Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/30 
By:  Central News Agency

Taiwan’s national defense will be built on a dual-development system that focuses on

both indigenous system development and foreign arms sales, Vice Minister of Defense Chang Guan-chung (張冠群) said Monday.

“We are standing at a time when Taiwan is marching towards self-reliant defense,” Chang said in a speech addressing the opening ceremony of the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2018 in Maryland.

But he stressed that the strategy would not exclude the participation of foreign suppliers.

“Our focus in pushing self-reliant defense over the past two years is the development of main systems. That being said, we still seek the participation of both domestic and foreign companies in developing sub-systems and critical modules through market mechanisms,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

HOTLINE ABUSE: Offices would only assist those who encounter serious crimes that threaten their personal safety, such as murder and sexual assault

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 31, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday announced a series of new measures to

enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of its emergency assistance to overseas Taiwanese, as more than 90 percent of callers who contacted the nation’s emergency hotlines last year were not actually in serious trouble.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary-General James Lee (李光章) at a news conference in Taipei said that to prevent the nation’s emergency hotlines from being abused for trivial matters, the ministry has revised its guidelines governing emergency assistance to Taiwanese traveling overseas to give the public a clearer idea of what kinds of situations constitute an emergency.

The guidelines previously stipulated that overseas offices were required to help victims of criminal activities report their case to a local police bureau. However, under the revised version, assistance would only be provided to those who have encountered serious crimes that threaten their personal safety, such as murder, kidnapping and sexual assault, Lee said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-29

President Tsai Ing-wen spoke with eSwatini’s King Mswati III on the phone about bilateral

ties on Monday.

President Tsai thanked King Mswati III for his message of condolence following a recent train accident in Taiwan, and for speaking out on behalf of Taiwan at the United Nations in late September.

Tsai said she was happy to visit eSwatini and believes that ties are very strong. Tsai wants to continue to strengthen ties and see progress in medical exchanges and on joint power plant projects.

Taiwan’s foreign minister and eSwaitini’s ambassador were also present during President Tsai’s 10-minue phone call with King Mswati III. Eswatini is Taiwan’s last remaining official diplomatic ally in Africa.    [FULL  STORY]

Channel News Asia
Date: 29 Oct 2018

TAIPEI: Taiwan Air Force staff sergeant Jiang Pin-shiuan’s pitch to freshmen at Taipei’s Tamkang University seemed compelling: Join the island’s armed forces and get a state-sponsored degree, 110 days of leave each year and annual savings of TUS$312,500 (US$10,200).

But many listening students showed little interest, arguing national service was a “waste of time” and prospects of the self-ruled island standing up economically or militarily to an increasingly aggressive China were slim.

“China could simply crush Taiwan with its economic power. There’s no need for a war, which wastes money,” said 18-year-old Chen Fang-yi, an engineering major. “I do not have much confidence and expectation for the national army.”

From lectures in universities and high schools across the island, life-size dancing dolls to a flash mob performance by a special forces unit, Taiwan’s military is working hard to recruit soldiers as it moves to a fully volunteer force after decades of conscription.
[FULL  STORY]

The Ministry of Education seeks to extend equal development opportunities to new immigrants

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/29
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s 12-year Curriculum for Basic Education will be introduced next year and includes language course in Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai and Burmese.

The 12-year Curriculum is an important measure that will readjust Taiwan’s education system in line with current problems and demographic changes the island is facing.

The overextension of college and university education plus slowing birth rates are creating a gap between school and work that must be closed in order to ensure Taiwan remains economically competitive, according to a 2014 White Paper on Human Resource Development.

As well as this, thanks in part to Tsai Ing-wen’s New Southbound Policy initiative, Taiwan is experiencing a huge influx of migrants from Southeast Asia that require and demand different educational opportunities.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/29
By: Wu Jui-chi and Ko Lin

Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) Three Taiwanese suspects who tried to smuggle drugs into Taiwan

using international parcel delivery service have been charged with violating the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Monday.

The case came to light when customs officials and aviation police in Taiwan received information from Thai authorities in August regarding drugs shipped from their country to Taiwan using parcel delivery service, according to a statement by the aviation bureau.

On Aug. 21, Taiwan’s customs officers subsequently intercepted a suspicious package containing sachets of ketamine, which are classified as a third grade narcotic.

Following the incident, local authorities again found another drug-containing parcel delivered by the same sender in Thailand and addressed to the same recipient.
[FULL  STORY]

Le Tang-ni narrowly loses to Mexico’s Giselle Nuñez in the 31th Miss Globalcity Pageant

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/28
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Li Tang-ni (李棠霓) narrowly missed out on being crowded winner of the 31st Miss Globalcity Pageant, taking home second place in Jinan, China on Oct. 27.

Li’s special performance of a dance inspired by core elements of kung fu was of special note, reported Mirror Media.

The final event of the beauty contest was held at Daming Lake, Jinan from October 17 to 27, and included the beauty competition, charity events, and endorsements for the Earth Charter of the United Nations. 36 women from 31 countries vied for the title.

According to the event’s website, the final competition is comprised of five sections including national costume, city introduction video, 30 second speech and evening wear, swimming suit, and talent and skill.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/28
By: Elaine Hou and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) Taiwan’s government has expressed its deep condolences to the

victims of a mass shooting at a busy synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Saturday, which resulted in 11 fatalities.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) contacted Brent Christensen, director of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Taipei Office immediately after being informed of the attack on the Pittsburgh synagogue and expressed his deep sympathy and condolences for those killed in the incident on behalf of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement Sunday.

Wu also condemned the senseless violence against those in Pittsburgh, in what was one of the deadliest attacks against the Jewish community in the United States history.
[FULL  STORY]