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Street Legal: Will Uber’s New ‘Rental Car’ Model Hit Roadblocks in Taiwan?

Jason Hsu cautioned that the government was yet to reconcile the legal differences between online ride-hailing platforms and the traditional industry.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/04/12
By: ZiQing Low

Photo Credit: Stellina Chen

Uber has announced a partnership with car rental companies in Taiwan and plans to restart operations in the country on April 13.

Uber suspended its Taiwan operations on Feb. 10 after being hit with fines up to NT$328.5 million (US$10.5 million), half of which were incurred in January when new laws against unlicensed ride-sharing services took effect. The company also did not pay taxes in 2015, and owes the Taiwan government up to NT$51.24 million (US$1.6 million).

The company will hold a press conference on April 13, where it will explain its new business model in detail and give a preview of its updated app, according to an email sent to The News Lens.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan president promises to help detained activist return from China

President Tsai says protecting safety of citizens is government duty

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/12
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday promised her

Lee Ming-che’s wife. (By Central News Agency)

government would help human rights activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲) return home safely from detention in China.

Wednesday was day 25 since Lee, a former worker for Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party, disappeared after crossing from Macau into China’s Guangdong Province.

His relatives said he had been preparing for his mother-in-law to seek medical treatment in China, but the government in Beijing later claimed he had been detained on suspicion of involvement in “activities harmful to national security.”

Speaking at a meeting of the DPP leadership Wednesday, Tsai said her administration would work with Lee’s family to do its utmost to save him. “The government’s responsibility is to protect respect for the country and to protect the physical safety of citizens as well as their rights,” Tsai was quoted by a party spokesman as saying.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to expand visa privileges for Southeast Asian visitors

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/12
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, April 12 (CNA) Taiwan will expand visa privileges for visitors from Thailand,

CNA file photo

Brunei and the Philippines and streamline the visa application process for visitors from other Southeast Asian and South Asian countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

The decision to make travel to Taiwan easier for citizens from those nations, which came after a cross-agency meeting two days earlier, aims to promote the country’s “New Southbound Policy,” the ministry said in a statement.

Among the new measures to be implemented from June 1, the ministry said the one-year trial period for allowing Thai and Brunei citizens visa-exempt stays in Taiwan of up to 30 days will be extended one more year to July 31, 2018.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei mayor to invite Xi to Taipei Universiade

‘NOT THAT GREAT’As the games are to be held during typhoon season, leeway days are to be allocated in case of cancelations, the organizing committee spokesman said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 13, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he is unlikely to meet Chinese President

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je yesterday holds up a lucky charm that he was given by Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Lin Shih-tsung during in a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Xi Jinping (習近平) when he visits China in June for the Taipei-Shanghai Forum, but will forward an invitation for Xi to attend the opening ceremony of the Taipei Summer Universiade in August.

When asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chin Huei-chu (秦慧珠) to comment on news reports indicating a possible Ko-Xi meeting in June, the mayor said: “I am not that great.”
Ko said the Taipei City Government is in the process of organizing dates for the forum with Shanghai officials, who are considering holding it from June 25 to 27.

He said his delegation is considering visiting Beijing to deliver an invitation to officials overseeing China’s preparations for the Universiade.

Chin asked Ko whether he would invite other high-ranking Beijing officials should Xi turn down his invitation, to which Ko replied: “[The plan] is not that grand.”    [FULL  STORY]

Been admitted to a school stateside? The top US envoy welcomes you

The China Post
Date: April 13, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The de facto U.S. ambassador on Wednesday gave his congratulations and a welcome to Taiwanese students who had received admission offers from one of the over 4,500 accredited institutions of higher learning in the U.S.

In a press statement addressed to Taiwan students who received admission to U.S. universities, Kin Moy, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), said that over one million foreign students were currently in U.S. higher education institutions, maintaining the United States’ long-standing position as the world’s top host nation for international students.

The U.S. was also a top choice for Taiwan students, Moy said, with more than 21,000 of them studying there last year.

