Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/05
By: Zoe Wei and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) As Taiwan is considering resuming the import of Vietnamese

workers, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said it will work out measures to prevent foreign workers from absconding, including imposing more stringent controls by exporting countries, raising brokerage fees and increasing employers’ levies.

Due to the serious problem of runaway workers and unreasonably high brokerage fees, Taiwan imposed a ban on Vietnamese fishermen in May 2004 and froze imports of Vietnamese caregivers and domestic workers in January 2005. It also suspended issuing permits to new Vietnamese labor brokers.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/04
By: Chen Ching-fang and Lillian Lin

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Taiwan relies heavily on migrant workers from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam to provide long-term care services to families with disabled and elderly people, employing around 210,000 foreign caregivers.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare show that more than 800,000 persons on the island are not capable of taking care of themselves, among whom only a little over 90,000 are currently in nursing homes, while the lion’s share of more than 700,000 are being looked after by family members and caregivers.

Currently, of the some 210,000 foreigners working as caregivers in Taiwan, 90% are working with families, and only 10% are employed by senior or disabled nursing homes.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-04
By: CNA

The aviation authorities of Taiwan and China have decided to boost the number of

regularly scheduled nonstop flights across the Taiwan Strait to 890 per week from the current 840, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said Friday.

The two sides have agreed to add Huaian, Yangzhou, Nantong and Yiwu along China’s eastern coast, Yanji in northeastern China and Kashgar in western China, as new destinations to be served by cross-strait routes, according to the CAA.

Each side will be allowed to operate three flights per week between Taiwan and those six destinations, which will bring the total number of Chinese destinations covered in the cross-strait flight network to 61, the CAA said.

The other new regularly scheduled flights will be 14 flights a week previously operated as charters, it said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/03
By: Tyson Lu and Y.F. Low

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) Chiang Yu-chao (江玉招) had suffered from cerebral edema from

birth and was paralyzed from the neck down for her entire life. Until she passed away three days ago, she had spent 62 years lying face down on a bed.

“Mei-mei (Chiang’s nickname) is gone,” said her 91-year-old father Chiang Chin-shui (江金水), expressionlessly.

Chiang’s body was as small as a child’s, her four limbs were atrophied and stiff, and she could only lie on her stomach. She had never seen the sun, never gone to school and never left her bed in all her 62 years.

Chiang was born in 1953. When it was about time for her to learn to walk, her mother Chiang Lin Ting-chih (江林定枝) realized that something was wrong because the child could not stand. Failing to find the cause of the problem in Taitung, her parents took her to National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) in Taipei.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-03
By: CNA

The Taipei City government will discuss the issue of relocating Taipei Songshan Airport

after the completion of the Taoyuan International Airport MRT line, Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je said Thursday.

Besides the MRT system, another factor related to the possible relocation of Songshan Airport is the pace of construction of a third runway and terminal at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Ko said.

The new MRT line, which is expected to be completed in mid-July, will connect Taipei city directly with Taoyuan International Airport.

When the line is completed, air passengers will be able to check into their flights at Taipei Main Station, then travel to the airport in a time of only 35 minutes, Ko said during an inspection tour of the Taipei station, along with Taoyuan mayor Cheng Wen-tsan.     [FULL  STORY]