Page Three

Uber drivers fined NT$331 mil. in 8 days

The China Post
Date: January 18, 2017
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Uber Taiwan and its drivers in Taipei alone have been fined more than NT$331 million in the eight days since an amendment to the Highway Act came into effect, the Taipei City Vehicle Monitor Office said Tuesday.

The office issued more than 130 fines, a cumulative total of approximately NT$331 million since Jan. 6, officials announced.

The figure is four times the total amount the riding-sharing giant had been handed in the past four years for violating local laws.

The Legislature passed an amendment to the Highway Act in December last year, raising the maximum fine on any firm or individual who illegally runs a transportation service to NT$25 million.

The move was widely seen an official “declaration of war” against the ride-hailing company Uber Taiwan, who had not only maintained operations, but pitched more offers to passengers, and organized events and campaigns to promote the business. The government had ordered the firm to end operations 2015.   [FULL  STORY]

Young experts sought for Long-term Care 2.0 program

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-01-17

The government wants to attract more young people to work in the long-term care field.

Deputy Health Minister Lu Pau-ching says the government wants to attract more young people to work in the long-term care field.

That’s the word from Deputy Health Minister Lu Pau-ching on Tuesday.

Lu is in charge of planning and promoting the government’s so-called Long-term Care 2.0 program, which recently came into operation. In an interview with RTI, Lu said the new program has expanded its target demographics. It now includes seniors who are plains aborigines and older people who are physically incapacitated or who have dementia. Lu said the new program integrates community-based and neighborhood-based service centers to ensure that seniors have access to services at all times.
Lu said the cost of the new program will be split between the government and those who use it, with the government paying the larger part.    [FULL  STORY]

Lawmakers disagree on revising local government act

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-01-16

A proposal aimed at revising the Local Government Act has met with differing views in the legislature.

Under the current law, only civil servants are qualified to take up the post of district director. But a proposed revision made by Legislator Lo Chih-cheng from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would allow mayors to appoint their aides to serve as district directors in special municipalities.

Lo said the proposal is aimed at paving the way for district directors to be more in touch with the public, thus boosting government efficiency.

“Because right now all of our district directors are civil servants, so I think there is a gap [in understanding the public],” said Lo. “Our idea is to improve governance, administrative efficiency and team work. The goal of our plan is to create a more capable and efficient local government.”    [FULL  STORY]

Lawmakers disagree on revising local government act

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-01-16

A proposal aimed at revising the Local Government Act has met with differing views in the legislature.

Under the current law, only civil servants are qualified to take up the post of district director. But a proposed revision made by Legislator Lo Chih-cheng from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would allow mayors to appoint their aides to serve as district directors in special municipalities.

Lo said the proposal is aimed at paving the way for district directors to be more in touch with the public, thus boosting government efficiency.

“Because right now all of our district directors are civil servants, so I think there is a gap [in understanding the public],” said Lo. “Our idea is to improve governance, administrative efficiency and team work. The goal of our plan is to create a more capable and efficient local government.”

But with Taiwan gearing up to hold mayor and county chief elections next year, a lawmaker with the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), Wang Yu-min, called the proposal a politically-motivated move.    [FULL  STORY]

A man’s blood unexpectedly saved the life of his future girlfriend

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/16
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News)–A woman who many years ago received blood transfusion during

A woman who many years ago received blood transfusion during(By Central News Agency)

an emergency treatment was shocked to find out that the stranger whose blood saved her life is now her boyfriend.

Hsinchu City citizen Lin Hsiao-fen worked in Taipei for many years, and nine years ago she fell ill and was treated at a hospital emergency room, according to media reports. However, she suddenly fell into a coma, the reports said. After waking up, she learned that as she had lost a large amount of blood and suffered from blood coagulation malfunction during the treatment, she had received a transfusion of more than 10 units of blood as well as two additional units of single-donor platelet to stay alive, according to the reports.

