‘GIANT MONSTER’: The KMT said the commission views itself as above the Constitution, adding that the party is seeking a constitutional interpretation on its legality

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 24, 2018
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that it would neither send a

representative to the Transitional Justice Commission’s meeting on Thursday nor recommend anyone to serve as a consultant to the commission, adding that this would remain the party’s position until the constitutionality of the commission has been ascertained.

“We think that the commission and the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例) are unconstitutional and are a product of political wrangling,” KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said.

The statute governing the establishment of the commission was passed by the legislature without a public consensus, Hung said.   [FULL  STORY]

And Beijing will be pretty angry about it.

The National Interest
Date: July 22, 2018
By: Zachary Keck

Six different companies are seeking to help Taiwan build its own submarines to counter the growing threat it faces from China.

On July 10, the local media outlet, Taiwan News, reported that Taiwan had received bids from six foreign firms for its “Indigenous Defense Submarine” program. The report said that the bidders included two European firms, two American firms, as well as one each from India and Japan.

Although it did not further identify the four European and American firms, it added that “the Indian team has experience with the diesel submarines in service in the Indian Navy. The Japanese team reportedly includes retired engineers with previous experience working for Mitsubishi on the Harushio class submarines, and large scale projects under Kawasaki Heavy Industries.”

Separately, Edward Rehfeldt, the chairman and chief executive of the Rehfeldt Group, a U.S. firm with experience in Taiwan, told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that his firm was involved with helping Taiwan enhance its military capabilities. Rehfeldt would not confirm whether his firm was involved in the submarine program, however.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/07/22
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Sunday (July 22) that the goal of designating the southern section of Dihua Street (迪化街) in the city’s historic Dadaocheng area as a pedestrian zone on Sundays is to help store owners make money.

Ko visited Dadaocheng on Sunday afternoon and stopped to worship the gods at Taipei Xia-Hai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟). The temple is popular among young people who come to pray for a happy love life and good job.

Taipei City Government has designated the southern section of Dihua Street as a pedestrian zone from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, beginning on June 3.

Ko told reporters that Dadaocheng is a representative area of Taiwan in the 1920s, and today it is the place Japanese and Korean tourists are most attracted to.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/22
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) First-time job seekers in Taiwan usually take an average of

26 weeks to secure a job, according to data released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Due to a lack of experience, first-time job hunters are likely to take longer to find a job than people who have worked before, said Pan Ning-hsin (潘寧馨), deputy director of the DGBAS’s census department.

In 2017, Pan said, people with work experience were taking 23.7 weeks to land a job, while first-time job seekers were taking 26 weeks on average.

Pan said analysis of the data over the past three years found that half a year is roughly the normal time it takes for first-time job seekers to gain employment.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 23, 2018
By: Chen Yu-fu and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated Central Investment Co accumulated

stock worth NT$24.7 billion (US$804.14 million) by the end of last year, the Cabinet’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee said.

The committee in November 2016 identified Central Investment and its spinoff, Hsinyutai Co, as organizations affiliated with the KMT.

The two companies earlier this year filed financial reports in accordance with the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例).

The latest financial report showed that the KMT holds about NT$18.9 billion in assets, with about NT$15.6 billion of that being associated with Central Investment and Hsinyutai, after taking the companies’ debts into account.

Both companies’ assets have been frozen, the committee added.  [FULL  STORY]

Sun Star Baguio
Date: July 21, 2018

AIRASIA Taipei flights from Clark International Airport opened the gateway for the Northern Philippines to enjoy the hidden wonders of Taiwan.

The first flight from Clark to Taipei was launched July 12 with pilot in command and AirAsia Philippines chief executive officer, Captain Dexter Comendador flying guests to the Taoyuan International Airport.

Comendador described the inaugural flight as a return of AirAsia to international skies with Clark as a base reaffirming the commitment to easy access for travelers in the Central and Northern Luzon area.    [FULL  STORY]

400 families in Marawi will move into the housing units

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/07/21
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan on Saturday started building 400 housing units for

the victims of last year’s Marawi conflict on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.

Fighting between the government’s armed forces and an Islamist movement for the control of the city of Marawi lasted five months, and more than 300,000 residents were displaced by the conflict.

In January, Taiwan collected and sent 10,780 tons of rice to the southern region, the Central News Agency reported.

The latest effort features close cooperation between the Taiwanese government and the country’s Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, while supervision by the Philippines government will ensure that the project is completed on time to allow 400 families to resume a normal life.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/21
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) More than 50 percent of employees in Taiwan are concerned about losing their jobs as a result of the development of artificial intelligence technology, according to a survey by 1111 job bank.

The poll showed that about 51.19 percent of Taiwan workers are worried about being replaced by robots in an AI era, particularly in the fields of education and trade/logistics.

Among those who have such concerns, 42.06 percent think that because of their age, they would have difficulty finding a new employment if they lose their jobs as result of AI, according to the poll, which showed that such fears are most prevalent among employees in the 45-50 age group.

Only about 7.71 percent of employees in Taiwan have taken steps to upgrade their skills in an effort to adapt to a growing trend of AI applications in the workplace, the survey found.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/21
By: Liu Lee-jung and Hsu Hsiao-ling

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) One of Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jets

slewed off the runway when its brakes failed during a landing at the Tainan air base on Saturday but no one was injured, according to a statement from the Air Force Command Headquarters.

The incident occurred at 9:38 a.m. when the jet fighter was returning from a routine mission, the Air Force said.

It said the aircraft’s brakes failed when it touched down and it skidded off the runway, suffering a blowout of a tire on the left side.

However, the pilot observed standard emergency procedures and neither he nor anyone else on board the IDF was injured and the plane was only slightly damaged, the Air Force said.    [FULL  STORY]