It might be a tempting saber for Xi to rattle. Concerns include a potential cyberattack that could take out the island's electricity and communications. 

Star Triune
Date: September 5, 2019
By Nicholas Kristof

TAIPEI, Taiwan — If the United States gets embroiled in a war with China, it may begin with the lights going out here in Taipei.

Tensions are rising across the Taiwan Strait, and there’s a growing concern among some security experts that Chinese President Xi Jinping might act recklessly toward Taiwan in the next few years, drawing the United States into a conflict.

Xi’s hard line toward Hong Kong is alarming Taiwanese and further reducing the chance, if there ever was any, of a peaceful unification of China. China seems to be abandoning its effort to win hearts and minds on Taiwan, and it has steadily improved military capabilities — thus prompting the fear that Xi might eventually use them.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan reclaims 2016 rank as best place to live for expats

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/05
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan has once again reclaimed its No. 1 rank as the best place to live according to expats, up from second place in last year’s Expat Insider 2019 Survey.

The last time Taiwan took the top spot in the survey, which analyzes quality of life abroad, was in 2016, the first year it was included. Since then it has maintained a spot in the top five every year.

Coming in just behind Taiwan is regional neighbor Vietnam, indicating the Southeast Asian country as an increasingly attractive destination for people resettling abroad. The third spot in the survey went to Portugal, which has consistently scored well with expats living there.

According to Expat Insider, around 86 percent of expats surveyed in Taiwan have a positive view of their life here. According to respondents, major draws to the country are the friendliness of its people, its affordable cost of living, and its healthcare.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/05
By: Yang Su-min and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Sept. 5 (CNA) Some 300 migrant workers will arrive in Taiwan over the next few weeks to take up agricultural jobs, as part of a government initiative to address a labor shortage in that sector, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Thursday.

Among the first batch of migrant workers entering the country under the government initiative, 109 will be hired to work on dairy farms, a COA official said, adding that those workers will start arriving in late September once their applications have been approved by the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

Another 207 will start arriving at the beginning of October to take up work in various agricultural outreach organizations ahead of the harvest season, the official told CNA.

The efforts to employ migrant workers in the agricultural sector were initiated in May by the COA, shortly after the labor ministry revised its regulations to make such hiring possible.   [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 06, 2019
By: Staff writer with CNA

Taipei Veterans General Hospital on Wednesday launched Taiwan’s first dedicated gut microbiota

laboratory, in a bid to develop new therapies for people with infections that cause diarrhea.

The laboratory is expected to store at least 100 fecal samples to study gut microbiota, which could contribute to the treatment of Clostridium difficile — a bacteria that is often spread in healthcare facilities — as well as autism, Parkinson’s disease, allergies and diabetes, among others, the hospital said.

Hou Ming-chi (侯明志), director of the hospital’s Medicine Department, told reporters that while Clostridium difficile is found in the gut of about two to three people out of every 1,000, only 2 percent of them develop a Clostridium difficile infection.

Symptoms can range from diarrhea to life-threatening sepsis, Hou said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Iternational
Date: 04 September, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

The interior ministry says that the cases of refugees seeking asylum in Taiwan will be processed on an individual basis. The ministry was responding Wednesday to calls for Taiwan to adopt a refugee law that can be used to assist Hong Kongers facing political persecution.

The ministry said that Taiwan already has a legal mechanism in place for protecting asylum seekers, and that this mechanism functions well.    [FULL  STORY]

TAIPEI — Grand Hotel Taipei has opened its secret underground passage to the public.

Lifestyle.INQ
Date: September 04, 2019
By: The China Post/Asia News Network

Starting this September, with a limit of a maximum of 45 participants for each time slot, six time slots with guided tours per day are available for visitors. The guided tour has been fully booked immediately after the news was released.

This landmark hotel was established more than 60 years ago by Soong Mei-ling (蔣宋美齡), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). Before it became a hotel, the building was used for hosting diplomats and envoys from other countries.

As an emergency precaution, two secret underground passages were built with one on the east and another on the west side of the building for fast evacuation. The eastern passage leads to 823 Artillery Battle Memorial Park (北安公園), and the western one leads to Jiantan Park (劍潭公園).

The Grand Hotel said that they’ve opened up the 85-meter passage on the west side for visitors. Besides the 74-step stairs, the underground tunnel was the world’s longest secret passage slide.
[FULL  STORY]

Andy Chu sentenced to 2 years and 10 months

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/04
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 4) confirmed the prison

sentence of two years and ten months for Andy Chu (朱家龍), a wealthy scion accused of responsibility for the death of a 21-year-old model at a party at Taipei City’s W Hotel in 2016.

The final verdict was much lighter than a lower court sentence of 10 years because the higher courts ruled that there was no obvious link between Chu supplying drugs to the party goers and the death of the young woman, the Central News Agency reported.

The model had been using the drug PMA for at least four months before the party, according to the autopsy, while no traces of the same drug had been found in the urine or on the hair of Chu and the others present.

The prison sentence for Chu was based on his supplying a wide range of illegal drugs to a multitude of guests for five days running at the W Hotel party. Two other defendants, described as friend of Chu, were sentenced to two years and six months in prison each.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/04
By: Hung Chien-lun and William Yen

Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) The Asia-Pacific office of a prestigious international human rights organization was established in Taiwan on Tuesday, with the goal of focusing on regional issues such as poverty, labor exploitation, human trafficking, and racial discrimination, according to the Ministry of Culture (MOC).

The Asia-Pacific office of the Federation of the International Human Rights Museums (FIHRM-AP) will also serve as an important platform to create links between Taiwan and international human rights organizations, the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

Established in 2010, the FIHRM encourages museums that engage with sensitive and controversial human rights themes to work together and share new concepts and initiatives in a supportive environment, according to its website.

Linked with Taiwan's National Human Rights Museum where it is based, the FIHRM-AP is also likely to help promote transitional justice, heal historical scars and bring about reconciliation through dialogue, the culture ministry said.    [FULL  STORY]

VOA
Date: September 3, 2019

Hong Kong’s protests have received worldwide attention, but perhaps nowhere has the pro-democracy movement resonated more powerfully than in nearby Taiwan. The self-ruled island, which is claimed by China, has become a source of solidarity and refuge for Hong Kong, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Taipei.

[SOURCE]

 

 

Terry Gou shared thoughts on the direction Taiwan should take as he ponders presidential bid in two weeks

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/01
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

3
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) made his case for pragmatic diplomacy focused on trade and the economy on Sunday (Sept. 1), as speculation continues to mount as to whether he will make a bid for the 2020 presidency.

Gou, whose next move is being closely monitored following his defeat in the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) primaries, in July, returned from a trip to the Middle East last week.

In a Facebook post, he called for an end to what he described as the endless debate on the opposing “blue and green ideologies” and independence issues. He also advocated an alternative model of economic and technological development for the country.

Paying tribute to former President Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and former Premier Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿), Gou stressed the island should take the path of “industrial diplomacy.” Taiwan boasts strong manufacturing prowess and should look for opportunities around the world, he said.
[FULL  STORY]