Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-14

Taiwan’s legislature is gearing up for a vote on President Tsai Ing-wen’s nominees for

the Control Yuan. That organization is one of the five branches of the central government, charged with monitoring the other four branches.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party said Sunday that it will mobilize the party’s lawmakers for the vote. The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) said, though, that they will decide after a meeting on Monday about how to vote, or whether to vote at all.

On Friday, six of the nominees faced the full legislature for a review, answering questions about their background and opinions on different topics. Five more nominees will face review on Monday, with a vote scheduled for Tuesday.    [FULL  STORY8]

Protests against Taiwan’s labor law amendments are wide off the mark — Taiwan needs to fundamentally rethink its calendar.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/01/14
By: Morley James Weston

There aren’t even proper names for days of the week here; who would cry if we cut one off?

Recent Labor Standards Act (LSA) revisions have rendered Taiwan’s workweek all but

irrelevant to shift workers, replaced with the potential for a convoluted fortnightly work cycle that has managed to anger just about everybody in the country.

But the seven-day week has no authentic connection to Taiwan. Seven-day weeks have been around since the Babylonians were a regional soft power, approximately corresponding to the lunar cycle. Originally used to organize market days and make babies, the lunar cycle is completely irrelevant to modern Taiwanese life, hidden under a thick matrix of skyscrapers and clouds and replaced by convenience stores and alarm clocks. What’s the phase of the moon right now? I don’t know either.
[FULL  STORY]

More officers are needed to help secure Singapore’s national entry points

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/14
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Over the last week in Singapore, it came to the public’s

attention that the government would likely begin hiring Taiwanese recruits as auxiliary police officers (APOs) to meet the rising need for security personnel in the city-state.

The Singaporean Minister of Home Affairs K Shanmugam said last week on Jan. 8 that the Singaporean government was having difficulty hiring the necessary amount of Singaporean and Malaysian APOs to meet the country’s needs, and that Taiwan was being considered as a possible recruiting location.

The Minister said that “Operational needs are growing significantly, everywhere, including our checkpoints. Visitor numbers are growing and at the same time, the threats of terrorism have risen substantially,” reports Channel News Asia.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/14
By: Emerson Lim and Romulo Huang

Manila, Jan. 14 (CNA) A delegation led by Taiwan’s Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan

(蘇嘉全) is visiting the Philippines to further promote parliamentary exchanges and relations between the two nations.

Accompanied by a group of legislators, government officials and business leaders, Su’s delegation arrived in Manila on Saturday.

Shortly after his arrival, Su met with several Philippine politicians, including two former vice presidents, Jejomar Binay, Teofisto Tayko Guingona Jr., and parliamentary leaders. The two sides exchange opinions on future development of bilateral ties, trade and investment, visa-free preferential treatment for each other’s citizens, cooperation in combating cross-border crime and narco trafficking, a reconstruction plan for the southern Philippine city of Marawi and other matters of mutual concern.    [FULL  STORY]

KICKBACKS:Chinese  agencies are arranging intelligence-collecting visits to Taiwan, including ‘field research’ where academics lived in rented homes, an official said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 15, 2018
By: Chung Li-hua and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

China is using economic incentives to target 10 types of groups in Taiwan as part of its

“united front” tactics, an unnamed government official said, citing national security intelligence.

The official said the groups targeted for engagement are local townships, young people and students, Chinese spouses of Taiwanese, Aborigines, pro-China political parties and groups, temples, descendants of Chinese who retain roots in China, labor groups, farmers’ and fishermens’ associations, and military veterans.

The government had previously estimated that China spends at least NT$10 billion (US$337.8 million) per year enticing Taiwanese to join united front efforts, but they believe that there might be more “invisible funding.”    [FULL  STORY]

Should two bills to help Taiwan make it to President Trump’s desk, he could instead use them as tools to pressure China on trade and North Korea.

The Federalist 
Date: JANUARY 13, 2018
By: Helen Raleigh

Two Taiwan-related bills passed the House this week, and if they make it to President Donald Trump’s desk they could become powerful bargaining chips in China negotiations. But how will that impact Taiwan?

The first bill is the Taiwan Travel Act, which is designed to encourage diplomatic visits between U.S. and Taiwan officials at all levels. The bill would pave the way for Taiwanese government officials to visit the U.S. and meet U.S. officials, including those from the Defense Department. U.S. government officials would be able to do the same in Taiwan. It’s a huge deal, because such diplomatic visits from both sides have ceased after Washington and Beijing established a formal diplomatic relationship in 1979.

The second bill would direct the State Department to come up with a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization. This bill is also significant because Taiwan lost its permanent seat and all representation in the United Nations in 1971, after the General Assembly passed a resolution to officially acknowledge the People’s Republic of China (Beijing) as China’s only representative. Since 1993,
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-13

Mayor of New Taipei City Eric Chu has called on his party, the opposition KMT, to

embrace young political talent.

Chu is a leading figure in the KMT, having previously served as the party’s chairman and having run as the party’s presidential candidate in 2016. He was speaking Saturday during a memorial ceremony marking 30 years since the death of former President Chiang Ching-kuo.

Asked about the KMT’s future political stars, Chu said the party should allow more young people to enter politics, giving them a chance to become the party’s future stars. He said that many of the party’s leaders today were in turn trained by the late President Chiang Ching-kuo.

Asked if the KMT’s frequent commemorations of Chiang Ching-kuo and his father, Chiang Kai-shek, might sap the interest of young people in the party, Chu said that important leaders ought to be remembered.    [SOURCE]

Taiwan’s MOFA calls the Chinese handling of the incident “rude”

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/01/13
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – After several multinational companies such as Marriott

International and Zara were targeted by the Chinese media and netizens and forced to apologize for mentioning Taiwan, and Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet as separate countries in their websites or emails, dozens more have also been marked for the same reason.

The hotel chain Marriott International was the first victim in the Chinese witch hunt for sending emails asking members of its loyalty scheme to choose which country they lived in, with Taiwan and Tibet being part of the available options.

The Chinese authorities made a huge fuss about this incident by launching an investigation and even ordering the shutting down of the hotel’s Chinese website and app for one week.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/13
By: Kuan-lin Liu and Yang Su-min

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) Taiwan issued a new ban on Japanese poultry on Friday after

an H5 strain of avian flu was detected in Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture that led to the culling of 92,000 chickens.

The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) on Friday listed Japan as an epidemic region for the highly pathogenic H5 strain of avian influenza and reinstated a ban on the import of its poultry that was only lifted on Monday.

This news comes on the heels of reported outbreaks of the avian influenza throughout Japan, South Korea and Europe.    [FULL  STORY]

NEW AUTHORITARIANISM: Former president Ma Ying-jeou said he could feel a new authoritarian regime forming and urged people to protect the constitutional system

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 14, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday vowed to

restore the nation to its former glory under late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) by leading the KMT to victory in the local elections in November and to win back executive power in 2020.

Wu made the remarks at an event held by the KMT at the Taipei Hero House to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Chiang’s death.

The event was attended by all KMT chairpersons after former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) — former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), Wu and Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱).

“Chiang was a man with eyes like torches, a heart as big as the ocean and shoulders stronger than iron,” Wu said during his speech about his experience working under Chiang.    [FULL  STORY]