Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/06/17
By:  Central News Agency

Shanghai, June 17 (CNA) A proposed change by China’s top securities regulator that

would require listed companies to set up a Communist Party of China (CPC) unit is a step back to the era of the Cultural Revolution, a China-based Taiwanese business consultant has said.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on Friday unveiled guidelines to improve corporate governance at publicly listed companies that include a requirement to establish a CPC unit inside the company to carry out party activities.

China’s listed companies must strengthen efforts on “Communist Party building” among other measures to improve corporate governance, the CSRC said in a statement announcing the measures, which were published on the CSRC website to seek comment from the public.

Asked about the proposed rule changes, a Taiwanese business consultant based in Shanghai who spoke on condition of anonymity said the CSRC already has regulations in place requiring large enterprises to set up a CPC unit in their companies.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/17
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan 

Taipei, June 17 (CNA) The Philippines is positioning itself as Taiwan’s “gateway” to Southeast Asia and hopes to spur two-way economic and educational exchanges with Taiwan, an official with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (MECO) said recently.

Michael Alfred Ignacio, director for commercial affairs at MECO, said he has seen “very strong interest” from Taiwan’s government in advancing its New Southbound Policy, partly shown by Taiwan being the second largest source of foreign direct investment in his country last year.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Taiwanese FDI in the Philippines was 10.833 billion Philippine pesos (US$223 million) in 2017, about a seven-fold increase from 1.608 billion pesos in 2016, and about double the amount Taiwan invested in 2015.

“We want to become Taiwan’s gateway to Southeast Asia and New Southbound countries,” Ignacio said, referring to the strategy adopted by Taiwan since May 2016 to forge links with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, countries in South Asia, and Australia and New Zealand.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: June 15, 2018 
By: Phillip Charlier

Kaohsiung Coast Guard Administration rescued a total of 32 crew members from two oil tankers that ran aground near the Port of Kaohsiung due to stormy weather yesterday evening, June 14.

The Fiji-registered 19 Winner, and the Panama-flagged MT Shine Luck, both lost their moorings in high wind and heavy seas generated by a tropical low pressure system at around 8:00pm, and ran aground in shallow waters near Fengbitou.

Fourteen crew, including the captain of the Fijian vessel, which was close to shore, were rescued by the coast guard and fire personnel who braved rough seas and high wind, and used rope ladders and ropes to evacuate the vessel.

One Crew Missing
The 18 crew members of the MT Shine Luck, which was situated further from the shore, were trapped on board. One of the crew members dived into the ocean in an attempt to swim to shore, and is missing. The other crew members were finally taken off the vessel at around 4:00am. Rescuers employed a large crane to extend a boom and a hanging basket to lift the crew to shore.

The coast guard and Ministry of Transport are monitoring the vessels and say that as of 9:30am, the ships were not listing, and there were no signs of an oil leak.
[FULL  STORY]

A youtube video from ‘Stop Kiddin Studios’ asks ‘What disappoints Chinese students in Taiwan or makes them envious of Taiwanese people?’

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/06/16
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On June 15, the Youtube channel Stop Kiddin Studios

uploaded a video of Chinese students discussing things they like and don’t like about life in Taiwan. Some of their responses are surprising.

In the short video, viewers are given some interesting insight into how Chinese students, who are all speaking anonymously, compare some aspects of daily life between China and Taiwan.

One common theme among several responses is the convenience of life in Taiwan. One specific example is the ease of buying tickets for travel or entertainment using the kiosks located at most 7-11s.

Another respondent expresses her envy for the universal health care provided to Taiwanese citizens in Taiwan, lamenting that she is unable to receive the healthcare benefits, stating emphatically “We get sick too!”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/16
By: Chang Ming-Hsuan and Hsu Hsiao-ling

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) A new mobile app has been released by Taiwan’s National

Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) that can help citizens manage their personal health care history more easily.

The app, which is not yet accessible by foreign nationals even if they are covered by national health insurance, gives users a complete record of their health care usage over the previous three years.

They can check their most visited hospitals, their medical history, and the diseases with which they have been diagnosed, including a ranking of the top five, according to the NHIA.

The information could be especially helpful to people who get care at different hospitals, providing records the patient can show their doctor that might help with their treatment, the NHIA said.    [FULL  STORY]

OPEN LETTER: ‘The EU’s broad and principled commitment to promoting human rights has not been matched in China with a willingness to act,’ the letter said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 17, 2018
By: Peng Wan-hsin  /  Staff reporter

Ahead of next month’s EU-China summit, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights

on Wednesday joined US government-funded non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch and several other international advocacy groups in issuing an open letter to EU officials to raise public awareness about the “growing human rights crisis” in China.

The coalition of groups urged the EU to fulfill its pledge to promote human rights globally by repeatedly calling for the release of political prisoners detained by the Chinese government, including poet Liu Xia (劉霞), the widow of journalist Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), and Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲).

The letter is addressed to European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ahead of the July 12 to 13 summit, Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary-general Chiu E-ling (邱伊翎) said yesterday.    [FULL  STORY]

Meanwhile, America reinforces its alliance with Taiwan with bricks and mortar

The Econnomist
Date: Jun 14th 2018

GIVEN all the hoopla of President Donald Trump’s summit with Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s dictator, the opening on the same day of a new American not-quite-an-embassy in Taipei was never going to hog the headlines. Yet to judge by how much Chinese officials have harangued American diplomats and congressmen about who was going to attend the ceremony in Taiwan’s capital, China appears to care every bit as much and perhaps more about America’s actions in Taiwan than about geopolitical rivalry on the Korean peninsula.

Since 1979, when America broke diplomatic relations with Taiwan in order to open them with China, its “one-China policy” has been the bedrock of dealings with China. This means never referring to Taiwan as a country and always “acknowledging” that both China and Taiwan hold to the idea that there is but one China, even if the two sides disagree over the definition. The fudge has allowed America to enjoy close unofficial relations with Taiwan. China rarely appeared bothered by America’s unofficial representation in Taipei, known as the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). For a long time it was housed in a dingy former military building in an unprepossessing part of the city.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-06-15

An ROC Navy fleet of friendship has returned to Taiwan after more than three months

of exercises in Central America and the Caribbean.

The fleet consisting of three frigates began its long journey on March 2.. After more than 23,000 nautical miles, the ships returned to Zuoying harbor in southern Taiwan early Friday morning.

The overseas training mission covered the entire Pacific Ocean. For the first time, the fleet also passed through the Panama Canal en route to the Caribbean.

Upon its return, the fleet’s nearly 800 officers, sailors and cadets received a warm welcome from navy commander, Admiral Huang Shu-kuang, fellow servicemen and family members.    [FULL  STORY]