Page Three

Pasuya Yao throws hat in mayoral ring

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 24, 2017
By: Su Fang-ho and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) on Saturday said he would run in the Taipei mayoral election next year and accused Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of overstepping his authority.

Yao said the mayor has failed to live up to the expectations of grassroots supporters during the three years he has been in office.

“The atmosphere at party headquarters is always changing, but the latest polls show that many DPP supporters feel that Mayor Ko is out of touch with the expectations that people had for his administration,” Yao said.

Ko has said he would break down the barrier between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, but ended up wandering between them, Yao said, adding that Ko’s political activities have gone beyond the concerns of a mayor.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Metro to offer free onboard Wi-Fi at the end of July

Starting from late July, free Wi-Fi will be installed on the MRT Red Line and Blue Line, with the other lines following by the end of the year.

Taiwan News
dATE: 2017/07/22
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei Metro will extend its free public Wi-Fi coverage from

Taipei Metro will start offering free onboard WI-FI in late July. (Source: CNA)

stations to carriages, starting with the Red Line (Tamsui) and Blue Line (Bannan) in late July and the rest by the end of the year, the Taipei City Department of Information Technology announced July 20.

The DIT said the trial period of onboard Wi-Fi implemented last year had proved successful, and the official launch with the replacement of new networks would improve the quality of internet connection and reduce costs.

The current Wi-Fi hotspot in the MRT stations, Taipei Free, will be replaced by TPE-Free AD WiFi and iTaiwan. The former is provided by Free Ad WIFI (全林實業股份有限公司), a private company, and the latter is set up in collaboration with the National Development Council (國家發展委員會).    [FULL  STORY]

U.S. congressman introduces bill to help Taiwan participate in WHO

 

Washington, July 21 (CNA) U.S. Congressman Ted Yoho (R-FL), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, has introduced a bill that seeks to help Taiwan participate in World Health Organization (WHO) meetings, according to a statement by his office.

The draft bill is focused on improving the U.S. strategy for promoting Taiwan’s participation in the WHO, the statement said. It instructs the Secretary of State to report on the State Department’s efforts to obtain observer status for Taiwan at the World Health Assembly (WHA), following any meetings of the assembly for which Taiwan was not granted such status.

The WHA, which is the WHO’s decision-making body, meets annually to discuss health issues of global concern and to formulate policies.

“With an ever growing and increasingly connected global population, it is important that we not let geopolitics get in the way of public health,” Yoho said in the statement.

[FULL  STORY]

KMT official fatalistic on infrastructure bill budget

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 23, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) yesterday said it is unlikely the KMT could block the Cabinet’s budget proposals for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.

Lin made the remarks in response to Social Democratic Party (SDP) member Miao Po-ya’s (苗博雅) criticism that the KMT does not really intend to block the program.

In an opinion piece titled The KMT is the best friend of Lin Chuan’s (林全) Cabinet, published in the Chinese-language Apple Daily on Thursday, Miao panned the KMT caucus, saying it had put on a farcical display at the legislature that did not affect the passage of the program.

As a result, the KMT’s actions have protected the Cabinet, helping its budget requests to pass their first reading this week without any real obstruction, she said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei’s Omni has become the first nightclub to win the very top Red Dot award

The China Post
Date: July 21, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Omni Nightclub Taipei has won the top prize at Germany’s

Omni’s interior. (Red Dot)

prestigious Red Dot Design Award.

It took home the “Best of the Best” gong, marking the first time the awards have given its highest glory to a nightclub.

Along with other big-name winners such as Apple, Audi, Philips, LG and Bose, the Dan’an District establishment received the prize at a ceremony in Essen, Germany on July 3.

The Red Dot awards are among the most important and highly regarded design prizes in the world.

In addition to having a fair and transparent judging system, the awards are also notable for the unique view they give of humans’ vision for the future.

To allow intercultural works to be fairly assessed, the jury comprises independent designers, design-related professors and scholars as well as experts with various backgrounds.    [FULL  STORY]

NDC holds optimistic outlook for 2nd half of 2017

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-20

The National Development Council (NDC) has expressed an optimistic outlook for Taiwan’s economy for the second half of 2017.

Briefing the Cabinet on Thursday, the NDC said many factors are favorable for the remainder of the year. They include economic recovery in the United States, Japan, and the European Union, a diminishing effect of trade protectionism, and the government’s increasing investment in infrastructure.

The NDC cited the government statistics office’s GDP growth projection, which was recently raised to 2.05% for the year. The NDC said exports have shown growth for the last nine consecutive months, and electronics have performed strongly. It said all these factors are positive signs for the nation’s economy.    [FULL  STORY]

Editorial: Media freedom vigilance still necessary

RSF lands in Taiwan, but Next Magazine could change hands

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/20
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Almost within one week, the media situation in Taiwan received positive news and

Prospective Next Magazine owner Kenny Wee (from KennyBatmanWee Facebook page).

worrying news, showing how fragile elementary freedoms can be.

French-based non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders, or in French, Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), opened its first Asian bureau in Taipei. The group, which promotes and defends freedom of information, said it chose the spot more than just because of Taiwan’s central location in East Asia, at similar distances from Japan, South Korea, China and Southeast Asia, but also because the island came out at the top of the group’s own annual Press Freedom Index list.

The new office will look at media issues in Taiwan itself, but also in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mongolia and the two Koreas.    [FULL  STORY]

Government reiterates tip-off rewards for ‘illegal’ UberEATS

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/20
By: Wang Shu-fen and Elaine Hou

Taipei, July 20 (CNA) The Ministry of Transportation and Communications reiterated on

(CNA file photo)

Thursday that it continues to offer members of the public rewards who report activities by ride-hailing company Uber’s food delivery app, UberEATS, which is illegal in Taiwan, as part of an effort to clamp down on the company.

The ministry said that the rewards range from NT$10,000 (US$328) to NT$100,000 per report of the illegal food delivery service. The maximum reward for any individual will be capped at NT$300,000 per year, it added.

Meanwhile, the ministry is strengthening cooperation with other government agencies in a concerted effort to stop the illegal service, it said, while urging the public to refrain from using it.    [FULL  STORY]

Legislature bans ‘dangerous items’

RAVING MAD:The BBC published a video pairing the brawls in the Legislative Yuan with electronic dance music, drawing considerable attention on YouTube

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 21, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Lawmakers are prohibited from carrying “dangerous items,” including air horns, water balloons and flour, into meetings, the Legislative Yuan said yesterday.

Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) made the announcement before Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) issued the directive to the four caucuses.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers last week thwarted Premier Lin Chuan’s (林全) presentation on the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program and related budget reviews with the aforementioned items.

Police stationed in the legislative compound will bar legislators carrying any of the prohibited items from entering meeting venues, Lin Chih-chia said, adding that the rule was introduced after seeking doctors’ advice.    [FULL  STORY]

It’s still hot! Taipei hits nearly 38 degrees as typhoons loom

The China Post
Date: July 20, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The mercury in Northern Taiwan reached 37.9 degrees Celsius on Thursday, extending a week of stifling heat that’s expected to ease only through multiple typhoons.

The Central Weather Bureau said that levels of ultraviolet rays were “very high” and “extreme” across Taiwan, advising the public to stay hydrated and to avoid unprotected sun exposure.

Peng Chi-ming, a meteorologist at WeatherRisk Explore Inc., urged his followers on Facebook to stay indoors around noon.

Outdoor workers and senior citizens especially should take care to keep out of the recent heatwave, Peng said.    [FULL  STORY]