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Jody Chiang confirms she confronted assailant who assaulted her brother

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/22
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Famous retired singer Jody Chiang Thursday pressed charges through a lawyer against a suspect who

(Police arrested the suspect on Dec 21, 2016.)

allegedly broke into her house in Tamsui District, New Taipei City, assaulted her younger brother and seized her at one time.

Police said Jody’s brother was attacked by suspect Chen Ching-biao, 58, at Jody’s home in a community in Tamsui on Dec 18. Chen, who once worked as a janitor for the community, got in Judy’s home uninvited and began to attack Jody’s brother with a steel bar, police said. Judy’s brother was mentally retarded reportedly due to a fever when he was small.

Police has been investigating the case since it happened on Dec 18, but had withheld the fact that Jody was there when the assault took place.    [FULL  STORY]

Roads to close for same-sex marriage rallies in Taipei: Police

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/22
By: Chu Tse-wei and Ko Lin

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) Roads around the Legislative Yuan will be closed from midnight on December 26,

(CNA file photo)

with supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage set to hold competing rallies in the streets around the legislative building that day, while a committee review bills to legalize same-sex marriage, the Zhongzheng First Precinct of the Taipei City Police Department said on Thursday.

Police said the roads that will be closed on Monday midnight include Jinan Rd. Sec. 1 (between Zhongshan and Linshen South Rd), Zhenjiang Street (from Jinan Rd. Sec. 1 to Qingdao West Rd), Zhongshan South Rd. (from Jinan Rd. to Zhongxiao East Rd.) and a section of Qingdao West Rd. (Zhenjiang St. to Zhongshan South. Rd).

The police are advising those who work in the area around the legislative building to commute to work using public transport on Monday instead of driving.    [SOURCE]

Labor laws start today after ‘oversight’

MIXED MESSAGES:Executive Yuan spokesperson Hsu Kuo-yung said the date had not been moved, but rather parts of the regulations come into force at different times

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 23, 2016
By: Lee Hsing-fang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Executive Yuan yesterday moved the implementation date for amendments to the Labor Standards

Premier Lin Chuan speaks to reporters ahead of a Taiwan Financial Services conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

Act (勞動基準法) forward to today, promising to negotiate with employers and business owners.

Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said the plan to implement the amendments on Sunday next week, the first day of the new year, was due to an oversight.

He said officials had not noticed that some articles were to become effective on certain dates, while others were to become effective immediately.

The Executive Yuan will help business owners acclimatize to the new regulations, specifically those in the transport and hotel industries, Lin said, adding that it is considering alternative implementation dates for them.

We believe that businesses will be able to weather this brief, turbulent period with relative ease, Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

Military blasts signal with Taiping artillery demo

The China Post
Date: December 23, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

In a joint effort with the Defense Ministry(國防部), the Coast Guard Administration (海巡署) completed an

A 40mm cannon fires into the sea, sending up waves of white splashes on Taiping Island on Thursday, Dec. 22. (Photo Courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration )

artillery firing demonstration on Taiping Island (太平島) in the disputed South China Sea on Thursday.

The Defense Ministry’s 120 mm mortar bomb saw its first artillery firing on the island on Thursday, among other military weapons and canons.

The demonstration was the first since an arbitration on the South China Sea in July.

The artillery firing display was initially scheduled for October. The Coast Guard Administration confirmed that it had been postponed by the Defense Ministry until Dec. 21 through Dec. 23 on personnel issues.    [FULL  STORY]

President Tsai to visit Central America allies in January

Taiwan Today
Date: December 21, 2016

President Tsai Ing-wen will depart Jan. 7 on a nine-day tour of Republic of China

Deputy Foreign Minister Javier Ching-shan Hou outlines the itinerary for President Tsai Ing-wen’s upcoming visit to Central America during a news conference at the Office of the President Dec. 20 in Taipei City. (CNA)

(Taiwan) diplomatic allies Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, the Office of the President announced Dec. 20.

Deputy Foreign Minister Javier Ching-shan Hou said the trip aims to deepen friendships with Central American allies, bolster economic exchanges and trade ties, and allow officials to witness the results of Taiwan’s efforts to cooperate with the Central American Integration System, an alliance designed to enhance political and economic ties between countries in the region.

