RIGHT TO PROTEST: The party called on President Tsai Ing-wen to honor her 2008 promise to amend the Assembly and Parade Act to remove restrictions on rallies

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 07, 2018
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

The New Power Party will ignore a police summons for questioning over the party’s

protest in front of the Presidential Office Building last month, NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and NPP Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said yesterday, urging the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to amend the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) soon.

NPP legislators — including Huang, Hsu, Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, Hung Tsu-yung (洪慈庸) and Freddy Lim (林昶佐) — had launched a hunger strike on Jan. 5 to protest the DPP’s proposed amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), which would allow employees to work longer with less overtime pay.

The protest went on for four days in front of the Presidential Office Building — where rallies are restricted — until police evicted them on Jan. 8.    [FULL  STORY]

‘I’m not sure what’s going to happen’

American Twitch 
Date: Feb 5, 2018
By: Julia Alexander

When popular Taiwan-based American Twitch caster CJayride streamed himself hanging out in a hot tub with friends at a local hotel in Taiwan, he didn’t expect it to result in days of targeted harassment on Facebook, doxing, two Twitch bans and criticism from national Taiwanese media.

IRL, or “in real life,” broadcasts — a newer type of Twitch stream that features people performing ordinary activities or talking to viewers over chat, rather than playing games — have become problematic for Twitch in the past year as streamers push boundaries with their behavior. The company is looking into ways to figure out how to determine what is acceptable for a broadcast and what isn’t. IRL broadcasts exist in a gray area for Twitch as the company tries to smooth out its guidelines, and that factors into CJayride’s case.

On Jan. 7, CJayride, whose real name is Chris James Robb, hosted an IRL stream from the aforementioned hotel hot tub with two male and two female friends. The video can be seen below. Over the course of their time in the hot tub, the chat started filling up with people using the “EZ” BTTV emote. This emote, best described as a version of “Pepe the Frog in a trenchcoat,” can only be seen by people with the BTTV browser extension installed. People without the extension will only see the letters “EZ” in the chat.

This is where Robb’s troubles began. Taiwanese viewers saw the letters and began spreading a message that Robb was calling Taiwanese girls “easy,” according to Robb, who spoke to Polygon via Skype.    [FULL  STORY]

Pentagon hastily takes down nuclear report after mistakenly labeling Taiwan as part of China

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In another gaffe by the Trump administration over it’s policy toward Taiwan, the U.S. Department of Defense was forced to take down a report on that status of nuclear weapons arsenals after it inadvertently included Taiwan in a map of China, reported The Japan Times.

On Page 32 of a document titled “2018 Nuclear Posture Review,” the first such report since the Obama administration in 2010, Taiwan was included in a red map of China in a chart labeled “Nuclear Delivery Systems Since 2010.” The chart was meant to contrast the many new nuclear weapons systems being developed and fielded by Russia, China and North Korea, while the U.S. has only added nuclear capability to the F-35 fighter jet, but by including Taiwan in the chart, it infused an unintended political level of complexity by seeming to formally acknowledge China’s claim to the country.[FULL  STORY]

 

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/05
By: Wu Hsin-yun, Chen Chun-hua, Wang Cheng-chung, Justin Su and Evelyn 
Kao

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) Environmental groups on Monday voiced opposition to Taiwan Power

Co.’s (Taipower) planned reactivation of a nuclear reactor at the No. 2 nuclear power plant in Wanli, New Taipei, pointing to safety risks associated with the plan, while legislators across party lines expressed mixed views.

Taipower earlier that day applied to the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) for permission to restart the No. 2 reactor at the plant after more than 600 days, following the completion of reactor maintenance work in December 2017.

The application will proceed to the Legislature if it is approved by the AEC following a 30-day safety review.

If Taipower’s request to restart the facility is approved, the reactor is expected to operate at full capacity of 985 megawatts (MW), a reserve margin of 3 percent of total power generation.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-04

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je arrived in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday afternoon, local time

(10pm Taipei Time). It was the final stop on his more than ten-day trip to Europe, which included stops in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Poland.

So far, topics on the agenda for his trip have included urban renewal, innovative industries, the circular economy, smart cities and ridesharing.

During his stop in Istanbul, Mayor Ko met with members of the ruling Justice and Development Party to discuss a number of issues of importance to Taipei and Istanbul.

A spokesperson for the Taipei City Government said that the delegation from Taiwan had been given a warm reception. The local hosts thanked Taiwan, and in particular the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, which has set up health clinics and computer labs in schools.

Meanwhile, Mayor Ko promoted his city’s efforts to provide a friendly environment for Muslims. He said that there are plans to build a third mosque in the city.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/04
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan and Leaf Jiang

Taipei, Feb.4 (CNA) Taiwanese officials and lawmakers are calling on the administration of

United States President Donald Trump to step up its support for Taiwan amid increasing political pressure by China, according to a U.S. media report.

In a report datelined Taipei, Politico said on Feb. 2 that Taiwanese officials have been pleading for Trump’s protection against Beijing’s bullying, on grounds that Beijing has stepped up its campaign of political and military intimidation against Taipei during Trump’s first year in office.

China has a big strategy to exercise more political pressure on Taiwan and its goal is to “internally try to divide Taiwan, divide our society,” Chang Hsiao-yueh (張小月), head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, was quoted as saying in the report.    [FULL  STORY]

CONVENIENT LEAK? A plan to raise the minimum income norm for military retirees was criticized by veterans as still being too close to the poverty line

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 05, 2018
By: Lin Liang-sheng and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The 800 Heroes group of veterans opposed to pension reforms yesterday rejected a leaked

plan by the Pension Reform Committee to raise the pension floor for military veterans, calling it a “trick” and “unreasonable.”

An unnamed official from the Ministry of National Defense on Saturday was quoted by the Central News Agency as saying that the ministry, the Pension Reform Committee and other parties have reached a consensus to raise the pension floor for military personnel to NT$37,850 — more than the NT$32,160 minimum for civil servants and public-school teachers.

The logic behind the pension floor design is seriously flawed, said retired lieutenant general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), a spokesperson for the veterans’ group.   [FULL  STORY]