“The hospital is the only Catholic university hospital in the Chinese-speaking society” said the president of the university.

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/09/29
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – After years of preparation and construction, the Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital held an opening ceremony on Friday morning, with Taiwan’s Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and a Vatican delegation invited to cut the ribbon.

Nevertheless, the hospital will not be providing services to the public until October 2 except for the food court, and the soft opening is scheduled for October 9.

Chen said the hospital would become the embodiment of medical care among other hospitals in Taiwan.

“I hope the hospital will cherish the life of every patient, and I would like to ask the hospital staff to take good care of themselves, for their health is the best insurance on patients’ health and safety,” added Chen.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/29
By: Chen Chun-hua and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) The Japanese government should apologize to Taiwanese

comfort women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Friday in backing his previous stance on the issue.

The premier had been asked during a general interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan on Friday whether he would stand behind a proposal he made as legislator back in 2008 to ask the Japanese government to apologize to the Taiwanese comfort women.

Kuomintang lawmaker Fai Hrong-tai (費鴻泰), who asked the original question, followed up by asking whether Lai will have Taiwan’s representative to Japan, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), ask the Japanese government for a public apology.    [FULL  STORY]

 

‘EXTERNAL LIAISON OFFICE’:The ‘Liberty Times’ reported that a supposed unit of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has been recruiting organized crime groups for Beijing

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 30, 2017
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) yesterday said China’s alleged

manipulation of organized crime groups in Taiwan would not be tolerated.

“The government will not tolerate such manipulation and the infiltration of Taiwan’s democratic society from abroad. We are resolved to take action and face the problem, and will conduct a full and in-depth investigation,” Yeh said during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

“We are a nation based on the legal framework of our Constitution, and the people have strong faith in our democratic institutions. Therefore, we must deal with this matter in a serious manner, fully investigate it and take up measures to counter it,” he added.

Yeh’s remarks followed a report yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times), which suggested that the Chinese Ministry of State Security has been operating an “external liaison office” in Xiamen, China, that communicates with and provides financial assistance to organized crime groups in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post 
Date: September 29, 2017

Amid controversies over Premier William Lai’s proclamation as a pragmatic supporter

of Taiwan independence, Lai appealed to lawmakers not to inquire his “personal stance” on the issue in the future.
Lai has courted controversies after saying that he advocator Taiwan independence during an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday and that he was a pragmatic supporter who believes Taiwan is already an independent sovereign state under the name Republic of China. The opposition Kuomintang, which supports closer ties with China, slammed the premier for advocating for Taiwanese independence. Some lawmakers also questioned his embrace of an issue outside a premier’s job description.

During another questioning session at the Legislative Yuan Friday, he said he agreed with the criticism that as premier he should not have expressed his personal opinion on Taiwan independence.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/09/28
By: Rosemary Chen

Craft workshops are often the only chance for graduates of Taiwan’s special needs

schools to make a valuable contribution to society. But with funding in short supply, the system is leaning on startups like handmade soap specialist TriSoap to bring down costs and keep the workshops in business.

Underfunded and unable to self-sustain, Taiwan’s “craft workshops” are turning to collaboration with startups to stay afloat.

Craft workshops are an essential bridge that offer graduates of special needs schools who cannot manage the demands of regular employment an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of stable and productive work. The government first established the initiative in 2009 to boost rates of employment among people with disabilities in Taiwan – currently 11 percent, compared with a national rate of 4 percent.
[FULL STORY]

Police bust of sex dens inadvertently acts as free advertising for clubs

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/09/28
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Taiwan’s TV news stations and websites broadcast a

major crackdown on all hotels, KTV bars and such shady establishments operated by the United Bamboo Gang (Bamboo Union, 竹聯幫), Taiwan’s largest Triad, in the wake of a brutal attack on National Taiwan University (NTU) students, netizens could not help but notice the large parades of scantily clad women at these clubs.

As police launched a massive raid on hotels, bars, and KTV clubs that act as a front for prostitution in Taipei’s Zhongshan District on Sept. 25 and 26, little did authorities know that their attempt at shaming the employees of these establishments might have the opposite effect.   [FULL  STORY]

LAW ENFORCEMENT:MECO Chairman Angelito Banayo called for closer cooperation to better address ‘borderless’ crimes such as drug smuggling and human trafficking

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 29, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Philippine nationals could become eligible for visa-free entry for stays in Taiwan of up

to 14 days by next month or November, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Winston Chen (陳文儀) said yesterday.

The details of the new policy were hammered out at an interministerial meeting of national security, police, immigration and other officials, Chen said at a news conference, adding that Premier William Lai (賴清德) approved the program on Wednesday.

The government has decided to implement the visa-free program on a trial basis to promote people-to-people, tourist and commercial exchanges between Taiwan and the Philippines, Chen said, adding that the start date for the trial is expected to be announced in a month.

The government encourages Manila to follow the principle of reciprocity and grant Taiwanese nationals visa-free privileges as soon as possible, Chen said.

The government has since Aug. 1 relaxed visa rules for nationals of the 10 ASEAN member states, which include the Philippines, as well as for Indian nationals.

Taiwan included the Philippines in its electronic visa program on Oct. 7 last year.
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post  
Date: September 28, 2017

Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin died after falling off an apartment building early

Thursday in an apparent suicide.

Lee was standing on a rain shed outside the apartment of his ex-wife on the 11th floor, according to his neighbor a floor below him. He jumped soon after the neighbor asked him about his intentions. He was declared died by paramedics later at the scene.

The police said their preliminary investigation pointed to suicide, citing findings that Lee had been suffering from psychological stress. The police found no suicide notes at the scene.

Local media outlets speculated on the cause of Lee’s apparent suicide. Several media outlets quoted Lee’s friend, Taipei Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping as saying that Lee has been troubled by health problems. The Apple Daily, on the other hand, reported that Lee was suffering from depression after the end of his romantic relationship with a local businesswoman in July.    [SOURCE]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2017/09/28
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin (李新) fell

from a building at 5 a.m. this morning and police confirm that he is dead, reported CNA.

Taipei City Daan Branch police stated that one of Taipei’s city councilors, Lee Hsin, 64, who represents Daan District, fell to his death from a building on Section 1 of Anho road at 5 a.m. this morning, but the reason is still under investigation.
[SOURCE]