The China Post
Date: October 24, 2016
By: CNA

TOKYO — Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) elaborated on his government’s

policy of making Taiwan nuclear-free by 2025 and the many challenges that remain on the road to that goal, in an interview with the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun published Sunday.

Asked why Taiwan wants to implement a nuclear-free policy, Lee said that there has been a radical change in public opinion that has tilted toward a nuclear-free policy since the March 11 2011, earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan and led to a nuclear accident that forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate the region around the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.

In addition, after Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party took office in May, it reaffirmed its goal of phasing out nuclear power by 2025 and the policy of promoting renewable energy, according to Lee.

Related measures will be formulated and more investment will be poured into the energy sector as long as the policy objective is ensured, Lee said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/22
By: Miao Tsung-han, Stanley Cheung and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) A newly elected legislator from Hong Kong who recently drew attention for

departing from the script during his swearing-in ceremony defended his action Saturday in Taipei.

Sixtus Baggio Leung (梁頌恆), founder of the Youngspiration party, during an inauguration session earlier this month, pledged allegiance to the “Hong Kong nation,” and draped himself in a blue banner reading “Hong Kong is not China.”

Faced with criticism from the Beijing authorities, Leung said that “Hong Kong is not China” is a “fact,” and that it is not Beijing’s business to criticize him.

In a speech at National Taiwan University, Leung said that Hong Kong Basic Law and “one country, two systems” constitutional principle state clearly that Chinese government departments cannot interfere with Hong Kong.    [FULL  STORY]

HYPERBOLE:The KMT said it hopes it can find support to ‘check a Democratic Progressive Party regime that is marching toward fascism and green terror’

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 23, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff Reporter, with CNA

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has called on members to pay “a special party fee” of NT$2,000 per

person in order to “save [the party] from demise,” with KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said to be ready to pay her share tomorrow to set an example.

The KMT said it would launch events calling for the “special party fee” to protect its survival and a “NT$1,000 donation” drive on the eve of Retrocession Day on Tuesday “in order to defend the Republic of China’s (ROC) constitutional system of freedom, democracy and rule of law.”

Hung is to lead the party’s central leadership, city and county chapter officials and Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) military veterans’ branch officials to pay the special party fees tomorrow while attending a “safeguard the ROC Constitution and donate NT$1,000” event that is to be held in New Taipei City tomorrow night, which is public-oriented, as opposed to the call for special party fees made to members.

The party said it hopes that members and the public can support the KMT to “hold out the hand of justice” and “check a Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] regime that is marching toward fascism and green terror.”

The special party fee has been set at a minimum of NT$2,000, although members can donate as much as they want, the party said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-22
By: Wendy Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s economic crime rate from January to August has declined by 11.3 percent from the same period the previous year, according to the latest Interior Ministry statistics released on Saturday.

The statistics show that in the first eight months of this year, a total of 4,969 finalized cases of economic crime have been recorded, 633 cases less than the same period last year.

Intellectual property rights infringement is still the most commonly committed economic crime in the nation, with 3,358 cases being reported during the period, making up 67.6 percent of all reported cases, and was followed by violation of financial order, with a total of 947 reported cases.

The drop in economic crime rate in recent years was believed to be the result of a national-level crackdown on illegal economic activities.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/22
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) A Venezuelan woman has been arrested at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for alleged cocaine smuggling during a transit stop, the Aviation Police Bureau said Saturday.

The woman, identified only as Martinez, aged 27, arrived from Dubai Friday night en route to Macau.

Police and customs officers found 29 unpacked battery chargers in the woman’s checked-in luggage during security checks, which they thought was quite unusual.

A further check showed that small packets of cocaine were hidden in the 29 chargers, and in five cans of deodorant, as well as in a waterproof camera.

Around 3.545 kg of cocaine, with a market value of NT$30 million (US$944,700), was retrived.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: October 21, 2016

Vice President Chen Chien-jen received a delegation comprising the president of the International

University Sports Federation (FISU) and members of the body’s Executive Committee Oct. 19, expressing gratitude for the organization’s support and Email Subscribers pledging a successful 2017 Summer Universiade.

While addressing the delegation led by FISU President Oleg Maty at the Office of the President, Chen said the central government is assisting Taipei City in its preparations for the international sporting event. The Executive Yuan, for example, has already established a coordinating committee to facilitate communication between local governments.

The Summer Universiade, slated to take place Aug. 19-30, 2017, will be hosted by Taipei, but events are also scheduled to be held in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu, New Taipei and Taoyuan cities.

Taiwan places great emphasis on sports education, Chen said, and international events such as the Universiade afford the country the opportunity to show the world its vitality and willingness to contribute to global society.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/21
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Taiwan is facing a serious shortage of flu vaccines for people who do not qualify for free vaccinations, with some people in central and southern Taiwan told that they may have to wait until December to get shots.

The shortage, however, does not affect the supply of publicly-funded flu vaccines for those who are most at-risk, including elderly people.

Due to the flu outbreak at the end of last year, the Centers for Disease Control this year allowed more people to be eligible for publicly-funded vaccines, and the doses it is offering under the program also has been increased to 6 million from the original 3 million.

Since the start of the government-funded vaccination program on Oct. 1, some 2.52 million shots have been used, 1 million doses more than last year.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 22, 2016
By: Lin Liang-sheng, Lu Yi-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer

The reclamation of three parcels of government-owned land in South Korea shows that the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs has taken previous Control Yuan corrective measures to heart, but the ministry should redouble its efforts, Control Yuan member Gau Fheng-shian (高鳳仙) said on Thursday.

The Control Yuan issued a corrective measures notice to the ministry in 2013 demanding that it and the Taipei Mission in South Korea make efforts to reclaim 27 parcels of land in South Korea which had allegedly been occupied illegally by Chinese compatriot organizations.

The Control Yuan report in 2013 said that the ministry had incomplete files on the original contracts with the Compatriots Service Committee, in effect the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) chapter in South Korea, which was leasing government-owned land in Seoul at no cost.

Earlier efforts by the mission in Seoul in March 2012 asking the committee to sign a contract as per the National Property Act (國有財產法) went unanswered, the Control Yuan report said.    [FULL  STORY]