Page Two

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s speech to European Parliament infuriates city

Formosa News
Date: 2018/02/02

The speech Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je gave at the European Parliament Wednesday has ignited a storm of criticism back in his own city. City councilors blasted him for failing to mention Taiwanese values, speaking only of ‘Taipei’, and claiming to have won his seat because Taipei residents were sick of “political rivalry and trickery”, and were desperate for an independent mayor. Others got personal, saying Ko was egotistical and full of himself.

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je arrived in Poland, the third leg of his tour of Europe and Eurasia. But the speech he gave to the European Parliament the day before sent shock waves through Taiwanese political circles.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News Encyclopedia: Taiwan values

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-03

Last Monday, when asked by the local media about whether Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, an outspoken independent, remains an ally of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), President Tsai Ing-wen said the mayor must “reaffirm Taiwanese values.” That’s because doing so will let DPP supporters know that the mayor is someone with whom they can fight together.

But the president stopped short of saying what exactly she meant by “Taiwanese values” in the interview. It was not until a few days later did she mention that “Taiwanese values are a Taiwan-centered ideology” and that promoting “housing rights for young people” are also a value.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan health insurance shows deficit

Insurance might become more expensive from 2021

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As the health insurance system showed a deficit last year, citizens

Taiwan’s national health insurance might become more expensive in 2021. (By Central News Agency)

will probably have to pay 21.32 percent or NT$126 (US$4.29) more per year beginning in 2021, the Central News Agency reported Saturday.

Following legal amendments dating back to 2013, the Bureau of National Health Insurance (健保署) under the Ministry of Health and Welfare has to present a report once every five years about the financial condition of the health insurance system. The measure was designed to make sure that the system did not grow out of control over a span of 25 years, CNA reported.

With premiums falling and other measures coming into effect, extra income soon fell from NT$72.8 billion (US$2.48 billion) in 2013 to NT$7 billion (US$238 million) in 2016, according to the government report.

While income fell, the amount of medical services covered by the insurance system rose dramatically, resulting in a deficit of NT$11 billion (US$374 million) for 2017.

If no corrective measures are taken, that deficit could balloon to NT$99.4 billion (US$3.38 billion) in 2021, officials said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan-El Salvador FTA-related resolutions go into effect

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/03
By: Kuan-lin Liu and Huang Ya-hsuan

Taipei, Feb. 3 (CNA) Four free trade related resolutions signed between Taiwan and El

CNA file photo

Salvador went into effect on Saturday, allowing annual reductions in tariffs on specific exports to start taking place.

In a news statement issued Saturday, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said the terms of the resolutions will see annual reductions in tariffs on aloe vera juice, jello and tape from Taiwan, as well as dried pineapple, dried mango, dried plantain and dried banana from El Salvador.

The goal is to reduce the current 5-15 percent tariffs to zero in 10 years’ time by 2027, the bureau said, adding that this will make Taiwan’s products even more competitive on the international market.    [FULL  STORY]

Cabinet submits administrative report

FOREIGN TALENT: As part of its efforts to draft an immigration act, the Cabinet held meetings to discuss offering subsidies and daycare to foreigners with young children

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 04, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The Executive Yuan on Friday submitted an administrative report to the Legislative Yuan that touched on issues such as balancing urban-rural development, the disposition of ill-gotten political party assets, cracking down on telecom fraud committed by Taiwanese and recruiting foreign talent.

The Cabinet, in a bid to bridge the developmental gap between large cities and rural areas, would deliberate on rezoning the administrative regions and formulate measures to address the “brain drain” problem in areas outside the six special municipalities, which is rooted in unequal pay grade systems that often see civil servants assigned the same work for less money in smaller towns, the report said.

