Taipei Times
Date: Dec 27, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) has come under fire for saying on Tuesday

that he would allow Chinese to buy real estate in the city.

Han made the remark during an interview with the Chinese-language Want Daily.

He said that he plans to gradually relax restrictions on Chinese investment in the city’s housing market to improve the economy, adding that he would make his idea known to the Executive Yuan by attending regular meetings between the premier and local government heads.

Han said that he would gauge public opinion on the policy and not force it through.

However, when asked what he would do if the central government opposed the policy, he said: “What is there to oppose?”

He has been assembling a panel of experts to oversee Kaohsiung’s exchanges with China, and if the central and local governments were to spar on the city’s cross-strait issues, the central government “would have to budge,” Han said.    [FULL  STORY]

The Japan Times 
Date: DEC 25, 2018

TAIPEI – Taiwan and Japan are scheduled to hold a third round of talks in Tokyo this week to discuss maritime cooperation, including fishing near Okinotorishima island — regarded by Japan as its southernmost territory.

Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said recently that the two-day talks are scheduled to begin Thursday.

Sources familiar with the talks said Taiwan hopes to forge a cooperation agreement to help reduce illegal fishing by Taiwanese fishermen.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s median salary was NT$470,000 in 2017

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/25
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s median annual income was NT$470,000 (US$15,235) in 2017, according a new report by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), reported CNA.

The measure of central tendency reached its highest level in six years, with DGBAS attributing the relatively high figure to pay rises which took place in 2017, as well as strong economic performance in the first half of that year.

The report showed that the highest median salaries were in the electricity and gas supply, and financial services sectors. These sectors were also reported to be Taiwan’s highest paying by DGBAS earlier this year. Median income in these sectors for 2017 was NT$1.196 million and NT$889,000 respectively.

The report suggests the median annual income for people aged under 25 years old was NT$319,000. This figure rises to NT$548,000 for people aged between 40 and 49, and declines to NT$386,000 for people 65 years and older.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/25
By: Joseph Yeh 

Taipei, Dec. 25 (CNA) Taiwan’s government has decided to donate US$500,000 to Indonesia to support relief efforts in the wake of a volcanic eruption and deadly tsunami over the weekend that left hundreds dead, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Tuesday.

The ministry will hand the relief funds to the Indonesian government to assist the country with post-disaster relief efforts and aid the reconstruction of areas affected by the natural disaster, a MOFA statement said.

The decision to make the donation was based on humanitarian need and the close friendship between Taiwan and Indonesia, the ministry said, adding that the Southeast Asian country is an important partner in the country’s ongoing New Southbound Policy.

Currently more than 260,000 Indonesian migrant workers work in Taiwan while another 5,000 Indonesian students study in the country, it noted.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 26, 2018
By: Hung Mei-hsiu and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Nuremberg International Trade Fair gold and silver medalist Wu Yi-shan (吳懿珊) has

a spirit of practical experimentation and her achievements could serve as a role model for Taiwanese students, the Hsinchu Department of Education said.

The trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany, which was established in 1948, is famous for being the first exhibition for new products and inventions, the department said.

With more than 12 international exhibition halls displaying all types of inventions throughout the year, the fair is known for its strict and impartial assessments, making it one of the most authoritative exhibitions in the world, it said.

Wu loves to observe and think about how to help alleviate difficulties, the department said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: Dec. 25, 2018
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

TAIPEI (CNA) – A magnitude 4.5 earthquake jolted southern Taiwan at 11:56 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the quake was located about 40.1 kilometers southwest of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 6.2 km, the bureau’s Seismology Center said.

The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taimali Township in Taitung, where it measured 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale.

Several other areas in Pingtung and Kaohsiung also recorded an intensity between 2-3.    [SOURCE]

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/24
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

Taiwan’s government has expressed its willingness to provide every possible assistance in the wake of the tsunami that struck coastal areas throughout the Sunda Strait Saturday night, leaving at least 281 dead and over 1,000 injured.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has expressed concern about the situation and says the government is prepared to help those affected in whatever way it can. A Ministry of National Defense spokesperson said the ministry is ready to deploy a C-130 transport plane to help with disaster relief work.

Eight Taiwanese tourists are reportedly stranded in a mountainous area after fleeing the tsunami, and two have reportedly been seriously injured, according to the executive of a charity foundation.

Coastal areas throughout the Sunda Strait, which separates Java and Sumatra, were hit by the wave late Saturday. The deadly tsunami occurred after undersea landslides caused by the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano.    [FULL  STORY]

The atlas is a collection 165 images of maps depicting ancient Tainan city

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/24
By: Alicia Nguyen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Tainan City government on Dec. 24 held a publishing event titled “Tainan’s 400-year-old city atlas” with 165 different kinds of maps of the ancient city of Tainan, reported CNA.

The 400-year-old atlas book was published jointly by Tainan Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and SMC Publishing Inc. Including a total of 165 maps, the atlas is a combination of topographic maps, harbor maps, administrative area maps, road maps and so forth, in which 14 of them were first reprinted.

The director of Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government, Yeh Tse-shan (葉澤山), said that the publication of this atlas was really not easy due to the copyright issue involved in different sources, including the National Palace Museum, the National Museum of History, the National Archives of the Netherlands, and the National Diet Library of Japan, and private collection of Wei Te-wen, the reports said.

The acting mayor of Tainan City, Lee Meng-yan (李孟諺), said that this ancient atlas played an important role as a proof of the past, evidence of the city’s development, a reference to the flood control and the local culture. Additionally, it worked as a supplement for the shortage of historical texts and could be compared to the historical data develop a sustainable city of Tainan.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/24
By Yang Shu-min and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 24 (CNA) Taiwan obtained information about the outbreak of African

swine fever (ASF) in China mainly through China’s Ministry of Agriculture and the World Organisation for Animal Health (IOE), the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) said Monday.

This was due to the suspension of a communication channel between Taiwan and China, according to BAPHIQ.

Like other countries such as Japan, the information about the ASF situation in China that Taiwan got was mainly from its agriculture ministry’s website and the IOE because China did not make public and transparent its ASF outbreak information, according to BAPHIQ.    [FULL  STORY]