Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/02
By: Jiang Ming-yan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 2 (CNA) A majority of Taiwanese tourists think the most important thing

when arranging a trip is picking a good travel partner, according to a survey recently released by international travel search engine kayak.com.

According to kayak.com’s Asia-Pacific Travel Addict Survey, 52 percent of Taiwanese tourists said that picking a good travel partner is the most important factor for a great travel experience, followed by a safe travel environment, expenditure, comfortable accommodation and destination.

Taiwan and Hong Kong (44 percent) were the only areas surveyed where respondents considered finding a good travel partner more important than expenditure, the report reveals.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 03, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan is cautiously optimistic about US President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting

with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and hopes it will help promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday in the Solomon Islands.

Asked at a tea party for the media covering her visit to the Solomon Islands if Taiwan could be a bargaining chip during Trump’s five-nation trip to Asia, which begins today, Tsai said the government would keep a close eye on Trump’s visit to China.

“We maintain close communications with the US,” she added.

She said she hoped that Trump would reaffirm the US’ commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region during his trip.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 2, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI (CNA) – No final decision has been made on when to hold two annual meetings

with Japan on trade and maritime issues, Taiwan’s top envoy to Japan said on Thursday.

Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Tuesday that Taiwan and Japan are planning to hold the two-day Taiwan-Japan Trade and Economics Meeting talks on Nov. 21-22, where the Japanese side plans to bring up Taiwan’s ban on food imports from Fukushima and surrounding areas, citing unidentified sources.

One source indicated the issue “will be resolved soon,” adding that the Japanese side will be “well prepared” this time around, the report said.

Asked to comment, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) told lawmakers he is not aware that the date of the meeting has been finalized nor whether the meeting will address the food import ban.    [FULL  STORY]

Verdict in Lee Ming-che case expected by November 7

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲) could

be sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 7, unconfirmed reports said Wednesday.

Lee, a former employee of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), disappeared on March 19 after crossing the border from Macau into China. It took weeks until Beijing confirmed rumors that he had been detained, adding later he was being investigated for subversive activities.

At a trial in Hunan Province in September, he pleaded guilty to charges brought in early August, acknowledging he had promoted Western-style democracy in online forums.

Activists working on Lee’s behalf in Taiwan said that according to Chinese judicial procedures, the publication of a verdict should come within three months after the indictments, which meant the ruling could be expected within a week, even though during his case, the Chinese authorities failed to respect other stipulations, such as the requirement that relatives are allowed to visit defendants.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/01
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Kuan-lin Liu

Funafuti, Tuvalu, Nov. 1 (CNA) Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said Wednesday that his country will always remain Taiwan’s friend, based on their common values.

At a luncheon held in honor of visiting President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Enele said Taiwan and Tuvalu share the values of human rights and democracy.

Tuvalu will forever be Taiwan’s friend, he told Tsai and her delegation, who arrived in the South Pacific island country on a state visit earlier in the day.

In response, Tsai said Taiwan and Tuvalu are like family, having supported each other and overcome common difficulties during their 38 years of diplomatic relations.
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 1, 2017
By: Hsiao Po-wen, Wang Yang-yu and Evelyn Kao

TAIPEI (CNA) – The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday sought a sentence of

24 years in prison for Farglory Group (遠雄集團) founder Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄) on charges that include bribery and breach of trust.

The Taipei District Court granted prosecutors’ requests on July 1 to detain Chao, who controls Farglory Land Development Co. and its main affiliated companies, and two others on suspicion of bribery and embezzlement involving several public construction projects. The other two were New Taipei City Councilor Chou Sheng-kao (周勝考) and Hung Chia-hung (洪嘉宏), chief secretary of the Construction and Planning Agency (CPA).

After a four-month investigation, prosecutors on Tuesday indicted 31 people involved in the cases, including Chao, Chou and Lee Sush-der (李述德), former head of Taipei’s Department of Finance.    [FULL  STORY]

East Asia Forum
Date: 1 November 2017
By: Margaret K Lewis, Seton Hall University

In May 2014, a man stabbed four people to death and injured dozens on a Taipei train. He was executed on 10 May 2016 — 10 days before President Tsai Ing-wen assumed office. The pace of executions in Taiwan has waxed and waned over recent decades — after a nearly five-year pause in executions, 33 people were executed between 2010 and 2016. Today, the death penalty remains legal, popular and contentious.

Treason, piracy and serious drug offences are among the crimes for which courts may impose a death sentence, although the overwhelming majority of executions in the last decade have been for murder. Retention of the death penalty is permitted but discouraged under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Taiwan adopted as domestic law in 2009.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-10-31

Premier William Lai has voiced his support for better access to medical interpretation in

Southeast Asian languages.

Lai was asked about problems that new immigrants from Southeast Asia face communicating with doctors during prenatal checkups. KMT lawmaker Lin Li-chan, herself a naturalized immigrant from Southeast Asia, told the premier that many expectant mothers have to communicate with doctors using gestures.

Lai said he backs a system of professional interpreters for hospitals. He also said he will ask the health ministry to look into providing translation software for local clinics.    [FULL  STORY]