Taiwan Today
Date: August 22, 2016

President Tsai Ing-wen highlighted Aug. 20 the government’s achievements during her first three

months in office and outlined future policy directions in an address for local and international media at Taipei Guest House ahead of Taiwan’s annual Journalists’ Day Sept. 1.

Tsai said since she assumed office in May, her administration has been committed to solving social problems that have persisted for many years, such as the issue of historical and transitional justice for the nation’s indigenous peoples.

On Aug. 1, the president issued an apology on behalf of the Republic of China (Taiwan) government for the past treatment of indigenous groups and pledged to promote reconciliation, implement the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law, and establish a platform for autonomous rule of traditional lands and territories.

In her address, she noted her administration’s efforts to tackle disagreements between employers and workers regarding amendments to the nation’s labor laws. The government is sparing no effort in communicating with the two sides and seeking a consensus, the president said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/08/22
By: Jay Chou and Elizabeth Hsu

Jakarta, Aug. 22 (CNA) Indonesia wants to revise a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Taiwan to bring wages for its nationals working on fishing boats and as domestic helpers in line with Taiwan’s minimum wage, a high-rank Indonesian official said Monday.

The plan to seek a revision to the 2011 Taiwan-Indonesia MOU on recruiting, settling and protecting workers was brought up at a meeting of the labor and foreign affairs ministries, Soes Hindarno, director of placement and protection of Indonesian workers abroad under the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, told CNA.

His country wants the revision to focus on the rights and benefits of Indonesian fishing workers in Taiwan because their conditions are not favorable, said Hindarno, who was at the Monday meeting.

They will ask Taiwan to increase the fishing workers’ wages, he said, noting that the goal is for wages to be at least the same as the statutory minimum wage in Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: August 23, 2016
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan

The Taiwan Alliance of Anti-Forced Eviction protested outside the Executive Yuan Monday,

demanding that the new Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration fulfill its campaign promises on land justice.

Ahead of Premier Lin Chuan’s third talk with civil organizations and representatives to discuss matters related to land justice, protesters convened outside the Executive Yuan to lambaste the Cabinet for “listening but not doing.”

Leading the demonstration was Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮), professor of the Department of Land Economics at National Chengchi University, director of Taiwan Rural Front and the face of many housing rights protests around the nation.

He accused the current administration of failing to return the land to the people — as it had promised to do before taking power — and said there have been more eviction cases in Taiwan since the DPP took power in May.     [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2016/08/19
By: Yuan-ling Liang

Following the case of a student who was expelled from a military university after he tested positive for HIV, a doctor warns that discrimination against people with AIDS has led to underreporting of the disease in Taiwan.
Many Taiwanese are not getting tested for HIV/AIDS for fear of discrimination against the disease, according the director of the Taiwan AIDS Society,

“Citizens are not willing to get tested because of the discrimination against HIV that exists in society,” Dr. Dr. Lin Si-syun (林錫勳) told a forum in Taipei today, adding that some patients refuse to receive medical treatment after diagnosis.

The reporting rate of HIV in Taiwan is only around 70 percent, 20 percent lower than the international average, which means the disease has a higher chance of spreading undetected, he says.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-08-19
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Tourists visiting Orchid Island could soon be forced to pay an environmental levy of between NT$200 (US$6.3) and NT$250 (US$7.9) per person, reports said Friday.

The local government of the island, located to the east of Taitung County, has decided to introduce the tax in order to fund its cleaning up of the environment and its protection of the ocean.

The move was brought on by the increase in tourists visiting the island. More than 120,000 traveled to Orchid Island, known as Lanyu in Mandarin Chinese, in 2015, local officials said, pointing at the resulting increase in garbage left behind for treatment. The island had to recruit more staff to pick up the trash and to send it back to Taiwan’s main island, increasing the cost to the local government.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/08/19
By: Yu Hsiao-han and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) The state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower, 台電) is the main

source of carbon dioxide emissions in Taiwan, according to a list released Friday by the country’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).

The list showed the top 10 carbon dioxide emitters in Taiwan in 2014, with Taipower at the top as it was responsible for 84.59 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), or 37.36 percent of the total 226.4 million metric tons that year.

In the No. 2 spot was Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (台塑石化), with 29.77 million metric tons of CO2e, or 13.15 percent of the total.

Taipower and and Formosa Petrochemical accounted for more than half of the total emissions in 2014, the EPA data showed. They were followed by China Steel Corp. (中鋼) with 19.38 million metric tons of CO2e, or 8.56 percent of the total, Mai-Liao Power Corp. (麥寮汽電) with 11.86 million metric tons, or 5.24 percent, and Dragon Steel Corp. (中龍鋼鐵) with 9.76 million metric tons, or 4.31 percent, according to the list.     [FULL  SORY]

The China Post
Date: August 20, 2016
By: Chanda JL

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Noticed a decline in your company’s productivity? This might explain why.

Office workers spend an average of 1.3 hours a day playing “Pokemon Go,” according to survey results released Thursday by 1111 Job Bank (1111 人力銀行).

The survey found that most players were aged 21-25 (27.08 percent), followed by those aged 26-30 (18.95 percent).

Employees in the information technology sector had the highest percentage of Pokemon catchers, with 22.78 percent of IT workers playing the augmented reality game, while the business service industry had the second highest rate at 13.91 percent.

The positive effect of playing “Pokemon Go” most commonly cited by the survey

respondents was socialization (52.71 percent) followed by deepening friendships or other relationships (30.43 percent) and going outside more often (18.14 percent).

They also identified negative effects, the most widely cited of which were physical ailments such as neck and shoulder stiffness (10.57 percent) as well as eyesight damage (10 percent).

When asked why they choose to play “Pokemon Go,” the most common reason given was “to relive my childhood memories of playing Pokemon.”

Diversion or Distraction?

1111 Job Bank associate general manager Henry Ho (何啟聖) said most employees enjoyed playing games that were entertaining, inexpensive and a convenient way to help relieve workplace stress.     [FULL  STORY]