SEMANTICS?Hau Lung-bin said it was ironic that at a time when just over 20 nations recognize the ROC, Tsai belittled the nation’s official title during a visit to an ally

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 28, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday accused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of “belittling the official title” of the nation by describing herself as the “President of Taiwan” during her first overseas state visit.

“The Republic of China, abbreviated as ROC, is the title of our nation. It is the official national title under which we have repeatedly endeavored to seek global recognition,” the fomer Taipei mayor wrote on Facebook.

Hau posted a photograph of the message Tsai left in a visitor’s book after touring the sluice gates of the expanded Panama Canal on Sunday, in which she wrote: “Witnessing the centennial achievement, jointly creating future prosperity,” and identifying herself as “President of Taiwan [ROC].”

Tsai is on a nine-day trip to Panama and Paraguay that includes two transit stops in the US. She stopped in Miami, Florida, on Saturday on her way to Panama and she is to stop in Los Angeles on her return home.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: June 28, 2016
By: Christine Chou ,The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — National flagship carrier China Airlines (CAL, 華航) may be facing a second

strike in just one week, as its labor union urged members to “go on leave” this Friday, following a breakdown of talks with the airline’s new chairman, Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒), Monday afternoon.

The China Airlines Employees Union (華航企業工會) comprises 10,000 members — mainly ground staff, pilots and maintenance workers — who are seeking similar working benefits to those won by the airline’s cabin crew last week.

Strike action taken Friday on short notice by CAL flight attendants over changes in work conditions paralyzed most of the airline’s flights, crippling operations and leaving more than 20,000 air passengers stranded at Taipei and Taoyuan airports on June 25.

The first-ever strike by flight attendants in Taiwan’s aviation history came to an end after all of their seven demands were met, including an increase in their overseas allowance.    [FULL STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 27, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday said that the question of

who will be the new head of the Straits Exchange Foundation is not his concern, while calling for mutual respect and understanding across the Taiwan Strait, after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office announced on Saturday that the cross-strait communications mechanism had been suspended.

Accompanied by three PFP Keelung City councilors, Soong made the remarks at a makeshift office erected in front of the Ching An Temple in the city to accept complaints from Keelung residents.

“Regardless of who assumes the post as chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, it is not an issue that concerns myself or the PFP,” Soong said.

Soong and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) are said to be the two most likely candidates to take the helm of the semi-official body that handles cross-strait affairs in the absence of official ties.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-06-26
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

With tourists visiting the offshore Green Island (Lyudao) increasing every day as the summer vacation is approaching, Taitung County police chief went to the island to give guidance to motorcycle rentals and bed and breakfast providers on motorcycle safety.

Taitung County Police Chief Wang Chin-yuan went together with two of the county’s chief traffic officers.

Thirty-three people have been injured in 21 accidents that have happened on Green Island’s narrow and curvy highways since the beginning of this year, and most of the accidents were caused by speeding and not being familiar with road conditions around the island, according to the county police bureau.

County police said it would step up efforts to punish violations, urging people to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle to reduce severity of injury in case of an accident.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/06/26
By: C.C Chiu and Flor Wang

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) With its striking flight attendants agreeing to end a two-day sit-in to seek better working conditions and benefits, all China Airlines (CAL) flights have returned to normal, the aviation company said Sunday.

According to Taipei-based CAL, there will be 100 round-trip flights for the whole of Sunday and they all will depart and arrive as scheduled in principle, with four extra code share flights to be put in place to better process passengers.

On Saturday, only 26 of 81 scheduled flights took off after CAL flights attendants started the protest Thursday. A total of 122 flights were canceled Thursday and Friday.

However, some passengers who have been stranded at airports still need to wait until Monday, when they can take resumed flights to depart for their destinations.     [FULL  STORY]

ANIMAL LOVER:Taiwanese baseball player Chen Wei-yin gave Tsai pet bowls, which he said are for her cats and dogs, who are to live in the presidential residence with her

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 27, 2016
By: Staff Writer, with CNA

US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on Saturday welcomed President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)

in Miami, expressing her support for Taiwan and hope for the two nations to become better friends and allies.
Ros-Lehtinen, a former US House Committee on Foreign Affairs chairwoman, said in a statement that she was delighted about her meeting with Tsai, adding that they discussed the importance of the US-Taiwan bilateral relationship.
“Taiwan is a beacon of freedom, a key strategic ally in the Pacific, and the United States must make sure that Taiwan has what it needs to flourish economically and militarily,” Ros-Lehtinen said.
“As we confront the many common challenges before us, including an increasingly aggressive China, I look forward to continuing to work closely with President Tsai to strengthen the US-Taiwan partnership based on the Taiwan Relations Act and six assurances, and allow our two nations to become even better friends and allies,” she said.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: June 26, 2016
By: CNA

Aboriginal elders are seen presiding over a sunrise prayer ritual at Whirl Lan Bay in the eastern county of Hualien on the morning of Saturday, June 25, to kick off the 2nd Whirl Lan Bay Sunrise Festival hosted by the Taiwan Land Development Corp.

Hot air balloons are poised to rise amid the beautiful sunrise, as participants take photos of the spectacular scene with their smartphones.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-06-25
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – All flights will resume normal service beginning Sunday, one day ]earlier than originally planned after the flight attendants’ strike, China Airlines said Saturday.

Taiwan’s biggest carrier has been struggling with the fallout from a one-day strike Friday by the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union, which ended with the company giving in to most of the protesters’ demands.

Despite a consensus being announced late on Friday, dozens of flights were still canceled Saturday, causing long lines and angry confrontations between passengers and ground staff, who did not strike.

Over two days, CAL canceled more than a hundred flights from and to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei Songshan Airport, affecting more than 20,000 passengers.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/06/25
By: Tony Liao, Rita Cheng and Y.F. Low

Miami, June 24 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio

when she made a transit stop in Miami Friday.

In a statement issued after the meeting at Tsai’s hotel, the Florida-elected senator said they discussed ways to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan security and economic relations.

“I told President Tsai that the United States will continue to stand by Taiwan irrespective of the pressure others bring to bear on the relationship because, after all, this is a partnership between two vibrant democracies and is based on our shared ideals,” Rubio said.

“The United States must and will continue to work with President Tsai in the coming years to deepen the U.S.-Taiwan relationship,” he added.     [FULL  STORY]