Radio Taiwan International
Date: 16 July, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

The opposition Kuomintang has selected their presidential candidate Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu. Han spoke about his plan to unite the party and continue on as mayor during a press conference on Monday.

The KMT candidates and chair cheer for the party. National polls just selected the party’s presidential candidate, Mayor Han Kuo-yu, who rose to political stardom when he won the Kaohsiung mayoral election last November, winning a city that had been strongly supported by the Democratic Progressive Party. 

At the press conference, Han said, "First, I want to thank all the good friends who supported Han Kuo-yu, and the general public for your. For those who have been critical, I hope that will come to an end."  Some 30,000 residents had signed a petition to recall him for neglecting his duties as mayor by running for president.

The Kuomintang used national polls for the first time to choose their candidate. Five pollsters surveyed over 15,000 people over 7 days. In the polls, Han Kuo yu received 44.8% of the support; Foxconn Founder Terry Gou got 27.7%; Former New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu got 17.9%; Former Taipei County Chief Chou Hsi-wei got 6% and NTU professor Chang Ya-chung had 3.5%.    [FULL  STORY]

Because Hamilton
Date: July 16, 2019
By: Zhuoyi Wang

Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures Zhuoyi Wang was invited to give a talk

to Chinese language and culture instructors in Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, on July 10. He discussed how to use films as pedagogical material for cross-cultural education.

Earlier this year, Wang gave a series of talks in Taiwan. In June, he was invited by the Cross-Strait Cultural Communication Research Center in Taipei to discuss history of and interactions among Chinese-language film industries in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

In May, Wang was invited to speak in the cities of Kaohsiung and Taoyuan. At National Kaohsiung Normal University, he analyzed filmmaker Tsui Hark’s works in a talk, “The Legends and Demise of Liminal Heroes: Diasporic Nationalist Figures in Tsui Hark’s Films.” At Chungyuan Christian University, he analyzed the film King of Chess (1991) in a lecture, “Two Kings of Chess: the Film Adaptation of A Cheng’s King of Chess.” At National Central University, he discussed the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(2000) in a talk titled “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: a Cross-Cultural Story of ‘Girl Power.’”    [FULL  STORY]

Reports surface that some alien students in Taiwan fall victim to forced labor

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/16
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – In response to accusations that foreign students in Taiwan who suffer abuses in the workplace have been stripped of their freedoms by authorities, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said on Monday (July 15) that the rights of the students have been ensured.

A rally was held by the Taiwan International Workers’ Association (TIWA) in front of the Executive Yuan on Monday (July 15) to demand that the government of Taiwan address the predicament facing alien students in Taiwan. There have been reports suggesting that a growing number of foreign students are being abused and mistreated by employers, reported the Central News Agency.

According to the organization, there have been incidents where students studying at the University of Kang Ning, Yu Da University of Science and Technology, and Chienkuo Technology University are forced to work part-time at designated factories, where their labor rights are severely exploited. TIWA also criticized the government for inadequate assistance that has resulted in the victims’ being detained after they have been put into the care of the government.

Refuting the claims, the NIA said in a statement that some of the alien students are identified as victims of human trafficking crimes. The agency further stated that it has followed due procedures set out in the country’s resettlement mechanism.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/16
By: Chen Wei-ting and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Taiwan is not part of China, the nation's health minister said in a letter published by The Lancet on Monday after the world-renowned peer-reviewed medical journal published last month a paper that listed Taiwan as a province of China.

"Taiwan is a sovereign democratic country, not part of any other. This is an undisputed fact," Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said in the letter published online July 15.

"Our president and parliament are democratically elected. Taiwan takes pride in its democracy. It is not part of China," he continued.

However, in a research paper authored by a Chinese research team published on The Lancet website on June 24, Taiwan was listed as a province of China and included in the tables in the article, Chen noted.    [FULL  STORY]

VOA News
Date: July 15, 2019
By: Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Taiwan’s presidential race kicked off Monday with China the top issue as a Beijing-friendly mayor won the chief opposition party’s primary to face an incumbent who wants Beijing to keep a distance.

The opposition Nationalists announced that Han Kuo-yu, now mayor of the Taiwanese port city Kaohsiung, had won the presidential primary Monday against four other candidates, including the founder of consumer electronics assembler Foxconn Technology. Han will go up against incumbent Tsai Ing-wen in the January 2020 general election.

China is expected to define the late-year campaign because the two contenders differ on how to handle it, reflecting divisions among Taiwanese people.

A policeman scuffles with a protester inside a mall in Sha Tin District in Hong Kong, July 14, 2019.

Divided public

Taiwan and China have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, but Beijing still claims sovereignty over the island. Opinion surveys as recent as January show most Taiwanese oppose rule by China, and protests in Hong Kong since June against the territory’s own rule by Beijing have solidified that sentiment.    [FULL  STORY]

The new measures will first apply to residents in Miaoli and Nantou counties

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/15
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Incentive measures are being introduced in Miaoli and Nantou counties in a

bid to protect endangered leopard cats (石虎) in Taiwan, as a trial program for the conservation of the animal was approved by the Council of Agriculture on July 1.

According to the Forest Bureau, cash rewards will be provided to residents who abide by the guidelines set out in the “Incentive Program for Leopard Cat Friendly Farms” (友善石虎生態服務給付試辦方案). Community groups that conduct patrols on leopard cats’ habitats, report and help remove traps, and assist in local conservation work, will receive a reward of NT$60,000 a year.

Farmers who agree to spare their farmland (measuring at least 970 square meters) from herbicides, raticides, and animal traps, will receive a reward of NT$20,000 per hectare. Meanwhile, poultry farm owners who report leopard cats to the authorities without hurting them will receive NT$3,000 per incident.

A cash reward ranging from NT$10,000 to 100,000 will also be granted to the three aforementioned parties for setting up cameras to monitor the whereabouts of the endangered species and successfully capturing images of the elusive animal.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/15
By: Wen Kuei-hsiang and Elizabeth Hsu

Basseterre, July 14 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) toured the island of Nevis Sunday, on the second day of her visit to St. Kitts and Nevis, saying she was impressed by the scenic beach landscapes that obviously were very attractive to tourists.

Nevis' reputation as a beautiful tourist destination is fully justified, said Tsai, the first sitting president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to visit the island.

Accompanied by St. Kitts and Nevis Premier and Foreign Affairs Minister Mark Brantley and Deputy Governor-General Hyleeta Liburd of the Nevis Island Administration, Tsai presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for an ocean park at Pinneys Beach on Nevis.

The sustainable and environmentally friendly project is being carried out with technical and financial assistance from Taiwan, Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]