Where it counts, Taipei and autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan share more similarities than differences.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/11/29
By: Dean Karalekas

Geopolitically, there might at first glance seem to be little similarity between the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Taiwan is an island whose main security threat is invasion by an expansionist communist superpower, whereas Iraqi Kurdistan is a landlocked region threatened by Islamic insurgents and regional powers that are roughly equally balanced militarily. On closer inspection, however, the two do share certain similarities: for one thing, each, in its own way, is key to maintaining the current regional balance of power.

It is important to distinguish Iraqi Kurdistan from the other unrecognized polities in the region that straddle the borders separating the Kurdish people from the homeland to which they aspire. The Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (DFNS), for example, is built upon the same cultural roots, but differs greatly in political expression. Rojava, as the DFNS is more commonly known, eschews nationalism – even Kurdish nationalism – in favor of a libertarian socialist model dubbed “Democratic Confederalism” that comes too close to anarcho-communism for the comfort of some of its allies in the fight against Daesh (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS). According to one of this author’s informants, many in Iraqi Kurdistan see the DFNS as fanatics, though they are highly respected as fierce warriors, with even all-female units scoring impressive victories against Daesh.

Iraqi Kurdistan, meanwhile, is the central pivot point around which all of the region’s players (Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey) rotate. As noted by Seth Frantzman in The Hill, it sits on Iran’s doorstep; encompasses the trade (primarily oil) route to and from Turkey; serves as a link to U.S. forces fighting in Syria; and exerts some measure of influence in government coalitions in Baghdad.    [FULL  STORY]

Mobile payment systems also likely to be accepted: FSC

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/29
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – You could soon be able to pay your taxes, parking fines,

power and water bills at convenience stores and supermarkets with credit cards, if the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has its way.

Because those items are linked to the government, there is no fear that the payments will be abused to launder money, the Central News Agency reported.

The suspicion of money-laundering has been the main reason why convenience stores do not accept payment by credit card and refuse to accept cash payments of more than NT$20,000 (US$650), the report said.

The new proposal would change all that as it was designed to help citizens carry less cash around, the FSC said.

Convenience stores and supermarkets which at present accept general payments by Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Taiwan Pay will also customers to use those systems to pay the fines, bills and taxes, CNA reported.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/29
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Thursday that her

administration’s goal of making Taiwan a nuclear-free homeland remains unchanged, despite the passage of a referendum against the 2025 deadline for realizing the policy.

In her first public comments since Nov. 24 when Taiwanese voted on 10 referendums and elected local government officials, Tsai said the goal of phasing out nuclear power in Taiwan is part of the Basic Environment Act.

“Therefore, that goal remains unchanged,” she said.

The passage of a referendum on Nov. 24 against closing all nuclear power facilities by the 2025 deadline does not mean the goal of creating a nuclear-free homeland must be abandoned, Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]

THREE-YEAR PLAN:The offer is aimed at Taiwanese firms that have been operating in China for more than two years and want to invest in smart technology production lines

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 30, 2018
By: Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff writer, with CNA

The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a three-year plan to attract investment

from Taiwanese businesses in China affected by the current US-China trade dispute.

The plan, which is to take effect on Jan. 1, focuses on five areas — land use, labor, tax services, water and electricity supply, and fast financing — and only businesses affected by the trade dispute, that have been investing in China for more than two years and that want to investing in production lines incorporating smart technology would be eligible, it said.

They must also be in an industry targeted by the government’s “five plus two” innovative industries plan or produce a high value-added product, it said.
[FULL  STORY]

Spokesman Ma Xiaoguang continued to emphasize the One China principle and 1992 Consensus

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/28
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s Taiwan Affairs Council held its first official press conference since the nine-in-one elections today (Nov. 28).

Spokesman for the council Ma Xiaoguang emphasized the One China principle and the 1992 Consensus when answering to press. CNA reports that media locked on to issues such as the East Asian Youth Games, agricultural trade, city and province exchange and general cross-strait relations.

Ma was asked specifically about newly-elected Taichung City Mayor Lu Shiow-yen’s (盧秀燕) promise to continue fighting for the East Asian Youth Games, to which he responded that it was the East Asian Olympic Committee’s decision to cancel the event. He did not answer questions on whether he supported the new mayor.

