The China Post
Date: October 14, 2017
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

TAIPEI (CNA) – Taiwan has seen traffic disruptions both on the land and in the air

following downpours caused by the combined effect of northeasterly winds and Tropical Storm Khanun, transportation authorities said Saturday.

The Directorate General of Highways (DGH) said two major highways — the Central Cross-Island Highway that connects Taichung and Hualien, as well as Suhua Highway along Taiwan’s rugged east coast — will be closed temporarily for safety reasons.

There have been several incidents of mudslides and falling rocks between the Dayuling and Taroko National Park section along the Central Cross-Island Highway, which will be closed for 24 hours until 8 a.m. Sunday, the DGH said.

Likewise, landslides have snapped the section between Su’ao and Chongde on the Suhua Highway, which will remain closed until at least 3 p.m. Saturday.
[FULL  STORY]

An enraged Iranian man went on the warpath for a second day today in Taipei, beating a bus driver and policeman

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/10/13
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Less than 24 hours after brawling with half a dozen police

officers in front of the Presidential Office on Thursday, an Iranian man, identified as Vahid, at 6 a.m. Friday (Oct. 13) brutally assaulted a bus driver and a police officer, reported Apple Daily.

After being released from police custody for running erratically on Xinyi Road and fighting with half a dozen police officers in front of the Presidential Office yesterday, Vahid reportedly went drinking with a friend until 6 a.m. this morning. When Vahid, who appears to be suffering some form of mental illness, was crossing the intersection of Yonghe and Linsen Road in New Taipei’s Yonghe District, he suddenly ran to the center of the road and blocked the path of a shuttle bus.

When the 63-year-old bus driver surnamed Lin (林) stepped out to ask Vahid to move out of the way, he savagely punch Lin in the face over 10 times. Lin’s eyes were swollen shut and suffered multiple lacerations to his nose, and needed to be rushed to the hospital to have his wounds treated.     [FULL  STORY]

Produce and tastes nurtured by Taiwan in the latest from ‘Good Eye Taipei.’

The News Lens
Date: 2017/10/14

Eating has always been regarded as a major event in Taiwan. Taiwanese people are concerned not only with the taste of the food but also with the farmers who grew it, the land of which it was grown on, and are even concerned with systematic problems faced by the agricultural industry.

As a result, farmers in Taiwan have been exploring unconventional ways to sell their produce; from collaborating with organic food stores to participating in farmers markets or even starting their own brands.

Media platforms that specifically report on the agriculture industry, “News&Market,” have popped up around Taiwan and are encouraging a positive dialogue between consumers and producers.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/13
By: Rita Cheng and Y.F. Low

Washington, Oct. 12 (CNA) A bill to encourage visits between the United States and

Taiwan at all levels passed the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

The legislation will now move on to the floor of the House of Representatives.

It says that since the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, ties between the United States and Taiwan have suffered from insufficient high-level communication due to the self-imposed restrictions that the United States maintains on visits by high ranking officials to Taiwan.

“The United States government should encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels,” the bill states.    [FULL  STORY]

PRESSURE TACTICS:The Chinese ambassador to the US said the Taiwan travel act and Taiwan security enhancement act bills had ‘crossed a red line’ and were a ‘provocation’

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 14, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Prior to the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ passage of a bill that would relax

restrictions on mutual visits of high-level officials from Taipei and Washington, China allegedly sent a letter to the US Congress warning against “crossing a red line,” according to the Washington Post.

In a hearing in Washington on Thursday, the committee unanimously passed the Taiwan travel act bill, which seeks to encourage visits between Taiwan and the US at all levels at a time when bilateral ties “have suffered from insufficient high-level communication due to the self-imposed restrictions that the US maintains on high-level visits with Taiwan” since the 1979 enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act.

