Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-08

Taiwan’s envoy to Germany on Wednesday said he has written to German companies to

demand a correction for listing Taiwan as part of China.

Shieh Jhy-wey was referring to Lufthansa and Mercedes-Benz, which have listed Taiwan on their websites as “Taiwan, China”. Bosch uses “Taiwan (China)” on its website. Their Chinese websites also have the same names.

Shieh said those companies have come under pressure from China. He said Beijing’s move has become a global phenomenon. Relations between Taiwan and China have been strained since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016.

Meanwhile, foreign ministry spokesperson Andrew Lee said Thursday that his office will continue to pay close attention to the situation. Lee said it is important for the ministry to protect Taiwan’s dignity and interests.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese employer indicted for not giving Indonesian worker sufficient days off and minim salary

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/03/08
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese employer based in Taichung has been charged for

the Human Trafficking Prevention Act for not providing her Indonesian employee with adequate time off and the minimum wage required by law, reported CNA.

According to the indictment, the employer, a women surnamed Lee (李) required her Indonesian employee to not only work overtime in his factory, but also to do household chores. She both failed to give her adequate days off and also pay her less than the minimum salary required by law.

Lee, required her employee, a 64-year-old woman identified as Linda, to work every Monday through Friday for 11.5 hours, Saturdays for eight hours and Sundays for 8.5 hours. Every Saturday and Sunday, she was asked to help with packaging products, and also wash dishes, clean and even go to Lee’s home to wash clothes, clean her car and sweep, among other housework.

In not allowing Linda to have any days off, Lee violated the Labor Standards Act, which requires one mandatory day off and one flexible day off for every seven days of work  (一例一休). Lee also did not pay Linda for her overtime worked, also in violation of the labor law.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/08
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 8 (CNA) Taoyuan Metro Corporation (TMC) unveiled Thursday a stamp

collecting booklet for travelers to celebrate the one year anniversary of the airport metro line that links Taipei, New Taipei, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taoyuan.

The booklet can be picked up free of charge from information booths at all Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport metro stations, the TMC said.

Commuters will be able to use it to collect souvenir stamps when exiting stations and from 73 designated shops in and around the mass rapid transit line, it said.

A single exit accounts for one stamp, as does each purchase of items at the stores.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 09, 2018
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

A coalition of pro-unification groups yesterday criticized the Japanese government for

encroaching on Taiwanese fishing rights during a protest outside the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association’s Taipei office.

At 11am yesterday, about 30 protesters from the Concentric Patriotism Association (CPA), the Chung Hwa Baodiao Alliance, the Chinese Association of Friends of Okinawa (CAFO) and other groups gathered in front of the office on Qingcheng Street in the city’s Songshan District (松山), shouting “We want our fishing rights” and “Say no to Japanese invasion.”

Protesters attempted to throw eggs at the office, but were unable to approach, as it was surrounded by more than 100 police officers and protected with barricades.

Japanese patrol boats on Saturday and Sunday harassed the Taiwanese fishing vessel Tung Pan Chiu No. 28 in waters near the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), allegedly because it crossed a designated zone for fishing activities stipulated by a 2013 Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-07

The head of the Civil Aeronatics Association (CAA), Lin Kuo-shian, has hailed the return

to the Taiwan market of Air France and Air New Zealand. Lin said this reflects Taiwan’s importance as a regional aviation hub.

“Taiwan has a great geographical location, on average it’s two and a half hours’ flight time from here to any major city in the region. As of the end of last year, we had 602 flights a week serving 18 countries in Southeast Asia, close to 600 flights to 61 cities in mainland China, and 700 to 800 flights to Japan and South Korea. That is to say, [Taiwan] has over 1,800 flights a week serving every major destination [in the region],” Lin said.

Lin noted that Air Canada resumed flights to Taiwan last year. He said Air France is set to resume services to Taiwan in April, and Air New Zealand will follow suit in November.

Lin said that close to 45 million passengers passed through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the country’s main gateway, last year. This was an increase of nearly 8% over the previous year.    [SOURCE]

The former doctor won the battle of the landlines.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/07
By: TNL Staff

Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) won the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) nomination for the

Kaohsiung mayoral race this afternoon (March 7) beating out three other candidates.

The DPP nominee is widely expected to become the mayor of the party stronghold of Kaohsiung. The seat will be vacated after the retirement of long-time mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), also of the DPP.

The DPP’s Kaohsiung office told radio station ICRT that the formal nomination process would occur on March 14.

The former doctor is the current DPP party spokesman and led in opinion polls before the primary. He has the support of several influential blue-collar labor associations. and was the city’s acting mayor in 2005 after Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) stepped down from the role to serve premier under president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/03/07
By: Taiwan Today,Agencies

TAIPEI (Taiwan Today) –The government is making great strides in narrowing the gender

gap and ensuring the invaluable contributions of women to Taiwan’s development are fully appreciated and recognized, Premier Lai Ching-te said March 5.

Gender equality policies are paying dividends for women in all facets of daily life, Lai said. The government will continue working to achieve further progress and fully harness the potential of all members of society, he added.

The premier made the remarks while presiding over a meeting with Cabinet-level Gender Equality Committee in Taipei City in the run-up to March 8 International Women’s Day.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/07
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, March 7 (CNA) In the face of a rising China, a “social resistance” has emerged in

Taiwan against Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) Chinese dream of bringing about national rejuvenation during his term, a Taiwanese expert on China affairs said Wednesday.

Wu Jieh-min (吳介民), an associate research fellow at the Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, said that the social resistance is a “collective” phenomena in the Taiwan society and the embodiment of its people’s desire and pursuit of a Taiwan-centered identity.

The Chinese dream Xi has aimed to achieve — “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” in his words — is termed in the academic community as “Chinese empire,” Wu said at a forum hosted by the Taiwan Research Fund to mark the 30th anniversary of its establishment.    [FULL  STORY]

NAVAL STRATEGY: Former city councilor Ching Chieh-shou said that, if elected, he would create a maritime self-defense force to safeguard Taiwanese working at sea

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 08, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Two more Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members yesterday registered for its New

Taipei City mayoral primary, with one vowing to form a maritime self-defense force to defend the rights of Taiwanese fishermen.

Former Taipei county commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and former New Taipei City councilor Ching Chieh-shou (金介壽) submitted their applications on the last day of registration, bringing the party’s total number of candidates for the mayoral election in November to three.

New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) completed his registration on Monday.

Setting his sights on making New Taipei City better than the nation’s capital, Chou said he would form a cooperative and competitive relationship with the next Taipei mayor.
[FULL  STORY]