Ma was also asked about the new KMT Mayor of Kaohsiung City Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who has expressed support for the 1992 consensus. He said the consensus is the basis of peaceful cooperative development across the strait and welcomed intercity cross-strait exchanges.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taaiwan
Date: 2018/11/28
By: Wu Rui-chi and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Taoyuan has won an international award for a program it

initiated in 2017 to promote societal integration of migrant workers, the city’s Department of Labor said Wednesday.

The award, granted annually by the International Observatory on Participatory Democracy (IOPD) in recognition of public policies implemented by local governments, was presented Tuesday at the IOPD’s annual conference in Spain to Taoyuan as this year’s winner for Best Practice in Citizen Participation, the department said in a statement.

The city was recognized for its Participatory Budgeting for Migrant Workers program, which its labor department launched in 2017 to create a more inclusive society for migrant workers.

Head of the department Wag An-pang (王安邦) accepted the award in Barcelona on behalf of the Taoyuan City government, which won from a field of 65 local and regional governments around the world, according to the statement.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 28, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The military is launching a contest to come up with a name for its advanced

supersonic jet trainer aircraft currently under development.

Taichung-based Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) is scheduled to deliver 66 advanced trainer aircraft to the government by 2026 to replace the air force’s aging AT3 trainers and F5 fighters, the Ministry of National Defense said.

The government-funded AIDC had provisionally named the new jets “Blue Magpie,” after the endemic bird species, but when asked at a news conference in Taipei yesterday why the military was ditching the name, Major General Tang Hung-an (唐洪安), the head of the air force command’s planning division, sidestepped the question.

He would only say that the military wanted to allow public participation in the naming process.    [FULL  STORY]

For Taiwan’s LGBT+ community, Saturday’s results don’t mark the end of the push for equality.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/11/27
By: Cat Thomas

Taiwan spent its Saturday voting on 10 referendums alongside its regional elections. Unsurprisingly, this presented practical issues for an electorate and election officials who were dealing with the new rules introduced by the revised Referendum Act of December 2017. No matter the result of the referendum questions, it is an important step forward in the push towards direct democracy that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and pro-independence forces have long championed.

According to the Central Election Committee website, out of 19,757,067 eligible voters, participation on all ten referendum questions ranged from 54.5 percent to 55.8 percent with votes on LGBT related issues drawing the highest numbers. Although the initial reaction was one of dismay, the LGBT community has rallied together and shows no signs of being crushed by the blow.

The first referendum that has been run under the revised rules and the lowered thresholds for calling and passing referendums saw a flurry of action as conservative forces proposed two anti-marriage equality questions (including a proposal to adopt a separate law such as a civil union to cover same-sex marriage) and an effort to have part of the Gender Equity Act enforcement rules removed (covering ‘homosexual education’). Pro-LGBT rights groups were behind two responsive questions calling for equal marriage to be enforced under the civil code and for gender equity education to remain the same.    [FULL  STORY]

Han Kuo-yu’s office quotes health and preparations for city government team as reasons for refusal

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/27
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Kaohsiung mayor-elect Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) will not accept an invitation from Foxconn Technology Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) to attend a meeting in the Chinese city of Xiamen, reports said Tuesday.

Last Saturday, Han, a known proponent of closer ties to China, ended 20 years of Democratic Progressive Party rule in Kaohsiung by winning the mayoral election with 53 percent of the vote.

After his victory, he reportedly talked on the phone with Gou for three hours to discuss potential new investments in Kaohsiung by the electronics tycoon, the world’s biggest subcontractor for Apple Inc.

However, on Tuesday Han’s office said he would be unable to accept Gou’s invitation to attend a Taiwan-China business summit in China due to health concerns and because he would be too busy forming a city government team, the Central News Agency reported. Han is scheduled to be sworn in as mayor on December 25.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/27
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan 

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) Saturday’s local government elections have forced the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to reflect on its failures and given the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) the chance to make a comeback ahead of presidential and legislative elections in January 2020, analysts said.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the KMT garnered 6.1 million votes (48.79 percent) in the elections for 22 city mayor and county magistrates, surpassing the DPP’s 4.90 million votes (39.16 percent).

In winning 15 of the 22 seats up for grabs, including three of the six special municipalities — New Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung — the KMT received 1.11 million more votes than it did when it crashed to defeat in the last local polls in 2014.

The DPP lost 1.20 million votes compared with 2014 if the votes received both times by re-elected independent Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are taken into consideration, and it also lost seven of the 13 seats it held previously.
[FULL  STORY]