Taiwan News
Date: 2016/10/30
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

According to the international labor statistics released by the Ministry of Labor, Taiwanese men and women retire at a much younger age than people in South Korea and Japan, two neighboring countries of Taiwan.

The average retirement ages for Taiwanese men and women are 62.8 and 60.7, respectively, about 10 years younger than the respective average ages of 72.9 and 70.6 for South Korean men and women, and 7 years younger than the average ages of 69.3 and 67.6 for Japanese men and women.

The labor force participation rate among Taiwanese people between ages 25 and 29, the most significant labor force participation age group in Taiwan, is the highest among all countries at 92.5 percent. However, the labor force participation rates for Taiwanese people in the 55-59 and 60-64 age groups drop significantly to only 55.1 percent and 35.8 percent, respectively, which are the lowest among all countries.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/30
By: Chen Chi-feng and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Oct. 30 (CNA) The debate over whether to pardon disgraced former President

Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has resurfaced after he was filmed taking a walk near his house in Kaohsiung and chastising the man who shot the video with his smartphone.

In a video shot on Saturday and later posted online, Chen was seen trying to stop the man, identified by some media outlets as bread vendor Huang Shi-fu (黃士福), from filming.

“What are you doing?” Chen asked angrily. “It is illegal (to do what you’re doing.) I can take you to court. I’ll do it.”

The video came less than two weeks after Huang posted a picture of Chen walking with another person near a fine arts museum in the former president’s neighborhood. Huang said he sells bread in the area and can often see Chen taking what he described as “a regular stroll.”    [FULL  STORY]

SEED MONEY:The financial data refute the claim that Chiloo Industries came to the nation with nothing and raised capital by plundering Taiwan, a KMT official said

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 31, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday disclosed financial data regarding the

establishment of Central Investment Co (中央投資公司), saying the party used legal sources of income to raise capital to found the firm, which is suspected of being a KMT-affiliated organization.

The KMT in 1971 raised NT$200 million (US$6.32 million at current exchange rates) in founding capital using government bonds paid for by party membership fees, a special fee collected from party members and the profits of party-run organizations, KMT Administration Committee director Chiu Da-chan (邱大展) told a news conference.

The party collected NT$1.66 billion from 1945 to 1971, including NT$1.38 billion in membership fees and NT$700 million in accumulated interest from party-run organizations, which was more than sufficient to fund the establishment of Central Investment, Chiu said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 31, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Kuomintang Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu embarked Sunday on a

closely watched trip to mainland China to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping and attend the annual KMT-Chinese Communist Party forum.

The high-profile meeting between Hung and Xi is slated to take place in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, a day before the opening of the Cross-Strait Peace Development Forum, formerly called the Cross-Strait Trade, Economy and Culture Forum.

In the weeks leading up to the event, the KMT appeared riven by conflict as party leaders sought to smooth differences in cross-strait policies, namely in interpretations of the so-called “1992 Consensus.”

Party heavyweights and KMT lawmakers have urged Hung to mention either “one China, different interpretations” or the “Republic of China” during her meeting with Xi or at any other “suitable circumstance.”   [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2016/10/29
Editor: Edward White

 

 

[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/10/29
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A rainbow-colored flag was flying above Taipei City Hall for the first time, on the day of

the 2016 Taipei Pride Parade, October 29.

A small flag-raising ceremony is usually held at 6:30 AM at the municipal building and the flags are lowered near sunset at 6 PM.

Department of Civil Affairs Commissioner Lan Shih-tsung said that the Taipei City Council passed the measure in June to raise the rainbow flag that will fly with the flags of the ROC and Taipei City above the city hall on the day of the parade to “show its respect for diversity.”

Lan admitted that the city government did receive a high number of complaints against the action from the 1999 Citizen Hotline after the decision was made known to the public.    [FULL  STORY][

NEFARIOUS ACTIVITIES?The actions of the corps, such as receiving NT$60m more for a youth center than it was budgeted, need to be investigated, the committee said

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 30, 2016
By: Yang Chun-hui, Lin Liang-sheng and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer

The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee plans to investigate the China Youth

Corps, with a hearing scheduled for February next year.

The committee said it is to examine the history of the corps’ establishment, the composition of its personnel and the source of its assets to judge whether the organization is affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

The corps was mentioned in the party’s “Rules on General Promotion of Making Youth Groups Wholesome and Enabling their Coordination with the Party’s Basic Organizations” (健全各種青年團體與黨的基層組織配合推行總動員工作實施辦法) in Article 4 and Article 7, the committee said.

Article 4 says: “The China Youth Corps is the party’s peripheral organization to lead all activities for our party’s youths,” while Article 7 states: “The staff of the Corps should, as much as possible, be comprised of talented party members in order to reinforce the party’s leadership.”    [FULL  STORY]

SUPPORT FOR ‘STATUS QUO’:A majority of respondents to the Taiwan Brain Trust poll said that Taiwan should maintain the ‘status quo’ in cross-strait relations

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 29, 2016
By: Cheng Hung-ta and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese believe Taiwan is a sovereign and independent

nation, the results of a poll released yesterday by the Taiwan Brain Trust think tank showed, with 75.8 percent of respondents supporting the sentiment, while 18.9 percent disagreed.

On the issue of Taiwan’s status as a nation, the poll showed that 79.8 percent of respondents said that it is “definitely” or “probably” a sovereign nation, while only 18.9 percent said that either it is “definitely not” or “probably not” a sovereign nation..

The answers indicated that most Taiwanese disagree with a recent statement by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson An Fengshan (安峰山), who said that “Taiwan has never been a nation.”

Regarding President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policies on cross-strait relations, the poll showed that 49.4 percent of respondents support her, while 25.5 percent do not.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 29, 2016
By: Yuan-Ming Chiao

American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman James Moriarty reiterated Friday that the

United States takes no position on the “1992 Consensus,” while emphasizing that cross-strait agreements must first be accepted and supported by the people.

Moriarty, the newest head of the AIT, made the remarks during an interview with the Central News Agency.

The new AIT chief said the U.S. had urged both sides of the Taiwan Strait to handle affairs rationally and that communication was necessary for concrete developments.

Saying he was “unclear” about the contents of the “1992 Consensus,” Moriarty said that the ultimate core was that cross-strait agreements be supported by the people. How this would be accomplished would be determined by the people on both sides of the strait and not by the U.S., he added.

He urged both sides to maintain flexibility, creativity and patience to reach a resolution that could be supported by all.

Moriarty also described the political changes in Taiwan that have led to a third democratic transition of power and a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) majority in the legislature as “exciting.”     [FULL  STORY]