Both offices promised more events to promote media freedom

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/05/03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The British and Canadian representative offices in Taipei took a stand in favor of World Press Freedom Day Friday (May 3) with social media statements.

On Facebook, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) and the British Office Taipei posted pictures of reporters they had invited to hold panels expressing support for media freedom. CTOT head Jordan Reeves and British representative Catherine Nettleton also delivered a related statement.

The offices said that in the coming months, they would be organizing more events celebrating the importance of press freedom for democracy across the world, and they encouraged the public to share or comment on their Facebook posts concerning the issue.    [SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/03
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Emerson Lim 

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) Taiwan’s government has decided to change its formal description of blue-collar foreign workers from “foreign laborer” (外勞) to “migrant worker” (移工) to promote a friendlier, more respectful society, a Ministry of the Interior (MOI) official said Friday.

Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said at a simple ceremony in Taoyuan on Friday that the National Immigration Agency (NIA) decided to make the change out of respect and support for migrant workers.

The new description will appear in the “Purpose of Residence” field shown on the alien resident certificates (ARC) of migrant workers, and Hsu handed new ARCs with the new term to several migrant workers during a visit to an I-Mei Foods Co. factory in Nankan.

While at the factory, Hsu thanked migrant workers from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand for their contributions to government infrastructure projects and Taiwan’s aged society.    [FULL  STORY]

The human rights crisis in Xinjiang foreshadows Taiwan’s future under PRC control, and the island knows it.

The Diplomat
Date: May 02, 2019
By: Wen Lii

Amid international concern for the mass incarceration of Uyghurs and other Muslim

minorities in China, growing awareness in Taiwan toward the Uyghur crisis particularly stands out – as it indicates how human rights issues and religious freedom in China could have ramifications on cross-strait relations and regional affairs.

To date, the Chinese government has refrained from disclosing the exact number of Uyghurs and other Muslims arbitrarily detained in its concentration camps – justified as “vocational training centers” by Beijing – scattered across the Xinjiang region. Recent actions by the Chinese government have shown no progress in addressing concerns of the international community. Just the opposite, in fact – Beijing exerted pressure on other countries to warn them against attending a side event on Uyghur rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

In Taiwan, discussions on the Uyghur concentration camps – including media reports as well as remarks by political and opinion leaders – have interpreted China’s abysmal treatment of its own citizens as an indication of what could befall Taiwan if it is brought under the rule of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In particular, the infringement of freedom in areas such as Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong highlights China’s inability to govern regions with diverse historical and cultural trajectories within its own borders, while also leading to heightened distrust toward China’s intentions to annex Taiwan under its proposed scheme of “One Country, Two Systems.” In this context, Chinese assurances to respect Taiwan’s existing political institutions under such an arrangement are rendered hollow and even absurd. Meanwhile, the recent verdict that convicted leaders of Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement to prison also displays the authoritarian nature of Beijing’s rule.    [FULL  STORY]

Closed-door forum in New York told that Beijing unhappy at Tsai’s efforts to court America
But mainland China’s ‘bullying’ of Taiwan will only reinforce US view of Beijing as a competitor, another participant says

South China Morning Post
Date: 2 May, 2019 
By: Lawrence Chung

Beijing regards Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen as a “worse” leader than predecessor Chen Shui-bian in her attempts to bring Washington to Taipei’s side, according to a report by an independent American activist group.

“Beijing had lost all hope for Tsai, and some on the mainland were suggesting she was worse than Chen Shui-bian,” the report published by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy said.

Tsai, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was elected president in 2016, replacing Ma Ying-jeou of the mainland-friendly Kuomintang, who was in office after Chen’s two terms from 2000. Chen was also from the DPP.

The report by Brookings Institution researcher Ryan Hass was based on two days of closed-door discussions in New York earlier this month between some 30 academics and former officials from Beijing, Washington and Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]

Discussions on the matter will continue Friday

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/02
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The first round of cross-caucus discussions on the implementation of same-sex marriage law concluded Thursday afternoon (May 2), although reports suggest little progress was made.

The session, convened by the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws Committee, lasted around an hour, according to the Central News Agency, and saw legislators discuss “The Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748” alongside “The Enforcement Act of Referendum No. 12.”

The first bill was drafted by the Executive Yuan to guarantee the 2017 constitutional ruling that provided a legal foundation for same-sex marriages. The second, introduced by the Kuomintang, would limit use of the words “marriage” and “spouse” to opposite-sex couples.