“If not for those blood units, I would have been gone,” Lin was quoted as saying.    [FULL  STORY]

New immigrant-themed lantern pavilion unveiled in Yunlin

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/16
By: Yeh Tzu-kang and Ko Lin

Taipei, Jan. 16 (CNA) As part of the upcoming 2017 Taiwan Lantern Festival, a special press event held at Yunlin County Government on Monday announced a lantern pavilion dedicated to showcasing Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Indonesian and Philippine cultures.

At the press conference, attended by new immigrants and officials from the National Immigration Agency, Yunlin County Magistrate Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said the pavilion, located in the Huwei lantern zone, will introduce and display lanterns based on the cultures of new immigrants’ countries of origin.    [FULL  STORY]

Cabinet mulling fine over no pension

ALLEGIANCE?Pan-green lawmakers said that a maximum fine of NT$50,000, instead of pension revocation, would not deter ex-officials from joining China’s political activities

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 17, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Lawmakers yesterday voiced concern over a media report that the Executive Yuan was considering a monetary fine instead of suspension of pensions as a disciplinary measure for retired military and government officials engaging in political activities in China.

In the wake of the controversial participation of 32 retired high-ranking military officials in a Chinese commemoration event in November in which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) gave a speech, the Executive Yuan has been drafting measures — including suspension of pensions and revocation of awards and medals — to prevent former officials who had access to government secrets from engaging in sensitive activities in China.

However, according to a report by the Chinese-language Apple Daily, the Executive Yuan plans to propose a lighter punishment for officials violating travel restrictions to a monetary fine of between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000, with retired military officials ranked lieutenant general or above subject to a permanent travel approval process.

High-ranking non-military officers are currently banned from travel for one to three years after retirement. The Cabinet is mulling a fixed three-year travel ban on those officials, with their former agencies deciding whether to extend the ban after three years, the report said.    [FULL  STORY]

Activists slam electricity market reforms

The China Post
Date: January 17, 2017
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A pressure group has slammed the newly amended Electricity Act,

(CNA)

warning it would increase carbon emissions and consolidate Taipower’s monopoly over the energy market.

Mom Loves Taiwan (媽媽監督核電廠聯盟), a nuclear-safety group, criticized the revised act, arguing it did not go far enough to support the renewable energy sector.

The group also accused Tsai Ing-wen’s government of using the revisions “to protect Taiwan Power Company’s (Taipower) dominance and market monopoly.”

The group called on the government to make further revisions, saying “the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must quickly propose new amendments … that would clearly separate power generation, distribution and sales, within three years to improve market competition and help renewables development.”   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to invite experts to review state of children’s rights

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-01-15

Vice President Chen Chien-jen says that Taiwan will invite international experts to review Taiwan’s efforts

Vice President Chen Chien-jen is featured in this CNA file photo.

in the area of children’s rights. He was speaking Sunday at an event for children with disabilities.

The plan to invite international experts to visit at the end of this year follows the release last November of Taiwan’s first national report on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, it officially adopted the contents of the convention as law in November, 2014. The law is designed to protect the rights of people under the age of 18. It covers everything from civil rights to health and educational rights.

Vice President Chen said that children are a great resource, and that young people are the mainstay of the nation’s future. Therefore, he said, it is vital for the government to offer complete protection of their rights.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s president visits Twitter while in San Francisco

President Tsai Ing-wen visited Twitter HQ during a stopover in San Francisco to promote Asian Silicon Valley plan

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/15
By: Central News Agency

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) opened a new twitter account Saturday during a visit to micro-messaging

From Tsai Ing-wen’s twitter account www.twitter.com/iingwen

service Twitter Inc. during a stopover in San Francisco on her way home from a four-country tour of Central America.

The visit was one of a few activities planned by Tsai while in the San Francisco area to promote her government’s Asian Silicon Valley plan and attract talent from Silicon Valley to Taiwan.

At Twitter headquarters, she met with Twitter General Counsel Vijaya Gadde, but CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey was not present, according to a Reuters report that cited a source at the meeting.

The president activated a new Twitter account in English during her visit, after already having a Chinese language account that she has not used in a few years, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yao Wen-chih (姚文智) said.    [FULL  STORY]