How to manage money when traveling in Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/04
By: Steven Crook

Taiwan’s economy is still largely based on cash transactions, especially when

compared to places like Australia and South Korea, so visitors should always carry a decent amount of paper currency. The good news is that almost every business can provide change if you pay for a small item with an NT$1,000 (US$33) note, so there’s no need to hoard coins or NT$100 notes. Because Taiwan is a safer-than-average society, people don’t think twice about carrying around substantial amounts of cash.

Outside of banks and major post offices, money-changing options are limited. Unlike in some other Asian countries, open-all-hours money-changing kiosks don’t exist in Taiwan. Some department stores are able to change U.S. dollars, euros, Japanese yen and Chinese RMB. When buying NT dollars, you will likely get a better rate of exchange in Taiwan than in your home country, so consider waiting until you have arrived and then changing money at the airport. The banks in Taoyuan and Kaohsiung airports keep very long hours for the convenience of international travelers. The rates they offer are as good as those posted in city-centre banks.
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An explosion was heard followed by flames at a high-end sports car auto body shop in Zhongshan District

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/04
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A fire broke out in a auto body repair shop Thursday

evening near the corner of Nongan Street and Jilin Road in Taipei’s Zhongshang District at 9:50 p.m., according to firefighters on the scene.

Witnesses reported hearing an explosion, followed by a loss of power in neighboring buildings. Flames were then spotted erupting from the Haohan Car Cutie Salon (皓翰專業汽車美容保養), which services luxury sports cars.

Multiple fire engines quickly converged on the scene and extinguished the blaze within approximately 20 minutes, with the help of a fire truck crane.

No injuries were reported at the time of publication. The cause of the fire is not yet known.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/04
By: Hu Yu-li and Elaine Hou

Toronto, May 3 (CNA) Canada has voiced its support for Taiwan’s participation in the

upcoming session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), saying that to exclude Taiwan from the event would create “counter-productive” results for the international health system.

In response to questions by Canadian Senator Thanh Hai Ngo about Taiwan’s participation in the WHA on Tuesday, Peter Harder — the government’s representative in the Senate — said that Canada has been supportive of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations on global health and other areas.

The next session of the WHA, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), is scheduled for May 22-31 in Geneva, but Taiwan has yet to receive an invitation from the WHO’s Secretariat.    [FULL  STORY]

‘MAJOR HURDLE’:Lawmakers reviewed and agreed on 75 of the 92 articles in the amendment package and are to discuss the remaining articles in cross-caucus talks

Taipei Times
Date: May 05, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Draft amendments to reform the civil servants’ pension system yesterday passed the

first stage of review at the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, but several key issues were left unresolved and are to be discussed in cross-caucus negotiations.

After lawmakers across party lines reviewed 75 of the 92 articles in the amendment, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), co-convener of the committee, announced that the lawmakers had agreed on major points and adjourned the session at about 6pm.

The 17 articles upon which the lawmakers failed to agree include major amendments proposed by the DPP to reform civil servants’ pensions, including an 18 percent preferential savings rate for retired public employees, the income replacement ratio for retirees and a minimum level for monthly pensions.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: May 5, 2017
By: The China Post news staff and CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Every five minutes and six seconds, someone in Taiwan will

develop cancer.

That’s according to the newest government statistics released Thursday by the Health Promotion Administration (HPA).

The cancer rate has accelerated by 12 seconds, according to the rise in cancer cases from 2013 to 2014. New cancer patients nationwide rose to a record high 103,147 in 2014, up 4004 cases from 2013.

The leading types of cancer were: colon cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, mouth cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, skin cancer, thyroid cancer and throat cancer.

Colon cancer has consistently placed among the leading types of cancer in Taiwan, while breast cancer overtook liver cancer for the first time.

