Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/30
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, Aug. 30 (CNA) Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday that

Taiwanese nationals applying for a residence permit in China will not have their Taiwan household registration automatically revoked, but the government is assessing possible countermeasures, including imposing certain restrictions on the citizenship rights of such individuals.

Effective Sept. 1, China will begin issuing residence permits to residents from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to increase the convenience for those living, working and studying in China, according to China’s State Council.

Given Beijing’s claim that applicants are not required to register on China’s household registration system, Taiwanese holders of the card would not be in violation of Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said Thursday.

The article states that Taiwan nationals who have household registration in China or possess Chinese passports shall have their Taiwan nationality revoked as well as the right to participate in elections, recalls, initiatives, referendums, serve in the military or take public office, as well as any other rights derived from having household registration in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

TRAILBLAZER: The New Southbound Policy includes US$3.5 billion in planned investment and preceded the US strategy, the foreign minister told an international forum

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 31, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan is an ideal partner for countries pursuing the US’ Indo-Pacific Strategy, as the

nation’s New Southbound Policy increases its attention on the region, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.

Speaking at the opening of the Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue in Taipei, Wu said that Taiwan has much to contribute to the US’ strategic goal of maintaining a “free and open Indo-Pacific” presented by US President Donald Trump last year.

“We have much to offer in terms of trade, investment and expertise. We also have much to share. We are on the front line in defense of freedom, democracy and all the values that we so deeply cherish,” Wu said.

Taiwan’s view on the region is guided by the shared interests and principles of democracy by like-minded countries in the region, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-29

The total amount of marine debris found along Taiwan’s coastline can fill up more than

2,000 garbage trucks, and half of the garbage is found in 10% of coastal areas. That’s according to a report produced by two environmental groups.

Back in July, Greenpeace and the Society of Wilderness teamed up to inspect marine debris along Taiwan’s 1,200 kilometers of coastline. Setting up one observation station every 10 kilometers, the groups found the marine debris in Taiwan’s coastal area is enough to fill more than 2,000 garbage trucks. That’s despite the more than 500 beach-cleaning activities that take place every year.

Yen Ning, the head of the project, said cleaning activities mostly removed litter that could be easily found on the beaches. But a large amount of garbage is trapped in coral reefs and tetrapod wave barriers.     [FULL  STORY]

About one out of every 33 people in Taiwan is a Southeast Asian migrant worker. They have become indispensable to life in Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/29
By: One-Forty

Taiwan’s migrant worker population is nearly 680,000 strong, meaning that nowadays, just about one out of every 33 people in Taiwan is a Southeast Asian migrant worker.

This might come as a surprise. Interactions between migrant workers and Taiwanese can be limited; they seem to many to be invisible, an unknown group of strangers. However, they also call this country home, spending years, if not decades, here. Many migrant workers learn at least basic Mandarin or Taiwanese. They have weathered just as many typhoons and earthquakes as you have.

Searching for information on migrant workers in Taiwan can quickly lead you into a maze of confusing laws, stories of mistreatment, and sensationalized headlines, so here is a concise and reliable guide to what you really need to know.    [FULL  STORY]

Travelers will be offered several choices: reports

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/08/29
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Following threats of a boycott by Taiwanese travel agencies, Thailand’s representative office has abandoned plans to impose a NT$470 (US$15) handling fee for tour group visa applications, reports said Wednesday.

The initial measure, to be introduced on October 1, caused a sharp backlash from the public, politicians and the travel sector in Taiwan, in particular because the island has given Thai visitors a visa waiver under its New Southbound Policy.

The Thailand Trade and Economic Office Taipei issued a news release Wednesday saying that there would not be a single change to the visa application procedure from before, the Apple Daily reported. A clarification added that potential visitors to Thailand would have three choices, with only one of those listed as an application to the outsourced private VFS Global visa application center still requiring the NT$470 payment, according to the Apple Daily. The choice would have the benefit that there was no need to stand in line, the report said.

Individual travelers could still visit the Thai office and apply for a visa for the original fee of NT$1,200 (US$39), while tour travelers could also still have their travel agency hand in the applications, at the office and without extra charge. In addition, there would be no restrictions on the number of applicants allowed per day.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/29
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Aug. 29 (CNA) Pilots from China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways said Wednesday

that they are prepared to shelve a plan for strike action and enter long-term negotiations with management, as both sides have begun substantive talks on their concerns under government mediation.

“We hope that our demands can be adequately addressed within one year,” Pilots Taoyuan Union executive director and CAL pilot Chen Hsiang-lin (陳祥麟) told CNA.

It means that for the coming 12 months, the union will not be in favor of a strike unless the negotiations are suspended, Chen said.

Chen said the turning point to a more moderate approach was the intervention of the Taoyuan City Labor Department, which the union felt is a credible mediator that could bring pressure to bear on the airlines.    [FULL  STORY]

CLOSED DOOR: Candidates for Tainan mayor and Hsinchu County commissioner said they did not make any quid pro quo deals with the KMT for backing out of the races

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 30, 2018
By: Jonathan Chin  /  Staff writer, with CNA

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) and party member Chen

Tzu-ching (陳子敬), who were campaigning without party backing, dropped out of their respective races yesterday after meetings with KMT leadership.

A tearful Lin renounced his bid for Hsinchu County commissioner at an early morning news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, while Chen announced he would no longer run for Tainan mayor after meeting with KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) in Tainan.

Lin said he wants to reform the party from within and hopes he would be the last victim of the party’s arbitrarily altered nomination process.

Also present at the news conference were KMT whip Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), caucus deputy secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) and other party lawmakers who are reportedly Lin’s friends.    [FULL  STORY]

Swedish furniture giant accused of violating ‘one China’ principle

South China Morning Post 
Date: 28 August, 2018
By: Lee Jeong-ho

Ikea has become the latest foreign company to fall foul of Beijing’s demand that Taiwan be referred to as part of China, with the Swedish furniture giant coming under fire from state media and mainland internet users over its packaging.

On Tuesday, a report in state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times said Ikea had violated the “one China” principle by treating Taiwan and semi-autonomous Hong Kong as countries on its packaging.

“Ikea uses ‘Spain-Mainland’ and ‘Spain-Balearics and Canary Islands’ [on its materials],” the report said, adding that the retailer should take the same approach to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Students revolt over ‘Taiwan, China’ switch for English language test
Mainland internet users added to pressure on the company, posting images of product packaging from the popular furniture chain on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, that gave Taiwan the same status as countries such as India, South Korea and the Philippines.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/08/28
By:  Central News Agency

President Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday that she hopes Taiwan and Japan can work together to tackle issues related to extreme weather and resulting disasters.

Tsai put forward the suggestion during a meeting with a visiting delegation of Japanese parliamentarians that was led by Satoshi Nakanishi of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councilors, according to a statement issued by the Presidential Office.

The office said Tsai spoke of the recent flooding in central and southern Taiwan, which was caused by days of rain from a lingering tropical depression, and she noted that Japan had been hit by similar natural disasters linked to climate change.

The two countries, therefore, should work together to tackle the problem of extreme weather caused by climate change, Tsai told the members of the Japanese Diet, according to the statement.    [FULL  STORY]