Although Chinese pressure about Taiwan has become commonplace, Josh Rogin of the Washington Post said the article published earlier on Thursday that a threat-laden letter sent by Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai (崔天凱) to leaders of the US House’s and Senate’s foreign relations and armed serves committees in August was considered “unusual and out of line.”    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 14, 2017
By: Fan Cheng-hsiang, Liu Lee-jung and Kuan-lin Liu

TAIPEI (CNA) – President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will visit three of Taiwan’s diplomatic

allies in the Pacific from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, the Presidential Office announced Friday. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Wu Chih-chung (吳志中) said at a press conference that the president will visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands.

She will meet with Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, Tuvalu Governor-General Iakoba Italeli and Prime Minister Enele S. Sopoaga, and Solomon Islands Governor-General Frank Kabui and Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to exchange opinions on bilateral relations and issues of international importance.

Tsai will use these opportunities, as well as speeches she is scheduled to make in front of the Legislature and Parliament in the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands, respectively, to promote Taiwan’s steadfast diplomacy, as well as offer assistance on these allies’ attainment of sustainable development goals, Wu noted.

Six of Taiwan’s 20 formal diplomatic allies are in the Pacific, the other three being Nauru, Kiribati and Palau. Wu noted that Taiwan’s relations with its Pacific island allies are all steady, with no real issues.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/10/12
By: Stellina Chen 

The Philippines accidentally ran the risk of hurting the feelings of the Chinese people by using Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense logo at an event to celebrate warming ties between the Philippines and China.

The Philippines on Monday apologized to China for using a Taiwanese logo in an event to mark a “new era” of ties between the Philippines and China. Relations between the two countries are warming after prolonged periods of tension over control of the South China Sea — at least they were until this gaffe.

The Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) apologized for using the symbol of Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense rather than that of its Chinese counterpart as part of an event to thank Beijing’s ambassador to the Philippines, Zhao Jianhua, for China’s donation of 3,000 assault rifles.    [FULL  STORY]

Activists call for quicker action by Taipei City and central government

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/10/12
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Despite last May’s decision by the Council of Grand Justices

that a ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional, a court on Thursday rejected an appeal by two women against the Taipei City Government’s refusal to approve their marriage.

Taiwan has long been named as the Asian country most likely to legalize same-sex marriage, and last May’s decision by its top judicial institution has been seen as a landmark in that direction.

However, in Thursday’s case, the Taipei Administrative High Court said it had to reject the application because the relevant authorities, namely the Legislative Yuan, had not yet approved the necessary legislation, while a two-year period after which the right to same-sex marriage would become automatic had not yet ended.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/12
By: Wang Shu-fen and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA) Taiwan and the U.S. state of Wyoming have signed a reciprocal

agreement that allows their licensed drivers to obtain a driver’s license in each other’s territory without having to take written and road tests, according to a press release issued on Thursday by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

The agreement, which took effect immediately, was signed by Chen Wen-ruey (陳文瑞), director general of the MOTC’s Department of Railways and Highways, and William T. Panos, director of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, at a ceremony held in Taipei Wednesday.

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead, who arrived in Taiwan Oct. 9 for a 7-day visit, and MOTC Deputy Minister Chi Wen-jong (祁文中) were also present at the ceremony to witness the signing of the agreement.    [FULL  STORY]

REGIONAL SUMMIT:The delegation is to reaffirm Taiwan’s support for and dedication to free trade, as well as the sustained development of the region, the president said

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 13, 2017
By: Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with CNA

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said her administration is willing to work

with China at next month’s APEC summit.

Tsai made the remarks at a news conference at the Presidential Office with People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), whom she named the nation’s chief delegate to the summit.

The nation’s APEC delegation would conduct exchanges with foreign leaders and heads of state to further Taiwan’s economic relations with its trade partners, Tsai said.

“We are also willing to interact with China on the basis of goodwill under the APEC framework,” she said.

This year’s APEC summit is scheduled on Nov. 11 to Nov. 12 in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Soong was also the nation’s chief delegate at last year’s APEC summit in Peru.
[FULL  STORY]