Fang Chen-Lien’s departure from lineup highlights controversial nature of selection process

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/11/19
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Fang Chen-Lien (范成連), a member of the Central Standing Committee of

the Kuomintang (KMT) party who is doing business in China, announced on Tuesday (Nov. 19) that he is dropping out of the party’s nomination process for legislator-at-large seats.

The process has drawn tremendous backlash both from within the party and the public, as a number of controversial figures managed to remain on the list of 34 non-divisional legislative candidates proposed by the opposition party in a meeting on Nov. 16, even after the list was adjusted.

Answering calls by party member Lee Ming-hsien (李明賢), a Taipei City councilor, who said that those who received more “against” than “for” votes should voluntarily opt out of the lineup, Fang issued a statement saying he will not serve as a candidate, reported UDN.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/11/19
By: Wen Kuei-hsiang and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) promised to make Taiwan a stronger, safer

country if she is elected for a second term in January 2020, as she and her running mate formally entered the presidential race on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ticket Tuesday.

After Tsai and former Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) completed their registration at the Central Election Commission (CEC), she told reporters that her administration has built a solid foundation to better safeguard Taiwan, but the process requires more time.

"I hope the voters will give us another four years to build Taiwan into a better, stronger and safer country," she said.

Tsai said her reelection bid is of significance amid China's continuous efforts to interfere in Taiwan's Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections and in light of the escalating tensions in Hong Kong.
[FULL  STORY]

MOVING FORWARD: The Investment Solicitation Convention this year includes projects involving digital applications that could be used in transportation systems

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 20, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday rolled out 40 government

projects worth more than NT$100 billion (US$3.28 billion) at its annual Investment Solicitation Convention.

The convention has drawn about 250 companies from across the nation and overseas, the ministry said.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told the opening ceremony that the ministry had launched investment projects worth NT$170 million in the past three years, for which it was ranked No. 1 by the Ministry of Finance in terms of attracting investments from the private sector.

The convention is different this year, because not only would it showcase infrastructure projects and land development plans in airports, seaports and railway stations, it would also include projects involving the development of applications that could be used in transportation systems, Lin said.
[FULL  STORY]

UPI
Date: Nov. 18, 2019
By: Elizabeth Shim

Nov. 18 (UPI) — A Chinese aircraft carrier that recently entered the Taiwan Strait could be deployed to guard the South China Sea, Chinese state media said Monday.

Chinese navy spokesman Cheng Dewei had said Beijing's first domestically developed aircraft carrier, the 002, recently entered the South China Sea for "scientific research tests and routine training." The presence of the carrier in the Taiwan strait is "normal practice," Cheng said.

Global Times said Monday the carrier is likely to be deployed to guard the South China Sea, where the country has been militarizing disputed islands.

Earlier on Sunday, Taiwan's defense ministry had said a cluster of Chinese ships, led by the carrier, had passed through the Taiwan Strait, less than a week after a U.S. guided missile cruiser, the Chancellorsville, had engaged in what the U.S. Navy described as a "routine" mission "in accordance with international law."    [FULL  STORY]

Air pollution from China to lead to poor air quality in Taiwan on Monday

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/11/18
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(Weather Risk screenshot)[/caption]

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Air quality is expected to deteriorate throughout the day in Taiwan today (Nov. 18) as air pollution drifts south from China.

As a northeast wind gradually strengthens, pollutants from China are expected to shift southward this afternoon, negatively impacting all of western Taiwan, reported WeatherRisk. Air quality is expected to worsen significantly by the afternoon, particularly in northern coastal areas.

An orange warning for air that is unhealthy for sensitive groups was issued at 32 stations in Taiwan today. According to the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), a dust storm in China has combined with a northeast monsoon to coat the Shandong Peninsula with PM10 pollution.

Jinan recorded a PM10 reading of 400 micrograms per cubic meter, while over the past 24 hours, Shanghai has seen its PM2.5 levels range between 70 and 130 micrograms per cubic meter. Due to the increased strength of a northeast monsoon and poor dispersal conditions, air pollutants began accumulating throughout western Taiwan triggering orange alerts at 32 stations.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/11/18
By Stacy Hsu and Ko Lin

Washington, Nov. 18 (CNA) The number of Taiwanese students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities during the 2018/19 academic year rose for the fourth consecutive year, according to a report released Monday by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

There were 23,369 Taiwanese tertiary school students in the U.S., a rise of 4.1 percent from a year earlier, the New York-based group said.

Among them, 31.1 percent were undergraduate students, while 40 percent were enrolled in graduate studies. Others, such as those taking optional practical training (OPT) programs and non-degrees, stood at 21.8 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.

According to the IIE, the total number of international students in the U.S. during the 2018/19 academic year was 1,095,299, a 0.05 percent increase over the previous year, and they made up 5.5 percent of the total U.S. higher education population.    [FULL  STORY]

CONSTRUCTION DIFFICULTIES: The nation’s main airport would be the laughing stock of the world if TIAC changes the design of Terminal 3, a KMT legislator said

Taipwei Times
Date: Nov 19, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

The construction of Terminal 3 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport would not be finished until

2024 if construction starts next year, Taiwan International Airport Co (TIAC) said yesterday at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which was reviewing the company’s budget for the next fiscal year.

Although the company chose a design by British firm Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2015 and began constructing the peripheral infrastructure of the terminal in 2017, it failed last year and this year to attract firms to construct the main building, despite the government increasing the budget and time frame, as well as slightly adjusting the design.

The Executive Yuan at the beginning of this year postponed the projected completion of Terminal 3 from 2020 to 2023, with trial operations to begin in 2024.

TIAC has proposed first building a north satellite concourse to expedite the construction process, but that is still under consideration by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which is engaging in a more comprehensive evaluation of the project.    [FULL  STORY]

Rock Hill Herald
Date: November 17, 2019

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen says China’s pressure on the self-governing island democracy will only

Taiwan President and Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen, left, and her running mate William Lai cheer as Tsai launches her re-election campaign in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019. Taiwan will hold its presidential election on Jan. 11, 2020. CHIANG YING-YING AP PHOTO\[/caption]increase amid a changing international situation.

Tsai is seeking a second term in January’s presidential elections and told supporters Sunday night she had overseen an upgrading in the island’s defense against China’s military threat.

Tsai said: “International political affairs are changing. The U.S.-China trade war is still going on. Protests in Hong Kong are increasingly intense.”

She added: “Trade patterns are quickly changing. In the future, China will only put Taiwan under more pressure.”    [FULL  STORY]

South Leeds Life
Date: 17 November 2019

Not surprisingly, given its role as the birthplace of the railways, the UK is a global leader in the preservation, restoration and management of railway heritage. Railway museums, heritage sites and preservation societies can be found in every corner of the country and are active mainly through the work of nearly 20,000 volunteers.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries locomotives and rolling stock – both steam and diesel – were exported around the world including to the island of Taiwan. To this day you can find locomotives built in the workshops of Hunslet right across the globe. Now, Taiwan is embarking on a large-scale project to restore a huge railway workshop in its capital city of Taipei and to convert it into a National Railway Museum funded through the Ministry of Culture.

As part of this development programme, the Taipei Railway Workshop is sending nearly thirty of its expert staff to the UK on a special educational tour to visit railway sites and museums to learn more about the restoration, technical operations and the management of heritage railways.

The World’s Oldest Railway, Middleton Railway, will welcome Taiwan experts to its Moor Road headquarters on Thursday (21 November 2019) to see its operations and learn more about the ways it has developed.    [FULL  STORY]