Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-04
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The National Police Agency (NPA) posted on its Facebook page announcing that on-duty officers can now purchase lunchboxes at restaurants while in police uniform effective Thursday, February 4, 2016.

On-duty police officers in Taiwan can now walk into a restaurant and grab a meal-to-go while still dressed in uniform, reports said Thursday.
“Members of the nation’s police force can, effective February 4, buy lunch at a nearby restaurant dressed in uniform with a peace of mind,” according to the National Police Agency’s Facebook posting in the morning.

Although rules under the “Police Uniforms Act” does not stipulate relevant laws and administrative measures with regard to officers getting lunch in uniform, the nation’s law enforcers were often skittish for fear that the public would snap pictures and then file a citizen complaint against them for “slacking while on duty” – disciplines often affecting the scores on their performance report.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: February 4, 2016

A school reconstruction initiative launched by Hsinchu City-based

Volunteer Link Taiwan is helping more students continue secondary education in post-earthquake Nepal.

Launched in November last year, the NT$ 2.4 million (US$70,989) program aims to have two buildings with nine classrooms opened in July at Shree Shanti Adarsha Higher Secondary School in central Dolakha province.

VLT President Wang Shiao-fang said Feb. 3 that she was inspired to start project while volunteering in Nepal and seeing the school’s students continuing to attend classes in corrugated iron shacks after two earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.3 devastated large swathes of the landlocked Himalayan nation last April and May.

“I was moved by their willingness to learn despite the disaster,” she said, adding that VLT seeks to heighten public awareness of the challenges faced by the school’s 396 students.“No effort is being spared in encouraging collaborative reconstruction work in the school community.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 05, 2016
By: Loa Iok-sin / Staff Reporter

American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin Moy yesterday

visited Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to congratulate him on his recent election, as both parties expressed their desire for stronger US-Taiwan ties.

Su, who on Monday was elected the nation’s first non-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative speaker, said Moy contacted him through the Legislative Yuan’s public relations office and expressed his wish to pay him a visit and offer his congratulations.

“We have talked a lot, including how legislative meetings proceeded in the past, and he praised Taiwan’s democracy, saying that, despite the disputes, lawmakers could always reach conclusions in the end,” Su said after a 40-minute meeting behind closed doors. “He also said that Taiwan and the US have a very close relationship, adding that the US hopes that Taiwan stabilizes its economic development, and that Taiwan and the US can be good partners in the future.”      [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-03
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Budgeted at around NT$5 billion, the Executive Yuan announced a series of short-term stimulus measures in October last year, including subsidies for e-commerce, the purchase of digital products and energy-efficient home appliances, , and for domestic travel.

Lin Chu-chia, minister of the National Development Council (NDC), said Wednesday that the short-term stimulus package aimed at boosting Taiwan’s flagging economy did not work out as planned, with the annual budget execution rate below 50 percent, and hence the ministry will not consider increasing the budget but extending the deadline for the project.

Budgeted at around NT$5 billion, the Executive Yuan announced a series of short-term stimulus measures in October last year, including subsidies for e-commerce, the purchase of digital products and energy-efficient home appliances, and for domestic travel.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: February 3, 2016

A Taiwan-Turkey free e-visa agreement is set to take effect Feb.

10, paving the way for expanded academic, culture, economy, tourism and trade exchanges, according to the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Passport holders from the ROC and Turkey will no longer have to pay visa fees of US$24 and NT$1,600 (US$47), respectively. The move reflects the rising number of local tourists traveling to Turkey following the launch of Taipei-Istanbul direct flights last March.

“Around 50,000 Taiwan tourists visited Turkey in 2015,” a MOFA official said Feb. 2, adding that the figure is projected to reach 80,000 this year. “Elimination of the application fees is expected to reduce total travel costs by NT$70 million.”

The reciprocal privilege marks another step forward in the ROC government’s efforts to create favorable travel conditions between Taiwan and its international partners. A total of 161 countries and territories offer ROC nationals visa-waiver, landing-visa or other visa privileges, according to the MOFA.     [FULL  STORY]