Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/06/19

The Financial Times is reporting that Taiwan’s National Security Council (NSC) Secretary General David Lee (李大維)) says the government is seeking to urge the public to boycott airlines that altered Taiwan’s designation on their websites.

According to the UK newspaper, Lee says the government will make it clear that the public can choose not to fly on airlines that have caved in to pressure from Beijing to change the island’s designation to “Taiwan, China” on their websites.

The Financial Times is quoting the former Taiwan foreign minister as saying other measures could include taking legal action against companies that now describe Taiwan as part of China.

The report also quotes American Institute in Taiwan Chairman James Moriarty as saying Beijing is using unfortunate interference in commercial matters to prove a political point that at its core is not accurate, as Taiwan is not a province of the People’s Republic of China.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/06/19
By: Taiwan Today,Agencies

President Tsai Ing-wen said June 15 that Taiwan is willing and able to share its

considerable expertise and know-how in combating malaria with other countries and raise global health standards.

The difficulties Taiwan faces on the diplomatic front have limited its ability to contribute to international malaria-fighting efforts, Tsai said. Irrespective, the nation is resolute in taking every opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those in need, she added.

Tsai made the remarks while receiving U.S. anti-malaria campaigner Katherine Commale and her family at the Office of the President in Taipei City.
[FULL  STORY}

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/19
By: Fan Ching-yi and Ko Lin

Hanoi, June 19 (CNA) A total of 12 suspects, including six from Taiwan, have recently

been arrested in Vietnam for their involvement in online telecommunications fraud, Vietnamese media reported Tuesday.

A raid was carried out by local authorities in Quang Nam, a province in the south central region of the Southeast Asian country.

According to media reports, the six Taiwanese were identified as Chung Shao-teng, 23, Chang Seng-ping (age unknown), Chang Chia-pin, 21, Bian Zong-xun, 34, Chang Fu-lung, 34 and Lo Yu-hsuan, 20, while the remaining six were Vietnamese citizens.

The case was first brought to light by a local victim who informed the authorities after being swindled out of 2 billion Vietnamese dong (US$87,720).    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s MOL on Monday, on which this year’s Dragon Boat Festival falls, said that the traditional festival is a national holiday, and therefore private sector employers should pay their employees who work overtime on this day double time

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/06/18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Monday (June 18), on

which this year’s Dragon Boat Festival falls, said that the traditional festival is a national holiday designated by the country ‘s Ministry of the Interior, and therefore private sector employers should pay their employees who work overtime on this day double time, according to media reports.

For employees who work overtime on June 18 this year, but this day happens to be their regular day off, employers should give them a compensatory day off, the MOL said.

If employers violate the regulation, the MOL said, workers can collect related evidence and file a complaint at a local labor administrative agency.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/18
By: Chu Wei-che and Flor Wang 

Taipei, June 18 (CNA) State-run Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) promised Monday to keep the country’s operating electricity reserve margin above 6 percent before July and said it will lower power generation at thermal power plants for the sake of air quality.

“As we try to maintain the operating reserve margin above 6 percent through the end of June, Taipower will do maintenance on holidays when electricity consumption is lower to minimize the impact,” Taipower spokesperson Hsu Tsao-hua (徐造華) told CNA.

He pledged that the power supply for households and companies during that time will be sufficient, and that “Taipower will also consider reducing power generation at thermal power plants, depending on air quality conditions, to help reduce pollution.”

Hsu made the pledge after the No. 2 reactor at Taiwan’s Second Nuclear Power Plant in northern Taiwan began generating electricity at full capacity on Sunday for the first time in more than two years.    [FULL  STORY]

The Australian
Date: June 18, 2018
By: Paul Maley, Defence and National Security Editor

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, ­Joseph Wu, has called for a strategic rebalancing among

Asia-Pacific democracies to counter the growing influence of China and urged Australia to conduct freedom-of-navigation exercises through the disputed South China Sea.

Mr Wu also called on Australia to back its own corporations, such as Qantas, in the face of growing economic intimidation from Beijing.

In an exclusive interview, he said the past five years had seen a dramatic shift in strategic power towards Beijing that meant no country in the region could hope to counter its expanding regional ambitions. What was needed, he said, was for “like-minded” countries, including Australia, to work in concert to check Beijing’s ambitions in the region.

“What we have been seeing is China expanding its influence and its power rapidly, not only in this region but across the globe,” Mr Wu said. “That is a new strategic situation we have to face. China’s economic power is so overwhelming for many countries in this region now.”    [FULL  STORY]