Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/27
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Lilian Wu

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Tuesday there is no end to the road of reform of the nation’s defense as she urged ranking military officers to persist with courage to help solve problems.

The president reiterated her push for reforms at a ceremony at the Armed Forces Officer’s Club at which 21 military officers were promoted to the ranks of lieutenant or major generals, or vice or rear admirals.

The promotions will take effect on July 1.

Tsai said the promotions meant the officers will have to shoulder more responsibility, and she asked them to “keep in mind the problems they have observed along the way from the rank and file, and persist with courage to solve problems.”    [FULL  STORY]

REFORM:The act, set to take effect on July 1 next year, will lower the income replacement ratio and conditionally phase out the controversial 18% savings rate

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 28, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and

Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法), marking a significant step in the government’s pursuit of pension reform.

The act, which is to take effect on July 1 next year, will lower the income replacement ratio for civil servants who have worked for 35 years from 75 percent to 60 percent over the course of 10 years, while the ratio for those who have worked for 15 years is to drop from 45 percent to 30 percent over the same period.

The 18 percent preferential savings rate given to public servants hired before July 1995 is to be conditionally phased out.

Retired civil servants under the “old” pension system predating July 1995 who chose monthly pension payments will no longer receive the 18 percent interest by the end of 2020.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: June 27, 2017
By: The China Post

Ecuador has unilaterally demanded that Taiwan’s de facto embassy remove “Republic of China” from its

name, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

According to a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, the Ecuadorian government is requiring that Taiwan change its representative office’s name from “Oficina Comercial de la Republican de China (Taiwan)” to “Oficina Comercial de Taipei.”

Taiwan’s government deeply regrets Ecuador’s decision and has lodged its strong protest at the South American nation’s office in Taipei, the spokeswoman said.

But Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry has already changed the name of Taiwan’s office in Ecuador to “Oficina Comerical de Taipei.”

Last week, the Foreign Ministry complained of a campaign by Beijing to pressure Ecuador, Nigeria, Bahrain, Jordan and United Arab Emirates to demand that Taiwan remove the terms “R.O.C.” and “Taiwan” from the names of its representative offices.    [FULL  STORY]

The international community has been calling for his release for years.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/06/26
By: Agence France-Presse

China’s jailed Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo has been granted medical parole after being

diagnosed with terminal liver cancer last month, his lawyer told AFP on Monday.

Liu, who had about three years of his 11-year sentence to serve, was diagnosed on May 23 and was released days later, said lawyer Mo Shaoping.

The 61-year-old democracy campaigner was being treated at a hospital in the northeastern city of Shenyang.

“He has no special plans. He is just receiving medical treatment for his illness,” Mo said.

The writer was jailed in 2009 for “subversion” after spearheading a bold petition for democratic reforms.
[FULL  STORY]

Taoyuan police bust a dog fighting ring and capture 55 suspects, including organizer

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/26
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taoyuan Police raided an illegal dog fighting and gambling den on Saturday, with

so many suspects apprehended that a bus had to be brought in to take them all away.

A total of 55 employees and gamblers were snagged in the bust at a remote house in Baiyuli (白玉里), which is located in Taoyuan City’s Guanyin District.

According to Taoyuan Police Bureau captain Shih Chung-chin (施忠進), the dog fighting ring was organized by 33-year-old man surnamed Hsieh (謝), who had run many dog fights in southern Taiwan where he had eluded capture, but this was the first day for the fights to be held in northern Taiwan.

After a preliminary investigation by the police, 13 people were found to be working as “staff” at the compound, including the organizer, an MC, bookmakers, receptionists, and lookouts. Hsieh rented the venue and contacted the owners of the dogs, who in turn would invite people interested in the fights to attend. Gamblers then had to pay a NT$500 (US$16.5) door fee to enter the venue to watch the fights.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/26
By: Miao Tsung-han and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) Taiwan urged China on Monday to set free 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu

Xiaobo (劉曉波) as soon as possible in the wake of media reports that Liu is on medical parole for treatment of late-stage liver cancer.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) also urged China to ensure the right of family members of detained Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲) to visit him in China. Lee has been detained since March.

