While East Asia countries top education performance, Southeast Asia is struggling to catch up. An aging population and gap with Southeast Asia might mark down the whole region.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/12/11
By: John West

Many countries see it as an Olympic Games for education. Every three years, a competition, of a sort, ranks scholastic performance across nations for mathematics, science, and reading on a variety of measures. Who will win gold? (This time it was China!) Some countries interpret any low score as a national slight, and can even withdraw from the exercise.

The OECD's triennial Program for International Student Assessment report, widely known as PISA, was released this week. The hypersensitivity surrounding this much-anticipated international event is in large part because the highest-ranking nations have consistently been from East Asia, including China, whereas Western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany have landed further down the list. The PISA study has fed into the great-power competition between the U.S. and China, with some Americans such as New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman despairing that the U.S. is being beaten by China in the classroom.

PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics, and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. But each PISA test also focuses on one of these subjects and provides a summary assessment of the other two. In the latest results, the focus was on reading in a digital environment.

The top four ranking economies for reading were from China, Singapore, Macau, and Hong Kong, with South Korea also featuring in the top 10. Not far behind was Japan, and Taiwan also made it into the top 20. The U.S. placed 13th, Britain 14th, Australia 16th, and Germany 20th.
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'Double 10' bus fare policy means passengers pay maximum of NT$10 after first cost-free 10 km

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/11
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) announced at a city council meeting on Dec. 6 that Taichung will roll out “Taiwan’s most favorable bus fare scheme” next year, according to a news release published on Taichung Travel Net.

She said the “Double 10” bus fare scheme is her most important transport policy for next year, according to the website. Currently, bus fares for distances less than 10 kilometers (km) are free.

This is beneficial for short distance passengers, the mayor said. However, for long-distance commuters and people who live in remote areas, they still have to pay the fare for the distance after 10 km, she added.

The “Double 10” bus fare scheme means passengers will pay a maximum of NT$10 (about 33 cents) for the distance they ride after the cost-free 10 km. The mayor said this is the most favorable bus fare policy in the country and will take effect next year.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/11
By: Ted Yoho (right)

Washington, Dec. 10 (CNA) U.S. Congressman Ted Yoho on Tuesday urged Americans to snub Chinese products on human rights grounds, suggesting that consumers instead buy goods made in Taiwan.

In a House committee hearing commemorating International Human Rights Day, the Republican Yoho said that Chinese oppression of Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Tibet and Taiwan only went unanswered because of the country's economic dominance.

While acknowledging that America "can't force China to do anything," Yoho said the country's manufacturers and consumers could nevertheless exert pressure on China through their financial decisions.

Manufacturers, he said, should face public pressure to institute an "ABC policy," choosing to manufacture their products "anywhere but China."    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 12, 2019
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that if everything goes well and he remains healthy, he

plans to run for president in 2024.

Ko made the remark while being interviewed on an online political talk show at noon.

Ko’s remarks came after his close aide, former Taipei City Government adviser Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如), on Tuesday during another interview said that Ko is likely to run for president in 2024.

Asked to comment about concerns from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) supporters that if Ko runs for president in 2024, it might affect Gou’s chances of being elected if he decided to run, Ko said: “Do not worry about four years from now. We do and prepare what we should, and that is enough.”
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 10 December, 2019
By: Paula Chao

President Tsai Ing-wen has urged the public not to forget their responsibility to safeguard democracy. Tsai was speaking Tuesday at a ceremony for the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award.

The award has been sponsored by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy since 2006.
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• Pentagon and military specialists will be asked to evaluate Taipei’s combat readiness
• Taiwan is making the most of goodwill from its vocal ally in the White House

South China Morning Post
Date: 11 Dec, 2019
By: Lawrence Chung  

Taiwan has formally invited US officers to observe the computer-simulated part of its annual Han Kuang military exercises in April to help assess the self-ruled island’s strength to fend off a threat from mainland China, according to a Taiwanese military source.

US officers have observed war games on the island before but their presence was not publicly acknowledged.

“Representatives of the Pentagon, Indo-Pacific Command, special forces, as well as specialists in unmanned aviation, undersea mines and other related warfare will be asked to join Taiwanese officers,” the military source said on Tuesday. “Afterwards, they will offer suggestions on devising war tactics.”

It follows the defence ministry’s announcement in a legislature meeting in October that it had budgeted funds for US military personnel to help assess the island’s war tactics and operations.
[FULL  STORY]

Former AIT Director Stephen Young says Beijing's reassurance that 'everything will be fine after reunification' not to be taken seriously

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/10
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In the wake of Hong Kong's political unrest, many Taiwanese have come to

realize that "believing China is dangerous," former AIT Director Stephen M. Young recently said in Taipei.

Young attended a forum held jointly by TaiwanThinkTank and the Washington-based Global Taiwan Institute on Sunday (Dec. 8) to speak on Taiwan-U.S. relations under the U.S.'s free and open Indo-Pacific policy, according to a CNA report.

When asked by the media about his views on the turmoil in Hong Kong, which has hit a six-month milestone, Young said it is sending a message to many Taiwanese, who have come to realize that believing China is dangerous. This has pushed Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to take a stronger stance against Beijing, he added.

"Taiwanese people are wise enough to recognize the fact that China's words of 'everything will be fine after reunification' can't be taken seriously," said the former leader of the de facto American embassy in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]