Vice president-elect Chen Chien-jen said in a recent interview with Chinese-language ‘Liberty Times’ (sister newspaper of the ‘Taipei Times’) staff reporter Tzou Jiing-wen that he would immediately convene the national insurance fund reform committee after he is sworn into office on May 20, with a promise to deliver a draft amendment to the Legislative Yuan within the year

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 30, 2016

Liberty Times (LT): What are your opinions on the national pension reform?

Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁): The current system is overly complicated. Not only are there different government agencies handling the same affairs, but the discrepancy of rates for different vocations are also too great. Above all, potential liabilities for all the different national pensions are at an alarmingly high level.

According to estimates, funding for military personnel’s, civil servants’ and teachers’ insurance will become insolvent in the next several years. Recent polls also show that a high percentage — 70 to 80 percent — of the public supports financial reforms and it is high time for the government to act. After all, compared with the past, the situation has become much more urgent.

Taiwan has entered a new democratic age where the public wishes to have more say in how the government does things and we hope to arrange a series of open debates as quickly as possible — hopefully within the year — to address the issue.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-28
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday said the statement made by Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday that Okinotori is an atoll, not an island is unacceptable.
Japan has asked its representative office in Taiwan, Interchange Association (JAPAN), to express its protest, Kishida said.

The status of Okinotori as island is assured according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and therefore the island is entitled to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), said Kishida at a regular press conference on Thursday.

Japan’s major media outlets such as the Asahi Shimbun and the Mainichi reported on Thursday that the Japanese government had lodged its protest against Taiwan’s claim that Okinotori is an atoll through the IAJ.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/28
By: Chen Wei-ting and Lilian Wu

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan had dropped

by around six degrees Celsius as of Thursday morning, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) reported.

The CWB said that weather for the first half of Thursday remained uncertain, with brief rain expected in northern and northeastern parts of the country, although the rain could peter out in areas north of Taichung.

Milder rain could come later in central and southern Taiwan, as well as in Hualien and Taitung in the east, and brief rain or showers were expected throughout Thursday in these areas.

The mercury in northern Taiwan was forecast to be around 26 degrees in the daytime and to drop further to around 20 degrees at night.

The coolest period will come on Friday morning, with predicted lows of only 18 degrees.     [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2016/04/28
Translated and compiled by Yuan-ling Liang

Groups working to stop revenge porn in Taiwan say hundreds of cases have been revealed since they started raising awareness of the issue last year.

Kang Shu-hua, director of the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation (TWRF), explains that revenge porn is a new issue the digital generation faces. It tends to involve couples who do not break up peacefully, and subsequently one person posts their partner’s nude pictures online. The phenomenon has been gaining attention around the globe.

Kang states that, according to a TWRF survey, more than half of the cases are carried out by victims’ partners, either a former or current one.

“However, victims are usually afraid of seeking help,” says Kang. [Quote translated]

In 2014, 269 cases were reported by the press, but only 61 of victims sought care or legal support.     [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2016/04/27
Translated and compiled by Bing-sheng Lee

On April 25, Hacks in Taiwan (HIT) association celebrated its first anniversary. Vice Premier

Woody Duh attended the anniversary party and praised the group for its efforts, showing the government’s support.

Duh said that in the past, hackers were always worried that the government was against their ideas, but his attendance of the party shows the government now recognizes the hackers’ efforts.

In recent years, HIT has developed new talents, honed hackers’ skills, and improved Taiwan’s information security by organizing a wide array of activities and forums, which the government is willing to support and invest in, according to Duh.

Duh said that the conventional education system is unable to develop talent for information security, so Hackers in Taiwan Conference (HITCON) is an important platform for the exchange of skills and information. The association can train hackers not only to become the best in the country, but also shine in international hacker contests.

