In this Miaoli County woodcarving mecca, there’s a consistent demand for sculptures made from the wood of endangered trees. Government crackdowns on poachers have only fueled the market.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/02/03
By: Nick Aspinwall

Willy Lee (李柏葳), like most residents of Miaoli County’s Sanyi (三義) township in

northwest Taiwan, has been involved in the woodcarving industry for much of his life. Known throughout Taiwan as the “Kingdom of Woodcarving,” Sanyi is home to around 300 wood art shops which line the tourist-friendly Guangsheng Old Street and Shuimei Street, and feed a hungry market for domestically produced wood art.

Lee’s father, a Sanyi native and skilled artisan, responded to the heightened demand and opened a shop in 1996. However, he refused to sell sculptures, furniture, and art made from Taiwanese wood – highly coveted by buyers, but obtained via the illegal logging of endangered trees in old growth forests like the Taiwan yellow cypress (黃檜) and incense cedar (肖楠).    [FULL  STORY]

Succession struggle will lead to chaos: Rex Wang

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A century of authoritarianism with rising nationalism and an

emphasis on central control will eventually lead to a power struggle for the succession which will destroy China, former Taiwan News editor-in-chief Rex Wang (王世榕) writes in his book “China Will Collapse in 2031.”

In his work, the former Taiwanese envoy to Switzerland relates how China now relies on “debt imperialism” to expand its power and influence over other countries. After Wang’s book was published, a similar analysis was made by United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who accused China of practicing a new form of colonialism by making other countries reliant on its investment. Local economies suffered in the process, and Tillerson compared the practice to the European colonialism of five centuries ago.

On the surface, the Chinese loans and aid were unconditional, Wang said, but in the end they had a negative influence on the local workforce, provoking more and more protests in the countries supposedly benefiting from China’s economic influence.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/03
By: Lee Ming-zong and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Feb. 3 (CNA) Dialogue between the Holy See and China, especially regarding the

appointment of Chinese bishops, does not mean that the two countries will establish diplomatic ties, Archbishop of Taipei John Hung Shan-chuan (洪山川) said Saturday, commenting on media reports of a significant breakthrough in China-Vatican ties.

Reuters reported Thursday that a framework accord between the two countries on the appointment of bishops in China was ready and “could be signed in a few months,” citing an unnamed senior Vatican source.

The report said that even a partial resolution of that contentious issue could open the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and China.
[FULL  STORY]

CONTINUED PAYOUTS: Taipower is to incorporate subsidies and compensations paid to people living near nuclear power plants under a single fund, if the plan is approved

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 04, 2018
By: Jake Chung  /  Staff writer, with CNA

Estimated annual expenditure at Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) Nuclear Power Back-

end Operations Fund has surged by NT$100 billion (US$3.4 billion) due to plans to incorporate two separate expenditure items into the fund, the state utility said in its latest report to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The increased amount is due to changes in operational costs after the retirement of nuclear power plants and the merging of the Promoting the Development of Power and Energy Subsidies and Radioactive Waste Storage Compensatory funds into payout items for the operations fund.

Merging the expenditures was in response to requests made by local residents, State Enterprise Commission Vice Chairperson Wu Fong-sheng (吳豐盛) told a news conference after an inspection on Tuesday.

The residents demanded the continuation of payouts from the compensatory fund and subsidies based on rates when the power plant is running at full capacity, Wu said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today0
Date: February 02, 2018

Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system owes a debt of gratitude to academics and

experts for their contributions to promoting international awareness of the nation’s medical care, public health and disease prevention efforts, according to Vice President Chen Chien-jen Feb. 1.

Chen said the research conducted by such individuals has helped the NHI gain exposure overseas and provided the world with a better understanding of the system’s far-reaching benefits.

The vice president made the remarks while receiving Cheng Tsung-mei, a health policy research analyst at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, at the Office of the President in Taipei City. Like her husband Uwe E. Reinhardt, who passed away late last year, Cheng has long been a prominent advocate for Taiwan’s NHI system, Chen said.

