Taiwan Today
Date: November 14, 2016

The Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan, a nonprofit organization

that aims to aid collaboration between local and overseas universities, recently released a series of YouTube videos encouraging foreigners to study at local institutions.

Hailing from countries around the world, the students gave candid testimonials about studying in Taiwan. They talked about the benefits of attending local schools and how groups and programs help foreigners adjust to life on the island.

Ksenia Savitskaya, from Russia, studies at National Cheng Kung University in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City. “We have a department [called the] Office of International Affairs, which is in charge of us international students, and last year they helped set up the United International Student Association,” she said. “If we have any problems at the university, we [can] have a meeting almost every month.”

Erna Sulistyowati traveled to Taiwan from Indonesia to study for her Ph.D. at Kaohsiung Medical University. She said that she chose the school in the southern city because of its cutting-edge equipment and research capabilities.    [FULL  STORY]

French young people have many choices when it comes to destinations of working holiday, but some of them are most interested in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/11/14
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

French young people have many choices when it comes to destinations of working holiday, but some of

them are most interested in Taiwan.

To some French young people, their impression of Taiwan is limited to products “made in Taiwan,” but after a more thorough research of the country, they found Taiwan is multi-faceted and couldn’t wait to apply for Taiwanese working holiday visa.

After several years’ negotiation with French authorities, Taiwan and France finally agreed on a mutual working holiday scheme this summer that allows young people of each country between the ages of 18 and 30 to apply for a working holiday visa to enter the other country and stay for up to one year.

Taiwan has signed similar mutual working holiday agreements with many countries. For more details, please refer to http://www.boca.gov.tw/lp.asp?ctNode=783&CtUnit=80&BaseDSD=7&mp=2.

Most of the time, more Taiwanese young people applied for the visas than the other way around.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/14
By: Tai Ya-chen, Yiu Kao-hsiang, Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) As the controversy surrounding the easing of a ban on food imports from five

radiation-affected prefectures in Japan escalates, the head of the Executive Yuan’s Office of Food Safety Hsu Fu (許輔) said Monday that there is no timetable for lifting the ban.

The Cabinet held 10 public hearings on the issue between Nov. 12 and Nov. 14 in cities and counties across Taiwan that erupted into chaos due to protests and clashes as protesters voiced their concern that Japanese food that might be contaminated with radioactive substances might be allowed into Taiwan.

Some suspected that the government was holding the public hearings simply for lip service, to pave the way for a lifting of the five-year ban on produce from the prefectures that were affected by radiation after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Food imports from the Japanese prefectures of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba have been suspended in Taiwan since March 25, 2011 because of fear of radioactive contamination in those areas resulting from a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 15, 2016
By: CNA

The moon rises above Taipei on Monday, Nov. 14. The moon was on Monday its closest to Earth since 1948, resulting in the biggest visible full moon in more than 60 years. No such supermoon phenomenon will appear this big again until Nov. 25, 2034. Stargazers in Taiwan, with telescopes in hand, ventured to more remote and higher parts of the island to get a clearer view of the lunar wonder.    [SOURCE]

The China Post
Date: November 13, 2016

Opposition Kuomintang Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu, center, pays homage with a floral wreath at an event marking Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s 151st birthday on Saturday, Nov. 12. Hung joined KMT members at the event honoring the founding father of the Republic of China at Taipei’s Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.   [SOURCE]

Bando, literally meaning “to set tables,” is not just about foods, but about a unique experience offered to guests.

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/11/12
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

Most important folk culture events and Taiwanese occasions are celebrated with a boisterous feast or a banquet, ranging from weddings, birthdays of local deities, lunar year-end parties, the Ghost Festival, to other major social gatherings. In Taiwan, some are served on the roadside in a banquet style, also known as “bando” in the local language. The roadside banquet is particularly popular in Yilan, and in central and southern Taiwan regions.

Bando, literally meaning “to set tables,” is not just about foods, but about a unique experience offered to guests. On top of tasty foods, the event usually has one to five entertainers performing on the stage in front of banquet tables covered in red cloth. The entertainer could be a master of ceremony, also known as emcee, and a singer at the same time, who has to create a rundown with his or her client beforehand, perform and say lucky words to cheer the host and guests throughout the show.

The preparation works for a roadside banquet starts from very early in the day. A big tent is usually erected on the road next to the host’s house or front yard. Decoration varies on different occasions. Red is the color most chosen for table coverings, chairs, and tents.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/12
By: Chen Chia-lun and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Saturday that China should not thwart

Taiwan’s efforts to participate in international organizations, on the basis of political factors.

Such actions would hurt the interests and feelings of the Taiwan people and would be counterproductive to improved relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, said the MAC, the Taiwan government agency responsible for dealing with cross-strait affairs.

Taiwan has the right to take part in international activities with dignity, the MAC said, commenting on a report that Tseng Min-chieh (曾敏傑), chairman of the non-governmental Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders, was barred from participating in a U.N.-affiliated meeting in New York the previous day due to China’s obstruction.

Beijing should respect the Taiwanese non-governmental organization’s contribution and its efforts to promote global cooperation on the treatment of rare diseases, the MAC said.    [FULL  STORY]