Focus Taiwain
Date: 2018/07/11
By: Joseph Yeh 

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) Jane Nishida, principal deputy assistant administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday to promote U.S.-Taiwan cooperation, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement.

Nishida will meet with Taiwan officials and students on Thursday to promote the International Environmental Partnership (IEP), a longtime collaboration of the U.S. EPA and Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration, the statement said.

AIT did not disclose when the U.S. official will be leaving Taiwan.

Through the IEP, the U.S. and Taiwan have addressed issues related to environmental education, electronic waste management, air pollution, mercury monitoring, and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, the statement said.    [FULL  STORY]

PROVEN QUALITIES: Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung has shown adaptability, calmness under fire and efficient teamwork with Lai during his time as Cabinet spokesman

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 12, 2018
By: Lee Hsin-fang, Lin Chia-tung, Wu Chia-jung, Jonathan Chin,  /  Staff reporters, with Staff writers

Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) has been tapped as the

next minister of the interior, sources said.

High-ranking Cabinet officials had, at one point or another, backed Hsu to head the Ocean Affairs Council, Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Education for his legal expertise and proven ability to defend the administration’s policies in public.

Hsu’s rapport with Premier William Lai (賴清德) and popularity within the Democratic Party (DPP) are qualities that would promote cooperation among factions within the party.

Hsu has shown adaptability, composure when under fire and efficient teamwork with Lai during his time as a DPP lawmaker and Cabinet spokesman, which satisfied the administration.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/10
By: Chai Sze-chia and William Yen

Taipei, July 10 (CNA) Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chen Ming-

tong (陳明通) will visit the United States July 16-23 and speak at a cross-Taiwan Strait relations symposium in Washington, D.C., according to a press release issued by the council Tuesday.

The Opportunities and Challenges of Cross-Strait Relations symposium will be held July 18, jointly hosted by the Heritage Foundation and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the press release said.
[FULL  STORY]

‘CHEAP MUDSLINGING’: Wang Ding-yu said that the KMT should look at the facts and refrain from making remarks that would be useless when the case goes to court

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 11, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu and Sean Lin  /  Staff reporters

Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday refused to accept what

he called the “absurd grounds” for his indictment over his handling of the sale of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) assets, as the party defended Ma and said the indictment reeked of political intervention.

“A lot of people are concerned about my reactions [to the indictment]. I want to tell everyone that I am calm, because that was something we had long anticipated, but I just did not expect it to come on a typhoon day,” Ma said.

He said the indictment was based on various preposterous arguments, namely the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office’s categorization of the assets he disposed of while serving as KMT chairman as “national assets-to-be.”
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan enrolled 41,000 students from Southeast Asia in its tertiary institutions in 2017-18 – 700 more than the governments target, according to the country’s acting minister of education Yao Leeh-ter.

The Pie News
Date: Jul 9, 2018 
By: Viggo Stacey

The target of 41,000 has been raised for the next academic year to 58,000
Yao said that the government has set new target for the next academic year is 58,000.

“Globalisation and internationalisation of Taiwan higher education is gaining momentum”
In January 2018, the Taiwanese government released a New Southbound Policy report that aimed “to strengthen Taipei’s relationships” with 10 countries of ASEAN, six states in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan), Australia, and New Zealand.

According to cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung, Taiwan will offer technical and vocational training programs for students from the NSP target countries, with an added focus on Malaysia

Hsu told local media this decision was taken “in light of China’s aggressive strategies to lure foreign talent”.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-07-09

Police in Taipei took a martial arts lesson recently to sharpen their skills in subduing

arrestees. Their teachers were jujutsu experts from the United States.

The Taipei Police Station invited two instructors from the US to teach them how to use jujutsu to subdue subjects. Martial arts instructors Dave Camarillo and Khai Wu taught their skills to a special service squadron. Camarillo has 34 years of martial arts experience while Wu has won awards for his skills. They demonstrated how to subdue a person with jujutsu upon initial contact.

Camarillo explains the advantages of this approach. Jujutsu gives you the option of increasing intensity or decreasing intensity according to the threat so ideally we deescalate the situation. We verbally deescalate. If it gets physical, we also have techniques and methods to control somebody without hurting them.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/09
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—A middle-aged man in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan

confessed to a crime he committed in recent days to police and wished to be sent back to jail where he can get fed, according to a CNA report on Monday.

Neipu police station chief Huang Ming-hung (黃明宏) said that a man surnamed Liao was walking back and forth outside the police station when he was approached by an on-duty police officer who wanted to show his concern, the report said. Liao told the officer he had gone several days without food and hoped he could go back to jail, according to the report. The officer was very surprised to hear what Liao had to say; nevertheless, the officer offered the man hot food to alleviate his hunger, according to the report.

At first Liao was quiet, but after the officer patiently inquired why he wanted to go back to jail, the man began to open up to the officer and told him why he was financially strapped and living a hand-to-mouth existence, the report said.        [FULL  STORY]