Su, who had trained as a navy frogman in his youth, calmly opened the door and exited the vehicle before it sank. The coast guard officers threw a life-ring and pulled Mr Su to shore.

Su refused to get into an ambulance called to the scene, and accompanied harbor police back to the police station to make a report. An alcohol breath test showed that Mr Su had not been drink driving.    [FULL  STORY]

In an article titled published by the New York Times on April 14, Chris Horton and Austin Ramzy wrote that Taiwan has been increasingly replacing Hong Kong as a bastion of free speech in the Chinese-speaking world

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/04/15
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei 101 Building New Year 2017 Celebration

The authors wrote that Taiwan has emerged as one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies, drawing the political dissidents and rights groups (By Central News Agency)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In an article titled published by the New York Times on April 14, Chris Horton and Austin Ramzy wrote that Taiwan has been increasingly replacing Hong Kong as a bastion of free speech in the Chinese-speaking world.

As Beijing has tightened its grip on Hong Kong, Taiwan, a self-governing island is taking Hong Kong’s place and has emerged as one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies, they wrote in the article titled “Asia’s Bastion of Free Speech? Move Aside, Hong Kong, It’s Taiwan Now.” “Taiwan now draws the sorts of dissidents, rights groups and events that once naturally gravitated to Hong Kong,” they said in the article

Instances cited by the authors include the facts that a human rights film festival that was held in Hong Kong last year will take place this year in Taiwan and a Hong Kong book publisher who was abducted by mainland Chinese agents two years ago and later released will reopen his bookstore in Taiwan.

They also mentioned that last year, Reporters Without Borders announced that it would open its first Asian bureau in Taipei, the Taiwanese capital, after considering but rejecting Hong Kong.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/15
By: Liu Te-chang and Elizabeth Hsu 

Bangkok, April 15 (CNA) A Thai court will hold a hearing on April 18 on a case in which a female Taiwanese tourist has accused a masseur of sexually assaulting her while she was getting a massage in Bangkok on Thursday.

The criminal court will hold an investigative session on Wednesday to help inquiry officials decide whether or not to move forward with the case.

Legal experts said there was the possibility that more court sessions might have to be held before a decision is made on whether to prosecute the suspect.

Earlier Sunday, Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Chakthip Chaijinda demanded that the truth be uncovered, and he ordered the criminal and tourism police to thoroughly investigate the case and find out what happened as soon as possible.    [FULL  STORY]

‘POLITICAL WORKER’: Working for Taiwanese independence involves developing the economy and creating growth so that people can live and work in peace, Lai said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 16, 2018
By: Staff Writer, with CNA

Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday told reporters that his approach toward Taiwanese

Premier William Lai speaks at a media roundtable in Hualien County yesterday.  Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times

independence was pragmatic and based on three tenets.

Lai held a media roundtable in Hualien County, where reporters asked about his depiction of himself as a “political worker for Taiwanese independence.” He had once again used the term at an April 3 seminar on freedom of speech held by the Ministry of the Interior.

He said the first tenet is that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation and therefore does not need to declare independence, Lai said.

The second is that only the nation’s 23 million people have the right to decide Taiwan’s future, and the third is that building up Taiwan and making it stronger and more attractive to people so that they support it is a practical approach to Taiwanese independence, Lai said.    [FULL  STORY]

The National Interest
Date: April 14, 2018
By: Zachary Keck

Even as they tussle over trade, China and the United States are entering into a more under-the-radar dispute over Taiwan.

Last week, the State Department approved a marketing license that allows U.S. defense companies to explore selling Taiwan technology it needs to build submarines. The approval was reported by Taiwanese media outlets who cited Maj. Gen. Chen Chung-chi, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman. Sidney Lin, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s president, also confirmed the news. The United States itself refused to confirm the reports, according to Reuters. Even if the United States took this step—which seems extremely likely—it is merely a first step in a long process. To actually transfer technology to Taiwan, each U.S. defense firm would still need to obtain export permits.

Beijing’s condemnation was swift, with a Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesperson calling for a “halt [to] all forms of military links between the United States and Taiwan, as well as all forms of weapon sales to Taiwan.” The spokesperson, Wu Qian, added: “China’s military has the ability and determination to defeat all attempts to separate our country, and it will adopt all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s growth and investment are restricted by five scarce resources — land, water, power, manpower and talent.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/04/14
By: Timothy Ferry, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

Photo Credit: Reuters/達志影像

The “Five Shortages” refers to Taiwan’s lack of sufficient land, water, power, manpower, and talent to meet its need for continuing economic growth. The term was first coined by the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) in its 2015 white paper, and the umbrella organization of Taiwanese manufacturing associations continues to call upon the government to improve the situation, citing concerns over Taiwan’s declining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), sluggish GDP and wage growth, and other indications of economic malaise.

Wang Jiann-chyuan (王健全), vice president of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), says that FDI adds dynamism to the economy by introducing new business models and offering what are often high-skilled, high-paying jobs. Recent M&A activity in Taiwan, including U.S.-based Micron’s acquisition of local memory maker Inotera Memory for US$4 billion, boosted total FDI to US$11 billion in 2016, the largest influx since 2007’s US$15 billion. The FDI figure for 2017 of US$7.5 billion was also boosted by M&A activity, according to the Investment Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Yet Taiwan’s FDI last year still trailed that of Vietnam, which attracted US$12.6 billion. It also fell far short of that of Singapore, which garnered a huge US$61.5 billion, according to the World Bank. Taiwan’s FDI in 2017 actually surpassed Hong Kong, which saw a sharp decline from its 2016 figure of US$44.45 billion to attract only US$4.14 billion.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/04/14
By:  Central News Agency

Taipei (CNA) – A female migrant caregiver from the Philippines was arrested on Friday for

Filipino woman arrested on suspicion of working for fraud ring. (By Central News Agency)

allegedly working as a money mule for a fraud ring, according to the Sanchangli police station in Taipei.

Speaking at a press conference Saturday, Lin Yu-hung, head of the station that is a part of Xinyi Precinct, said his team received a tip a few days ago about someone in the area withdrawing large sums of money from a local ATM over a period of days.

Suspecting that the money could have been obtained illegally, the police station checked security cameras and withdrawal records and determined that their person of interest was a Filipino woman.

The police spotted the woman, Eva Alitio Cafe, withdrawing more money while accompanying her employer to the hospital.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/14
By: Liu Chien-pang and Ko Lin

Taipei, April 14 (CNA) A renowned hair stylist from Hong Kong and longtime Taiwan

Generic image taken from Pixabay

resident was found dead in his apartment in Taipei late Friday evening, possibly due to choking, according to police on Saturday.

The man, former L’Oréal executive Enzo Leung, was discovered unconscious at around 10 p.m. Friday by the apartment building’s security guard, who immediately called for an ambulance, police said.

City firemen, who were the first to arrive on the scene with emergency rescuers, found Leung without any signs of life, police said.

On Saturday, police said empty liquor bottles were found scattered around Leung’s apartment, with the victim lying in a pool of his own vomit in the bathroom.
[FULL  STORY]