Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/07
By: Sophia Yeh and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 7 (CNA) The purpose of having stricter travel regulations for retired military and

government officials going to China was to ensure that Taiwan’s national security and sovereignty will not be compromised, the Presidential Office said Friday.

Earlier on Thursday, the Cabinet passed a draft amendment that introduces more stringent penalties for Taiwan’s retired high-ranking military officers and senior political appointees who engage in political activities in China.

Under the draft amendment to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, former high ranking military brass and political appointees are prohibited from participating in political activities in China for a period of 15 years after retirement. Those caught breaching the rules could be deprived of their pension rights or subject to a maximum fine of NT$5 million (US$163,393).
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 7, 2017
By: dpa

TAIPEI — The government has again called on Beijing to immediately release pro-democracy

advocate Lee Ming-che, after the European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday expressing concerns about the human rights situation in China.

The European Parliament passed a resolution calling upon China to release Lee, a Taiwanese pro-democracy social media activist who went missing on March 19 when he entered China from Macau.

In May, China accused the 42-year-old Lee of “subversion of state power,” confirming he had been arrested by police in Hunan province.

The passage of the resolution shows the EU is also paying close attention to the abducted Taiwanese rights activist, a Taiwan-based human rights groups said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-06

A special budget request for the government’s forward-looking infrastructure plan has been passed.

Premier Lin Chuan said Thursday that the Cabinet will explain their budget proposal in the upcoming week.

The infrastructure plan is the Tsai administration’s premier economic stimulus package. The plan seeks to invest NT$880 billion (US$28.8 billion) over the next eight years in areas such as water management, green energy, light rail and digital development. The massive spending proposal has drawn strong pushback from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), however.

Earlier on Wednesday, lawmakers from the majority DPP and KMT reached a consensus to halve the budget to NT$420 billion (US$13.7 billion) and shorten the implementation period from eight to four years.

Premier Lin said the Cabinet will listen to input from different departments as it draws up the budget for the first year.    [SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/06
By: Yang Shu-min and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) Two more tilapia fish farms in Taoyuan have been hit by the tilapia lake virus

(TiLV), bringing the total number of farms affected to nine since the virus was first reported in the city in June, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Thursday.

All nine infected fish farms are in the city’s Guanyin District, according to Shih Tai-hua (施泰華), deputy director-general of COA’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

Since the virus was first reported in Taoyuan on June 13, the city government has ordered inspections of all ponds within a three-kilometer radius of the site, which included 22 other tilapia farms.

On June 23, the inspections were expanded to cover a five-kilometer radius, hence adding 24 more farms to the list.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 6, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Some people refuse to pay for a bad meal in a restaurant. One soldier in New

Taipei is paying for a bad meal — specifically for complaining about it on social media.

A few days ago, a volunteer Air Force serviceman surnamed Wang got fed up with the grub being served up to him and his comrades for breakfast in the R.O.C. Air Force Air Defense Missile Command.

Wang slipped his phone out of his pocket, right there in the mess hall, and took a few snaps of his plate.

The pickings weren’t too great at all: a hard-boiled egg, a pile of pork floss and a half a dozen slices of depressing-looking Chinese-style pickled cucumber.

Wang’s photos, shared with the title “canned food section,” were a hit — which turned out to be bad news for Wang.    [FULL  STORY]

Foreign nationals applying for cram schools in Taiwan will now need a criminal record check from their country of origin

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/05
By: Keoni Everington,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The government this week finalized the details of the background check on

foreign nationals that is part of a new law geared at tightening the requirements for both foreign and Taiwanese teachers applying to work at cram schools, also known as “buxiban” (補習班), in Taiwan.

In addition to requiring that Taiwanese teachers submit police criminal record certificates (警察刑事紀錄證明書), the Supplementary Education Act (補習及進修教育法) Article 9 was amended on June 14 to require a “certificate of good conduct” (行為良好證明) for foreigners applying to work at cram schools in Taiwan.

In an interview with Taiwan News, an official from the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) said that a certificate of good conduct will go by different names in different countries, but essentially is a document proving that an applicant does not have a record of criminal offenses. He also said that the certificate must apply nationwide, not just from a specific region, and confirmed that in the case of the United States, this would be the FBI Identity History Summary. According to the FBI’s website, the processing time for such a form is currently 10 to 12 weeks, not including time for mail delivery.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-05

Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) official Tsai Hung-te says the government wants

temples to consider their environmental impact.

Tsai is the head of the EPA’s air quality department. He was speaking Wednesday after a temple in Yunlin County announced the creation of a league for the defense of incense burning. The temple plans to hold a rally in Taipei on July 23 in support of traditional religious practices. The temple says it will protest the blame environmental groups place on temples for air pollution and for what it says is the suppression of traditional culture.

Tsai said that the government respects traditional culture, and that there is no ban on burning incense or paper “spirit money” offered to the gods. He said that the government asks temples to think about the environment as well as the health of temple staff and nearby residents.

He said that temples can reduce their impact on the environment and health by reducing how much incense and paper money they burn. He also said that the EPA is developing a burner for spirit money that reduces the amount of pollutants that are released into the air.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/05
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Elaine Hou

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday pledged that her administration is committed to the development of wind power in Taiwan, saying that it is not only a source of power but will also help create jobs in the country.

Tsai, who doubles as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairwoman, made the remarks during a meeting of the party’s Central Standing Committee earlier in the day, according to DPP spokesman Ruan Jhao-syong (阮昭雄).

Wednesday’s meeting was attended by Deputy Economics Minister Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) and Changhua County Magistrate Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷), who presented reports on the country’s four-year wind power development plan and progress made in the green energy development.

During the meeting, Tsai noted that the government’s forward-looking infrastructure program also includes many projects related to the green energy industry and that offshore wind power has great potential, including business opportunities in the manufacturing of wind turbines, operating wind farms and maritime engineering.

Denmark, Germany, Australia and Canada are all interested in investing in the wind energy industry in Taiwan, Tsai said, but added that Taiwan first needs related laws and infrastructure in place.
[FULL  STORY]