Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/22
By: Central News Agency

The Taipei City government said Friday it has revised its regulations to allow same-sex couples to apply for affordable public housing, starting in mid-August.

The Taipei City government on July 18 amended the regulations governing the rental of social housing in the city, expanding the definition of “family members” to include same-sex couples who have registered their partnerships in Taipei’s household records, according to the Taipei City Office for Gender Equality.

When the new regulation takes effect in mid-August, registered same-sex couples will be eligible to apply for rental units in public housing, including in a new complex called “Songshan Healthy Public Housing” that is currently under construction in Songshan District and is scheduled to open in 2018, the office said.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/07/22
By: J. Michael Cole

‘It is downright unfair of media like the BBC to claim that this is the normal way things

are carried out at Taiwan’s legislature,’ says J. Michael Cole.

Anyone who follows domestic politics in Taiwan will have seen in recent days a series of brawls pitting opposition Kuomintang lawmakers against those from the majority Democratic Progressive Party. Faces have been slapped; necks choked; water sprayed; and pieces of furniture — chairs, desks — sent flying.

The ferocious behaviour has attracted the attention of international media, which are ever on the lookout for a bit of drama. On 18 July, for example, the BBC ran a piece by its Taiwan correspondent titled “Taiwan’s brawling in parliament is a political way of life,” accompanied by a video clip with text reading “This is the Taiwanese parliament. This is the second fight within a week. The opposition party is known for getting physical to get what they want. If they oppose a piece of legislation, they fight to block it. Literally.”

Such acts are indisputably disgraceful and deserve condemnation, irrespective of who the instigator may have been. It is a blemish on Taiwan’s democracy and hardly the kind of soft power that the democratic island-nation — mature enough that it stands to become the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage — wants to broadcast to the rest of the world.

At the same time, it is downright unfair of media like the BBC to claim that this is the normal way things are carried out at Taiwan’s legislature. In reality, a lot is accomplished in the chambers of Parliament without a hitch, certainly without the high drama that we have seen in the past two days. In fact, most of the time, the routine at the Legislative Yuan is hardly more exciting than what goes on in parliaments worldwide. The BBC’s (and other media) failure to point this out is both unfair to Taiwan’s accomplishments since the lifting of martial law three decades ago and to its audience, which experts aside could be forgiven for regarding Taiwan as immature or the object of derision, and democracy in general as a silly, messy experiment.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/22
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and Y.F. Low

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) A total of 10,542 fraud cases were reported in Taiwan in the first

half of the year, which translated into 58.2 cases per day and one per 24.7 minutes, according to government statistics released Saturday.

However, the incidence of fraud was less than in the same period last year, when one case per 24.4 minutes was reported, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said.

It said 21.3 percent of the cases in the first half of 2017 were imposter fraud, which was the most common type, while 16.8 percent were scams in which people were asked to cancel installment payments at ATM machines.

Of the 11,215 fraud suspects arrested between January and June, 71.3 percent were men and 73.8 percent were between 18 and 39 years of age, the ministry said.
[FULL  STORY]

SECURITY THREAT:The ability to spread rumors and mobilize people on a large scale requires an organized entity to coordinate the effort, unnamed sources said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 23, 2017
By: Lee Hsin-fang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The government is planning to establish an Internet site to refute online rumors in light

of alleged Internet manipulation of government information, sources said yesterday.

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) recently posted information on its Web site promoting a government policy to reduce burning incense and joss paper at temples, but it was described online as a ban on burning incense and joss paper, which prompted irate templegoers to march in Taipei today.

While the groups agreed to change the event from a protest to a parade following negotiations with the government, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has seen the potential damage of online rumors, the sources said.

Each ministry has its own task force to monitor rumors and fake news, Minister Without Portfolio Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said.

The task forces determine which information is controversial and submit the information for verification with the relevant agency, which issues a press release for clarification if the news is erroneous, Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 21, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — After Jan. 1, 2018, you’ll no longer be getting a plastic bag for your

bubble tea at the beverage shop.

