Page Two

China BOASTS its military STRENGTH as it threatens World War 3 over Taiwan

Express
Date: May 12, 2018
By: DAN FALVEY 

CHINA has conducted a number of military drills near Taiwan to intimidate the nation as part of increasing military shows of strength by Beijing in the region, it has been revealed.

The drills are thought to have taken place above the Bashi Channel, the stretch of water which separates Taiwan from the neighbouring Philippines.

The move meant Taiwan had to scramble its air force to track the movements of the Chinese military “to ensure defence security” amid fears of conflict between the two nations breaking out.

A number of aircraft – including a Xian H-6K bomber, Sukhoi Su-35 and Shenyang J-11 fighters, the Shaanxi Y-8 transport plane, Kj-2000 early warning aircraft and Tupolev Tu-154 electronic surveillance aircraft – participated in the drills.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan President’s work will be even more difficult 10 years from now: Tsai

Evolution advances ever more rapidly: President

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/05/12
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Being Taiwan’s president will be even more difficult 10 years

President Tsai answering questions from high-school students. (By Central News Agency)

from now, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told high-school students Saturday.

Business Today Magazine had invited almost 300 senior high-school students to discuss the future of Taiwan, and in particular the situation a decade from now, with the president, the Central News Agency reported.

Taking part in the event for the third year in a row, Tsai said each president had to prepare the country for the next decade, while it was often impossible to see short-term results.

The public wanted to see immediate results, and if those improvements were not forthcoming, they might lose patience with the government, Tsai reportedly said.
[FULL  STORY]

NTU votes for government to accept elected NTU president (update)

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/05/12
By: Chen Chih-chung and Ko Lin

Taipei, May 12 (CNA) National Taiwan University (NTU) voted Saturday in a majority decision for the Ministry of Education (MOE) to accept the swift appointment of elected president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), who the government refuses to accept for the position.

Kuan was selected as president of NTU Jan. 5 and was expected to take office Feb. 1. After he was selected, however, the Ministry of Education put off its approval as a string of allegations against Kuan, including plagiarism, conflict of interest and a flawed selection process, arose.

The MOE finally decided April 27 not to approve his election, leaving the ministry and the university at a stalemate on the issue.

On Saturday, NTU convened a university affairs committee meeting to address the Kuan issue and other matters related to the selection of its president.    [FULL STORY]

Lai to unveil birth rate, salary policies

EXPANSION: An additional 90,000 families are to be included in the amended child-rearing subsidy program, and give eligible families a subsidy of possibly NT$3,500 for a third child

Taipei Times
Date: May 13, 2018
By: Lee Hsin-fang and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Premier William Lai (賴清德) is next week to announce the government’s policies for countering the nation’s low birth rate and low salaries, and to discuss its immigration policy, an anonymouse source said yesterday.

He is tomorrow to announce an expansion of the child-rearing subsidy — a monthly program that gives NT$2,500 to families with children up to age two — with the program to include an additional 90,000 families, the source said.

Under the current program, only families that pay less than 20 percent of their income in taxes and have one unemployed parent are eligible to receive the subsidy.

Under the expanded program, dual-income and single-parent families that have children looked after by a grandparent or another family member and have not received childcare subsidies would be eligible, the source said.    [FULL  STORY]

US House Includes Taiwan Langage in Defense Act

ICRT Radio News
Date: 2018-05-11

The US House of Representatives has included language on Taiwan in a draft
bill.

The House Armed Services Committee put clauses encouraging the US Department
of Defense to work with their Taiwan counterparts to conduct a comprehensive
evaulation of Taiwan’s military capability in order to increase its ability
to defend itself.

The draft of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act would require a
report to the House on the results of this inspection, a list of its
recommendations, and planned measures within a year of its passage.

It further calls for increased high-level military exchanges and joint
exercises, and supports US arms sales to Taiwan, especially of equipment that
would boost its assymetrical combat capabilities.

The Ministry of National Defense here has thanked the House for this
language, saying it will help increase Taiwan’s ability to defend itself, as
well as maintain regional peace and stability.    [FULL  STORY]

Nurses union criticizes government for overwork

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-05-11

The government’s new labor law will exacerbate the already challenging working conditions for nurses across Taiwan. That was word from the Taiwan Nurses Union on Friday.

