Page Three

Indonesian envoy praises New Southbound policy

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-08-31

The Tsai administration’s New Southbound policy is paying dividends in Taiwan’s trade

Foreign ministry official Chen Wen-yi says the Tsai administration’s New Southbound policy is paying dividends in Taiwan’s trade with Indonesia. (CNA file photo)

with Indonesia. That’s the word from foreign ministry official Chen Wen-yi on Thursday. The policy aims to strengthen economic and cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Chen said Indonesia’s representative office in Taipei last week celebrated the 72nd anniversary of Indonesian independence. He said the country’s representative to Taiwan, Robert James Bintaryo, praised the Southbound policy. Bintaryo said the world is facing an economic slowdown, but trade for the first six months this year between Taiwan and Indonesia has seen 16% growth. He said investment has gone up as well. Chen said exchanges have grown between the two countries in education, culture, tourism and labor.

Chen said, “In the area of investment, Taiwan’s investment in Indonesia reached close to US$300 million in the first quarter of this year. The figure only indicates Taiwan’s direct investment in Indonesia. It does not include investment through a third country.”
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei is the 14th noisiest city in the world: WHO

Noise levels age the average resident by 16.8 years

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/08/31
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei is the 14th noisiest out of 50 world cities ranked by the

Noise Taiwan-style, photo courtesy of Koika. (By Wikimedia Commons)

World Health Organization, according to media reports Thursday.

The amount of noise aged the average Taipei citizen by 16.8 years, the same report said.

The WHO found that the loudest city in the world was Shenzhen, in China’s Guangdong Province, followed by Delhi in India and by the Egyptian capital Cairo.

According to data from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), most complaints about excessive noise are made about construction sites, followed by karaoke parlors and traffic.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Universiade athletes hold celebratory parade in Taipei

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/08/31
By: Li Chin-wei and Ko Lin

Taipei, Aug. 31 (CNA) Thousands of spectators lined the streets of Taipei to cheer Taiwanese athletes from the Summer Universiade as they paraded through the capital on Thursday to celebrate the country’s victories in this year’s games.

The event, dubbed “Taiwan’s Heroes Parade,” was attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who waved to the athletes as they set off in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard in red jeeps and open-topped double-decker buses.

The team, led by the city’s Jingmei Girls’ High School marching band, was cheered by a joyful crowd as they passed Taipei Main Station and headed through the city’s East and Xinyi districts before arriving at the plaza in front of Taipei City Hall.

Enthusiastic supporters waved flags and banners that read “Taiwan thanks you” for their headlining performances.    [FULL  STORY]

Budget vote sets ‘dangerous precedent,’ KMT says

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 01, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

The passage late on Wednesday night of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program budget was achieved by unconstitutionally distorting legislative rules, members of a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated think tank said yesterday, adding that Legislative Yuan Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) set a dangerous precedent for handling opposition motions.

“Their actions amounted to blocking off our ability to propose amendments and hold the government accountable, effectively announcing that the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] will do what it pleases in the Legislative Yuan in the future,” KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said at a National Policy Foundation news conference.

Chiang accused Su of using “majority violence” to back up a Tuesday night announcement that no issue would be voted on twice.

Chiang slammed the speaker’s interpretation of procedural rule, saying that it relied on a set of rules of order for civic organizations promulgated by the Ministry of the Interior, rather than on the Legislative Yuan’s own rules of order.    [FULL  STORY]

Government to grant last wish of famed climber

LEGACY:Yang Nan-chun’s passion for researching Taiwan’s ancient trails was remembered at a seminar in Taipei yesterday on the anniversary of his death

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 28, 2017
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

Aboriginal ruins in Taitung County’s Dawu Township (大武) are to be preserved in

Yang Nan-chun, right, poses with his wife, Hsu Ju-lin, during a hike on Hehuanshan in June last year. Photo courtesy of the Forestry Bureau

accordance with famed mountaineer Yang Nan-chun’s (楊南郡) last wish, Forestry Bureau Director-General Lin Hua-ching (林華慶) said yesterday.

Yang, who was the nation’s leading expert on ancient mountain trails and spent years researching Aboriginal trails, was born in 1931 and died of cancer on Aug. 27 last year at age 86.

“The bureau in 2001 began to map mountain trails nationwide, 700km of which we have indexed to date. Without Yang’s contributions, the trails would simply be skeletons devoid of life,” Lin told a seminar in Taipei that was held to commemorate the legendary mountain climber and researcher on the first anniversary of his death.

