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Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building to be hardened by addition of a ‘landscape fence’

Taiwan’s Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang confirmed at a press conference on Monday that the Office of President has been planning to put up a “landscape fence” around the historic Presidential Office Building

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/03/12
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重

Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building in Taipei (By Wikimedia Commons)

諺) confirmed at a press conference on Monday that the Office of President has been planning to put up a “landscape fence” around the historic Presidential Office Building in downtown Taipei to ramp up its security measures,

He said the Office of President has adopted the recommendation of the country’s national security authority to erect a fence around the building and has taken references of the White House in Washington and the designs of head of state offices in several other countries to come up with the plans.

Prior to the spokesman’s confirmation, the Office of President sent a report to the country’s legislature in response to calls from national law makers across the party line to harden the historic Presidential Office Building after a military policeman guarding the building was wounded by a male civilian wielding a samurai sword on August 18, 2017.
[FULL  STORY]

Chinese president could break customary approaches to Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/12
By: Chai Sze-chia and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, March 12 (CNA) A Taiwanese scholar versed in China affairs believes Chinese

CNA file photo

President Xi Jinping (習近平), who secured absolute leadership through constitutional change Sunday that removes presidential term limits, could break China’s customary practices in relations with Taiwan.

Xi’s push for the constitutional change long before his second term is due to end in 2023 was an act that breaks rules. It means that as a leader who breaks rules, Xi could possibly adopt new approaches in his Taiwan policy in the future, Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳), a professor of China Studies at Tamkang University, said Sunday.

China’s National People’s Congress, widely known as the rubber stamp authority for the Communist Party of China (CPC), endorsed Sunday a controversial change to the country’s constitution, removing presidential term limits to enable Xi to remain in power indefinitely.    [FULL  STORY]

CHINA’S 31 INCENTIVES: Some academics to be barred from going to China

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 13, 2018
By: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Rachel Lin and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

In response to China’s 31 incentives for Taiwanese, the Ministry of Education is to bar academics with crucial expertise from working in China — especially if their research is related to semiconductor technology, an official told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times).

The Yushan Project, which was promulgated earlier this year and aims to improve wages and opportunities for academics, is the government’s primary response to China’s so-called “gift package,” a ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

However, the ministry would also shield the nation’s patents and research through negative measures and itemize sensitive research fields for regulation, with semiconductor research being a top priority, the source said.

Article 3 of the list of 31 incentives stipulates that Taiwanese research organizations, higher education institutions and Taiwanese researchers who work under a Taiwanese-invested enterprise are to be treated equally with Chinese companies.    [FULL  STORY]

Low turnout at anti-nuclear rally sparks concern among activists

ICRT Radio News
Date: 2018-03-12

Anti-nuclear protesters have rallied on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the
Presidential Office — calling for an end to the use of nuclear power in
Taiwan.

The rally coincided with the seventh anniversary of the meltdown of the
Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan on March 11, 2011.

And it was organized by the National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform.    [FULL  STORY]

Ministry to budget NT$217 million to rejuvenate Hualien tourism

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-11

The transportation ministry is planning budget more than NT$200 million (nearly US$7 million) to help boost tourism in the east coast county of Hualien by the end of 2019. That’s to help the county, where tourism has been affected by a recent earthquake and a drop in visitors from China. Transportation Minister Ho Chen Tan is set to report on the plan in a legislative committee on Monday.

According to a paper version of the report, which has already been sent to the legislature, the total number of visitors to Taiwan last year topped 10.7 million people. That’s an increase of 0.46% over the previous year. About 71% of those visitors came to Taiwan for tourism.    [FULL  STORY]

Allegation of Apple’s iCloud operating company in China stealing personal information raises concerns

A Twitter user’s allegation that a tech advisor at Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co (GCBD), which operate Apple Inc’s first data center in China, stole his personal messages and tried to extort money from him has raised concerns

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/03/11
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—A Twitter user’s allegation that a tech adviser at Guizhou-Cloud

Photo from Flickr by iphonedigital

Big Data Industry Co (GCBD), which operate Apple Inc’s first data center in China, stole his personal messages and tried to extort money from him has raised concerns and sparked public discussion, according to a report published by www.bannedbook.org on Friday.

Apple began to work with GCBD on February 28 in order to provide it’s iCloud remote storage service to local customers in compliance with Chinese Cybersecurity regulations, which require foreign companies that handle Chinese data to store that information on equipment physically located within the country.    [FULL  STORY]

Migrants dance to demand end to exploitation against women

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/11
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, March 11 (CNA) Several hundred migrants staged dancing performances in Taipei on Sunday to raise awareness of the injustices encountered by female migrant workers, joining the annual “One Billion Rising” global campaign aimed at spurring action to end violence against women.

Flash mob participants echoed this year’s theme — Solidarity Against the Exploitation of Women — by appealing to Taiwan’s government to provide legal protections for female migrant workers, most of whom are caregivers or domestic helpers not covered by the provisions of Taiwan’s labor laws.

It’s been nearly 30 years since Taiwan introduced migrant workers, but “there is still huge room for improvements with regards to protection of the rights of female migrant workers,” said Gilda Banugan, chairperson of Migrante International’s Taiwan Chapter, an organizer of the event.    [FULL  STORY]

TSU seeks bigger military budget and conscription

SECOND-LARGEST: China announced an increase in military spending that places it only behind the US. The nation’s expenditure has slipped to 1.8 percent of GDP

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 12, 2018
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday urged the government to increase the national defense budget and increase conscription in response to China’s record-high military spending and aggression.

China announced that it is to hike its official military budget 8.1 percent to 1.1 trillion yuan (US$174 billion) this year, about 16 times Taiwan’s defense budget of NT$327.8 billion (US$11.19 billion), aggravating the already heavily tilted cross-strait military balance, the TSU told a news conference in Taipei.

With its military spending jumping from 808.2 billion yuan in 2014 to 1.1 trillion this year, China has become the second-largest country in terms of military spending, losing only to the US, former TSU legislator Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) said.

However, according the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China’s real defense budget is much more than the official figures, Lai said.    [FULL  STORY]

EPA overturns NT$1.24 billion fine imposed on Formosa Chemicals

ICRT Radio News
Date: 2018-03-10

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has overturned a NT$1.24
billion fine that the Changhua County government imposed on Formosa Chemicals
and Fibre Corp. (FCFC) last November, saying that the county government’s
review procedure was flawed.

In a statement posted on its website, the EPA explained its ruling, saying
that the county government was unable to prove its claim that the plant in
Changhua used coal containing a higher sulfur content than the limit it had
promised to adhere to, or even that the plant was contributing to aggravated
environmental pollution.

Chuanghua County’s Environmental Protection Bureau responded by saying it
will consult legal experts before taking any action.

The Changhua County government imposed the fine on the last November after
an ongoing assessment into the plant’s operations found that it was making
illegal profits by using cheaper bituminous coal with a higher sulfur
content for its power generation.    [SOURCE]

Google replaces its doodle to celebrate 106 years of Alishan Forest Railway

The logo shows a red Alishan Forest train passing through 

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/03/10
By: Juvina Lai, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Saturday tech giant Google replaced its logo with a red train

Screenshot of Google webpage

passing through tracks covered with cherry blossom on both the sides to commemorate 106 years of Alishan Forest Railway.

The company is known for its creative doodles on its webpage, which is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepage to commemorates holidays, events, achievements, and people.

The doodle is reportedly visible in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Japan, according to Central News Agency.

It features the red train passing through blooming cherry blossom trees with the Alishan mountains in the background.     [FULL  STORY]