Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/07
By: Chiang Chin-yeh and Joseph Yeh

Washington, June 6 (CNA) The details of a piece of U.S. legislation released

Wednesday calls for U.S. troops to participate in Taiwan’s military exercises and vice versa, as part of ongoing efforts by U.S. congressmen to support Taiwan amid what they see as a rising military threat from Beijing.

The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on May 24 passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2019, which includes several provisions to help strengthen Taiwan’s military capability.

Section 1243 of the act reiterates the decades-long U.S. stance that the Taiwan Relations Act and the “Six Assurances” are both cornerstones of Taiwan-U.S. relations.

Under these cornerstones, the U.S. should “strengthen defense and security cooperation with Taiwan to support the development of capable, ready, and modern defense forces necessary for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” according to the bill.    [FULL  STORY]

‘COMMERCIAL DECISION’: Ottawa neither endorses nor opposes China’s claims on Taiwan, the country’s representative said, but Air Canada is listed and answers only to its shareholders

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 08, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The Canadian government would not intervene in a “commercial” decision by Air Canada

to list Taiwanese cities as part of China, Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Executive Director Mario Ste-Marie said yesterday, but added that “we are of course opposed to [the] government of China putting pressure on Canadian companies to take a position on the issue.”

Speaking on the sidelines of a news conference about this year’s Canada Day celebrations in Taipei, Ste-Marie told reporters that the airline’s move was “strictly a commercial decision.”

Although Canada adheres to a “one China” policy under which it recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the sole government of China, it takes no stance on China’s views toward Taiwan, Ste-Marie said.    [FULL  STORY]

Kaohsiung’s high-tech light rail has been hit by low ridership and NIMBY protests.

The News Lenas
Date: 2018/06/06
By: Eryk Smith

The Kaohsiung Light Rail tram line is rather impressive – the city’s electric trolley is the first catenary-free tram line on the planet (yes, I had to look up the word; in short, no power lines are strung above it). Using a third-rail for power is obviously a no-go for a trolley, so the Kaohsiung Light Rail uses a creative Spanish design that fast-charges at each stop; grabbing enough juice to make it to the next.

A pollution-free, no-ugly-wires tram line that connects tourist spots to metro lines sounds awesome, and it’s possible critics will one day eat their words, but after riding it a few times, I’m inclined to side with the naysayers who predict the light rail will pretty much end up as a joyride line for tourists. Whether it will ever be finished according to plan is also less than certain.

The latest section of construction has hit a snag: while the first part of the line mostly runs along the waterfront, the next phase requires entering neighborhoods – and the protests have begun.

Photo Credit: Eryk SmithA digger is seen with a protest sign attached in Kaohsiung.
No official announcement was made, but residents living in the pricey apartment buildings along Mei Shu Guan Road across from the Kaohsiung Art Museum told me that light rail construction is on hold after they expressed fierce resistance. Plans had called for the trolley to run down the center of Mei Shu Guan Road, but locals contacted city council members and lined the street with banners around two months ago. No work has been attempted since. The digging you see along that street currently is a gutter expansion project, workers told me, and has nothing to do with the light rail.
[FULL  STORY]

Yilan County steps in to protect the remains

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/06/06
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Bulldozers wrecked a Catholic church in Yilan County’s Jiaoxi

(礁溪) township even though it was expected to be designated as a historic monument, reports said Wednesday.

The building had been erected in 1966 on the initiative of a Dutch priest, and was going through the process of official protection, the Central News Agency reported.

However, on Wednesday morning, bulldozers moved in and tore down at least one side of the church. Since the operators, reportedly acting on behalf of the Church in Taipei, had not applied for an official license, the county government sent in officials to stop the work and slap a “temporary monument” notice on the edifice.

In order to prevent a repeat of the incident, the county government had asked local police to intensify patrols in the area, according to CNA.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/06
By: Joseph Ye

Taipei, June 6 (CNA) Outgoing American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) deputy head Robert

Forden on Wednesday praised the strong U.S.-Taiwan ties despite the changing of administrations on both sides, as he was awarded a medal of friendship by the foreign ministry in recognition of his contributions over the past three years.

Forden was awarded the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in recognition of his efforts to promote Taiwan-U.S. relations. The AIT represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

Thanks to the efforts of Forden and all AIT staff, Wu said, Taiwan and the U.S. are working more closely than ever in the areas of security, trade, investment, regional issues and humanitarian relief.

“Furthermore, in less than one week’s time, the new AIT compound will open, which is a concrete symbol of U.S. commitment to Taiwan,” Wu noted.    [FULL  STORY]

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE: The Taipei mayor said he feels he is being bullied by the pan-blue and pan-green camps, when asked if he worked with the KMT to harass Wu

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 07, 2018
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff Reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday confirmed that Taipei Department of

Government Ethics officials on Tuesday afternoon visited Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing (TAPM) to examine the company’s accounting records, adding that it was done to clarify the facts and promote transparency.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chen Chung-wen (陳重文) last week said at the Taipei City Council that TAPM general manager Wu Yin-ning (吳音寧) had used business promotion funds to purchase 60 bottles of wine as a gift for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Taipei chapter, as well as to subsidize agricultural activities and to buy gifts for “honorable guests.”

TAPM, Wu and the DPP’s Taipei office denied the claim about sending 60 bottles of wine.

Nevertheless, city officials visited the company to investigate the claims while Ko and Wu were attending a question-and-answer session at the council.    [FULL  STORY]

U.S. News & World Report
Date: June 5, 2018
By: Philip Wen; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernande

BEIJING (REUTERS) – THE United States should properly handle the Taiwan issue, so as to avoid harming two-way ties and stability in the Taiwan Strait, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comments at a daily news briefing after U.S. officials told Reuters the United States was considering sending a warship through the sensitive Taiwan Strait    [SOURCE]

The News Lens
Date: 2018/06/04
By: James X. Morris

More than 20 migrant laborers came together to protest what they claim is a cycle of

falsified documents and exploitation at HTC’s factories.

A group of Filipino migrant workers gathered outside of Taipei 101 in Taipei’s busy Xinyi District on the morning of June 3, 2018 to protest their treatment by employers HTC and Google, demand government protections and urge greater corporate social responsibility from both companies.

At root of their complaints are allegations that HTC tricked and cheated its migrant labor force on multiple occasions and that the government and that labor bureaus are not enforcing laws which could protect migrant workers.    [FULL  STORY]