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Taiwan News
Date: 2015-12-15
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen

Tsai opposes Chinese takeover of SPIL. Central News Agency

said Tuesday that due to widespread public doubt, there was no room to open up Taiwan’s semiconductor sector to investment from China.

Her comments followed the high-profile campaign by China’s Tsinghua Unigroup to buy stakes in Siliconware Precision Industries Co. (SPIL), the world’s largest chip packager and tester, and in chip designer MediaTek.

As the takeover battle heated up Monday with Taiwan’s Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. announcing it wanted to take 100 percent in SPIL, hundreds of academics and professionals have signed a petition calling on the government to drop plans to open up the country’s chip sector to Chinese investment. [FULL STORY]

Star studded lineups for New Year’s Eve countdown parties

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/15
By: Huang Li-yun and Christie Chen

Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) Singer A-mei will be among the celebrities ushering in 2016 with

Taipei’s New Year’s Eve countdown parties will be hosted by Jacky Wu (center), Na Tou (left) and LuLu (right).

revelers in Taiwan at the various New Year’s Eve countdown parties around the country.

The biggest party is expected to take place at the Taipei Civic Square, where A-mei will heat up the night with a one-hour show.

Singers Elva Hsiao, William Wei and Wilber Pan, and electropop diva Jeannie Hsieh, will also rock the stage in Taipei, according to the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism.

A fireworks display lasting 238 seconds will also be held at the Taipei 101 skyscraper, which will involve setting off 30,000 rounds of fireworks from midnight Dec. 31.Star studded lineups for New Year’s Eve countdown parties. [FULL STORY]

Recycled water bill OK’d by ROC Legislature

Taiwan Today
Date: December 15, 2015

A bill facilitating the recycling and reuse of wastewater was passed by the ROC Legislature

Water treated at Kaohsiung City’s Fengshan River facility is to be made available for use by local industries under the new recycled water bill passed Dec. 14 by the Legislature. (Courtesy of KCG)

Dec. 14 in Taipei City, establishing a legal framework for the sustainable development of water resources in Taiwan.

Under the Reclaimed Water Resources Development Act, local service providers can access water discharged into the sewer systems. This new measure is projected to free up 1.32 million tons of recycled water daily by 2031—roughly 10 percent of Taiwan’s public supply.

Lai Chien-hsin, deputy director-general of the Water Resources Agency, said enactment of the legislation marks a strong step forward in the nation’s industrial and water resources development. “The water will mainly be used by the industrial sector after treatment, and development projects must incorporate a specific proportion of recycled water in areas experiencing supply issues.”

But the new regulations do not allow recycled water to be used for drinking or in the food and pharmaceutical industries. “Violators are subject to prison sentences of up to five years plus a fine between NT$300,000 [US$9,170] and NT$5 million,” he said. [FULL STORY]

Chu to expand preschool subsidy system if elected

IT’S THE ECONOMY:The KMT’s presidential candidate said most young couples put off parenthood for financial reasons, as they are worried over expensive preschooling

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 16, 2015
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday proposed expanding kindergarten subsidies to cover children aged between three and five years old, as part of his efforts to assuage the nation’s dwindling birth rate.

“Taiwan’s declining birth rate is primarily attributed to the rising financial burden on young couples, which is why we must address the problem by increasing educational subsidies,” Chu told a forum held at the KMT headquarters yesterday morning to unveil his educational platform.

In a country that has a 3:7 ratio of public to private kindergartens, most young couples put off parenthood for economic reasons, Chu said.

Chu said that if elected, he would increase the education budget from 22.5 percent of the nation’s average net annual revenue to 23.5 percent, to fund his policy of lowering the minimum age limit for the government’s preschool subsidies from five to three. [FULL STORY]

Food safety 101: tips for homemade cooking oil

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-12-14
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Recently, food security has become a major issue occupying every

Food safety 101: tips for homemade cooking oil. Taiwan News (2015-12-14 20:06:35)

Taiwanese’s mind. The “gutter oil” scandal, for example, has made people aware of the importance of choosing good cooking oil.

I-Mei Foods CEO Luis Ko, who has been for a long time concerned with this issue, in December published his new book, “All Animals Need Oil & Fat – It Is Difficult to Find Good Oil,” teaching the public how to choose good oil, and to make good oil.

