Taipei Times
Date: Nov 12, 2017
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

The building of more than 1,000 illegal residential units in Taipei’s Neihu District’s (內

湖) commercial zone is a stain on the nation’s political history and shows that there is still a long way to go before rule of law is established, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.

Ko made the statement at an anniversary event for two elementary schools in the city’s Datong District (大同) yesterday morning in response to media inquiries about his remarks on the issue at Taipei City Council on Friday.

The area along Neihu’s Mingshui and Jingye roads was in 1994 designated for commercial and recreational use, but up to 1,675 residential units have been built there.    [FULL STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 11, 2017
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

TAIPEI (CNA) – Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) this week outlined plans to address

issues concerning business leaders while delivering a message aimed at reassuring them and reminding them that the responsibility of improving Taiwan’s economic growth also falls on their shoulders.

The Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) in 2015 coined the term “five shortages” to characterize the business climate in Taiwan, referring to the lack of land, water, power, skilled workers and manpower.

CNFI reiterated its concerns in its White Paper last year and in July this year, and said that after the Democratic Progressive Party came to power, not only have the problems not been resolved, the investment environment has deteriorated.

In response, Lai put forth a strategy for addressing the issues in five days this week from Nov. 6 to 10 except Nov. 9 when he finalized revisions to the five-day workweek rule which business groups have blamed for disrupting business operations and stifling investment.    [FULL  STORY]

Channel News Asia
Date: 10 Nov 2017

TAIWAN: Seven people, including a three-year-old girl, were injured after a gas leak caused an explosion at a hotpot restaurant in Taiwan’s Changhua County on Thursday (Nov 9).

CCTV footage shows a staff of Bu Lao Guo Hotpot restaurant struggling to change the gas cylinder for a tabletop gas burner.

Several customers noticed the smell of leaking gas and quickly stood up to move away from their tables.

A family sitting at the table next to it were seen inching away anxiously as well – they were trapped between the wall and the source of the gas leak.     [FULL  STORY]

As a Taiwanese man wrongly held for murder readjusts to society, he has been awarded a record settlement by the courts.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/11/10
By: Edward White

Hsu Tzu-chiang (徐自強), held for the kidnap and murder of a businessman for 16 years,

was awarded a record settlement by a judicial review panel on Nov. 9, 2017. The compensation totals NT$28.12 million (US$932,072) – NT$5000 for each day he was jailed.

Below is an interview The News Lens conducted with Hsu late last year:

There was a time when Hsu Tzu-chiang (徐自強) woke up, quietly put on his best suit, and then sat by himself for hours, waiting to be executed.

After the “normal” period when someone was likely taken to be killed passed, he would return to his cell, slowly remove the clothing, carefully fold it, and put it back under his bed, ready for the next day.

“How long exactly? I can’t remember, but this lasted for a couple of months,” Hsu, 48, told The News Lens International in Taipei.

It was during the early years of a 16-year stretch on death row, when he was “numb,” when he thought “sooner or later” he would be executed. And in Taiwan, the condemned are allowed to wear their best clothing on their execution day.    [FULL  STORY]

American acrobat who broke her neck 2 weeks ago in Bali during an aerial hoop performance makes it back to Taiwan

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/10
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An American aerialist, who shattered her neck in multiple

places during an aerial hoop performance in Bali, finally arrived in Taiwan Wednesday (Nov. 8) on medevac, and is undergoing surgery today (Nov. 10), over two weeks since her gruesome accident.

On Oct. 26, Samantha Lee, 28, who goes by the stage name “Sam Panda,” was in the midst of a performance of aerial hoop in front of an audience at Finn’s Beach Club in Canggu, Bali when the cable supporting her apparatus suddenly and inexplicably released, causing her to hurtle straight for the hard, concrete stage. As she was in an inverted position at the moment the cable gave way, she landed head first, causing multiple injuries to her neck.

When she arrived at the hospital, doctors discovered that she suffered a broken C5 vertebrae, as well as two burst discs between C5 and C6 and C6 and C7. She also has spinal cord damage and a shard of bone lodged in her spinal cord which is preventing her from walking. She also received eight stitches on her head for lacerations to her scalp.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/10
By: Chin-ye Chiang and Y.F. Low

Washington, Nov. 9 (CNA) The U.S. government should strengthen its defense

partnership with Taiwan by exchanging port calls and inviting Taiwan to military exercises, according to a provision in the annual defense policy bill adopted by U.S. congressional committees.

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2018 was agreed upon by the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committees on Wednesday and included two sections on Taiwan.

To become law, the bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then signed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

In the section on strengthening the U.S-Taiwan defense partnership, the bill states: “It is the policy of the United States to reinforce its commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act and consistent with the ‘Six Assurances’ as both governments work to improve Taiwan’s self-defense capability.”    [FULL  STORY]

SCHOOLS:The nation could allow foreign students to attend senior-high schools, allowing them to acquire the necessary skills before issuing a work visa, Lai said

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 11, 2017
By: Lee Hsin-fan  /  Staff reporter, with CNA

Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday stressed the importance of immigrants in

addressing the nation’s shortage of workers, as the Cabinet revealed its plan for the immigration of workers from nations targeted by the government’s New Southbound Policy.

Lai made the remarks in the last of five news conferences held this week to address the nation’s “five industrial shortages” — land, water, electricity, talent and workers.

“It is impossible to talk about talent recruitment without touching upon immigration policy,” Lai said, adding that the Cabinet would discuss how to create a friendly immigration environment before revealing its new policy.

Most of the nation’s immigrants obtain their status through marriage or a biological relationship, which is rare internationally, Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億) said.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/11/09
By: TNL Staff
Editor: Morley J Weston

Revisions to the Labor Standards Act agreed Nov. 6 and passed to the Legislative Yuan for review late Thursday, Nov. 9, pave the way for changes to work schedules across the country.

The changes were sold as, “allow[ing] flexibility to both employees and employers,” but some provisions have been criticized for eliminating protections afforded by the last revision, known as “One fixed, One Flexible,” passed in late 2016.

A simplified history and some of the more controversial revisions to the law are explained below:    [FULL  STORY]

The Biafrans seek to be independent of the Nigerian state, and are raising awareness for their cause

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/09
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 8 residents of Taiwan

were surprised to see a large group of African men chanting together and waving flags on some of Taipei’s busiest roads.

The group of about 65 people marched to draw attention to the ongoing independence movement in the West African region of Biafra. A majority of people in the region consider Biafra a distinct nation comprised of several indigenous groups, which have been suppressed by, and subordinated to the federal state of Nigeria.

There are around 70 people from Biafra living in Taiwan, and they are represented by an organization called the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The march on Wednesday is the first such event to be organized by the group, said Charles Opanwa, the group’s main organizer.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/09
By: Hsiao Po-wen, Wang Yang-yu and William Yen

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) Taiwan’s High Court ruled Thursday that a man wrongly held in

custody for nearly 16 years should receive NT$28.12 million (US$932,072) in compensation, a record for a person not wrongfully executed.

Hsu Tzu-chiang (徐自強) was declared innocent by the High Court last year in the ninth retrial of his case, in which he was accused of playing a role in the 1995 kidnapping and murder of a wealthy businessman.

Hsu was held in custody for 5,808 days from June 24, 1996 to May 18, 2012, according to a statement issued by the High Court. He was also concurrently held in custody for 184 days for an unrelated gambling conviction, in which he was not wrongfully convicted.

So the court ruled Hsu should receive compensation of NT$5,000 for each of the 5,624 days he was wrongly held in custody.    [FULL  STORY]