The China Post
Date: October 7, 20170
By: Wang Shu-fen and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei (CNA) – Visitors to tourist and other designated scenic areas throughout

Taiwan will soon be charged a “conservation fee,” according to an administrative order issued by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (交通部).

Following the example of the Philippines and Japan to prevent the negative impacts of tourism on the environment, the ministry’s Tourism Bureau (觀光局) is adopting the policy to strengthen conservation efforts.

According to the administrative order, which was announced on Thursday and has a notice period of two months before taking effect, the fee will be NT$30 (US$0.99) to NT$60 for areas that get under 100,000 visitors a year, NT$60 to NT$120 for areas with between 100,000 and 500,000 visitors, and NT$120 to NT$200 for areas with over 500,000 visitors.

The designation of an area as a tourist or designated scenic area that requires a fee is up to the discretion of the agency that governs the specific area.   [FULL  STORY]

It’s important to check the political reality before falling victim to emotion when it comes to discussing issues of independence.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/10/05
By: Hector Muñoz

It was when I moved to Barcelona for college that I first encountered Catalan

nationalism and its narratives. Until then, in the neighboring region of Aragón, I had only been exposed to occasional outbursts of its counter narrative, Spanish nationalism.

Later on, when I moved to China, I learned that both the Chinese government and the people held similar views towards Taiwan. And finally, when I landed in Taiwan, I realized that cross-Strait relations dominated political discourse, dividing the island into two opinions, as well as two colors. This journey across different regions and cultures has allowed me to observe both sides of the two territorial disputes. What I have learned, too, is that establishing parallelisms between them is more complicated than it seems.

Nowadays, secessionism is spreading rapidly in Catalonia, and Taiwan is reacting with unprecedented sympathy. Articles both in English and Chinese have been shared on Facebook via popular media platforms. Taiwanese scholars and activists expressed their opinions on the subject, mostly criticizing the Spanish central Government, or displayed their support by showing the Catalan flag on their Facebook profiles. The question is, where does this support come from? Do the China-Taiwan and the Spain-Catalonia conflicts share so many similarities that mutual identification can occur naturally?    [FULL  STORY]

Even though the threats are real and serious, China does not have the capacity to successfully invade Taiwan in 2020, according to the author.

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/10/05
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – “Taiwan is safe!” said Ian Easton in an interview intended to

clarify his stance, as his latest book published on October 3 has amassed considerable reportage among Taiwanese media and suddenly everyone in the country seems to be asking whether China would invade Taiwan in 2020.

“I have never stated in the book that China would invade Taiwan in 2020. There is no reason for Taiwanese people to panic,” Easton told the Liberty Times on Thursday. He was surprised that his latest book “The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia” had caused such a commotion in the country.

Easton said he had cited the documents issued by Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense in 2013, which revealed the secret plan of the Chinese government for the invasion of Taiwan, to point out the idea that even if former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had tried to make conciliatory terms with Beijing, China was still preparing to use force against Taiwan.      [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/05
By: Wang Yang-yu and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) Justice Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said Thursday that Taiwan

is not a source of illegal drugs trafficked to other countries, as claimed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Asked about the issue during a hearing of the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, Chiu said Duterte’s claim could be based on the fact that China and a lot of Southeast Asian countries transport drugs via Taiwan, resulting in the mistaken idea that the drugs are coming from there.

In fact, 75 percent of the drugs seized in Taiwan are from China and Hong Kong, making Taiwan a country into which drugs are smuggled, rather than a place they are smuggled from.    [FULL  STORY]

DOUBLE TEN TALK:The AIT chairman told a Washington event that peaceful and stable cross-strait relations are beneficial to Taiwan and China, as well as in the US’ interest

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 06, 2017
By: Nadia Tsao and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter in WASHINGTON, with staff writer

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is a pragmatic and responsible leader and the US

thanks Tsai for maintaining stable cross-strait links even as Beijing ratchets up its pressures on Taiwan, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman James Moriarty said on Wednesday at an event marking Double Ten National Day in Washington.

It is apparent that cross-strait relations are affected by the lack of trust and the US is to actively encouraging constructive dialogue that seeks to avoid miscalculations and reconcile differences through patience, flexibility and innovation, Moriarty said in a prepared speech for the event held at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office’s Twin Oaks Estate.

The US will continue to help China and Taiwan to find a peaceful solution that is acceptable to both peoples, he said, adding neither side should attempt to change the “status quo” unilaterally.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 5, 20170
By: Tang Pei-chun and Kuan-lin Liu

Brussels (CNA) – The European Parliament highlighted the need to engage with

observers, including Taiwan, at the multilateral level in a resolution passed Tuesday on the European Union’s political relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Speaking with CNA Wednesday, Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), Taiwan’s representative to the EU and Belgium, expressed gratitude for the European Parliament’s mention and support of Taiwan as it continued to define the EU’s relationship with ASEAN.

One of the key articles in the resolution states that the parliament “highlights the need to engage at the multilateral level with other jurisdictions in the region, such as ASEAN observers Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste, as well as China, Japan and Taiwan.” The resolution, which primarily serves to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of EU-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, highlights the importance of peace in the South China Sea, an issue about which Taiwan cares deeply.    [FULL  STORY]

The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced this year’s first indigenous cholera case on October 3, 2017.
 
Taiwan News
Date: 2017/10/04
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–As the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Double Ten Day holidays

approach, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) urged the public to avoid consuming raw fish and oyster and undercooked shellfish to prevent cholera as the agency announced this year’s first indigenous cholera case on October 3, 2017.

The case is an over-50-year-old male who resides in central Taiwan, according to Taiwan CDC. In late September, he developed abdominal pain, diarrhea and watery stool, and was hospitalized after seeking medical attention, Taiwan CDC said in a statement, adding that laboratory tests confirmed infection with V. cholerae O1 Ogawa in the case.

According to the epidemiological investigation, the man does not consume raw food and drinks only boiled tap water. However, his family uses the same chopping board for both raw and cooked foods. On the day of symptom onset, he consumed clams he bought from the market. To identify the possible source of infection, the local health authority is conducting further investigation. As of now, the man is still hospitalized for treatment. None of the contacts residing in the same household has developed any suspected symptoms, according to Taiwan CDC.      [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/04
By: Wang Shwu-fen and Kuan-lin Liu

Kaohsiung, Oct. 4 (CNA) Taiwan will continue its efforts to improve conditions for

migrant fisherman working at sea on Taiwanese ships, a Fisheries Agency official said Wednesday.

Even though Taiwan is not a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Fisheries Agency will adopt the ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention, which will go into effect in November, said Ted Tsai (蔡天享), a senior specialist in the agency’s Deep Sea Fisheries Division.

Speaking in Kaohsiung at the 24th World Congress of the Apostleship of the Sea, Tsai said the agency will ask all fishing enterprises in Taiwan to follow the terms of the ILO convention, which stipulates 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period for fishery workers at sea, sets the minimum age for such workers at 16 years, and provides guidelines on other matters such as food and time off to return home.
[FULL  STORY]