Pros and cons of homemade cooking oil

The awareness of food safety among customers after the food scandal has led many to go as far as making their own cooking oil, such as vegetable oil or lard. [FULL STORY]

Taiwan’s doors not to be rashly opened to Chinese investors: MOEA

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/14
By: Milly Lin, Yang Shu-min and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) officials pledged

(CNA file photo)

Monday that the country’s doors will not be rashly opened to Chinese investment in Taiwan’s IC design sector before a consensus is reached on the issue amid rising opposition to the idea.

Public hearings and conferences will be held to discuss the proposal and collect the opinions of all those concerned, said officials at the MOEA’s Industrial Development Bureau.

A consensus will be needed before any doors are opened, they stressed.

Economic Affairs Minister John Deng (鄧振中) triggered the controversy when he said in late November that he will push for the opening of the IC design sector to Chinese investment before he steps down next year, raising both national competitiveness and national security concerns. [FULL STORY]

Taichung gears up for special NTMFA exhibition

Taiwan Today
Date: December 14, 2015

A special exhibition marking the opening of the new treasure repository at

A digitally interactive version of “Lotus Pond” by Lin Yu-shan is a popular part of “An Exhibition of Collection Conservation—Decoding the Treasure Trove” at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung City. (Courtesy of NTMFA)..

National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts is set to kick off Dec. 15 in Taichung City.

Featuring around 120 Eastern gouache, installation, ink, oil and watercolors, as well as photographic and print pieces, “An Exhibition of Collection Conservation—Decoding the Treasure Trove” offers visitors a unique opportunity to peruse some of NTMFA’s rarer items. It also sheds light on the demanding process of artwork repair via a maintenance display and interactive painting exhibit.

Museum Director Hsiao Tsung-huang said Dec.13 at a promotional event that the exhibition introduces the latest technology employed in preserving the facility’s valuable pieces. “By opening part of the largest and most advanced storage room in Taiwan to the public, we hope to foster a greater appreciation for our facility’s extensive collection of artworks.” [FULL STORY]

Ma welcomes religious diversity at RISEAP assembly

MUSLIM-FRIENDLY:At the first general assembly of RISEAP to be held in Taiwan, Ma said that the nation views Islam like an ‘old friend’ and welcomed Muslims

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 15, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the

Regional Islamic Dawah Council of Southeast Asia and the Pacific president Tun Pehim Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, right, presents President Ma Ying-jeou with a commemorative gift at yesterday’s opening ceremony of the council’s 16th General Assembly in Taipei. Photo: CNA

16th General Assembly of the Regional Islamic Dawah Council of Southeast Asia and the Pacific (RISEAP) in Taipei, that Taiwan is friendly toward Muslims and he would welcome more Muslims to the nation.

More than 80 religious leaders, academics and experts attended this year’s meeting, with representatives of 23 nations and 53 organizations in attendance. This was the first time Taiwan hosted a RISEAP general assembly in its 35-year history.

Ma said that from a historical perspective, Islam is like an old friend, adding that Islam was introduced into China early in the 7th century via traders, and that admiral Zheng He (鄭和), commander of Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) naval expeditions, was a Muslim.

He said that Muslims in Taiwan had only numbered about 50,000 in the past, but with more Indonesian migrant workers coming to Taiwan, the number has increased to 250,000, giving Taiwanese an opportunity to learn about Islam and Muslims. [FULL STORY]

Parents urge candidates to back reform calls

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 14, 2015
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

A group of parents yesterday demonstrated outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, calling on presidential and legislative candidates to take a stance on the call to abolish the much-maligned high-school admission system and restoring the Basic Competence Test. [FULL STORY]

Tsai: reforms will begin once elected

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-12-13
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen told a fan

Tsai: reforms will begin once elected. Central News Agency (2015-12-13 18:02:19)

club meeting Sunday that reforms will begin once she gets elected.

Tsai said that with some 30 days away from the voting day, the DPP wishes to use the best policies and best teams to let all people in Taiwan know that she is the best choice.

After the DPP’s defeat in 2008, the party has got back on its feet, ruling 13 counties and municipalities with good results, Tsai said.

Tsai then touched on her plans on political, social and industrial reforms in Taiwan. She said that she has 5 plans for political reforms to make Taiwan’s politics freer from corruption, more efficient and better able to unite people in Taiwan. [FULL STORY]

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