Page Three

Taipei mayor launches own Instagram account

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 17, 2017
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Saturday launched an Instagram account, which he said he would use to share glimpses of his daily life with the public.

Ko often posts his opinions about public issues on his Facebook page, which has more than 1.55 million followers, as a way to directly communicate his thoughts.

On Saturday morning, he announced on Facebook that he has opened an Instagram account and said that everyone is welcome to follow it.

Younger generations interact through various social media, Ko said.    [FULL  STORY]

Infrastructure budget headed to committee review on Monday

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-16

The Cabinet’s budget proposal for its Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program is set to head to a committee review on Monday.

That’s after opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers blocked Premier Lin Chuan’s presentation on the budget for a second time on Friday. KMT lawmakers threw water balloons and fake banknotes, blew whistles and shouted slogans.

Legislature President Su Jia-chyuan then bypassed a legislative question-and-answer session to send the budget proposal to a committee review. He later called a cross-caucus negotiation in a bid to break the deadlock, but the KMT caucus refused to attend.

The head of the KMT caucus, Lin Wei-chou, said Sunday morning that the party will decide on Monday morning what tactics it will use to boycott the committee review.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan, Poland sign MoU on agriculture

Poland became the fourth European country to sign an MoU of cooperation in the areas of agriculture with Taiwan.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/16
By: Wendy Lee , Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan and Poland have recently signed a memorandum of

(By Central News Agency)

understanding (MoU) on agricultural cooperation, said Lin Chia-rong, deputy director of the Ministry of Agriculture International Department.

Following the Netherlands, France, and Hungary, Poland became the fourth European country to sign an MoU of cooperation in the areas of agriculture with Taiwan.

Representatives from both sides have signed the MoU on behalf of the two governments in June, to create a platform that brings the agricultural sector of both sides together, and enhance agricultural cooperation in areas such as food safety inspection and animal-plant quarantine.

The two countries are expected to benefit form each other’s experience in the field of agricultural development, Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

Tang Prize Foundation mourns passing of sinologist de Bary

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/16
By: S.C. Chang

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) The Tang Prize Foundation expressed its deep condolences

CNA file photo

Sunday to the family of William Theodore de Bary, winner of the 2016 Tang Prize in sinology, who passed away July 14 in his home in New York at the age of 97.

According to his daughter Brett de Bary, who came to Taiwan last year to receive the award on his behalf, his three children were with him at the time of his death, and his final hours were peaceful.

The Chinese studies scholar was able to watch some of the videos and DVDs of the 2016 Tang Prize with his children during his last weeks, his daughter said.

A towering figure in Chinese and Asian studies, De Bary was honored by the Tang Prize Foundation for a “remarkable academic career spanning over seven decades.”
[FULL  STORY]

Falun Gong persecution remembered

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 17, 2017
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

About 1,500 Falun Gong practitioners yesterday marched in Taipei to commemorate

Falun Gong practitioners enact a torture scene during a march yesterday in Taipei to protest China’s persecution of the group. Photo: David Chang, EPA

fellow members persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since July 1999.

Falun Gong is a school of Chinese qigong that incorporates tenets of Buddhism founded by Li Hongzhi (李洪志) in China in 1992.

The march marks the 18th anniversary of China’s suppression of Falun Gong practitioners in 1999.

There are about 700,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan and about 100 million worldwide, Falun Gong Human Rights attorney group spokesperson Chu Wan-chi (朱婉琪) said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan-US TIFA talks to take place October

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-13

Talks concerning the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between Taiwan and the United States are set to take place in October. The news was confirmed by foreign ministry official Christine Hsueh on Thursday.

Hsueh said US pork imports into Taiwan have been a matter of concern between the two sides.

“In the past, the talks have always taken place around the latter half of the year, around October. Of course bilateral talks like these depend on the schedule of both sides. We will make an announcement when we’re certain of the time,” Hsueh said. “Pork imports is an ongoing topic, and one both sides are paying attention to. It will be an ongoing discussion and we hope we can move forward on the matter.”
[FULL  STORY]

Editorial: There is no place for reluctance in Taiwan’s defense

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/13
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Tsai Ing-wen, the rebel.

That was the headline in prominent French newsmagazine L’Express this week, as the publication launched a series of profiles of powerful Asian women.

In a passage unlikely to be widely understood outside of Europe, the writer compared Taiwan to Asterix’s village as viewed from Rome.

Most Europeans have grown up reading the French cartoons relating the adventures of Asterix, a young man who lived in the only village able to resist the onslaught of Julius Caesar and his Roman legions thanks to a magic potion.

Unfortunately for Taiwan, there is no magic potion available outside a wise combination of its own actions and outside help.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese fugitive nabbed in the Philippines

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/13
By: Emerson Lim and S.C. Chang

Manila, July 13 (CNA) The Philippines police on Thursday arrested a Taiwanese man in Cavite City, south of Manila, who is on a wanted list for drug charges in Taiwan, according to a police bulletin.

The 49-year-old man, surnamed Lee (李), had been charged by the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for drug-related crimes.

He has overstayed his Philippines visa and is considered a threat to public safety, according to immigration authorities here.

Police said Lee will be deported to Taiwan if he is found to have not been involved in any criminal cases in the Philippines.    [SOURCE

KMT boycott hindering national development: DPP

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 14, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has broken its promise of working toward

Democratic Progressive Party Taichung city councilors yesterday hold a news conference in the city to call for an additional session in the face of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) boycott.  Photo: Huang Chung-shan, Taipei Times

national development with its disruption yesterday of legislative proceedings and boycotting a review of the budget for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said.

Protesting against what they called illegal budgeting practices, KMT lawmakers occupied the rostrum ahead of a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, turning chairs into barricades to prevent Premier Lin Chuan (林全) and his Cabinet from delivering a formal report and defending the program’s proposed budget.

The session was adjourned due to an incident in which KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) fought with DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), with Hsu slapping Chiu during a scuffle.

The DPP caucus condemned the KMT’s actions, saying parts of the program were proposed by KMT legislators during elections, adding that the boycott was an apparent reversal of their positions.    [FULL  STORY]

Updated with video: Riders are leaving their oBikes everywhere and some government officials won’t take it anymore

The China Post
Date: July 13, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s first rules for “dockless” share bicycles are starting to take shape as residents’ complaints pile up about bikes being left in weird places.

OBikes, which can be left by users anywhere and found by new users by luck or by app, debuted in Taiwan in April and are now available in at least 10 cities and counties.

By contrast, most other bicycle-sharing services, such as YouBike, have dedicated stations for users to rent and return their bikes.    [FULL  STORY]