According to Hou, Tsai’s trip is in line with the nation’s policy of steadfast diplomacy, which seeks to strengthen cooperation with countries that share common values on a mutually beneficial basis.    [FULL  STORY]

During her visit to Central America, the president will meet with national leaders and high-ranking officials to exchange views on relevant bilateral and international issues. In addition, the president will inspect cooperation programs including the “one town, one product” project in Honduras that promotes local business development.

Govt data shows 44% of Taiwanese work overtime

The survey shows that Taiwanese worked an average of 18.8 hours of overtime a month, higher than neighboring countries

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/21
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News) — Despite a mounting awareness of labor rights, a recent official survey shows that up to 44 percent of Taiwanese workers worked overtime in 2016, with each working an average of 18.8 hours of overtime per month.

Taiwan has long been criticized for its government’s loose management of work hours and a prolonged period of low wage growth. Many employers were found to have failed to comply with all of the work hour regulations, including forcing laborers to work unpaid overtime. Attorney Chen You-xin of the Via Justice Law Office was quoted in the Apple Daily earlier as saying that many local workers in Taiwan either voluntarily or are forced to forgo their annual leave entitlements due to heavy workloads without any financial compensation.

Chen described the entitlement as a pie in the sky for the majority, citing the weak enforcement of labor laws.    [FULL  STORY]

MAC cautions travelers bound for Hong Kong over H7N9 flu

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/21
By: Miao Tsung-han and Ko Lin

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Wednesday cautioned travelers bound for Hong Kong to practice vigilance and take health precautions, following an announcement by the Center for Health Protection in Hong Kong of its first imported human case of H7N9 avian influenza of this winter.

The case reportedly came from a Chinese national visiting the special administrative region.

The MAC advised travelers going from Taiwan to Hong Kong in the next few days to maintain a high degree of caution and take strong protective measures against the virus.    [FULL  STORY]

DPP lawmakers blame China for break

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 22, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han and Alison Hsiao / Staff reporters

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday said that China was the

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng, center, speaks at a DPP news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday after Sao Tome and Principe announced its termination of diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

reason Sao Tome and Principe broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said foreign relations are tied to cross-strait issues and asked the government to pragmatically adjust its diplomatic strategy regarding Beijing.

DPP caucus secretary-general Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) said that China was apparently behind more efforts to isolate the nation, citing the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ announcement on its Web site of the African nation’s decision immediately after the move was declared.

Beijing continues to suppress Taiwan’s international presence, despite the olive branch President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has offered in a bid to maintain close links and the cross-strait “status quo,” Liu said.    [FULL  STORY]

Parties trade blows after Sao Tome cuts ties

The China Post
Date: December 22, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao and Yuan-Ming Chiao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Kuomintang (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu called on the Tsai

Kuomintang Lawmakers speak at a press conference calling for Tsai administration to wake upto the threat of continuing diplomatic isolation after Sao Tome and Principe cut ties, in Taipei, Wednesday. (CNA)

administration to “wake up” to the threat of continuing diplomatic isolation after Sao Tome and Principe cut diplomatic ties.

“We hope the government can be more clear headed, wake up to these events and exercise more wisdom in order to ensure the safety of its citizens and the country’s future,” Hung said during an impromptu media call before the party’s weekly central standing committee meeting.

KMT legislators expressed concern that Wednesday’s incident could trigger a domino effect of countries switching recognition to Beijing, urging the government to reevaluate its current position on cross-strait relations.    [FULL STORY]

Ministry unveils reserve troop program

WEEKEND WARRIORS:Reservists are to report for two days of training a month and a seven-day annual exercise, and could receive up to 53 days’ training per year

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 21, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday announced the introduction of a short-term

Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi takes reporters’ questions at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, as the ministry announced the introduction of a short-term voluntary reservist program. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

voluntary reservist program to re-enlist soldiers in a bid to maintain the armed forces’ combat readiness. It also lowered the criteria for physical fitness.

Starting next year, the ministry is to recruit people who have been discharged from military service for less than eight years on a one-year contract basis, the ministry said at a news conference.

Reservists are to be required to report for training two days each month, in addition to participating in a seven-day exercise each year, and could receive up to 53 days’ training per year, All-out Defense Mobilization Office Acting Director Major General Tsai Chung-cheng (蔡忠誠) said.

The ministry plans to recruit 123 reservists next year to serve in units in all branches of the armed forces, including an army mechanized infantry brigade, a navy underwater operations unit, the air force’s Air Defense Artillery Command, the Reserve Command and the Military Police Command.   [FULL  STORY]