Daily Mercury
Date: 23rd Dec 2017

Republic of China (Taiwan). It sounds like the island is a mini China – an offshoot from the

mainland. But names can be misleading. In fact, Taiwan is one of the world’s enigmas.

With a land mass half the size of Tasmania and a population of 23.5 million people, it has the dubious honour of being one of the planet’s most densely populated areas, yet it is clean, green and the air quality is good.

The cities and countryside are full of surprises, with sight-seeing marvels at every turn, easy and efficient public transport, affordable living, quality shopping and a rich diversity of delicious food.

Just a hop across the strait from the might of China, the Taiwanese are a peace-loving people with a stable democratic government, low unemployment, freedom of religion and a deep commitment to human rights.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-12-23

President Tsai Ing-wen said on Facebook Friday that China’s frequent military drills near

Taiwan have affected regional stability. She also said Taiwan’s military is on guard for any security threats to the nation.

This past week, China’s Air Force conducted its 10th drill near Taiwan since the conclusion of the Communist Party of China’s 19th National Congress in October.

Tsai said in her post that Chinese air force drills have increased in frequency and have impacted the region’s stability. She stressed that Taiwan was committed to regional security. She said, “Rather a hundred years without war, but not a single day without preparations for war.”

Tsai visited Taiwan’s Air Force Combatant Command on Thursday. She said she is confident of the ability of the military to monitor the People’s Liberation Army.
[FULL  STORY]

The event was held in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Chinese Muslim Association

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/12/23
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Large crowds packed Daan Forest Park as the Islamic Market kicked off on an unseasonably warm day Saturday morning.

Collaboratively organized by the Chinese Muslim Association and the Department of Information and Tourism of the Taipei City Government, the event featured 60 vendors selling items ranging from jewelry and other handmade crafts to Halal certificated food and cultural activities.

The event was held in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Chinese Muslim Association, which is dedicated to promoting a more Muslim-friendly environment in Taiwan as well as introducing Muslim culture to Taiwanese people.

Islam has 1.8 billion adherents, making up about 24 percent of the world population, while each country has a lot of differences from the others and the culture among them can be quite diverse. Among the 60 vendors, each of them features a different Muslim country worldwide from Central Asia, Indonesia, Middle East, South Asia, North Africa, attracting many people who are interested in knowing more about Islam to come and experience an exotic weekend.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/23
By: Rita Cheng, Timothy J. Hwang and Kuan-lin Liu

Washington, Dec. 22 (CNA) Two U.S. congressmen asked Friday in a letter to the U.S.

ambassador to the United Nations to put pressure on China to stop blocking Taiwanese nationals from visiting the U.N. headquarters in New York.

Ohio Republican Congressman Steve Chabot and New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith reportedly sent a formal letter to Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., in which they asked her to put pressure on China to stop blocking those holding Taiwanese passports from visiting the U.N.’s New York headquarters.

They asked Haley to use any possible means to figure out a solution to the block because Taiwan-U.S. relations are extremely important to the U.S.   [FULL  STORY]

POOR CONDITIONS: Employers are likely to force their employees to sign agreements saying they agree with longer work hours, a union member said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 24, 2017
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Thousands of people yesterday marched from the headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to the Executive Yuan in Taipei, urging the Cabinet to withdraw its draft amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).

At noon, protesters gathered in front of the headquarters and started to march toward the Legislative Yuan at about 3pm.

One of the organizers, the Taiwan Railway Union, estimated a turnout of more than 10,000 people in the afternoon.

Several scuffles broke out between protesters and police when police tried to narrow down the demonstration area at the intersection between the Zhongshan N Road and Zhongxiao E Road.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-12-22

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has opened F-ISAC, a new institution tasked

with sharing and analyzing key financial information.

FSC head Wellington Koo spoke at the unveiling ceremony on Friday. He said one of the goals of the center is to respond to the Cabinet’s plan to share information across eight industries, one of them being banks and financial institutions.

Koo said the center will also serve to prevent cyber attacks on Taiwan’s financial institutions with its capability for comprehensive data analysis.

Koo also said he hopes experts in the finance industry and in cybersecurity will work with F-ISAC to make it a success.    [SOURCE]

Residents of Dalinpu know that leaving home is inevitable as pollution has spoilt their land, but they question the city government’s motivations and are calling for open discussion of their options.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/12/22
By: Nick Aspinall

Last Saturday, thousands of revelers from around Taiwan joined a raucous procession through the streets of Kaohsiung’s village of Dalinpu (大林蒲) as the 320-year-old Fonglin Temple (鳳林宮) concluded a major ritual known as Jiao (醮) for the final time before its closure.

Performers in elaborate costumes pranced past crowds of onlookers as fireworks released colorful plumes of smoke that wafted across the factory-clad skyline. However, this day of elation was bittersweet. Dalinpu’s entire population of 19,000 is slated to be relocated due to unhealthy levels of pollution from nearby steel mills and oil refineries. As residents said goodbye to their longtime spiritual nucleus and community bedrock, many doubted that the government would ever clean up the land they have called home for centuries.
[FULL  STORY]

Check out the most recent video of the yellow MRT ‘Circular Line’

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/12/22
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The first phase of construction for a new MRT line that will circle

around New Taipei City has been completed.

The first portion of the track has been constructed in the Southwestern districts of New Taipei City and is now being tested and modified before the proposed operations begin next summer.

The yellow Circular Line (環狀線) will connect the other MRT lines in the city, making Taipei’s mass rapid transport system much easier to access for people living in the outskirts or mountainous areas of New Taipei.

When the first phase of the track is operational, it will connect the New Taipei Industrial Park to Dapinglin, with a line that includes 14 MRT stations.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/22
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Frances Huang

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered three

Taiwanese importers to withdraw more products from local store shelves that involve potentially tainted milk powder imported from French dairy company Lactalis.

The FDA said Friday it has set a deadline for the three Taiwanese importers — Orient EuroPharma Co., Standard Foods Corp. and Multipower Enterprise Corp. — to pull their products from store shelves by the end of the day.

It was the second time Taiwan’s FDA has ordered milk powder from the French dairy giant taken off the market after Lactalis announced its second recall in two weeks on Thursday after pinpointing the source of contamination linked to cases of salmonella infection.
{FULL  STORY]

NEXT STEPS? The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee said that it would meet to decide whether to issue administrative penalties and freeze league assets

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 23, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter, with CNA

Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) yesterday ordered the removal of the

National Women’s League’s (NWL) leadership after the group refused to sign an administrative contract that would see it undergo a drastic structural reform.

The Ministry of the Interior issued an official document ordering the removal of league chairwoman Cecilia Koo (辜嚴倬雲) and league deputy chairwoman Yeh Chin-fong (葉金鳳) after it received a letter from the group stating its opposition to government-led public supervision and its decision not to sign the contract, Yeh said.

“This is not the result we had hoped for, but we have to face it with courage,” Yeh told a news conference at the ministry in Taipei, adding that negotiations proved that the power of a few reformists within the league was not enough to bring changes to an organization that has lived in the past and closed itself off from the outside world.    [FULL  STORY]