Taipei Times
Date: Jan 25, 2017
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

Former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said that Beijing, “if wise,” would want to maintain

the so-called “1992 consensus” as there is no point of taking Taiwan by force, which would cost billions of dollars and incite Taiwanese hatred.

In a radio interview with Clara Chou (周玉蔻), Wu was asked whether he has received any calls from Beijing inquiring about his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship bid, “like former KMT vice chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) said he had.”

Chou was referring to Chan’s revelation on Monday last week — before he announced his candidacy for KMT chairman in the May 20 election — that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office had wanted to know whether he planned to vie for the post.

Wu said he does not know whether Beijing has concerns about the KMT election.

“I did not ask and it is not appropriate for me to ask either,” Wu said, adding that the election is an intraparty affair.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 25, 2017
By: CNA

CNA — Three patrol vessels from the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) Maritime Patrol DirectorateGeneral Southern Division is seen travelling on the sea in this aerial shot yesterday. The division stated that local patrol vessels will continue to work throughout the Lunar New Year to guarantee the rights of local fishermen. Patrol vessels will be deployed to as far as the Philippines to ensure the safety of local fishermen, the division added.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: January 24, 2017

Onwards

Meet Mondo Otani, A Japanese national who moved to Taiwan 15 years ago with the dream of being a professional taekwondo fighter. After he became injured and had to stop fighting, Otani found a new goal, to be an entertainer in Taiwan. Now he lives out his dream and loves his life that he created for himself in Taiwan.   [SOURCE}

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/23
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Eight Thai women were arrested Friday for being involved in the illegal sex trade in Miaoli County.

The eight Thai nationals, aged 20 to 30, came to Taiwan to offer sex services at a rented apartment in Zhunan Township. They were arrested after arriving in Taiwan after two days, while their original intention was to make money by providing sex services before and during the Lunar New Year festival, the police said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan6
Date: 2017/01/23
By Lu Hsin-hui and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) praised Taiwan’s Armed Forces on Monday for performing well in response to China’s move to sail its aircraft carrier battle group through the Taiwan Strait.

The Chinese aircraft carrier “Liaoning” and accompanying ships passed through the Taiwan Strait on Jan. 11, prompting Taiwan’s Air Force and other military branches to closely monitor the battle group’s movements.

During a luncheon with military officers and servicemen and women at the Ministry of National Defense, Tsai lauded the members of Taiwan’s armed forces for handling the tense situation well at a time when she was visiting some of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in Central America.    [FULL  STORY]

QUICK RESPONSE:The Taiwan Style Foundation conducted the survey on Thursday and Friday, following the government’s announcement of its package of reform plans

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 24, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Almost three-quarters of the public thinks the nation’s pension system needs to be

reformed, and almost as many like the idea of immediate reforms, a poll released yesterday by the Taiwan Style Foundation found.

The foundation said that 70.3 percent of respondents thought reforms were needed and 64.9 percent backed immediate reforms, while 14.1 percent of respondents said the pension system does not need to be reformed.

Even more respondents (73.2 percent) voiced support for the government’s goal of “keeping the pension funds afloat for at least a generation,” while 63 percent said they agreed with the government’s aim to ensure a pension system that can afford stable and long-term payments, the foundation said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 24, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Koo Cheng-yun (辜成允), chairman and president of Taiwan Cement Corp. (台泥), died Monday morning after sustaining critical injuries from a fall on Saturday, the company confirmed. He was 62.

Koo’s brother-in-law, Chang An-ping (張安平), who is also on the company’s board of directors, will replace him as chairman of Taiwan Cement, the company announced after an emergency board meeting.

Chang will also step into Koo’s other positions, taking the chairmanship of the China Synthetic Rubber Corporation and the Taiwan Prosperity Chemical Corporation.

Critics questioned whether Chang was qualified for the job, saying his hands were already full with managing the L’Hotel de Chine Group.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/01/22
By: Jules Quartly

The evolution of Taiwan’s mass market eating establishments has speeded up over the past

decade to meet developing tastes and higher expectations.

In recent years the long and colorful tradition of food vendors setting up roadside stalls has become less common, as hygiene requirements and city ordinances tighten up.

Taking its place is a multitude of food courts at MRT stops, department stores, shopping malls, airports, hospitals, and universities – even in one of the world’s tallest buildings, Taipei 101.

While it would appear that Taiwan’s plush new food courts are a world away from their chaotic and stained forebears, it’s fairly simple to trace how they developed from the night markets of old, while at the same time incorporating ideas from the United States and Japan.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/22 12:25
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

President Tsai Ing-wen reaffirmed the government’s resolve to reform the country’s unfair pension system at the opening of a national pension reform conference on Sunday, saying that the reform will avert the imminent crisis of the current system’s financial meltdown and ensure 25-year stability for a new system that will soon be in place despite the strong resistance from those who oppose the reform.

Tsai said that the country’s pension reform is a moderate and gradual reform, which was not designed to bully any particular profession or deprive anybody of their means of living. She said that the pension reform is aimed at preventing the pension funds from going bankrupt in the near future and to make sure everyone in the country has a stable and sustainable retirement income.

Regional pension reform conferences held in the run-up to Sunday’s national conference have been met with strong protests by anti-pension reform activists.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/22
By: Claudia Liu, Wang Yang-yu, and Ko Lin

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) Tens of thousands of protesters staged a sit-in protest on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei on Sunday amid a pension reform conference that was held at the Presidential Office.

The Alliance for Monitoring Pension Reform — a coalition of retired and incumbent military personnel, public servants and teachers — said that over 30,000 people attended the rally to express their anger over the government’s failure to invite them for discussions before putting forth its reform plan.

The protesters slammed the conference, saying that it was time for them to speak out, while a number of people near the Jingfu Gate vented their anger toward the government by tossing ghost money and shouting for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to step down.

Alliance convener Huang Yao-nan (黃耀南) said the members have been taking turns in a hunger strike for more than 96 hours, and that none of the alliance members were invited to the conference.    [FULL  STORY]