DPP legislators Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) and Yu Mei-nu (又美女) said they hope the Executive Yuan’s bill could pass a third reading and be enacted into law as soon as possible. Tuan said any law that fails to guarantee same-sex marriage is a violation of 2017’s constitutional ruling, and as such, his only choice is to support the first bill.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/02
By: Stacy Hsu 

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) The Executive Yuan on Thursday passed a draft whistleblower protection act that it says is designed to ensure the safety and rights of public and private-sector employees who report major irregularities to their superiors or government authorities, but some rights activists are concerned the act might discourage Taiwanese people from exercising a fundamental right they currently enjoy — the right to report problems to the media.

Under the 19-article draft act, individuals hired, entrusted or contracted by a government agency or private entity to carry out work in exchange for payment are to be protected if they blow the whistle on major internal malpractices, such as malfeasance, corruption, money laundering, human trafficking or other offenses, including covering up criminally punishable acts.

To protect the rights of whistleblowers, people who participate in or serve as a witness in a probe, or those who refuse to be involved in or to carry out the unlawful act in question, the act says they cannot be fired, demoted, or suspended by implicated government or private bodies, which also cannot reduce their pay.

The act also forbids the public or private entities from resorting to workplace bullying, disclosing the whistleblower or witnesses’ identities without due cause, or engaging in other vengeful acts that could undermine their interests.    [FULL  STORY]

Certain outlets have partnered with the CCP to produce spin reports, it confirms

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/021
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A report from the National Security Bureau (NSB) confirms that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has exercised spin control through partnered media outlets in Taiwan.

The report suggests the CCP’s influence permeates Taiwan’s electronic and print media, and the platforms of certain popular online figures.

“Response measures to China’s fake news psychological warfare,” a collaborative report between the NSB and the Ministry of Defense’s Political Warfare Bureau, was delivered to the Legislative Yuan on Thursday morning (May 2).

It states that the CCP manufactures specific content intended to divide Taiwanese society that is delivered directly through Taiwanese or partnered media outlets, according to the Central News Agency. Other outlets are then led to corroborate the spin reports, it claims.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 01 May, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Taiwanese artist Hong Ping-shun, known for his vivid and colorful paintings, has dedicated a lifetime to Taiwan’s temple art. Though now in his 70’s, Hong is continuing to preserve old artistic tradition.

Over the past 50 years, artist Hong Ping-shun has painted more than 200 temples across Taiwan, including the temples of his hometown in Yunlin County.

Hong paints almost everything, from front doors to ceilings and beams. Some of his work includes the likenesses of historical figures, while some consists of stylized patterns. Of course, there are also plenty of deities, such as door gods, the god of fortune, and the god of longevity.

Hong’s works combine western and Chinese styles, and are best known for their structural layout, meticulous attention to detail, emphasis on color, and vivid portrayal of figures.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s 2020 presidential candidates hint at a massive gravity shift toward China in both the KMT and DPP.

The Diplomat
Date: May 01, 2019
By: James X. Morris

If Taiwan’s current field of 2020 presidential contenders is any indicator, the issue of

maintaining Taiwan’s self-rule status quo against Chinese interference has passed from the hands of one political party and landed into another. In this topsy-turvy political world in which liberal democracies are facing political realignments left and right, it shouldn’t come as a surprise; however, in Taiwan it appears that the once pro-status quo party has become more polarized, fielding radical candidates who are close with Chinese officials, while the once radical pro-independence party has had to fill in the vacuum, becoming more pro-status quo.

A recent incident may help explain this ideological shift: On April 22, legislator Kung Wen-chi of Taiwan’s opposition Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) challenged the minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, Chen Ming-tong of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), on his statement opposing Beijing’s use of force to integrate Taiwan into China. “On what grounds do you urge China to renounce the use of force against Taiwan? Xi Jinping has actually softened his approach to us[,]” Kung claimed. The statement, which was quickly picked up by Taiwan’s netizens and followed closely by Taiwan News, has been widely panned as KMT capitulation to Chinese threats of force.

The KMT’s potential challengers to incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP are lining up, and the two loudest KMT voices also happen to be the most controversial, buoyed by the 24-hour news cycle and bombastic unpolished approaches to rallying popular support back to the KMT. Han Kuo-yu, the recently-elected mayor of Kaohisung in southern Taiwan, has hinted his interest in the position, but had declined to officially enter the race, despite his enormous popularity, citing his relatively new role as mayor. Han won an insurgent victory in a traditional DPP stronghold in Taiwan’s 2018 local-level elections, and became an immediate darling for the KMT. Despite his reluctance to run, the media has been covering Han non-stop for months, and his popularity has led to the Kuomintang drafting him as a candidate into the race on April 24. More recently, Foxconn chief Terry Gou has stolen some of the media attention away from Han by officially entering the race on April 17, claiming the Sea Goddess Matsu appeared to him in a dream telling him to run.    [FULL  STORY]