Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/08
By: Kuan Ruey-ping and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Dec. 8 (CNA) A missing Vietnamese migrant worker was arrested for burglary in Miaoli County, northern Taiwan on Wednesday, though his accomplice, another missing Vietnamese migrant worker, remains at large, the police said on Thursday.

The 22-year-old man, identified only by his surname “Su”, was arrested by police officers after fleeing from the vicinity of a car which was later found to have been burglarized.

Following a preliminary investigation, Su confessed that he and his accomplice, known only as “Ah Chun,” burgled the vehicle on their way to buy beverages having left the construction site where they were working in Tongluo Village.

Su arrived in Taiwan in September of last year to work in a manufacturing plant located in central Nantou County as a skilled worker. He left his official place of work without authorization in February to find a better paying job, the police said after questioning Su    [SOURCE]

ITINERARY:New York is not being considered as a transit stop for President Tsai Ing-wen amid rumors that it would allow for a meeting with the US president-elect

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 09, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) yesterday confirmed that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英

文) and former US national security official Stephen Yates met on Wednesday and Yates urged Tsai to keep a low profile during her transit stops in the US on her way to Central America next month.

Speaking on the sidelines of a morning meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Lee said Tsai and Yates had an in-depth conversation, but he did not know what they discussed because he was not there.

“Yates and I are old acquaintances. When I was stationed in Washington, Yates served as deputy national security adviser to then-US vice president Dick Cheney. We met once or twice every month,” Lee said.

Yates is scheduled to visit him today to discuss Taiwan-US relations, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 9, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen and a visiting former White House

official occurred Wednesday night, confirmed Foreign Minister David Lee Thursday.

“The two had an in-depth conversation,” Lee told reporters at the Legislative Yuan, but said he could not provide further details because he had not been present.

Tsai had met Stephen Yates, who served as deputy national security adviser to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney during the George W. Bush administration.

Press corps had staked out Tsai’s presidential residence Wednesday night on a tip that she was entertaining Yates as a dinner guest, but media were unable to intercept the former U.S. official.

Lee said that he and Yates were old friends from his time in Washington, D.C.

The foreign minister said Yates would pay a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today to discuss issues related to the future of U.S.-Taiwan relations.    [FULL  STORY]

While punishing Taiwan may be Beijing’s proximate aim, China may also hope to convince the Trump administration that closer engagement with Taipei isn’t in their interests, as this will inevitably lead to renewed instability in the Taiwan Strait, argues J. Michael Cole

The News Lens
Date: 2016/12/07
By: J. Michael Cole

The recent 10-minute telephone conversation between US President-elect Donald Trump and

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has sparked much speculation about a possible shift in U.S. policy vis-à-vis the self-ruled democratic island nation, and the consequences of such a move on the all-important Sino-American relationship.

At this juncture it is difficult to determine to what extent the phone conversation (and subsequent tweets by Trump) portend a change in the direction of Washington’s relationship with Taiwan, with which it has had close (albeit unofficial) diplomatic relations since 1979. It’s clear the call was a boost for President Tsai’s image domestically and provided some reassurance (premature, perhaps) that President Trump will not include Taiwan in a “grand bargain” with China. We can also be certain Trump did not take the call on a whim or due to ignorance of international relations: the potential repercussions are simply too serious.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/07
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Pictures of a foreigner eating instant noodles in an unconventional way at a convenience store’s outdoor dining area drew a lot of attention on social media.

A Facebook user found this foreigner preparing for WeiLih Meh Instant Noodle, the most beloved local instant noodles, by putting two seasoning packets into the bowl and poured hot water in it.

It doesn’t sound like a wrong way to get the instant noodles ready, but it happened that this particular brand is meant to be prepared as dry noodles instead of noodles soup. So Taiwanese people almost always drain the noodles after soaking it in hot water, then adding the seasoning packet to the noodles. The dry seasoning packet is used separately for making soup in another bowl to go with the dry noodles.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/07
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Dec. 7 (CNA) Stargazers in Taiwan will have an opportunity on Dec. 13 and 14 to catch the

Geminid meteor shower, which is forecast to produce an maximum of about 120 shooting stars per hour, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said Wednesday.

One of the three most prolific meteor showers of the year — along with the Quadrantids in January and the Perseids in August — the Geminids will be most visible at night, it said, adding that the best time to observe the meteor shower is about midnight.

On the two days, a maximum of about 120 meteors will be seen per hour, the museum said. However, because there is a full moon, fewer shooting stars will be visible, due to moonlight glare, it added.

The museum suggested stargazers go to areas where there is relatively little pollution, to increase their chances of seeing as many meteors as possible.    [FULL  STORY]

STANDARD PRACTICE:Former minister of foreign affairs Chen Chien-jen said Taipei has invested in Washington lobbyists and the Tsai-Trump call was ‘not without cause’

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 08, 2016
By: Lu Yi-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday downplayed reports that the government paid US$140,000

to a consultancy affiliated with former US senator Bob Dole, allegedly in exchange for his efforts to help establish high-level contact between Taiwanese officials and US president-elect Donald Trump’s staff that culminated in a historic telephone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Trump on Friday last week.
Dole has long been a significant friend of Taiwan who has assisted with communications between Taipei and the US Republican Party, the ministry said in a statement.

“The government is grateful for Dole’s strong friendship and adamant support,” the ministry said, declining to comment on a New York Times report that identified Dole as the facilitator of the call.

However, a few hours later, the ministry revised its position on Dole’s reported role, saying that none of the consultancies hired by the government played a part in setting up the call.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 8, 2016
By: Kuan-lin Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s 1111 Job Bank on Wednesday reported that 83 percent of service industry

companies were looking to increase manpower for the end-of-the-year holiday season.

Lee Da-hua (李大華), the job bank’s deputy general manager, outlined results of a survey on the service industry’s employee demand during the ongoing holiday season, which spans from November to January.

Lee reported that these three months made up roughly 40 percent of many service providers’ annual sales, which explained why 66 percent of interviewed companies were actively capitalizing on holiday sales opportunities and why 83 percent of companies were recruiting more temporary workers to meet the increase in business.

Of all the segments under the umbrella label “service industries,” tourism, department store retail and dining ranked in the top three industries (in descending order) that claimed the most additional demand for manpower this holiday season.    [FULL  STORY]

Aol News
Date: Dec 6th 2016

Donald Trump’s recent call with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan appears to have involved a former

top politician.

The Wall Street Journal reports that former Senator Bob Dole may have been involved in facilitating the conversation.

The media outlet goes on to state that “Mr. Dole, in an interview, said the law firm he is affiliated with does work with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S., and that the firm played a role in arranging the phone call.”

The Journal further quotes Dole as saying, “It’s fair to say that we may have had some influence.”    [FULL  STORY]

FoxNews.com
Date: December 06, 2016

In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday night, Gingrich favorably compared Trump’s Taiwan call to President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba earlier this year.

FORMER OBAMA NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER SAYS TRUMP CALL WITH TAIWAN ‘DIDN’T BOTHER ME’

“[Trump] accepted a phone call from the freely elected head of a democracy of 23 million people and frankly, if it’s OK for President Obama to go down and hang out with the Castro dictatorship, it ought to be OK for Donald Trump to talk to a democracy,” Gingrich said.

“But he’s also sending a very tough signal to Beijing,” the former Speaker continued. “This ain’t the old order, we’re not gonna let you push us around. You don’t dictate to us.”

Gingrich also defended Trump’s agreement with Carrier that enabled the air conditioning manufacturer to keep hundreds of jobs in Indiana, calling the president-elect a pragmatist “in the classic American sense.”    [FULL  STORY]