Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-12-27

Premier William Lai highlighted the government’s priorities for 2018 in a final press

conference of the year on Wednesday.

Lai said plans include balancing resources across Taiwan’s various regions, boosting the birth rate, and introducing polices to ease the burden on young parents.

The premier said Taiwan’s fertility rate stands at 1.17, one of the lowest in the world, and that the senior population will overtake the child population next year. He said the population is projected to drop below 20 million by 2056 and that the government must work on promoting childbirth.

Lai said there are plans to offer subsidies to ease the financial burden on young parents. He also said the government would allow private kindergartens to adopt welfare programs to make them more affordable.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s internet is fast and cheap — but that’s a problem for its telecoms players.
The News Lens
Date: 2017/12/27
By: Timothy Ferry

Mobile phones are all the rage in Taiwan, with over 29 million devices in use in a society of

23 million people, according to research by Berkshire Hathaway’s Business Wire. That market penetration of 127 percent compares to just 81 percent in the United States. Nearly all of Taiwan enjoys 4G network coverage, and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the global industry organization, anticipates that 5G technology will be introduced to the market as early as 2020.

Mobile internet access employs invisible radio signals transmitted to and from mobile phones, but substantial infrastructure is needed to support those transmissions. As the demand for higher data transmission rises, so does the amount of infrastructure required. Larger volumes of data transmission also necessitate the use of higher frequencies, but higher frequencies degrade faster, requiring more base stations to ensure adequate coverage.    [FULL  STORY]

The US will deliver 140 of the AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles in batches over the coming year

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/12/27
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan is preparing to receive a few new pieces of military

hardware over the coming year.

An announcement from the Ministry of National Defense earlier this week indicated that the US is expected to begin deliveries of the newest fifth generation AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles (AAMs) in early 2018.

Reports note that 140 missiles as well as 56 training missiles will be delivered in batches, with the order completed by March 2019.

Anticipating the missile delivery, officials from the ministry indicated that Taiwan’s Air Force was preparing their newest F-16V jets to be fitted with the new missiles, and to be combat ready for 2018.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/27
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, Dec. 27 (CNA) The Cabinet manages cross-Taiwan Strait relations as an issue that

extends beyond Taiwan and China to involve the international community, Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Wednesday.

How the evolution of cross-strait relations affects the international community is the context under which the Cabinet looks at the situation, Lai said.

He cited as an example drills recently conducted by Chinese military planes around Taiwan’s airspace, saying that the practice has also elicited deep concern from the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Lai made the remarks at the Cabinet’s year-end press conference in response to a reporter asking for his comment on recent developments in cross-strait relations, including an analysis by the Ministry of National Defense that China has the ability to cross the “first island chain” into the Western Pacific.    [FULL  STORY]

SHARE THE WEALTH: Increases to minimum wage and minimum hourly pay would enable workers to benefit from an improving GDP, Vice Premier Shih Jun-ji said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 28, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday proposed redefining administrative zones to balance

urban and rural development, and introducing a population policy to boost the declining birth rate as the Executive Yuan’s priorities next year.

Lai recounted the Cabinet’s achievements over the past year at an end of year news conference, saying that his policies are oriented toward developing the economy, promoting renewable energy sources and technology, as well as achieving social justice, and promoting security and cultural policies.

He said he would prioritize a fertility policy, drug and crime prevention, and balancing urban and rural development as the Cabinet’s goals next year.

The government is to begin evaluating how administrative regions could be rezoned to alleviate the unequal distribution of resources in rural areas, he added.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-12-26

The defense ministry has published a report on US arms sales to Taiwan, an issue that has

been shrouded in secrecy in the past.

The report out Tuesday covers information on the procedures of arms sales, military exchanges as well as inspections of military exercises.

The defense ministry said the report aims to “increase the transparency of military affairs” to bring more public support for the armed forces. It also said the report has nothing to do with the National Defense Authorization Act recently signed by the US president, Donald Trump.

The report also addresses China’s military ambitions till 2050. Defense ministry official Liu Ching-yuan talked about the People’s Liberation Army’s development.    [FULL  STORY]

Founding a political party is far easier than dissolving one under current rules.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/12/26
By: If Lin

Between the drama of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), its easy to forget that Taiwan has an alphabet soup of other politicians and parties waiting in the wings. There are 319 political parties currently active in Taiwan, half of which were formed within the past eight years.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan has 324 registered political parties, five of which have ever been dissolved. The figure below shows the roster of registered political parties; the first was the China Zhonghe Party (中國中和黨) formed on April 5, 1894, followed a few months later by the KMT. After a long pause during decades of war and military rule, the next party to be formed was the DPP in 1986.    [FULL  STORY]

‘My hometown now is Taiwan, not Italy anymore’ –  said priest Didone, 77

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/12/26
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Six priests and monks, who have been serving at The Order of the

Ministers of the Infirm, also known as the Camillians, received Taiwanese citizenship on Tuesday, Dec.26, reported Liberty Times.

Yilan County Magistrate Chen Chin-te (陳金德) presented priests Giuseppe Didone, Antonio Didone, Giovanni Rizzi, Celestino Rizzi, and monks Felice Chech and Davide Angelo Cattaneo with the national ID cards in recognition of their selfless devotion to Taiwan.

The six priests and monks have been working under a large red cross called The Camillians Taiwan, which belongs to Italy’s Roman Catholic religious order, founded in 1582. Their main mission is to offer medical care and charity to people.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/26
By: Joseph Yeh 

Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) Taiwan’s latest national defense report released Tuesday revealed a slight shift in the military’s defense strategy and offered for the first time a clear picture of how Taiwan procures arms from the United States.

The first Defense National Report published during President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidency said Taiwan is strengthening its asymmetric warfare capabilities amid a growing military threat and has adjusted its focus for defending against a possible Chinese invasion.

In recent decades, Taiwan’s Armed Forces have seen beaches where enemy forces land as the focal point in repelling a potential Chinese invasion, but that emphasis has now been broadened to an outer perimeter along coastal areas.    [FULL  STORY]

INSTABILITY: China’s increasing focus on environmental protection and sudden shifts in policy are forcing Taiwanese companies to reconsider their options in China

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 27, 2017
By: Jake Chung  /  Staff writer, with CNA

Despite a decision by the Kunshan City Government in China to postpone an order for

factories along the Wusong River to shut down, Taiwanese companies said they might still have to reconsider their operations in China.

The city on Sunday issued an order for the immediate shutdown of 270 factories — half of which are Taiwanese — in a bid to reduce water pollution in the river.

The order, effective from Monday through Jan. 10, has since been put on hold.

Printed circuit board makers such as Career Technology (嘉聯益) saw their shares fall sharply yesterday on the Taiwan Stock Exchange following the announcement.    [FULL  STORY]