Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/05
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei. Sept. 5 (CNA) Taiwan’s first-ever young agricultural ambassadors are soon to

head to the Philippines and Indonesia as part of the government’s ongoing push to establish closer relations with neighboring nations through its New Southbound Policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Tuesday.

In a press event to send off 30 ambassadors following a two-day-training program, Deputy Foreign Minister Paul Chang (章文樑) congratulated the ambassadors due to travel to the two Southeast Asian countries from Sept. 10-16. In cooperation with the Council of Agriculture, Chang said the new project recruited university and college students majoring in agriculture, economics-related disciplines and experts in rice, tea and fruit cultivation, as well as fish fry breeding.

These ambassadors; 18 men and 12 women, from 14 counties and cities nationwide, were selected from 120 participants to undertake training. They were also split into two groups, one for each country.    [FULL  STORY]

TRANSFORMATION:With the appointment of William Lai as premier, the new Cabinet should focus on ‘execution’ of the plans laid by its predecessor, the president said

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 06, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday announced the appointment of a new

premier and outlined seven major policy goals for the new Cabinet, including the 5+2 Transformation Plan.

Tsai officially announced that Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) would be the new premier, replacing Premier Lin Chuan (林全).
Lin assumed office on May 20 last year.

Tsai said she is confident Lai has a good understanding of public opinion and would be able to rapidly respond to the needs of people across the nation.

“We have seen his executive capability,” she said of Lai, a highly rated lawmaker from 1999 to 2010.

Lai was elected Tainan mayor in 2010 and won a second term four years later with 72.9 percent of the vote, the highest-ever in a mayoral election since 1987, when martial law was lifted in the nation.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 5, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — After months of rumor about his appointment as premier, Tainan

Mayor William Lai was officially named for the post by President Tsai Ing-wen Tuesday.

The announcement was made by Tsai at a press conference at the Presidential Office. Lai will take over Lin Chuan – both of whom were present at the event — as the head of the Executive Yuan on Thursday.

Tsai counted the accomplishments of the outgoing premier and praised him as a man of character who is willing to sacrifice for reform.

Lin, relaxed and smiling, said he felt he was attending his own “graduation ceremony”. He thanked Lai for accepting “this heavy burden”.

Lin said he started convincing the Tainan mayor to take his job as early as June. Local media reported in July that Lai would replace Lin on early Sept. The Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office refuted the reports as groundless rumors at the time and stressed that there had been no plans for Cabinet reshuffle.    [FULL  STORY

The News Lens
Date: 2017/09/04
By: By Chris Horton, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

Recent cases have revealed that telephone scamming involving Taiwanese swindlers

is a big international business.

It’s a story that has become all too common.

On July 17, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Cambodia had arrested seven Taiwanese nationals after busting up a telecom fraud ring following a tip-off from China. A ministry spokeswoman said she hoped Cambodia would return the suspects to Taiwan, rather than sending them to China as it had done with 13 other Taiwanese suspects in 2016.

Taiwan’s government views the extradition of its citizens from third-party countries to China as a form of abduction, but has little leverage to prevent it from happening, especially in countries such as Cambodia that have diplomatic relations with Beijing, scant even unofficial ties with Taiwan, and are heavily dependent upon China for trade and investment.    [FULL  STORY]

The Chinese believe that the ‘gates of hell’ close again and the ghosts will be forced to return to their realm.

Taiwan News
Date:2017/09/04
By: Juvina Lai,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – During the Hungry Ghost month it is common to see Chinese

opera and puppet shows and singing performances around cities as the festival gets into full swing.

During these shows and performances, none of the audience will be brave enough to sit on the front row as the seats are considered to be reserved for the “good brothers” (好兄弟), which is a polite way of referring to the ghosts.

According to Chinese mythology, the gates of hell open during the Hungry Ghost month and they roam around the world of the living in search of entertainment, food, and possibly souls, but when the gates of hell close these ghosts have to go back to their realm. Therefore, no one dares to offend the ‘good brothers’ when they are free and roaming around, treating themselves with food and entertainment everywhere.

In Penang, Malaysia nearly every temple with Chinese association holds nightly shows and performances as it is customary to entertain ghosts while they feast on the offerings.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/04
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) Dozens of Vietnamese migrant workers and labor rights activists protested in front of the National Police Agency (NPA) in Taipei on Monday over the shooting death of a Vietnamese worker on Aug. 31, demanding a thorough investigation of the case to determine if excessive police force was used.

The protesters shouted slogans and held placards that read “police violence” and “investigate excessive use of force,” and called for surveillance footages or other images of the shooting, if any, to be released.

The deceased Vietnamese worker, Nguyen Quoc Phi, was shot dead by a police officer in Hsinchu County, northern Taiwan on Aug. 31 after Nguyen allegedly attacked the authorities who tried to stop him from vandalizing and stealing from a car, according to the statement released by the NPA on Monday.    [FULL  STORY]

PROGRESS:Sheu Yu-jer voiced confidence that a tax reform package will be reviewed and approved even after a Cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of the premier

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 05, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The upcoming Cabinet reshuffle would not delay the progress of tax reform, whether

the new premier retains or names a new finance chief to lead the reform, Minister of Finance Sheu Yu-jer (許虞哲) told a press conference yesterday.
Premier Lin Chuan (林全) resigned yesterday and the Cabinet is expected to follow suit on Thursday.

The Ministry of Finance on Friday unveiled a major tax reform package that would abolish the imputation tax system for investors, increase the deduction thresholds for personal income taxes and lower the cap on the personal income tax rate.

The Cabinet will review, adjust and submit the approved package to the Legislative Yuan, which is expected to begin its new session on Sept. 22, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.    [FULL STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 4, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI – Premier Lin Chuan and the entire Cabinet will resign on Thursday, the Executive Yuan announced Monday.

Lin tendered his resignation to President Tsai Ing-wen at a national security meeting on Sunday. According to Executive Yuan Spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung, Lin thanked the president for the opportunity to serve the country. Lin said that it is now time for him to go as he has completed a phase of his mission and that his departure will facilitate the president’s official appointment strategy.

Lin told the media that he will not accept any governmental appointments after his resignation. Some media outlets have speculated that the premier would take over as the Central Bank governor after the incumbent chief Perng Fai-nan’s retirement slated for 2018.    [FULL  STORY]

Police and prosecutors are investigating a report that a little girl in Taoyuan had been abused by her mother’s employer.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/03
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Police and prosecutors are investigating a report that a little

girl in Taoyuan had been abused by her mother’s employer.

Taoyuan Police Department Women and Children’s Protection Division Chief, Su Ching-bin (蘇慶彬), said police responded to a report of possible child abuse filed by a member of the public. Taoyuan Police found black eyes, bruises and scars on the child’s body and then took her to a hospital for a checkup. Police said they had referred the case to prosecutors, and that social workers had intervened immediately to take the girl under their care.

Su said the male employer hired a single mother at the beginning of this year and told her that he would help take care of her daughter so that she could concentrate on working.   [FULL  STORY]