The Cabinet has also allocated NT$1.8 billion (US$61.6 million) to push forward development in Hualien and Taitung counties by helping residents establish community agricultural cooperatives and microeconomies. The budget is also available to the outlying islands to develop low-carbon “green” energy generation facilities, tourism and sustainable fisheries.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiping Steamer Memorial Park inaugurated in Keelung

Taiwan Today
Date: February 02, 2018

Taiping Steamer Memorial Park was recently inaugurated in Keelung as part of Ministry of

MOC Minister Cheng Li-chiun inaugurates Taiping Memorial Park Jan. 27 in Keelung City, northern Taiwan. (Courtesy of MOC)

Culture efforts promoting the northern Taiwan port city’s abundance of historical assets and further enriching the cultural lives of residents and visitors.

“The park is a valuable cultural asset to be passed down from generation to generation,” MOC Minister Cheng Li-chiun said Jan. 27 at the inauguration ceremony. “It will become a part of everyday life and contribute to sustainable development.”

Situated on the grounds of the Republic of China (Taiwan) navy base in Zhongzheng District, the park contains a monument to the 932 souls who perished after the Keelung-bound Taiping collided with a cargo ship and sank Jan. 27, 1949, near Zhousan Archipelago off Ningbo city in mainland China.    [FULL  STORY]

Election Commission reshuffles legislative seats

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-02

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has made changes to legislative seats after a meeting on Thursday.

The independent body added one seat each for Tainan city and Hsinchu county but removed one seat each from Kaohsiung city and Pingtung county. The changes were made in line with the Civil Servants and Election Recall Act. Under the law, the commission is required to review constituencies every 10 years based on population.

The changes will be submitted to the legislature for final approval by the end of May. Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition camps have voiced differing views. Some said the legislature must respect the decision made by the commission. Others however say the distribution could deepen the gap between urban and rural areas.

The CEC has already mapped out a revision to the Civil Servants and Election Recall Act. The revision must be approved by the Cabinet first and then by the legislature.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese police to change into navy-blue new uniform 

The most-voted design of the new uniform is dubbed ‘the professional fighting uniform’

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s National Police Agency (NPA) on Thursday announced

New police uniform revealed on February 2 (By Central News Agency)

the finalized design of the new police uniform and said the current uniform would be replaced by the end of the year.

It is widely considered that the current police uniform, with the cloth design resembling a business suit and leather shoes, lacks comfort and practicability.

The new design, dubbed ‘the professional fighting uniform’, focuses on being practical and adaptable to various law enforcement tasks. Its top and jacket come with multiple hidden pockets with special zips where the police can keep their camera, recorder, notebook, and other objects.

In terms of the material of the clothes, it was so designed as to provide comfort and meet the need of high-intensity activities such as running and combat.   [FULL  STORY]

MOFA denies knowledge of reported plan to lift Japanese food ban

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Elaine Hou and Flor Wang

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Friday it has no knowledge of the government’s reported plan to lift a ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures and has not been asked to start negotiations with Japan on the issue.

The United Evening News reported Friday that Taiwan’s government is ready to remove the ban under strong pressure from Japan and plans to do so around the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Feb. 15.

Taiwan hopes that lifting the ban would improve its chances of joining negotiations on the Comprehensive and Progress Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP) led by Japan, according to the report.

MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said that although his ministry is not responsible for food safety issues, it “will adopt a consistent policy with other government agencies in handling the issue.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s representative to Japan calls to lift ban

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 03, 2018
By: Staff Writer, with CNA

It has been nearly seven years since the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, and Taiwan should lift its ban on food products from Japanese prefectures affected by the disaster based on principles of free trade and scientific data, Taiwan’s Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said in an interview.

Taiwan should come up with a policy that is based on the government’s years of food product testing and that takes into consideration what many developed countries in the West are doing about the situation, Hsieh said.

Following the disaster in March 2011, Taiwan imposed a ban on food imports from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba prefectures, fearing that they could contain radioactive substances.

This action was in line with global practices at the time, as 54 countries implementing restrictions on certain Japanese goods following the meltdown, but several countries have eased bans in recent years, Hsieh said.    [FULL  STORY]