Bejing began issuing the residence permit for people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on Sept. 1, a policy seen by many as attempting to belittle Taiwan’s sovereignty

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/09/20
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Executive Yuan will mull over measures to control

Taiwanese people applying for the residence permits issued by the Chinese government.

Kolas Yotaka, spokesperson for the Executive Yuan, said at a press conference on Thursday that the government considers Taiwanese citizens applying for the Chinese residence permits “a serious matter” and will being mulling over measures to limit applications without causing an unnecessary impact on society.

Kolas said those who possess a Chinese residence permit could be deprived of certain civil rights in Taiwan, but emphasized that nothing has been decided as of now and that the government will collect public opinion before coming up with any measures.

Beijing began issuing the residence permit for people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on Sept. 1, a policy seen by many as attempting to belittle Taiwan as a sovereign state. It also involves risks of compromising privacy as applicants are required to provide such personal information as fingerprints.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/20
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) A possible agreement between the Vatican and China will be aimed at Catholic religious affairs only and will not affect the Holy See’s ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan), Deputy Foreign Minister Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵) said Thursday.

Both Catholic and Chinese state media have recently reported that the Vatican and Beijing could seal the deal before the end of this month, ending a decades-long dispute over the issue of the appointment of bishops in China, with some speculating that this could lead to the Vatican forming diplomatic ties with Beijing and ditching Taipei.

Hsieh told reporters Thursday that high-ranking Vatican officials have repeatedly told Taiwan that the agreement, once signed, is aimed at handling Catholic religious affairs in China only and will not touch on political or diplomatic issues.   [FULL  STORY]

DPP, KMT ACCUSED:Citizens’ Congress Watch executive director Chang Hung-lin said it was unbelievable that people involved in corruption could be nominated

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 21, 2018
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

A significant number of the city and county councilor candidates nominated by the

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are either on trial or have been found guilty of corruption, the New Power Party (NPP) said yesterday.

The NPP said it reviewed 1,769 DPP and KMT candidates for the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections and found that more than 100 have either been charged with or found guilty of bribery, graft, electoral fraud, improper use of influence or other forms of corruption.

Thirty-eight DPP candidates, or 9.6 percent, have a dubious history, while 67 KMT candidates, or 13 percent, have faced charges at some point, the NPP said.

Pingtung County has the most candidates involved in corruption, with 17 found guilty, while among the special municipalities, Kaohsiung topped the list with 10 candidates who have been found guilty of corruption, NPP data showed.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-09-18

President Tsai Ing-wen has done a tour of military bases to thank Taiwan’s troops for

their service ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Tsai praised their contribution to Taiwan’s defense and their success in helping the country recover from disasters.

On Monday, President Tsai Ing-wen undertook a whirlwind tour of five military bases in the Taipei area. The president’s visit came just a week before the Mid-Autumn Festival. With the holiday approaching, Tsai offered the troops her support and her thanks.

At one base, Tsai thanked the troops for allowing the people of Taiwan to live and work in peace. She also praised the military’s disaster preparedness work and its rescue and recovery operations.

Tsai said that Taiwan’s soldiers have never let the people down in a disaster. She said that whether after this year’s earthquake in Hualien or more recent flooding, the presence of the military has given people peace of mind.    [SOURCE]

CNN
Date: September 18, 2018
By: Ben Westcott and Yong Xiong, CNN

Beijing (CNN)China has accused Taiwan’s intelligence agencies of using honey traps to recruit university exchange students as spies, in an effort to “infiltrate” and “sabotage” activities on the mainland.

The claim was made as part of a massive state media campaign highlighting the alleged espionage activities of foreign Taiwanese agents.
“(The Taiwanese spies) use money, love, seduction and internet hook-ups to develop spies into mainland China and build the espionage network … It is extremely vicious to use students for espionage,” a report on state media CCTV claimed.

In one alleged example, described in the state-run China Daily, an 18-year-old Chinese exchange student who studied in Taiwan was turned into an informer after entering a sexual relationship with a Taiwanese spy.    [FULL  STORY]

The Caribbean country has been a trustworthy ally for Taiwan, remarked President Tsai

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/09/18
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Tsai Ing-wen promised to further cooperation with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and expressed her gratitude to the island nation in the Caribbean for its support of Taiwan internationally on Sept. 18.

It was the fifth time that Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning, and Sustainable Development of the Caribbean country, has led a delegation to visit Taiwan, according to the Office of the President.

Over the past two years, Taiwan has been vigorously engaged with Saint Vincent in a range of areas, with more to come later this year and next year. Projects in the pipeline include banana fields rehabilitation and training courses conducted by Taiwan regarding accommodation, tourism, and electricity, Tsai noted.

Investment groups will be dispatched to Saint Vincent this year to explore more collaborative possibilities in agriculture, fisheries, and renewable energy, she added.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/18
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Sept. 18 (CNA) The German Institute Taipei has called on a hair salon in Hsinchu

to take down a door sign that the office says looks like the Nazi swastika.

In a statement Tuesday, the de facto German embassy in Taiwan said using Nazi symbols for commercial purposes is a despicable act and an offense against the victims of the Holocaust.

“We call upon the owner of the shop to immediately remove those Nazi signs,” the office said.

The statement came after the office learned that the hair salon in Hsinchu, named Berlin, bore a sign on the front that looked like the Nazi swastika.    [FULL  STORY]

The countries have many differences, but share a lack of recognition from the UN – and a spirit of solving problems using civic technology.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/09/17
By: Chen Ting-yen (陳廷彥), g0v.news

On Feb. 17, 2008, the Assembly of Kosovo read out Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence and unilaterally declared Kosovo to be independent from Serbia.

A decade later, 111 out of 193 United Nations member states, including the United States and 23 European Union members, recognize the Republic of Kosovo. However, due to vehement opposition from Serbia and its ally Russia, which holds veto power on the UN Security Council, Kosovo has not been able to join the UN.

Kosovo’s circumstances make it hard to not associate it with other unrecognized or partially recognized entities – such as Taiwan, which is recognized by only 16 countries and the Holy See as China has suppressed its presence on the international stage.
[FULL  STORY]