The HPA attributes the increased rate of cancer to a rapidly aging society as well as unhealthy lifestyle habits. It added that while the incidents of cancer have increased, death rates from the disease have plateaued. Some forms of cancer have declined, such as liver, stomach and skin cancers.    [FULL  STORY]

PROTEST:The government is considering holding an international news conference in Geneva as a sign of protest if it is not invited to the meeting, the health minister said

Taipei Times
Date: May 04, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan is to send a delegation to Geneva, Switzerland, for the annual World Health

Assembly (WHA) this month, even if it is not invited, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday.

Chen told the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee that the government is preparing to go to Geneva and make its presence felt while the WHA is in session, even without an invitation.

The WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is scheduled to meet from May 22 to May 31.

Taiwan wants to attend the meeting as an observer, as has been the case for the past eight years. The deadline for online registration for this year’s WHA session is Monday, and Taiwan is still hoping for an invitation.

Many believe an invitation will not be forthcoming because of Beijing’s ongoing campaign to suppress Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.

That campaign has intensified since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May last year.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date; May 4, 2017
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan

TAIPEI, Taiwan — In the aftermath of the suicide of Lin Yi-han (林奕含). a young

writer haunted by an alleged rape by her cram school tutor, Taiwan is reexamining its prevalent cram-school culture.

In a reaction to the alleged offense, New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) on Wednesday called for an amendment to the law to mandate that all cram school teachers register with their real names.

A rising sentiment of agitation and grievance among the public has led to a wave of reflection on the wide-spread cram school culture after the suicide of the 26-year-old novelist. Lin was best known for her acclaimed novel about a high school girl enticed into sexual relations by her cram-school tutor. After her death, the novelist’s parents wrote on social media claiming that their daughter died not just because of the major depressive order she had struggled with since she was 16 years old, but also because she had been traumatized by a similar offense allegedly committed by her cram school instructor when she was in high school.    [FULL  STORY]

The Chinese embassy in Canberra should pray that audio and video of what transpired never appears online, writes Danielle Cave.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/03
By: Danielle Cave

Shouting down a host country’s Indigenous welcome to the country ceremony is diplomacy gone mad. While this may not be the most detailed analytical description of what transpired in Perth on May 1 at the little-known Kimberley Process (a multilateral initiative combating the conflict diamond trade), adjectives like brazen, outlandish, disrespectful or uncouth, just don’t seem adequate.

What has been reported (in news and social media) is this: at the opening session of the Kimberley Process the Chinese delegation used their microphone to shout over the welcome to the country ceremony and the introduction for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who was about to take the stage. The Chinese delegation disrupted the event to protest the attendance of a group from Taiwan who, as in previous years, was a “guest of the chair” (Australia). Following subsequent disruptions and objections later in the morning, by both Chinese and African delegates, the Chair withdraw the invitation to the Taiwanese, who then left. The event then resumed.

Beyond the initial drama, this international incident throws up a number of issues that deserve further consideration.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to quake-proof old buildings under Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Plan

Date: 2017/05/03
By: Judy Lin,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s inclusion of strengthening quake resilience of old

buildings in public markets as part of the government’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Plan (前瞻計畫) has gone under the media radar recently, according to a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) statement.

Controversial rail infrastructure, water environment and green energy budget proposals under the development plan have been thrown under the media limelight, but little has been covered about fortifying the quake resilience structure of old buildings in public markets.

The Tsai Administration intends to allocate NT$1.5 billion (US$49.93 million) to improve quake resilience structures in old public markets and buildings from 2017 to 2020, and enforce local governments to test, maintain, and fortify quake-proof architectural structures.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/03
By Hsu Chi-wei and Elaine Hou

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) An exhibition featuring the challenges faced by homosexuals in

Taiwan and the history of their fight for marriage equality will take place in Taipei later this month to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the organizers said Wednesday.

The exhibition is scheduled for May 11-18 at Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei, said the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, a Taipei-based civic group that advocates same-sex marriage.

At a news conference, the group extended an invitation to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Justice Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) and members of the public opposed to gay marriage, to attend the exhibition to gain a greater understanding of the issue.
[FULL  STORY]