Radio Taiwan International
Date: 16 October, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami held a “Taiwan Day” reception at Miami City Hall on Tuesday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). The act is the cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations in the absence of official diplomatic ties between the two sides.

Office director David Chien expressed his gratitude to the city of Miami for its support. Chien said that Taiwan is the United States’ 11th largest trading partner.    [FULL  STORY]

Defence Minister tells parliament all problems with retrofitting programme have been solved

South hina Morning Post
Date: 16 Oct, 2019
By: Lawrence Chung  

Taiwan’s multimillion dollar programme to retrofit its 142-strong fleet of F-16 fighter jets to bring them up to Viper standard is expected to be completed within the next four years.

Defence Minister Yen Teh-fa told parliament on Wednesday that all problems with the upgrade programme had been solved and the air force expected to take delivery of the jets by 2023. The performance of the jets will be further bolstered by the addition of medium-range precision guided weapons and automatic ground collision avoidance systems.

Yen was responding to lawmakers’ concerns that the retrofitting timetable would be affected by the US$8 billion purchase from the US of 66 of the latest Lockheed Martin F-16V Viper fighter jets, after local military critics questioned whether the deal would force the military to axe some spending on the retrofitting programme.

Lawmakers also questioned whether Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) had sufficient manpower for the project after the company failed to deliver six refitted jets in the first quarter of this year as scheduled.    [FULL  STORY]

A Facebook group featuring President Tsai talking about cats was removed: reports

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/16
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Facebook group for cat lovers was banned after it featured an interview

with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) about her love for the pets, reports said Wednesday (October 16).

The president, who raises the two cats “Think Think” and “Ah Tsai,” is involved in a campaign to win a second and final term in elections scheduled for January 11, 2020.

Tsai joined a legislative candidate, a veterinarian and the chairwoman of a cat lovers’ association in discussing her experiences with the pets live online, the Central News Agency reported.

The event however led to false accusations that she had taken a cat to the veterinarian surrounded by a hundred supporters. Her campaign immediately demanded the removal of the story, but in the end, it was the “CrazyCat club” Facebook group which disappeared off the Internet.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/16
By: Chou Shih-hui and Evelyn Kao

San Francisco, Oct. 15 (CNA) Former Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who lost the Democratic

Progressive Party (DPP) primary for the 2020 presidential election to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), on Tuesday stumped for Tsai's re-election in San Francisco, his first public appearance since the DPP primary.

Lai said during a campaign event that in the wake of the primary it is time for the party to unite, which drew a warm reaction from pro-independence DPP supporters who shouted "2020, Taiwan must win," "re-election of the president, a majority of parliamentary seats."

Lai said he is in the United States to campaign for the re-election of Tsai and expressed the nation's gratitude to Taiwanese expatriates in the U.S. who care about the country.

Even the U.S. is supportive of Taiwan moving in the direction of democracy and freedom, he noted, adding that petitions have been initiated in Germany and the U.S. calling for the restoration of formal relations with Taiwan, an indication that many support a larger role for Taiwan in the international community.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 15 October, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

Vice President Chen Chien-jen returned to Taiwan on Tuesday after wrapping up a four-day visit to

the Vatican. He was there for the canonization of late British Cardinal John Henry Newman and four others. This was the third time that Vice President Chen attended a canonization ceremony in the Holy See.

He spoke with reporters about his trip, after landing in Taiwan. He said that he conveyed President Tsai Ing-wen’s regards to Pope Francis and invited him to visit Taiwan. Chen is a devout Catholic and had also invited the pope to visit Taiwan during his two former trips. The vice president was in the Vatican for the canonization of Mother Teresa in September, 2016, and of Pope Paul VI last October.    [FULL  STORY]

Ship Management
Date: October 15, 2019

Taiwan’s maritime industry leaders met to debate decarbonisation, digital technologies and the future of safety at the annual ABS Taiwan National Committee meeting.

“As the leading class organisation in Taiwan, ABS is able to call on the expertise of leaders to inform our approach to meeting industry challenges such as meeting IMO 2030 and 2050 objectives while ensuring safety standards are not compromised and keep pace with technological challenges,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and CEO, who actively participated in the Committee programme. “The National Committee is an example of how we work closely together to tackle their pressing technical, operational and regulatory challenges.”

The Committee heard about the best-in-class safety performance of ABS, including achieving more than two years without a work-related lost-time incident. The superior Port State Control performance of ABS and strong fleet safety performance underline its focus on safety and its mission.    [FULL  STORY]

Nobody spotted the error for 3 years

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/15
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – For three years, the name of a Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit station was listed as “Oil Refinery Elementary Achool Station” on a sign outside the building, reports said Tuesday (October 15).

As a stopgap measure, a sticker with the letter S has now been superimposed on the offending vowel until a more permanent correction is applied, the Central News Agency reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/15
By: Chen Chi-fong and Evelyn Kao

Kaohsiung, Oct. 15 (CNA) The winner of a NT$406 million (US$13.25 million) Taiwan Grand Lottery jackpot in July has donated NT$25 million to charitable causes, the lottery management said Tuesday.

The donation will be distributed to 11 social welfare groups, including four animal welfare organizations that will each get NT$1 million, Taiwan Lottery Corp. General Manager Tsai Kuo-chi (蔡國基) said at a publicity event in Kaohsiung.

Tsai displayed an oversized check in the amount of NT$25 million on behalf of the winner, who he said was a Kaohsiung resident in his 30s.

The man had been buying one lottery ticket regularly each week, but on the day he purchased the winning ticket, he unintentionally bought two because of a miscommunication with the seller, according to Tsai.    [FULL  STORY]