For now, the naturalization process takes up to two months.

Taiwan News
Date: 017/06/18
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is proposing the streamlining of the

naturalization application process to enable foreigners awarded for a special contribution to be able to obtain a Taiwanese ID card within 10 days.

For now, the naturalization process takes up to two months to complete. First, applicants have to submit their applications to a Household Registration Office near their residences. The application will be reviewed by the local government, the MOI, and the Executive Yuan. After the application is approved, the applicant has to apply for a residence card at the National Immigration Agency, and then apply for an ID card back at the Household Registration Office.

In order to simplify the process, the MOI proposed that the application not go through the Executive Yuan, thus shortening the process to 10 days. However, the MOI’s proposal still needs to be approved by the Executive Yuan.

The proposal was made after the death of Jerry Martinson, an American Jesuit missionary and educator who died one day before receiving his Taiwanese ID card, prompting discussions about the naturalization procedures, which have been criticized for being complicated and time-consuming.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/18
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, June 18 (CNA) The number of victims of criminal cases in Taiwan from January to May was down

slightly from the same period a year earlier, with the 18-23 age group the most likely to be victimized, according to the latest Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics.

There were 75,513 victims of criminal cases accepted and handled by police in the first five months, down 2.6 percent year-on-year. That translated to 320.7 victims per 100,000 people, down 9.4 from a year earlier, the data showed.

Some 57.4 percent of the victims, or 43,330, were victims of five major crimes — burglary/robbery, fraud, simple assault, violent crimes and extortion — that undermine social safety.

Of those crimes, there were 22,342 burglary and robbery victims, 14,247 fraud victims, 5,633 simple assault victims, 634 victims of violent crimes and 474 victims of extortion.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 19, 2017
By: Lu Yi-hsuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Foreign affairs personnel should remain pragmatic following last week’s severing of diplomatic ties with

Panama, former minister of foreign affairs Chen Chien-jen (程建人) said on Saturday.

Chen recalled the difficulties faced by the ministry when ties with the US were severed in the 1970s, saying everyone was too busy negotiating with the US to gain benefits for Taiwanese to shed tears.

“China now occupies an advantageous position on the world stage. The diplomatic row [between Taiwan and China] that was once easing is on the table again,” Chen said. “Our staff are under great stress as China puts pressure on both our official and non-official allies.”

Chen said he hopes personnel would be driven to do an even better job, adding that diplomatic allies are crucial to the nation’s international recognition.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-17

The military says it has around 18,000 troops on standby as heavy rain continues to blanket parts of

Taiwan.

As of Saturday afternoon, 35 military personnel have been sent to mountainous areas of Kaohsiung to help should evacuations be ordered. In addition to troops, the military also says that it has several thousand vehicles, boats, and pieces of equipment at the ready.

Another wave of the seasonal “plum rains” that affect Taiwan during the early summer began to pass over the island Monday. Rainfall is expected to continue until next Wednesday. The Central Weather Bureau said Saturday that mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan will see torrential rain while the island’s low-lying western half can expect occasional downpours.    [FULL  STORY]

Ho was also accused of overlending and misappropriation of money.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/17
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei District Prosecutors Office requested Saturday that SinoPac Holdings

(永豐金控) chairman Ho Show-chung (何壽川) and two others be detained on charges of illegal loans to an offshore company.

Prosecutors found that Ho and other senior managers at SinoPac Holdings had allegedly given illegal loans to a non-operating offshore company, J&R Trading Co., Ltd. for a total value of over NT$5 billion (US$164.7 million) through Grand Capital International Limited, a re-investment offshore company held entirely by SinoPac Leasing Corporation (永豐金租賃) since October 2009.

In addition, it was reported that Ho was also accused of over-lending to Sunpower Development & Construction Corporation (SDCC, 三寶建設), giving illegal loans to Star City, a company in which his wife had been a member of the board, and misappropriating capital from Yuen Foong Yu Paper Manufacturing Group (YFY, 永豐餘) to gain control over the 1788 International Center, a high-end office building in Shanghai .

Prosecutors raided 13 locations on June 16, including SinoPac Holdings headquarters, Ho’s office and home, taking back Ho, his wife Chang Hsing-ju (張杏如), and SinoPac Holdings senior managers among a total of 23 people for questioning which lasted overnight, reports said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/17
By: Huang Kuo-fang and Lilian Wu

Taipei, June 17 (CNA) The Alishan Forest Recreation Area closed at 3 p.m. on Saturday due to

persistent heavy rains, the Chiayi Forest District Office announced.

Whether the area will re-open on Sunday will hinge on the conditions of roads leading to Alishan and the amount of precipitation.

The office said the combination of a stationary weather front and southwesterly winds has led to accumulated rainfall of over 240 millimeters over the past 24 hours, according to data from the weather monitoring station at Alishan.

The heavy rains also led to the suspension of service on all lines of the Alishan Forest Railway on Saturday and the railway will also be closed on Sunday.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s amazing street vendor culture by the numbers.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/06/16
By: Morley J Weston

There are more than 315,000 street stalls in Taiwan, employing almost half a million people across the

country, many on a full-time basis. It’s an austere profession, with monthly wages averaging NT$19,965 (US$660) in 2013 for work that is often out in the elements at odd hours of the day.

If you want to make a killing as a street vendor, relatively speaking, toys are the way to go; toy sellers earned an average of NT$35,700 (US$1180) per month in 2013. Selling newspapers and magazines is the toughest gig, earning less than NT$18,000 (US$595) per month.

Chiayi seems to be the clear winner for street vendors; they can earn almost as much as those in Taipei or Keelung, but have a significantly lower cost of living.    [FULL  STORY]

A proposal to make Hakka an official language in Taiwan was passed on Thursday by the Executive Yuan.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/16
By Juvina Lai, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A proposal to make Hakka an official language in Taiwan was passed on

Thursday by the Executive Yuan.

This action has represented a major step in spreading the language in Taiwan.

In order to promote and enhance the development of the Hakka language, the amended draft of the Hakka basic act also states that government should provide subsidies or incentives for foundations devoted to the Hakka language development.

It further states the need to establish degree programs as a way to develop and promote the language.

The amended draft also allows the government to provide subsidies for foundations dedicated to producing television or radio program related to Hakka culture.    [FULL  STORY]