PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang is to hold a hearing on the petition to assess the effectiveness of flogging and possible human rights violations

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 22, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

Following an online petition urging the government to punish drunk drivers, sex offenders

and child abusers by caning, Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Taiwanese society would have reservations about the potential human rights violations.

The petition, submitted to a government-funded policy discussion platform on Oct. 23, calls for the government to impose flogging as an additional punishment for drunk driving, sex offenses and violence against children.

With the petition being endorsed by 26,771 netizens, far exceeding the 5,000-signature threshold that requires an official reply from the government, Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) is to preside over a public hearing to discuss the proposal on Dec. 1.

Although current sentiment might favor “a strict penal code in a time of turbulence,” Taiwan is a democratic and law-abiding nation where human rights are valued, Lai said, calling for a more in-depth discussion of the issue.

“A majority of the population will likely have reservations about adopting caning like in Singapore,” Lai said, without revealing his position on the issue.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 21, 2017
By: Tang Pei-chun and Y.F. Low

BRUSSELS (CNA) – Taiwan retained its ranking of 23rd in the world in terms of its ability

to attract, develop and keep top talent in 2017, according to an annual report published by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management and Development (IMD) on Monday.

Among the Asian countries on the 2017 list, Taiwan was third after Hong Kong, which had a global ranking of 12th, and Singapore (13th), but ahead of Malaysia (28th) and Japan (31st).

Worldwide, Switzerland, Denmark and Belgium remained the three top performers this year, followed by Austria and Finland, according to the report. Rounding round the top 10 were the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg, in that order.

The IMD World Talent Ranking 2017 assesses the methods used by 63 economies worldwide to attract and retain the talent their businesses need to thrive, the IMD said in a statement.    [FULL  STORY]

Union members suggest the dispute with airline Far Eastern Air Transport highlights the lack of protections afforded to employees.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/11/20
By: David Green

A video that accuses Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) of a litany of management failures

including negligence of safety issues and sexism, has gone viral amid an ongoing legal dispute between the airline union and management.

The video, which has garnered almost half a million hits on YouTube, was put together as a last resort by employees fed up at having their complaints and requests for feedback ignored, union officials said.

“We wanted to show the unacceptable conditions we were working under and how the company was passing off blame on staff,” said Linda Wei, 24, secretary general of the Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union (TFAU).

The video alleges that flight attendants were repurposed as hostesses at functions, payroll terms were changed without notice or explanation, and that staff complaints over being forced to work in unsafe or poorly maintained aircraft were ignored.
[FULL  STORY]

 

However, almost all bigger caves, such as Lingyan Cave, Chienyuan Cave, Hailay Cave, Chaoyin Cave, and Kuenluen Cave, have been occupied by people pursuing religious practice

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/20
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—New Stone Age relics were found from Lingyan Cave, the first

cave of Baxian Cave (八仙洞) in Changbin Township in Taiwan’s eastern county of Taitung, after the county government took back the cave, according to archaeologist Tsang Cheng-hwa (臧振華), whose team has been excavating the cave since July.

Tsang said that New Stone Age pottery pieces and animal remains had been excavated from on the layer one meter below the cave, adding that it is fortunate that the archaeological layer of the site was not destroyed during the long period when the site was occupied by a temple.

Baxian Cave is located on the cliffs that face the Pacific Ocean, and there are dozens of natural sea caves. These sea caves were originally in the sea but are now located on the cliffs a very short distance from the sea because the rise of the Earth’s crust on the east coast of Taiwan.

Baxian Cave is the oldest prehistoric site that has been found in Taiwan and is ranked as a first class national historical site.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/20
By: Pan Chih-yi and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 20 (CNA) A system developed by Taiwan’s top Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to recycle toxic liquid crystal display (LCD) waste has won an R&D 100 Award for 2017, which honors revolutionary technology from around the world over the past year.

The waste recycling system, touted as zero-waste, eco-friendly and cost-effective, also earned special recognition from the R&D 100 Awards jury, which honors the top 100 R&D pioneers and their revolutionary ideas in science and technology every year, ITRI said Monday.

Addressing the innovative recycling system at a press conference that day, Hung Huan-i (洪煥毅) of ITRI’s Material and Chemical Research Laboratories said if the liquid crystal sealed in a LCD glass panel is buried in dirt, it can cause greater harm to the environment than plastic products.    [FULL  STORY]

PROCEDURE:NPP  Legislator Hsu Yung-ming demanded that two DPP lawmakers who did not forfeit their reconsideration rights do so before the review can continue

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 21, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) yesterday obstructed the

legislative review of a draft amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), citing a potential procedural flaw, while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said that the review was completely legal.

During a plenary legislative session on Friday, the amendment passed the first reading and was referred to the legislature’s Economics Committee and the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee for reviews that were scheduled to start yesterday.

However, during the joint committee review, Hsu raised a procedural objection and prevented the review.

Hsu said that committee reviews should not have begun until Tuesday next week, when a legally required reconsideration period ends.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 20, 2017
By: Sabine Cheng and Evelyn Kao

TAIPEI (CNA) – Two-time Oscar-winning Taiwanese-American film director Ang Lee (李

安) will return to Taiwan later this week to present an award at the 54th Golden Horse Awards Ceremony, the organizers said Monday.

Lee and Golden Globes winning American actress Jessica Chastain will jointly present the award for Best Leading Actress at the ceremony on Nov. 25 in Taipei, according to the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee.

Although Lee is very busy in preparing for his new film, he has confirmed that he will take the time to return to Taiwan for the ceremony at National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, according to the committee.

Meanwhile, Chastain, a two-time Oscar nominee, will visit Taiwan for the first time to take part in the ceremony, the organizers said.

Chastain was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award in the 2012 Oscars for her performance as an aspiring socialite in the movie The Help.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-11-19

President Tsai Ing-wen marked the passing of life-long farmer’s rights activist Tai Chen-

yao, who died of pancreatic cancer early on Sunday morning at the age of 70.

Tai, a native of Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, served as vice chairman of the government’s Council of Agriculture, and for several terms as legislator. Before that he served a three-year prison sentence for his role in the pro-democracy protests of 1979, which would later become known as the Kaohsiung Incident.

But Tai is perhaps best known for pushing agricultural reform, and speaking out for the rights of Taiwanese farmers.

President Tsai awarded Tai with one of the nation’s highest honors – the Order of the Brilliant Star – in late September of this year. That was for his contributions to Taiwan’s agricultural development.    [FULL  STORY]

An Indonesian woman dies from fall from 11th floor of an apartment in an apparent bid to escape from her employer

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/19
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An Indonesian caregiver was found dead on the terrace of a

second floor apartment in Taichung yesterday after an apparent attempt to escape her current employer, reported Liberty Times.

Also on the terrace, Police on Saturday found the woman’s belongings and shoes. The 32-year-old woman, who media reports have identified as was “Panti,” arrived in Taiwan one year ago to work as a caregiver and due to problems adapting had at one point escaped from her current employer.

However, after she was discovered following the previous escape, she said she was just looking for a friend to talk to.  Recently, her employer worried that she was preparing to escape again after she made several phone calls.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/19
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) A Chinese military aircraft flew east of Taiwan Saturday morning as part of its long-distance training mission, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed Sunday.

This marks the first time the MND has confirmed that it detected a Chinese military aircraft of flying near the country after the conclusion of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on Oct. 24.

In a statement, the ministry said that a Tu-154MD electronic intelligence aircraft from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China flew northbound over the air route of Japan’s Miyako Strait near eastern Taiwan.    [FULL STORY]