“The MAC has been concerned about mainland Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo’s latest situation, hoping that he will get good medical attention so his family members can feel comfort,” the MAC said.

It also called on China to show greater tolerance toward Chinese people who use peaceful means to call for political reform and democratic development, instead of violating their basic human rights with threats of indiscriminate lawsuits and heavy sentences.    [FULL  STORY]

MONTHLY SURVEY:Tsai could be hurt more if she rams her infrastructure development budget through the legislature, the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation chair said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 27, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) approval rating has dropped to a new low of 33 percent due to

diplomatic failures and the unpopularity of her administration’s key policies, a monthly opinion poll released yesterday found.

The poll by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found that Tsai’s approval rating has dipped from 39.4 percent last month to 33.1 percent this month, her lowest rating since taking office in May last year, while her disapproval rating was 49.6 percent this month.

The approval rating for Premier Lin Chuan’s (林全) Cabinet fell from 34 percent last month to 28.7 percent, and its disapproval rating rose from 58.1 percent to 61.1 percent, the highest in the monthly survey since December last year.

Tsai’s approach to cross-strait relations did not please 58.2 percent of respondents, the highest level since August last year, while 34.6 percent were satisfied with her approach.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: June 26, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Yunlin County police have arrested two suspected drug dealers and seized heroin and

amphetamines worth up to NT$10 million (US$335,000) in market value, local police announced Monday.

The Douliou Police Precinct said local police arrested two men early on Monday on suspicion of drug dealing and seized 49.6 grams of heroin and 6.55 kilograms of amphetamines along with a number of inhalers.

The police said they were acting on a tip-off that drug dealers from Taoyuan were carrying a large amount of drugs to Yunlin County for sale as the summer holiday break began.   [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-25

Indigenous Taiwanese singer Sangpuy Katatepan from the Puyuma tribe, won the biggest award at the

28th Golden Melodies on Sunday night. Known for singing the traditional songs of his tribe, Sangpuy’s album “Yaangad” picked up Album of the Year at what’s known as Taiwan’s version of the Grammys, defeating 23 other albums across many different languages.

Sangpuy also won the awards for Best Vocalist–Aboriginal Language and Best Vocal Recording Album.

Meanwhile, veteran rock band Mayday picked up the Best Album in Mandarin and Best Lyricist for “History of Tomorrow.”

Newcomer No Party For Cao Dong, won Best Musical Group, Best New Artist and Song of the Year with their debut album “The Servile.”
[FULL  STORY]

‘I have always believed in the power of music. Music crosses boundaries, even cultural and personal boundaries. I want to prove to the world that Taiwan produces some of the world’s most outstanding musicians and bands.’

The News Lens
Date: 2017/06/25
By: By Chieh-Ting Yeh, Ketagalan Media

In the world of international politics, nations have ignored Taiwan and pretended it does not exist for a

long time.

If you look up recent news about Taiwan, you will see the country’s most recent diplomatic setback — Panama, a nation that has maintained official ties with the Republic of China for decades, finally made the decision to recognize Beijing as the legitimate government of China as most of the rest of the world has done. Taiwan was not invited to join the World Health Assembly in Geneva this year — nevermind the fact that Taiwan has only ever been invited to attend as an observer. Even students with a Taiwanese passport were turned away from attending the public gallery at the UN Human Rights office in Geneva.

But Taiwanese people, who created a resilient civil society and that have infused tremendous amounts of creative energy into the arts, is pushing “Taiwan” the brand into places far away from the marble halls of politics. People and stories that represent Brand Taiwan now show up in gourmet magazines, startup communities worldwide, and beginning last year, Taiwan’s contemporary music played at the largest open air music event in New York: Summer Stage in Central Park.    [FULL  STORY]