The EPA urged the public to start changing their habit of depositing used toilet paper in trash cans at home.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/03/14
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) announced at a press

conference Tuesday that the policy of flushing used toilet paper will soon take effect, with accompanying measures to be enforced in June.

The EPA urged the public to start changing their habit of depositing used toilet paper in trash cans at home. The EPA said it had sent official documents regarding the enforcement of the new policy to government agencies across the country to ask for their cooperation.

During a hearing at the Legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee at the end of last year, EPA head Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said that his agency will come up with a campaign to encourage the flushing of toilet paper in three months. His remarks have since garnered much support from the public.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/14
By: Rita Cheng and Elaine Hou

Washington, March 13 (CNA) The United States reaffirmed on Monday its

commitment to the one-China policy, which is based on the three Sino-U.S. communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Beijing scheduled for later this week.

Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s one-China policy and how he will address the issue during a possible meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton said that Washington’s one-China policy has been unchanged for several decades and was reaffirmed in a phone call between the two presidents in February, the first since Trump took office on Jan. 20.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 15, 2017
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Representatives from human rights organizations yesterday urged the Legislative

Yuan to pass a draft bill on refugees as soon as possible.
At a news conference held to urge the swift passage of the bill, the groups played video footage of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) saying “freedom and human rights are values that Taiwanese cherish the most. Taiwan should not keep itself away from other nations when facing the issue of refugees,” during a charity event held for refugees in Taipei in June last year.

The draft bill — which would allow foreign or stateless victims of political or religious repression, war or natural disaster, who have been forced to leave their homelands to apply for asylum to gain the right to reside in Taiwan if their application is approved by a review committee — passed an initial review by a Legislative Yuan committee in July last year.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: March 15, 2017
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Former President Ma Ying-jeou, indicted Tuesday for allegedly

abetting the leaking of confidential information, stood by his innocence and called the charge “unjustifiable.”

Ma said the decision indicated that legislators involved in political lobbying could get away with it, but that those who handled and attempted to resolve scandals would face indictment.

Ma made the statement after attending a forum held by National Taiwan University and Harvard University.

“I will strive to win a fair ruling in court,” Ma told reporters, adding that he had confidence that the court would hand out a fair and just verdict.

Ma is the third Taiwanese president indicted on criminal charges.

In addition, prosecutors allege Ma violated the Communication Security and Surveillance Act and the Control Act.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Ker Chien-ming filed the lawsuit against Ma in 2013, accusing Ma of abetting the leaking of details from an ongoing criminal investigation.    [FULL  STORY]

‘I came away with clear and crucial promises regarding stability in the Taiwan Strait.’

The News Lens
Date: 2017/03/13
By: Jason Hsu

Three weeks ago I made an official visit to Washington along with seven other

Taiwanese legislators. It was the first delegation of its kind to meet with the Department of State, members of the House and Senate, and prominent think tank scholars. Over the course of these meetings, we discussed issues such as foreign policy, trade agreements, and the importance of future Taiwan-U.S. relations.

We arrived in the national capital as President Trump concluded his first month in office. At this time, many cabinet and administrative positions had yet to be filled and the sense of uncertainty in Washington was palpable. We were entering into an unknown state of affairs.    [FULL  STORY]

SINICA researcher Jeng Ming-shiou said it is the worst he has seen in 40 years

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/03/13
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — “This is the most damaging pollution I have ever seen in 40

years of my research career here on the Green Island of Taitung, and it could have persistent impact on local ecology and economy,” an expert from Taiwan’s most respected research institute said Sunday, while the cleaning up is underway with 1,123 kilograms of oil and contaminated waste being collected in two days.

Residents of Taiwan’s Green Island off the east coast revealed Saturday several heart-wrenching images of dark sticky oil-coated beaches on the island that is believed to have come from illegal waste oil dumping from a commercial vessel.

The Taitung District Prosecutors Office said that the country’s Environmental Protection Administration has tracked down the culprit, a 40,000-ton vessel, which is scheduled to land in a harbor of a foreign country, and the Taiwan government is looking for international judicial assistance to hold the vessel accountable.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/13
By: Ku Chuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, March 13 (CNA) Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) on Monday

encouraged young people to consider renting a home first if they cannot afford to buy, saying such a choice would allow them to invest more in their quality of life and their children’s education.

Yeh offered the advice in an interview on Yahoo TV Live when asked about the problem of young people not being able to own homes because of low salaries and high property prices in Taiwan.

Noting that the home ownership rate in Taiwan is around 80 percent, Yah said most young couples about to get married usually take out a mortgage, which could be a heavy financial burden in light of the country’s low salaries.    [FULL  STORY]

BACK IN FASHION:A shelved counterintelligence bill should not be opposed over fears that it would allow the government to censor free speech, a DPP legislator said

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 14, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Amid reports of an increase in Chinese espionage activities, the Democratic Progressive

Party (DPP) caucus yesterday backed a mothballed counterintelligence bill, with lawmakers saying that an oversight mechanism would be introduced to ease concerns that it would give national security agencies too much power and endanger human rights.

New counterintelligence legislation is urgent because all aspects of society — including the military, government and civilian sectors — have been infiltrated by Chinese spies, DDP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) said.

According to a national security source, about 5,000 people in Taiwan are spying for China, DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said, adding that the nation should be alarmed by this degree of infiltration and support counterintelligence legislation.
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: March 14, 2017
By: Christine Chou, The China Post with CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Legislators on Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would

increase the tax on cigarettes by NT$20 a pack.

If the law is passed, the tobacco tax would increase from the NT$590 per 1,000 cigarettes to NT$1,590 per 1,000 — or from NT$11.8 a pack to NT$31.8 per pack.

If approved, the law would come into effect as early as June.

Raising the cigarette tax was part of a set of policies announced earlier this year.

These policies were aimed at generating more funds for the government’s long-term care program.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s population is rapidly aging, challenging its vaunted healthcare system to continue supplying quality, affordable healthcare to all citizens.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/03/13
By: Tim Ferry

In just 24 years, between 1993 and the end of 2017, Taiwan will have gone from an

“aging population” with some 7% of the population 65 years old or older to an “aged society” with 14% of its population elderly. This same demographic shift took 125 years in France, over 40 years in the United States, and even 25 years in the world’s grayest society, Japan. Further, by 2025, one in five Taiwanese will be 65 years old or older, putting Taiwan in the ranks of the super-aged societies.

“Because we are aging too fast, the systems for geriatric care are still not very good at managing chronic conditions and providing care, and we have limited ability to manage complex conditions,” says Chen Liang-kung, a physician and director of the Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. “We have a huge challenge in terms of healthcare.”    [FULL  STORY]