Taipei Times
Date: Jan 08, 2018
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

New Power Party (NPP) members yesterday filed a legal complaint against Taipei City

police for the use of force in dismantling NPP lawmakers’ temporary rain shelter in front of the Presidential Office Building, while they continued their hunger strike against proposed amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).

NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) signed an authorization form to commission a team of lawyers who went to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and filed the legal complaint.

Huang and Hsu said the police early yesterday morning applied force when taking down their temporary rain shelter, which led to a scuffle.

Doing so had breached provisions of the Criminal Code (刑法) they said, adding that by erecting wired barricades to restrict traffic and pedestrians, police had violated the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法).    [FULL  STORY]

Trump Administration wants Taiwan to double defense spending: Pomfret

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/06
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – An eventual military attack by China against Taiwan would not

necessarily end with a victory for Beijing, but the island needs to step up its military spending, according to an op-ed piece in the Washington Post.

In the article “Can China really take over Taiwan?,” former Post correspondent in Beijing John Pomfret considers recent theories that China has given up on the peaceful unification option and might be preparing for a military assault, according to some as early as 2020.

The writer notes the recent escalation in Chinese military drills close to the island, with air force jets and navy vessels entering Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. On Wednesday, President Xi Jinping (習近平) told his military to be “battle ready,” while earlier, a Chinese diplomat based in Washington warned against the U.S. sending Navy ships into Taiwanese harbors, which a new law allows it to do.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-06

Vice President Chen Chien-jen said he hopes more overseas Taiwanese return to

Taiwan. He was speaking at the launching of the Taiwanese Returned Expatriates Association on Saturday.

Vice President Chen said he encourages more second and third generation overseas Taiwanese to return to Taiwan. Overseas Taiwanese are a great asset to Taiwan and have helped its economy, democracy and participation in global affairs.

Chen said this is historically significant as the first organization set up for these returning Taiwanese. Chen said there are more and more overseas Taiwan returning to Taiwan. He hopes to continue to see more return for tourism, investment, and to set up businesses and help Taiwan’s development. The government will continue to promote policies that aid young people in starting businesses.    [FULL  STORY]

Man was allowed to return to hotel after short hospital treatment

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/06
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Japanese tourist was injured when a metal spike from road

works pierced through the window of a tour bus in Keelung Saturday afternoon, the Central News Agency reported.

The tourist was part of an 18-member group on a day trip to Jiufen, a popular scenic destination up in the mountains above Keelung, and Sanxia, a riverside district in New Taipei City.

The bus was trying to pass as half the road was occupied by machinery and workers in the process of reinforcing a slope against landslides, police said.

However, the space was too narrow and a metal spike used in the project pierced a window on the right side of the bus, hitting a 60-year-old Japanese man in the right shoulder.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/06
By: Yeh Su-ping and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Five opposition New Power Party (NPP) legislators continued a hunger strike outside the Presidential Office on Saturday, calling for the draft amendments to the Labor Standards Act to be withdrawn.

The legislators, namely NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, Hung Tsu-yung (洪慈庸) and Freddy Lim (林昶佐), started the hunger strike at 6 p.m. Friday in wet, chilly weather and have said they will continue as long as possible.

They are calling for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德), and ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers to withdraw a bill to amend the labor law.    [FULL STORY]

SHATTERED WINDOWS: As the legislators’ hunger strike continues amid accusations, DPP lawmakers guarded the legislative chamber ahead of tomorrow’s plenary session

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 07, 2018
By: Wu Cheng-feng and Su Fang-ho  /  Staff reporters

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平)

yesterday brought legal charges against five New Power Party (NPP) legislators for allegedly vandalizing the Legislative Yuan, which the Taipei City Government has designated as a historic building. He also brought charges against Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) for allegedly obstructing a public officer in the course of performing their duties.

As yesterday was a Saturday, the bailiff on duty at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office told Chung that they would deliver his charges to the office tomorrow.

Accompanied by Taipei Department of Culture officials, Chung went to the legislature on Friday afternoon to inspect the doors of the legislative chamber. NPP Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) had earlier in the day shattered the windows in the doors, which he had then sealed with chains.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-05

President Tsai Ing-wen says China’s unilateral decision to announce four new flight

paths in the Taiwan Strait is not conducive to regional stability.

The president tweeted Friday, a day after Beijing announced the new routes that approach the median line of the Taiwan Strait. The defense ministry and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) have both condemned the move. They say the routes pose a threat to aviation safety.

In her tweet, the president said Taiwan will continue maintaining the status quo across the strait. She added that stable cross-strait ties are crucial to regional stability. The National Security Council also said China’s announcement has unilaterally changed the status quo.    [FULL  STORY]

The maintenance of Taiwan’s Hakka culture depends on more than government support for the language.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/01/05
By: Eryk Smith

Let’s stop torturing our kids by forcing them to learn minority languages that they will never use. English is hard enough.

Radio listeners can catch International Community Radio Taipei’s “We Love Hakka”

segment several times per day (full disclosure: I work as a correspondent for ICRT in south Taiwan). The radio show is not everyone’s cup of lei cha, but it follows a similar pattern across Taiwan: promoting and teaching Hakka culture by teaching and promoting the Hakka language.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but language is only one part of culture.

More disclosure: I’m married to a Hakka woman who actually speaks Hakka. She is the only one among her siblings who can have a passable conversation with elderly folk in her hometown in Pingtung County. My two daughters are therefore half-Hakka, making me a member of the tribe through marriage.    [FULL  STORY]

Kuan Chung-ming is former National Development Council minister

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/05
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s most prestigious university, National Taiwan University,

on Friday chose Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), a minister from the Kuomintang administration of former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as its new president.

Kuan is expected to be sworn in on February 1 to succeed Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池), who decided not to seek re-election when his term came to an end last June.

The Academia Sinica member and lecturer at NTU’s department of finance defeated four other candidates in the vote by a 21-member committee Friday evening, the Apple Daily reported. A first round narrowed the field down from five to two candidates, with 11 votes necessary to win the second round.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/05
By: Elaine Hou and William Yen

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) A Vietnamese language section has been added to Taiwan’s New

Southbound Policy (NSP) Portal to strengthen the delivery of information related to the policy to boost ties with Vietnam, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Friday.

The portal brings together news about Taiwan’s government policies and media reports related to the push to develop closer trade and other ties with the NSP target countries.

The platform also links to the websites of the representative offices of the target countries covered by the policy, bringing to users news about the countries’ development, as well as local happenings and consular information.   [FULL  STORY]