Asia One
Date: Nov 25, 2017

TAIPEI – Veteran movie stars will take on a 14-year-old newcomer on Saturday (Nov 25)

at Taiwan’s Golden Horse awards, dubbed the Chinese “Oscars”, with the teenager tipped to steal the show.

Stars began arriving for the ceremony to cheering fans, with Oscar-winning director Ang Lee among the big names set to walk down the red carpet in Taipei’s Sen Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

He will present the best actress award with Hollywood star Jessica Chastain also set to grace the red carpet.

Taiwanese teenager Vicky Chen is up against some of the industry’s biggest names for the best actress gong, including acclaimed director-actress Sylvia Chang (“Love Education”) and mega-star Shu Qi (“The Village of No Return”), both also from Taiwan.

Chen plays a hotel maid struggling with her conscience after witnessing a sexual assault, fearing she will lose her job if she reports it, in Chinese director Vivian Qu’s drama “Angels Wear White”.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-11-25

KMT heavyweights gathered for a commemorative event in Taipei have stressed the

importance of winning the city in the 2018 local elections.

During the event Saturday, KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih said that winning Taipei in next year’s elections is of the utmost importance to the party.

Meanwhile, former President Ma Ying-jeou spoke about his experience running for Taipei mayor in 1998 and about the qualities a KMT candidate will need to win the contest for mayor next year. Ma also said that winning Taipei is critical to any hopes of the KMT taking the presidency in 2020.

After the event, a reporter asked the head of the KMT’s Taipei branch, Huang Lu Chin-ju, whether the KMT has had difficulties convincing candidates to run in Taipei races next year. Huang Lu said the party has many talented members interested in entering races for both the Taipei City Council and Taipei mayor.     [FULL  STORY]

Some winners for the evenings award ceremonies; best and supporting actors/ actresses, best director and film

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/25
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Golden Horse awards in Taipei concluded after some

incredible films, directors, and performers were recognized as representing some outstanding talent in Taiwan, as well as Asia.

Here are a few of the stand out awards for actors and directors of the Golden Horse Awards held in Taipei on Saturday, November 25.

The best new performer award went to Reima Zeidan, the 27-year-old Lebanese-Taiwanese actress, for her role in the Great Buddha+, a big winner at the ceremony receiving a total of five awards, including best cinematography,  best-adapted screenplay, best film score, and best original song.

The Best Supporting Actor went to Bamboo Chen, in the role of Sherry, a transgender bar owner in the film Alifu- The Prince/ss.  The Best Supporting Actress was awarded to Vicky Chen for her role as Tang Chen in The Bold, The Corrupt, and The Beautiful.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/25
By: Lin Yu-li and William Yen

Berlin, Nov. 24 (CNA) Masaryk University in the Czech Republic signed a memorandum

of cooperation with Taiwan’s Ministry of Education (MOE) on Thursday to have classes related to Taiwan offered at the university next year.

The memorandum was inked between the MOE and the university’s Culture Studies of China degree program, which was established in 2011 and includes the study of Taiwanese literature, religion, arts, history and society.

The university was founded in 1919 in Brno and is one of the biggest universities in the Czech Republic.

The program at the university has developed close relationships with National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University and National Chi Nan University in Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

NATIONAL DIGNITY: The KMT chairman said the US gave the right example when it waited until Taiwan fulfilled all its criteria before granting the privilege of visa-free travel

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 26, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday urged

President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to ensure mutual respect and be discreet when granting visa-waiver privileges to other countries, as he embarked on a trip to Southeast Asia that has been overshadowed by visa application difficulties.

Wu made the remarks at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before leaving for the Philippines on a seven-day trip that is to also take him to Thailand.

Wu was on Friday forced to cancel the Thailand leg of his trip, after failing to secure a visa that he had applied for two weeks ago.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, the Thai government decided to issue visa shortly after the KMT announced the cancelation.

“I am not saying that we should not grant visa-free status to nations friendly toward us, but we must be cautious and discreet and have a good grasp of the local situation first,” Wu said.

Citing the US as an example, Wu said that Taiwan had endeavored for a long time to secure visa-free privileges from Washington, but the nation was not able to fulfill all the criteria until 2011, when he was premier.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-11-24

Premier William Lai says the government wants 90% of the public to use mobile payment

methods by 2025.

The economics ministry held a trial mobile pay session at Taipei’s central train station on Thursday and Friday. Lai said at the event that the government seeks to achieve a penetration rate of 90% by 2025.

“We plan to amend and relax certain laws to help foster a mobile-pay-friendly ecosystem. We will also integrate appropriate cyber security measures [into the system]. Taiwan’s tech industry has a strong foundation, and our digital economy has been growing fast. I believe that we will be able to hit our target as long as we work together towards the same goal,” said Lai.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/11/24
By: Stellina Chen

Should Taiwan allow the police to flog citizens for drunk driving, sexual offenses or abusing children?

According to at least 26,862 people who signed an online petition in the past month, they should. This proposal is well past the threshold in which it must be addressed by the government — a hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 1, 2017.    [FULL  STORY]

The company is planning to hire two hundred Filipino workers during the recruitment drive held in Davao and Manila

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/25
By: Maggie Huang,Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

MANILA (Taiwan News) — After two days recruiting in the southern Philippine city of Davao, I-Mei Foods arrived in Manila, the capital in the north of the country, to hold another two-day recruiting event.

As the country’s capital, Manila has always been the most popular place to hold recruiting events among companies all over the world, attracting workers nationwide seeking overseas employment opportunities.

According to figures provided by Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), I-Mei’s recruitment attracted hundreds of applicants. Five hundred applicants met preliminary qualifications and will be interviewed Friday and Saturday.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/24
By: Miu Chung-han and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who was

tried in China in September on the charge subverting state power, will find out his fate on Nov. 28 when the verdict in his case is announced, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) spokesman said Friday.

Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正), who is also a deputy chief of the Cabinet-level council, confirmed the date, citing a message received by Lee’s family members from the lawyer designated by Chinese authorities to represent Lee, who has been held in China since March.

Lee’s family members have been invited to attend the court session at which the verdict will be announced, Chiu said.    [FULL  STORY]