Tsai said that Muslim community is an important partner of Taiwan and indispensable force for promoting government’s New Southbound Policy

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/20
By: Taiwan Today,Agencies

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said Sept. 18 that the Muslim community is an

important partner of Taiwan and an indispensable force for promoting the government’s New Southbound Policy.

Muslim citizens and residents serve as a bridge linking the nation with the Islamic world, the president said, adding that she hopes they can continue to help expand mutually beneficial collaboration and exchanges with Muslim-majority countries.

Tsai made the remarks while receiving representatives from Taipei City-based Chinese Muslim Association at the Office of the President. During her address, she congratulated the delegation for successfully concluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca earlier this month.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/19
By: Elaine Hou and Ko Lin

Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) An official of the Korean Mission in Taipei said Tuesday that South Korea and Taiwan have enjoyed close exchanges in recent years and that the two sides are now negotiating an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation to further boost bilateral trade.

Speaking to CNA after a Taiwan-South Korea cultural and economic exchange meeting held in Taipei, Deputy Representative of Korean Mission in Taipei Park Kijun expressed hope that the pact can be finalized as soon as possible.

Taiwan and South Korea are already important trade partners, and the two sides should seek ways to cooperate more with each other, Park said, pointing out that his country is currently Taiwan’s fifth-largest trading partner, while Taiwan is South Korea’s sixth-largest.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 20, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), if he runs for president in 2020, might have a

similar magnitude of influence as People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who nearly won the 2000 presidential election as an independent candidate, Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation chairman You Ying-lung (游盈隆) said yesterday.

In a radio interview, You commented on Ko’s rising popularity and his potential candidacy.

“Ko might well be the next James Soong judging from the structure of his support base,” You said.

Soong, who entered the 2000 race as an independent after losing the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential nomination to then-vice president Lien Chan (連戰), was then expelled from the KMT and the party accused him of embezzling millions of US dollars from it in what became known as the Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-09-18

A prominent indigenous Taiwanese singer, Sangpuy Katatepan, has won a gold

medal at the Global Music Awards this year. The Puyuma tribe singer won accolades for his album Yaangad.

The Global Music Awards is tasked with seeking out independent musicians and music, and sharing it with the rest of the world.

Sangpuy said that he was thrilled to have won recognition on the international stage. He says that he has long had the goal of using music and his mother tongue to share the stories of his ancestors with a wider audience. He says he also wants to convey the Taiwanese aborigines’ attitudes and respect for nature.

Sangpuy said, “The more opportunities to share, the better. It’s a responsibility I have given myself, now that we have produced this album. If presented with the opportunity to travel around the world sharing my music, even to the smallest of villages, I’m willing to go.”    [FULL  STORY]

Hualien Air Base will be open to the public and stage an air show on Sep. 23, with aerobatic displays in the air, displays of warplanes on the ground as well as performances by military units, the air base said.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Hualien Air Base will be open to the public and stage an air

show on Sep. 23, with aerobatic displays in the air, displays of warplanes on the ground as well as performances by military units, the air base said.

The air base will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sep.23, and 60 shuttle buses will be provided at four locations to transport visitors to the air base, according to Hualien County Police Bureau.

The four locations include Hualien Station, Beipu Station, Hualien Stadium (Te-hsing Stadium) and Hualien Distillery.

The aerobatic display will include the Air Force’s Thunder Tigers, the Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF), F-16 fighters and Phantom fighter bombers.  [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/18
By: Chen Chi-feng and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Sept. 18 (CNA) Prosecutors on Monday formally charged 19 employees from

severtal Kaohsiung-based fishing companies with the exploitation of 81 foreign fishermen for having them work long hours for low wages and holding them captive.

In an indictment handed down by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office, the 19 individuals, including a manager surnamed Lin, have been accused of exploitation, human trafficking and offenses against personal liberty.

The charges stem from the companies paying the foreign workers less than the minimum wage, having them work excessive overtime, and keeping them confined to small, windowless rooms without the freedom to leave, prosecutors said in the indictment.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 19, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The Local Council Alliance for A-bian’s Amnesty yesterday said that 85 percent of its

members have signed a petition in favor of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) pardon.

“A-bian” is Chen’s nickname.

There are 505 valid signatures, meaning that 85 percent of the 591 active Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) representatives have signed, said Kaohsiung City Councilor Hsiao Jung-ta (蕭永達), who also signed the petition.

Hsiao said he is confident Chen will be pardoned, since the DPP is the governing party and it is clear from the number of signatures that the party supports it.
Chen’s contributions far outshadow his crimes and the resources he left behind for the DPP outweigh the debt, he added.    [FULL STORY]

The Star
Date: 17 Sep 2017
By: tho xin yi

SINCE Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan president in May last year, Taipei’s ties with mainland China have strained due to her insistence that Taiwan is not an integral part of China.

Beijing has made known it cannot tolerate rhetoric that challenges its uncompromising “One China” policy.

Amid the simmering tension between Beijing and Taipei, as well as rising international isolation of Taiwan due to China’s rise, Malaysia has unexpectedly become one of the beneficiaries in trade and investments.

Investments from Taiwan into Malaysia had declined in recent years on the back of China’s emergence. But developments this year are uplifting for Kuala Lumpur, with bilateral trade and tourism data recording substantial growth in the first half of this year.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-09-17

Radio Taiwan International’s Indonesian Service is celebrating 60 years on the air.

More than a hundred Indonesian listeners were on hand for a celebration at RTI on Sunday, decked out in traditional batik clothing. Ten of those listeners even flew in from Indonesia to participate in the event.

RTI’s Indonesian Service plays a special role in Taiwan, serving the largest population of migrant workers on the island. Right now there are some 253,000 migrant workers from Indonesia living and working in Taiwan. The Indonesian Service is just one of 13 languages at RTI, tasked with sharing news and features from Taiwan with the rest of the world as the national broadcaster.

RTI Chairperson Lu Ping spoke at the event on Sunday, saying that RTI would increase collaborative efforts with Indonesian media in the future. She also spoke about the government’s New Southbound Policy, which focuses on building exchanges and trade with Southeast Asian nations, as well as South Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Lu said that RTI would help further the government’s efforts with this policy and help bring citizens of both countries closer together.   [FULL  STORY]