Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-06-01

President Tsai Ing-wen said Thursday that China’s disregard for the status quo is a risk

to regional stability. The president was speaking at the 2018 Formosa Forum: A Dialogue on Maritime Security. The event was attended by academics from a number of countries.

Tsai said her goal since taking office two years ago has been to ensure regional peace and prosperity, including preserving the cross-strait status quo. She said that China, however, has been seeking to unilaterally alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and in the wider region.

Tsai gave as examples the decision by Beijing to launch new flight routes close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait without consultation with Taiwan. Recent weeks have seen Chinese warplanes encircling the island. Beijing has also been putting pressure on major international companies, including airlines, to refer to Taiwan as part of China on their websites.    [FULL  STORY]

Junior cops are getting promised a raise of a whopping NT$1,370 per month, but two-thirds won’t see it. Firefighters are also getting hosed.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/06/01
By: TNL Staff

On May 29, an amendment to the Police Personnel Regulation (警察人員人事條例) was passed by the Legislative Yuan which includes a provision to allow for pay raises to junior-level police officers and firefighters. With the program beginning in January next year, 66,000 officers in the National Police Agency (NPA) and various fire departments will see their maximum monthly salary increase by NT$1,370 (US$46) per month.

Higher level police and firefighters will also see their salary caps increase, but to a lesser degree.

The Ministry of the Interior (MoI) said that 28,000 employees would receive raises within the first year, 38,000 within three years, and 66,000 sometime in the future. In its announcement, the MoI said that the amendment would cost around NT$1.17 billion per year, of which NT$870 million would go toward salary increases and NT$300 million towards pensions and related expenses.

Legislative Yuan majority leader Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that this would be “the warmest gift” on the eve of Police Day (June 15).

The salary increase is enough to buy one large coffee at 7/11 per day.    [FULL  STORY]

Study by NTNU finds many elementary students in Taipei have low level of English proficiency

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/06/01
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A study released on Monday (May 28) by National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) revealed that many children in Taipei’s elementary schools received low marks in English proficiency tests, reported Liberty Times.

Despite the fact that English has been included in public school curriculums in Taipei since 1998, many sixth grade elementary students who took English proficiency tests administered by NTNU received substandard scores. One in four students failed the vocabulary test, 54 percent flunked grammar, 21 percent were unable to pass listening comprehension and 29 percent were unable to make the cut in reading comprehension.

Many students were not able to achieve sixth grade English proficiency at a all, and in the case of vocabulary (12 percent), grammar (18 percent) and listening comprehension (6 percent), some were not even able to reach a fourth grade level of competence in the language.

In 1998, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education put forth a 9-year English curriculum for elementary schools. In 2005, the ministry began requiring schools to begin teaching English twice a week starting in the third grade.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/01
By: Yeh Su-ping and Flor Wang

Taipei, June 1 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) at the Presidential Office Friday and thanked him for visiting Taiwan in a show of support for the country.

“More and more good friends are extending support to us at a time when Taiwan is facing growing challenges in the international community,” Tsai said, expressing appreciation for Perdue’s visit to Taiwan and his long-time backing for the country.

“The international order jointly enjoyed by Taiwan and the United States has encountered traditional and non-traditional challenges. Taiwan, the U.S. and other like-minded countries should stand up to protect the democratic values that they share,” Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]

OBJECTIVES: The premier said that the government is promoting water recycling, while improving distribution to different areas and working to combat flooding

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 02, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said he hopes that the nation’s annual water

supply can be increased by 1.9 billion tonnes by 2031 with the government’s water management policies.

The Executive Yuan’s policy objectives related to water are to eliminate water shortages and protect against floods, supply people with clean water and build waterfront parks, while its water management plans center on developing water sources, redoubling water consumption efforts, facilitating water distribution and ensuring abundant backup supplies, Lai said at an awards ceremony in Taichung honoring individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the nation’s water infrastructure.

By working toward these objectives, the Executive Yuan hopes to add 1.9 billion tonnes, or about 520,000 tonnes per day, to the nation’s annual water supply, he said.

With regard to developing water sources, the Water Resources Agency has completed the construction of a desilting tunnel at Zengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫), and work has begun on another desilting tunnel at Nanhua Reservoir (南化水庫), Lai said.
[FULL  STORY]

Delegation’s attendance prompts speculation over whether the island could be invited to join Rim of the Pacific exercise in summer

South China Morning Post 
Date; 31 May, 2018
By: Lawrence Chung

Their attendance has prompted speculation over whether Taiwan could for the first time be invited to join the biennial US-led Rim of the Pacific exercise to be held off Hawaii in summer. The Pentagon last week withdrew Beijing’s invitation to take part in the international maritime war games “as an initial response to China’s continued militarisation of the South China Sea”.

As well as the leadership change, the command was also renamed as the US Indo-Pacific Command, a move reflecting the growing importance of India in the region.

Admiral Phil Davidson to become new head of US Pacific Command as China flexes naval muscle

Two senior military officials led Taiwan’s small delegation attending the ceremony on Wednesday at Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam, a government source said on Thursday.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-05-31

The energy saving policy in discussion will not affect the normal operations of factories

across Taiwan. That was the word from Economics Minister Shen Jong-chin on Thursday.

Shen was answering lawmakers’ questions at the Legislature on the dealing with a potential power shortage. The operating reserve of Taiwan’s power grid has fallen to below 3% due to heavy electricity usage amid hot temperatures. On Wednesday afternoon, over 70,000 households in northern Miaoli County experienced a power shortage. Shen said that he has already demanded state-owned Taiwan Power Company to find out if the outage was caused by operational mistakes.

Asked about the proposed policy that aims to limit the electricity usage among Taiwan’s industries to save power, Shen said that the ministry had yet to finalize the details in the policy and is gathering input from industry experts. He said that the ministry will make sure the policy only limits the power usage when the reserve is critically low in order to limit its effect on their operations.    [SOURCE]

It’s hot in Taipei. Really hot! Most people are thinking about little else than how to keep cool. So, here are a few suggestions of places to head to stay cool this weekend.

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/05/31
By: David Spencer, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The mercury has been hitting new heights in Taipei of late. It has been hot across Taiwan, but in the capital, it has been on a whole other level.

Earlier this week, temperatures in Taipei hit 38 degrees Celsius, contributing to what has been the hottest May on record. With no sign of an end to the heatwave in sight, Taipei’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been issuing heat-wave warnings and announced various steps to try and ease its effects. They also advise people to moderate outdoor activity and avoid direct sunlight wherever possible.

But in this situation, what on earth are people in Taipei expected to do? Malls, shops, and all the usual places which offer free air-conditioning will be full to bursting point this weekend. So, if you do not want to stay at home, where can you go to escape the Taipei?

Here are five suggestions for the Top 5 places to escape the Taipei heatwave. If you have any other ideas, why not share them with our readers on our Facebook or Twitter pages?    [ARTICLE CONTINUES]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/05/31
By: Elaine Hou and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, May 31 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Thursday that

Taiwan will assist Haiti secure a NT$4.5 billion (US$150 million) loan from banks involved in the Republic of China’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) program, refuting rumors that the country is reverting to checkbook diplomacy.

MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) told reporters that the ODA will allow Haiti to secure a loan from Taiwan for its project to build rural power grids on condition that Taiwanese businesses are able to participate in the construction.

This provides a win-win situation to help a diplomatic ally with a major infrastructure development project and also creates overseas business opportunities for Taiwanese companies, Lee continued.    [FULL  STORY]