Co-founder and host of the Princeton Conference—an annual event enabling scientists and members of U.S. Congress to gather and discuss health care issues—Cheng has performed analyses of Taiwan’s NHI system that have received widespread attention from major news outlets like ABC, CNN and PBS, the vice president said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-02

President Tsai Ing-wen says her government is working to make Taiwan a more favorable

environment for investment, particularly from the semiconductor sector.

Tsai on Friday met Ajit Manocha, the head of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), a global industry organization. The president said that Manocha at their last meeting had raised the “4Ts” – free trade, talent, tax and technology investment to bolster semiconductor manufacturing and development.

Tsai said her government is working in this direction. Last year saw the passage of a law to make it easier for skilled professionals to live and work in Taiwan. She also said the government has proposed a tax cut to halve tax on unallocated earnings for companies from 10% to 5%. This, she said, will encourage companies to invest more in innovation.
[FULL  STORY]

Sex sells: English major wears skimpy swimsuit to drum up business for English tutoring service

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prospects are looking up for English learning in Taiwan

after a Facebook user posted a Taiwanese college student’s sexy ad for an English tutoring service yesterday (Feb. 1).

The owner of the Facebook page @ttbbkk (老貓不負責任的機車評論) yesterday posted an advertisement created by an English major at Tunghai University for an English tutoring service. When posting the ad the page owner writes, “English is very important and it helps to arrange a tutor for children as soon as possible. I decide to chose this one…”

The ad includes a photo in which she takes a selfie in a mirror wearing a revealing swimsuit while pulling down a pair of unzipped jeans, and within less than 24 hours, the post had gained nearly 6,000 likes and 500 shares.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Chen Chih-chung and Ko Lin
Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) The Tang Prize Foundation announced on Friday the winner of its creative competition for high school students, with Tainan First Senior High School garnering the top award for its innovative invention – a board game.

Nicknamed the Asian Nobel Prize, the Tang Prize is funded by Taiwanese businessman Samuel Yin. In 2015, the Tang Prize Foundation teamed up with high schools in Taiwan to launch a program aimed at inspiring students’ interest in the award’s four fields — Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology and Rule of Law.

In this year’s contest, the team of students from the Tainan high school won the award for an invention related to the biopharmaceutical science and sinology categories of the Tang Prize, with a board game they invented that is themed after traditional Chinese medicine. In the game, players take on the role of doctors to compete with each other to treat patients by dealing cards that feature various prescriptions.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 03, 2018
By: Wang Shan-yan and Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporters

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chiayi City Council Speaker Hsiao Shu-li (蕭淑麗)

yesterday announced that she would run as an independent for the Chiayi mayoral post later this year, saying she did not trust the KMT’s poll-based primary.

Hsiao said she forsook her supporters three years ago by not completing her bid for mayor and did not want to let history repeat itself.

“I hope my bid will not be determined by the party, but by public opinion,” Hsiao told a news conference in Chiayi, adding that a political party should be like-minded people jointly fighting for people’s happiness and best interests.

In March 2014, eight months before the local nine-in-one elections, Hsiao also said she would withdraw from the KMT and run as an independent candidate.

She dropped out of the race in July that year.

Hsiao rejoined the KMT in late 2014 after winning a city councilor seat as an independent.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-01

Vice President Chen Chien-jen said that he hopes Taiwan’s scholars in the United

States will voice their support for the country’s bid for WHA observer status.

The WHA or World Health Assembly is the convening body of the World Health Organization. Last year, Taiwan was not invited to the event due to pressure from China. Taiwan has attended in previous years as an observer.

Chen on Thursday met with Cheng Tsung-mei, a visiting health policy research analyst from Princeton University. Chen told Cheng that Taiwan’s complex political status requires people like to promote the country’s contributions in healthcare and disease prevention.    [FULL  STORY]