Preserving the ruins in Dawu was Yang’s last wish and the bureau has been collecting information on the site since last year, Lin added.

Yang and his wife, Hsu Ju-lin (徐如林), were inseparable as they researched the island’s mountain trails    [FULL  STORY]

Expo-Taiwan 2017 kicks off in Nicaragua

At least 30 Taiwanese exhibitors and 28 Nicaraguan companies took part in the exhibition held on from Aug 24-26 at Olof Palme Convention Center in Nicaragua

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/08/27
By: Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)— At least 30 Taiwanese exhibitors and 28 Nicaraguan

Photo courtesy of Taiwan Embassy in Nicaragua

companies took part in Expo-Taiwan held from Aug 24-26 at Olof Palme Convention Center in Nicaragua.

Hundreds of people attended the event to try the gadgets presented by Taiwanese exhibitors, and interacted with Asus robot Zenbo, which was designed to provide assistance and entertainment.

Expo-Taiwan had different attractions including bamboo furniture, solar panels, transportation gadgets, beauty products and even Legos to build mini robots.

“We open the doors to the Nicaraguan community to this important event in which last generation products will be displayed, all made in Taiwan”, said Jaime Wu, Taiwan Ambassador.    [FULL  STORY]

80% workers would keep office romances secret: poll

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/08/27
By: Liao Yu-yang and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) While 70 percent of office workers expressed a positive view of office romances, nearly 80 percent would keep such relationships secret, a survey by the online job bank yes123 showed Sunday.

The declared reasons to not make such romances public include an unwillingness to become the target of workplace gossip and be considered unable to differentiate between corporate and private interests, according to the poll.

The poll was conducted between Aug. 10 and Aug. 24 among job bank members aged 20-40 ahead of Chinese Valentine’s Day, also known as Chinese Double Seven Festival, which falls on Monday this year.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan needs to prepare for Chinese aggression: academic

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 28, 2017
By: Peng Wan-hsin / Staff reporter

China will not make concessions even if Taiwan takes a non-provocative attitude toward it, National Chung Cheng University College of Social Sciences dean Soong Hseik-wen (宋學文) said on Saturday, adding that Taiwan should bolster its national defense, technology, economic and trade abilities to withstand Beijing’s attempts at bringing Taiwan into its fold, an academic told a forum on Saturday.

Soong made the remarks at an academic conference held by the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan.

Panelists including former National Security Council deputy secretary-general Parris Chang (張旭成), former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲), Taiwan Association for Strategic Simulation president James Liu (劉湘濱) and others discussed President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) foreign policy.

Most of the academics said Tsai’s attitude toward Beijing has been forbearing, hoping to win more diplomatic opportunities in the cross-strait relations.
However, China is clearly not appreciative of these efforts, they said.
[FULL  STORY]

Transition to voluntary military stalls

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 27, 2017
By: Aaron Tu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The prospective all-volunteer military service has a shortage of low-ranking leaders, prompting the adoption of policies to fast-track promotions for non-commissioned officers and bolster reserve officer training programs at universities.

Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration intended that the transition to a fully-voluntary military force be completed by 2014, but insufficient sign-up numbers pushed back the policy’s realization.

Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) in December last year said that the nation would successfully transition into an all-volunteer military service by the Lunar New Year, with 90 percent of the military made up of volunteer soldiers and officers.

However, the military lacks mid to low-level officers, sources said, adding that as of May, only 70 percent of its allotted officer positions were occupied.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan office calls on Thai gov’t to waive visa requirements

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-08-26

Taiwan’s representative office in Thailand says it hopes the Thai government will waive

Approaching immigration at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. (CNA file photo)

visa requirements for Taiwanese nationals.

Taiwan dropped its visa requirements for Thai citizens last year on a trial basis. The representative office said that the reciprocal waiving of visas is a globally recognized practice. The office said that Taiwanese nationals have visa-free access to 124 countries, showing that Taiwanese tourists are welcomed around the world.

At the same time, the office said that allowing Taiwanese passport holders into Thailand visa-free would benefit the Thai tourism industry. The office said that Taiwan was Thailand’s 18th largest source of tourists in 2016. It said that visa waivers boost tourism, noting that Taiwan’s own visa-waiver trial has brought in more visitors from Thailand.   [FULL  STORY]