Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/23
By: Emerson Lim and Ko Lin

Manila, Dec. 23 (CNA) A Taiwanese man who was locked in a room by his Filipina girlfriend

in the Philippines managed to escape and return to Taiwan earlier this week after being kept prisoner for two weeks.

Identified only by his family name of Chen (陳), the 20-year-old apparently also had his passport and other personal belongings, including a cellphone and identity card, stolen by his girlfriend, according to Taiwan’s representative office in the Philippines.

In the evening of Dec. 20, Chen broke out of his room when his girlfriend was out of the house, and immediately tried to contact the office from a nearby Internet café, using his only remaining pocket change.

Meanwhile, he also managed to call his family back home so that they could alert local authorities of his plight.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 24, 2017
By: Chien Hui-ju and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

It was 1999 when Allison Lee (李麗華), then 35 years old and working at the Taipei

Department of Labor, first came into contact with migrant workers.

After a brief stint at the department, Lee discovered that bureaucracy was hindering her efforts to help them and decided that working for a civilian organization would be more practical.

Now 53, Lee continues to work to uphold the rights of migrant workers, despite having experienced verbal threats from ship owners and their intermediaries.

“My only hope is that one day migrant workers will no longer be exploited,” she said.

When asked why she dedicated her life to helping migrant workers, Lee said it might have stemmed from her experiences working in a factory in then-Taoyuan County after she graduated from vocational high school.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/12/22
By: Yulin

Taiwan is pretty average in East Asia when it comes to paid holidays and work hours, but

stagnant wages remain a major drag.

Since Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office, the Labor Standards Act has undergone two major revisions which have affected working hours, schedules and overtime pay.

Taiwanese workers suffer from low wages, but are things really that bad by the standards of East Asia?

By comparing official statistics from the Taiwanese government (which should be taken with a grain of salt) with data from the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), we can see that Taiwan ranks 6th in the world in terms of total work hours.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-12-22

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has opened F-ISAC, a new institution tasked

with sharing and analyzing key financial information.

FSC head Wellington Koo spoke at the unveiling ceremony on Friday. He said one of the goals of the center is to respond to the Cabinet’s plan to share information across eight industries, one of them being banks and financial institutions.

Koo said the center will also serve to prevent cyber attacks on Taiwan’s financial institutions with its capability for comprehensive data analysis.

Koo also said he hopes experts in the finance industry and in cybersecurity will work with F-ISAC to make it a success.    [FULL  STORY]

Wang Yu-chen was greeted with a surprise when she landed in Bangkok

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/12/22
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A recent vacation to Thailand turned into a happier trip than

expected for one Taiwanese traveler this week.

Wang Yu-chen, a Taiwanese citizen, was surprised after she landed at Bangkok International Airport, when she was greeted as a VIP and named“Thailand’s Luckiest Visitor” on Dec. 22.

She was planning on spending five days in Bangkok and Ayutthaya with her friends for a year end vacation.

Wang had been counted as the 34 millionth foreigner visiting Thailand this year. She flew into Bangkok from Taoyuan International Airport on Thai Airways.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/22
By: Fan Cheng-hsiang and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took to Facebook on Friday to point

out that China’s increasingly frequent military drills near Taiwan have affected regional stability, while motivating the military to stay vigilant in safeguarding the country against security threats.

In her post, Tsai noted that the military drills the Chinese air force has been conducting have increased in frequency and have impacted the stability of the region.

The president said that Taiwan’s air force, navy and army have improved on their surveillance capability and ability to safeguard Taiwan’s safety and the region’s stability.

Tsai’s post also noted Taiwan’s commitment to the safety of the Asia Pacific region and to its own national defense. The first line of Tsai’s post reads “rather a hundred years without war, but not a single day without preparations for war.”    [FULL  STORY]

President Tsai Ing-wen said Dec. 19 that closer cooperation between Taiwan and EU companies on green technology will produce significant benefits for both sides 

Taiwan News  
Date: 2017/12/20
By:  Agencies

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Dec. 19 that closer cooperation between

Taiwan and EU companies on green technology will produce significant benefits for both sides by fostering the development of cutting-edge sustainable solutions and promoting the growth of the renewable power sector.

A number of European enterprises have demonstrated strong interest in working with local firms in advancing Taiwan’s green energy industry, Tsai said, adding that such tie-ups will also help cultivate wider collaboration in emerging high-tech sectors like biotech and pharmaceuticals, Internet of Things and smart machinery.

Tsai made the remarks while receiving a European Parliament delegation led by Andrey Kovatchev, deputy chairman of the EP-Taiwan Friendship Group, at the Office of the President in Taipei City. The delegation is visiting Dec. 17-22 to gain a better understanding of the country’s economic and political development as well as cross-strait and Taiwan-EU relations.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/20
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) The Customs Administration once again urged travelers to declare

their cash and valuables such as securities and gold of a value higher than Taiwan’s law allows when entering or leaving the country, or risk having their undeclared possessions confiscated.

The call was reiterated Wednesday, two days after a Taiwanese traveler surnamed Chang (張) was caught carrying 110,600 Chinese yuan (US$16,812) at a customs point in the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Chang was preparing to take a flight to Kong Hong, Taipei Customs said.

Under Taiwan’s Money Laundering Control Act and relevant regulations, passengers entering or leaving Taiwan with cash in local currency exceeding NT$100,000, foreign currency (including the currencies of Hong Kong and Macao) exceeding US$10,000, or Chinese currency exceeding 20,000 yuan must declare it.    [FULL  STORY]

One of the best places to watch the Taipei 101 fireworks display is from Xiangshan (Elephant Mountain), which is accessible via a few trails

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/12/20
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—As New Year’s Eve is just around the corner, counting down to New

Year 2018 and watching the fireworks display at Taipei 101 is on many people’s event calendar. One of the best places to watch the fireworks display is from Xiangshan (Elephant Mountain), which is accessible via a few trails.

For people who are not familiar with the different routes to the top of Xiangshan, the easiest way is to take the Xinyi Line (Red Line), alight at Xiangshan Station, and leave at no. 2 exit.

Coming out of the station, eye-catching guide signs ahead introduce the Xiangshan Trail in detail. After scanning the QR code on it with your cell phone, you can carry the route to get there with you. Walk easily along Lane 150, Section 5, Xinyi Road for 5 minutes, you can arrive at the hiking entrance of Lingyun Temple (靈雲宮). While climbing along the wide staircase, you can experience the quiet yet flourishing woods, as you are teleported from the hustling city in an instant into Mother Nature.    [FULL  STORY]