Page Three

New Jakarta governor looking forward to working with Taipei

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/16
By: Jay Chou and Kuan-lin Liu 

Jakarta, Oct. 16 (CNA) Jakarta’s newly inaugurated governor, Anies Baswedan, expressed hope Monday of working with Taipei in the areas of trade and international issues.

The governor, who was sworn in that day, said during an interview with CNA that his team will continue to engage in international cooperation, especially in the economic arena, with other cities in East Asia.

Jakarta hopes to have exchanges with Taipei so that Jakarta- Taipei collaboration can increase interaction and cooperation between Taiwan and Indonesia, Baswedan said.

Baswedan, who ran his mayoral campaign on a platform of reform, innovation and justice, said that his first task after his inauguration is to bridge the divide between the different factions in the country’s capital.    [FULL  STORY]

MND dismisses ‘assistance’ report

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 17, 2017
By: Staff reporter, with CNA

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday dismissed as “groundless” and “pure speculation” a newspaper report that Taiwan’s navy could offer humanitarian assistance if a war were to break out between the US and North Korea.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily yesterday published a report citing an unidentified military official as saying that the US military has sent a team to Taiwan to evaluate the nation’s ability to set up field hospitals during wartime.

The US team boarded the locally built Panshih (磐石), the navy’s only supply vessel with a small hospital on board, to see if it could be used as a field hospital in wartime, the report said.    [FULL  STORY]

Semiconductors boost TAIEX by 1.8%

MAGNETIC PULL:Surging share prices have drawn in major retail investors, while foreign institutional investors were responsible for 24% of trading, compared to 14% for local ones

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 16, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The semiconductor sector drove last week’s upturn in the local stock market, boosting the market’s capitalization by almost 1.8 percent, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said.

With contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) steaming ahead, the market cap of the main bourse rose about NT$560.46 billion (US$18.57 billion), or 1.79 percent from a week earlier, to NT$31.94 trillion, while the market cap of the semiconductor sector gained NT$473.5 billion, TWSE data showed.

The TAIEX on Friday closed up 0.12 points at 10,724.09, the 100th consecutive trading session in which share prices traded above that level, the longest run for the index above that level in its history.

Foreign institutional investors last week bought a net 34.80 million TSMC shares, sending the company’s stock up 5.79 percent to close at NT$237.5 on Friday and boosting its market cap to reach NT$6.16 trillion, the highest on the main bourse.
[FULL  STORY]

Does China really pose a threat to Taiwan?

Asia Times
Date: October 16, 2017
By: Richard A. Bitzinger

A colleague of mine loves to point out that I am constantly saying, “Back in the Nineties…” In other words, I am always commenting on current events by referencing incidents and aftereffects that took place more than 20 years ago.

I guess that is just the occupational hazard of growing older. On the other hand, memory and experience help to put modern happenings into perspective. And lately, we seem to be revisiting an Asian security problem that many probably thought was long dead and buried: a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Sorry, I can’t help it, but…back in the Nineties, the Chinese threat to Taiwan was perhaps the paramount security concern in East Asia. A war between China and Taiwan was considered to be the most likely military clash at that time, and it was the basis for most anxieties when it came to regional peace and stability. Consequently, tensions across the Taiwan Straits were the source of most of the strains between Washington and Beijing at the time.    [FULL  STORY]

CPC to amend party constitution

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-10-15

The Communist Party of China’s (CPC) Central Standing Committee has agreed to amend the party’s constitution; it will now be sent to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China next week for approval.

A Reuter’s report out on Saturday said that the amendment is likely to incorporate President Xi Jinping’s political thought. It said he is also likely to tighten his grip on power at next week’s congress, which begins on Wednesday.

The party released a communiqué via state media praising Xi’s past five years of leadership, noting in particular successes in the fight against corruption.
[FULL  STORY]

Japanese singer-songwriter Misia to join Taiwan gay pride event

October 28 Taiwan LGBT Pride is largest gay event in Asia

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/10/15
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Japanese singer-songwriter Misia announced this week she

Misia live in Osaka (photo from her Facebook page).

will be present at the 15th Taiwan LGBT Pride event on October 28.

Following a ruling by the Council of Grand Justices last May, Taiwan is closer than ever to becoming the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, giving the gay rights movement renewed impetus. The annual gay parade is the largest such event in Asia.

While Misia’s short statement on her Facebook page failed to provide any details about her plans, commentators did not believe that the usually quite private soul star would perform songs at the event.    [FULL  STORY]

Jessica Chastain to present award at Golden Horse ceremony

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/15
By: Sabine Cheng and William Yen

Taipei, Oct. 15 (CNA) Oscar-winning American actress and film producer Jessica

Jessica Chastain/photo courtesy of Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival executive committee

Chastain will be one of the presenters at the 54th Golden Horse Awards Ceremony in Taipei next month, the organizers said Sunday.

In a press release, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival executive committee said Chastain will present an award at the ceremony at National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on Nov. 25, but it did not specify which award.

The American actress won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in 2013 for her role in the movie Zero Dark Thirty.

The previous year, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the movie The Help.    [FULL  STORY]

Nazi stickers that drew official protests pulled

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 16, 2017
By: Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with CNA

An auto-parts retailer’s sale of Nazi flag stickers has drawn condemnation from the

Nazi flag stickers are displayed on Friday alongside US and Canadian flag stickers in an auto-parts store in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei Township.  Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times

Israeli Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after a Facebook post lambasting the store went viral on Friday.

They have since been pulled from the shelves at the retailer’s branch in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei Township (竹北).

A netizen posted a photograph taken inside the store, showing Nazi flag stickers under the label “German national flags,” on a Facebook group created for “explosive revelations.”

The Nazi flag stickers were hung between those of the US and Canadian flags, with stickers of the Japanese Empire’s war flag to the left of the US flag stickers, with each pack priced at NT$20.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan and Poland sign MOUs on renewable energy and financial affairs

Taiwan and Poland have signed two MOUs on cooperation and exchanges in the development of conformity assessment and renewable energy

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/10/14
By Juvina Lai, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)— On Friday the Ministry of Economic Affairs released a statement that announced Taiwan had signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with Poland in the field of developing renewable energy and assessment.

The Central News Agency reported that according to the MOEA’s Department of International Cooperation, Taiwan and Poland have been enjoying improved ties in terms of trade and investment ever since the economic ties began in 2010.

Poland is the first country in Central Europe with whom Taiwan has a financial supervision-related MOU. The document was signed by a representative of Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission and by a Polish counterpart.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan policy will not change: Paal

OFFICIAL TALK:The former American Institute in Taiwan director said he hopes that Taiwan could find a way to resume the connections of the former KMT administration

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 15, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Contrary to expectations, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not likely to change

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace vice president for studies Douglas Paal talks to reporters in Taipei yesterday.  Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

its cross-strait policy during its 19th National Congress, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace vice president for studies Douglas Paal said.

Paal, who served as director of the American Institute in Taiwan from 2002 to 2006, yesterday said that he reached the conclusion after speaking with several Chinese officials.

“I have been spending a lot of time trying to talk to people who have Taiwan-related positions in the People’s Republic of China’s official circles. So far they have been more reassuring than frightening in terms of continuity — no big changes,” Paal said on the sidelines of a meeting of Asia-Pacific think-tank leaders in Taipei organized by the Institute for National Policy Research.

However, it remains to be seen whether the officials’ view is in line with that of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), whose mandate is expected to be renewed at the congress in Beijing, he added.    [FULL  STORY]