A recent survey by the union shows that nurses in Taiwan are severely overworked, both in terms of total number of work hours and workload. The survey shows that nurses work 9.65 hours a day on average, and they do not receive overtime pay for the first two hours they work outside a regular shift. Around 90% of the nurses have been owed overtime pay at some point.

The survey also shows that the ratio of number of patients to nurses is dangerously high. During a night shift, one nurse has to tend to 28 patients on average, compared to an ideal standard of seven. The union said that being so short-handed could put patients in jeopardy in an emergency.

The union said the government’s latest amendment to the labor law will worsen working conditions since its flexible nature will allow medical institutions to further exploit nurses.    [FULL  STORY]

Victims of Taiwan’s 2014 Kaohsiung Gas Explosion speak of moving past the blast

Chen Tzu-yü and Chen Chu-jui say they do not live with hatred

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/05/11
By: Te’Qin Windham, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Survivors of the 2014 Kaohsiung gas explosion speak about

Survivors of the Kaohsiung gas explosion (Photo courtesy of Central News Agency)

life after the explosion, and say they “do not live with hatred.”

In 2014, the Kaohsiung gas explosion caused 32 deaths and injured another 321 people. Today the Kaohsiung District Court found 12 city officials and company managers guilty of negligence, and each was sentenced to 4 years in jail.

Nearly four years after the gas explosion, Chen Tzu-yü (陳姿予), who is wheel-chair bound and paralyzed from the waist down due to the accident, is currently training for the 2018 Tokyo marathon, ready to compete in the 42 kilometer race. Her and a fellow survivor, Chen Chu-jui (陳楚睿), appeared at a press conference in Kaohsiung City on May 7 and both said that they will no longer live with hatred.

In 2014, a large gas explosion occurred at 11:50 p.m. on the night of July 31, in Kaohsiung. The media and government referred to the incident by various names: “Kaohsiung Petroleum Explosion Incident,” “Kaohsiung Gas Explosion Incident,” “7-31 Gas Explosion Incident,” and the “August 1 Gas Explosion Incident,” among others.
[FULL  STORY]

No plans to scrutinize books from China: Culture Minister

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/05/11
By: Wang Yi-ru and William Yen

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) Taiwan’s culture minister said Friday there are no plans to

Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君)

substantively review the contents of books from China in the wake of accusations that her ministry is carrying out a “Cultural Revolution.”

The United Daily News (UDN) reported Friday that the Ministry of Culture sent an official notice to the Publishers Association of the Republic of China and multiple book associations on May 4 to remind them to submit a special application for publishing books from China.

After an application is submitted, approval must be granted before publication or offenders will be subject to penalties, the report said.

Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said a law has existed for many years that requires publishers to receive approval to publish books from China in Taiwan, and the ministry was simply enforcing it.    [FULL  STORY]

Info security management act passed

CONSENSUS: In a rare display of cross-party unity, DPP and KMT lawmakers approved the law to push forward a national information and communication security policy

Taipei Times
Date: May 12, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Lawmakers across party lines yesterday passed the Information and Communication Security Management Act (資通安全管理法) to tackle the challenges posed by threats to government information security by deploying public and private resources.

The passage of the act provided a rare example of cross-party unity, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus agreeing to let motions filed by the Democratic Progressive Party caucus to revise several key articles pass without requesting that they be put to vote.

Under the act, the Executive Yuan — the agency governing the act — should plan and push forward a national information and communication security policy, facilitate development of a local information security sector and promote international exchanges.

It should regularly publish reports on the level of the nation’s information security and government agencies’ performance in safeguarding their data, the act says.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan APEC Business Advisory Council member Jan Hung-tze is planning a major tech event

Jan wants to nab possibly the biggest fish in the pond and have Jeff Bezos keynote the event this July in Taiwan

e27
Date: 10 May, 2018
By: Feliciana Hsu 

One of Taiwan’s representatives to an advisory body under the 21-member Asia Pacific

Taiwan APEC Business Advisory Council member Jan Hung-tze is planning a major tech event

Economic Cooperation framework is planning a major digital innovation event on the magnitude of one in Taipei in 2000 that featured Bill Gates as a keynote speaker.

Mr. Jan Hung-tze, the representative for the APEC Business Advisory Council, is masterminding the event, he told Business Next in an interview.

The 62-year-old also founded Business Next Media and PC Home, the largest online e-commerce group in Taiwan. Jan is a film executive producer as well and has come out with nine movies.    [FULL  STORY]