In his speech at the party, Duh said that the government always thought that it had to take the initiative in launching important policies and campaigns, but the myth is now debunked. The government hopes more people from private sectors can take the initiative and it can offer help when they are in need.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-26
By: George Liao, Central News Agency , Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Lin Fu-nan, head of the Southern Taiwan Tourism Industry Alliance, said on Tuesday that he hopes China could think of the politics and economy separate from each other as slashing the number of Chinese tourists allowed to visit Taiwan is hurting people’s feelings across the Taiwan Strait.

“In the past two years, Kaohsiung City has invested about NT$1 billion every year in hotels and restaurants, but as words spread that some hotel operators in Kaohsiung are planning to convert their hotels into long-term care centers, it is evident that the local tourism sector is no longer prosperous,” Lin said.

Since the beginning of this year, the numbers of Chinese tour groups and school exchange groups coming to Taiwan have fallen, with many of them canceling their trips, Lin said, adding that it’s a far cry from the prosperity in the past.

Traditionally April is an off season, but China’s recent economic and stock market downturns could have possibly played a partial role in the curtail of its tourists, Lin said.

What has really got him worried is the prospect after the power transition on May 20, when the axe will fall on Taiwan’s tourism sector, which is very likely to face impact from China’s cutting the number of tourists to Taiwan in half, Lin said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/27
By: Wang Chao-yu and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) A statue of China’s former Premier Wen Jiabao was unveiled as a “Taiwan Hero” at a private cultural park in Keelung on Wednesday, but under pressure from the local mayor, the statue is likely to remain there for just one day.

The unveiling of the statue appeared to have been a public relations stunt by Yong Heng Creative Culture Park, which invited the media to the ceremony, saying only that it was a statue of a “Taiwan hero.”

Many of the people at the ceremony seemed surprised when they saw the statue, which depicts a barefooted Wen holding a pair of leather shoes.

At the base of the statue there are two Chinese characters that mean harmony, while on each side there is a couplet, one reading “Opened up Chinese tourism to Taiwan as part of China’s Taiwan-friendly policy,” and the other saying “Maintained cross-strait peace and expanded trade and economic exchanges.”

They referred to cross-strait policies implemented during Wen’s tenure as premier from 2003-2013.

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 28, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Civil activists yesterday announced plans to hold local forums to pressure legislators on a draft

bill to supervise cross-strait agreements, demanding that any review of the draft legislation be put on hold until after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) takes office.

About 10 protesters from the Economic Democracy Union, Democracy Tautin and other groups gathered in front of DPP headquarters in Taipei, calling on the party to remember the Sunflower movement, as the Legislative Yuan prepares to begin a review of a bill imposing new regulatory standards on negotiations with China.

“We should have come to DPP headquarters to ‘pound the table’ long ago, but we are not here to pound the table today,” Democracy Tautin general coordinator June Lin (林倢) said, referring to statements by Tsai that activists should not hesitate to engage in “table-pounding” if they feel the government is ignoring their views.

Activists last week promised to take action if the DPP refused to agree to talks and open debate over the supervisory bill, questioning the DPP draft legislation’s use of the word “area” to refer to Taiwan, as well as the exemption of the service trade agreement from the new requirements.

Forums announced yesterday are to target DPP members of the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee — which is responsible for the supervisory bill’s initial review — demanding that legislators pass amendments to the legislation to reflect their demands.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-26
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Lin Te-fu said Tuesday that he along with several other legislators will visit South Korea from May 9 to 13 on behalf of Legislative Speaker Su Chia-chyuan, marking the first time Taiwan embark on an official visit to the Northeast Asian nation since the two severed ties in 1992.

Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Lin Te-fu said Tuesday that he along with several other legislators will visit South Korea from May 9 to 13 on behalf of Legislative Speaker Su Chia-chyuan, marking the first time Taiwan embarks on an official visit to the Northeast Asian nation at the official invitation of its congress since the two severed ties in 1992.
Relations between the two nations have seen major improvements in recent years as tourism and bilateral trade have increased.

The legislator said the visiting delegates will include Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Yu Mei-nu, Wu Kuen-yuh and Chen Ying, KMT legislator Sra Kacaw, and New Power Party (NPP) legislator Chen Yi-chieh.     [FULL  STORY]