Brookings
Date: Feb 27, 2018
By: Ryan Hass

Prior to President Donald Trump’s visit to China in November last year, some in Taiwan were concerned that the United States would sacrifice the island’s interests for a “grand bargain” with China over North Korea. Fortunately, those worries never materialized.

Nevertheless, given both President Trump’s unconventional approach to foreign affairs and his casual inconsistency on Taiwan issues following his congratulatory call with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in December 2016, such concerns will be hard to fully extinguish.

Given anxieties about Trump’s conviction on Taiwan and Beijing’s steadily intensifying pressure on the island, now would be an opportune time for senior officials in Washington and Taipei to dedicate themselves to identifying and articulating a shared animating purpose for the relationship — a set of principles and priorities that would anchor and give direction to the relationship.

The upcoming unveiling of the American Institute in Taiwan’s new office compound could provide a useful platform for both sides to articulate such a shared affirmative vision for the relationship. First, a quick review of recent events:    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-27

Premier William Lai says that further discussion is needed on the issue of pensions for

retired military personnel. Lai was speaking on Tuesday.

Lai had been scheduled to give a policy report at the Legislature, but called off the legislative session at noon. That’s after a group of protesters opposed to the government’s pension reform program stormed into the Legislature. One of the protestors, a retired colonel, fell while climbing the Legislature building, sustaining critical injuries. The colonel was rushed to hospital and has since been resuscitated.

Premier Lai said that after talks with the Cabinet and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), plans to move an amendment to the military pension system forward are to be put on hold.    [FULL  STORY]

Video surfaces of Taiwan Costco customers jostling to grab their share of a fresh batch of toilet paper

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/27
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As fear of a shortage toilet paper continues to spook Taiwanese

consumers, panic buying has continued, and video has surfaced of a crowd clambering for some fresh rolls after a new pallet of toilet paper arrived at a Costco in Taiwan yesterday (Feb. 26).

At 6:30 p.m. yesterday a user of the popular Facebook platform Breaking News Commune (爆廢公社) posted video of the moment a pallet stacked with packages of toilet paper hit the store’s floor. As the video begins, a mob of customers is already surrounding the stack of toilet tissue packages and before the 16-second video is complete, the pallet has been picked completely clean.

At the time of publication, the video had already racked up 309,000 views within 19 hours.

Despite repeated assurances from the government that supplies are stable and that they will not rise until mid-March, many Taiwanese consumers have continued to swarm retail outlets across the country in attempt to stock up before the price hike goes into effect.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/27
By: Huang Li-yun and William Yen

Taipei, Feb. 27 (CNA) Chinese and Taiwan nationals held on both sides of the Taiwan

Strait were exchanged for the first time this year by the National Immigration Agency and Chinese authorities at Nangan Township’s Fu’ao Harbour in Matsu Tuesday.

As part of the exchange, Taiwan handed over 10 Chinese who illegally entered the country in exchange for a Taiwan fugitive surnamed Shih (施) who has been on the run for 30 years.

Shih fled to Xiamen in China from Lukang Township in Changhua after he was put on a wanted list.

The 10 Chinese nationals repatriated included a man surnamed Li (李) who was arrested and convicted in Taiwan of being part of a scam group that defrauds its victims. Li was sentenced to eight months for forging documents and fraud, but his sentence was commuted to a fine after five months in jail.    [FULL  STORY]

NOT LISTENING: Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin said that a government that has ‘shaken the nation to its core’ should be ousted

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 28, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians yesterday lashed out at the Democratic

Progressive Party (DPP), criticizing it as being willful and arrogant when drafting the proposed pension reform bill, after retired colonel Miao Te-sheng (繆德生) was seriously injured when he fell climbing a legislative building early yesterday morning, protesting against the government’s plan to cut pensions for retired military personnel.

“This has gone too far,” said former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who appeared outside the compound shortly after Miao fell.

Hung said she had repeatedly reminded the DPP administration that more talks were needed before the bill is finalized, but those reminders had fallen on deaf ears.
[FULL  STORY]

Sprudge
Date: February 26 2018
By: Asser Boggild Christensen

Taiwan and coffee haven’t always been closely linked in people’s minds. After all, this is the country that invented bubble tea. Yes, exactly. That gooey, mysterious tea-beverage with small tapioca balls orbiting around. But today, Taiwan, and especially the capital Taipei, is a veritable coffee lover’s paradise.

I went there in November last year to participate in the Taiwan International Coffee Show, where I was more than impressed. The show boasted 1,828 booths from all over the world, and almost 200,000 visitors made their way out to the massive Nangang Exhibition Hall during the four days the show was on. Everywhere you turned, there were free samples of rare Geishas, brewed by international barista champions such as Tetsu Kasuya as well as local luminaries Berg Wu and Chad Wang.

My experience at the show would be indicative of the rest of my time on the island. There is coffee everywhere you look in Taipei, and for the most part, it’s top shelf stuff.

Coffee culture in Taiwan is quite old compared to that of many other Asian countries. The Japanese occupied the island from 1895 to 1945 and brought with them an appreciation of fine coffees.    [FULL  STORY]

Claw vending machine owners are looking to make a quick buck on the panic over toilet paper in Taiwan

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/26
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Taiwan has fallen into the grips of a toilet paper panic,

owners of claw vending machines have decided to start stocking their contraptions with packages of toilet tissue and guaranteed success for only NT$20 (US$0.68), quickly leading to a heated discussion among netizens.

In a post on the Facebook group Baofei Commune (爆廢公社), an arcade claw machine can be seen stocked with 10 packages of a brand name toilet paper product. A sign posted on it even reads, “You’re not reading this wrong! Guaranteed success for NT$20.”

Soon, many other netizens posted photos of other claw machines offering similar deals on toilet paper as their owners try to cash in on the “toilet paper zombie wave.”

Netizens responded with reams of comments:    [FULL  STORY]

Tulsa World
Feb 25, 2018
By: Randy Krehbiel Tulsa World

Inhofe travels: U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe spent most of last week in Taiwan and South Korea,

where he visited the Demilitarized Zone and praised the latest sanctions on North Korea.

He also seemed to downplay the possibility of a preemptive military move against Pyongyang.

“It is clear to see North Korea’s commitment to their nuclear program and their continued aggression through the execution of ballistic missile tests,” Inhofe said in a statement. “Diplomatic and economic pressure is having an effect on the regime in Pyongyang. Today’s sanctions, the strongest yet, will continue to show our steadfast commitment to our allies in South Korea and the denuclearization of North Korea.”

In Taiwan, Inhofe led a large delegation of House and Senate Armed Services committee members — apparently to the annoyance of China, according to the New York Times.
[FULL  STORY]