“This is a testament to the unmatched quality of American higher education in the eyes of international students and their families and the excellent students here in Taiwan,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan climbs WEF travel and tourism rankings

Taiwan Today
Date: April 11, 2017

Taiwan moved up two places to rank 30th among 136 economies surveyed in the latest

Taiwan is rated 30th in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 recently released by the World Economic Forum. (Courtesy of Tourism Bureau)

Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report released April 6 by Switzerland-based World Economic Forum.

With a score of 4.5 out of 7, up 0.1 points from the previous survey, the nation finished seventh in the Asia-Pacific region, trailing Japan at No. 4, Hong Kong at No. 11, Singapore at No. 13, mainland China at No. 15, South Korea at No. 19 and Malaysia at No. 26. Spain, France and Germany topped the global list in that order for the second time.

Among the 14 pillars the survey used to gauge a country’s travel and tourism competitiveness, Taiwan fared the best in ground and port infrastructure at No. 16, human resources and labor market at No. 19, cultural resources and business travel at No. 26, business environment at No. 27, and safety and security at No. 28.
[FULL  STORY]

Ministry retains ‘good moral character’ requirement for naturalization

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/11
By: Claudia Liu and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 11 (CNA) The Ministry of the Interior said Tuesday that it is necessary to

CNA file photo

retain the “good moral character” requirement for new immigrants seeking Republic of China citizenship.

Prostitution, drunk driving and other offenses that the local authorities consider to be less severe may not appear on a local police criminal record, but could still affect social order, “and so it is necessary to retain such a requirement” in the Nationality Act governing non-citizens who are seeking Taiwan citizenship, ministry officials said.

Article 3 of the act requires applicants to “have demonstrated good moral character and to have no criminal record.”    [FULL  STORY]

Legislators condemn Chinese detention

RESOLUTION:The DPP and the NPP were at odds on whether to demand that the government hold an international news conference on Lee Ming-che’s detention

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 12, 2017
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the New Power Party (NPP) caucuses yesterday issued statements denouncing the Chinese government for detaining Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲) and refusing to disclose details about his detention.

Prior to a cross-caucus negotiation yesterday morning in an attempt to hash out a common statement endorsed by all four legislative caucuses, Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said that China’s refusal to allow Lee’s family members to visit him “falls short of humanitarian standards.”

Insofar as the Chinese government has been touting the idea of the two countries “belonging to the same family,” it should at least inform Lee’s wife, Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), of his whereabouts and situation, Su said.

During the negotiation, the DPP and the NPP were at odds over the wording of a joint statement, with the NPP insisting that it include a demand that the government hold an international press conference to declare its stance on the issue.    [FULL  STORY]

President ‘deeply concerned about Li Ming-che case’

The China Post
Date: April 12, 2017
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Tsai Ing-wen is deeply concerned about the case of detained Taiwanese human rights activist Li Ming-che and is closely following the situation, the Presidential Office said Tuesday.

Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang said Tsai had instructed government agencies to do everything they could to protect Li’s rights and, most importantly, his personal safety.

“The government is unified on this issue. No one is absent,” Huang said, citing Tsai’s instructions.    [FULL  STORY]

EPA launches adopt-a-beach plan in Taiwan

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-10

The Environmental Protection Administration is launching a new campaign to bring

Cleaning up a beach in Penghu (CNA)

together private companies, groups, and individuals to help clean up Taiwan’s beaches.

One of Taiwan’s biggest scenic resources as an island is its beaches.

The agency has divided up the nation’s coastline into 1,244 sections, and is encouraging people to adopt and maintain them.

EPA Minister Lee Ying-yuan said Monday that a number of high-profile companies have already adopted 341 sections of beach, including TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.), ASUS, and Cathay Financial Holdings. That’s about 347 km, just under a quarter of the total coastline. Lee encouraged people to adopt beaches in rural areas, highlighting Taitung County in particular, which has the longest coastline but the smallest population on the main island of Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]