The Executive Yuan said yesterday that beverage shops, bookstores, pharmacies and four other types of businesses will no longer hand out plastic bags with every purchase, starting New Year’ s Day.

The policy is expected to save at least 15 million plastic bags, the government said.

The Environmental Protection Administration has been promoting the prudent use of plastic shopping bags since 2002.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-20

Taiwan’s industries are facing an increasing number of labor relations issues. That is

according to the 2017 White Book released on Thursday by the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI). The federation is a major forum for Taiwan’s industrial sector.

The White Book presents a total of 119 subjects of discussion and 272 suggestions, a significant increase compared to the previous year. The biggest number of new suggestions pertains to labor relations.

The latest revision of the labor law kicked in at the beginning of the year. The new law mandates that all employees get one fixed day off per week plus one flexible day which can be negotiated for overtime pay. The new law has drawn strong backlash, with employers complaining about higher labor costs and employees largely not earning more than before.

CNFI secretary general Tsai Lien-sheng said the new law has caused great damage to the nation’s economy.

Landlord places an ad for a tiny 2 ping balcony in Taipei for NT$5,000 and he quickly finds a tenant

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/20
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taipei landlord recently placed an advertisement for a two

ping (a ping equals 3.3 square meters) one-room apartment for NT$5,000 (US$164) per month, however netizens were astonished to find that the “apartment” was actually a narrow balcony and someone apparently rented it.

The landlord, surnamed Hung (洪), advertised a “one-room apartment” with shared bathroom and kitchen (雅房) on the fourth floor of a building on the 591 apartment rental website with a total area of two ping at a price of NT$5,000 per month. He managed to stuff a small mattress on the floor and covered it with a cotton comforter in what was actually a cramped balcony, normally used by most Taiwanese to dry their laundry.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/20
By: Tsao Yu-fan, Evelyn Kao and Christie Chen

Los Angeles, July 19 (CNA) Taiwan’s first domestically developed satellite, Formosat-5,

arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday and is being transported to its launch site.

Richard Chang (張揚展), an official from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, confirmed that the China Airlines cargo plane delivering Formosat-5 has landed in the city, and the satellite will arrive at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California early the next day.

A team of 17 from Taiwan are waiting at the base, where the satellite will undergo final testing and integration with the Falcon 9 rocket, its launch vehicle, before launch which is scheduled for Aug. 24 (U.S. time).

The satellite was designed by the Hsinchu-based National Space Organization (NSPO) and built by more than 50 domestic teams including Taiwan’s CMOS Sensor Inc. and National Central University.    [FULL  STORY]

SLOW RESPONSE?DPP sources said that the president accused the Cabinet of passivity in explaining its environmental policy, which does not seek to ban religious practice

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 21, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff report

The Cabinet yesterday denied accusations that an environmental measure to reduce

the burning of incense and joss paper was an attempt to eliminate religious rites, saying that the measures are aimed at reducing air pollution, not interfering with religious freedom.

An Environment Protection Administration (EPA) initiative to reduce the use of incense and “ghost money” to minimize airborne pollutants has given rise to Internet rumors that the government plans to draft a religious associations act and phase out the practice of burning incense.

Dozens of local temples and religious organizations are to protest in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on Sunday to demand the protection of religious traditions.

The Cabinet said that the EPA never intended to eliminate incense or joss paper, but only to encourage their reduced use for environmental reasons.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 20, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A woman who reportedly died taking a selfie in Taoyuan may have

been conspiring with her family to cash in on her insurance policies, according to a probe.

This April 24, a 44-year-old woman surnamed Yeh fell off Provincial Highway No. 7 at the 7.5-kilometer mark, tumbling off a steep slope to her death.

Following a monthslong investigation, prosecutors said the woman was suspected of killing herself so that her family could benefit from her insurance policies.

In the half year before Yeh’s deadly fall, she had purchased multiple accident insurance policies, with which her husband, son and aunt claimed NT$34 million after her death.
[FULL  STORY]