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MOFA watching US policy direction after Tillerson confirmed

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-02-02

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) says it will pay close attention to future American policy. That’s after Rex Tillerson was confirmed as the new US secretary of state on Wednesday.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Eleanor Wang said Thursday that Taiwan and the US maintain good relations. She said the two sides hold close communication on every level.

“We have built very solid communication channels in different areas. We have also often exchanged views on topics of concern. With Tillerson taking office, we will maintain even closer contact regarding the direction of US policies. If we have any opinions, we will be sure to express them to our US counterparts,” said Wang.

Wang also said the foreign ministry is working on the possibility of inviting former US president Barack Obama to visit Taiwan. She said such a visit would prove the close ties between Taiwan and the US.    [SOURCE]

Map of Taiwan’s living languages

An overview of Taiwan’s 22 living languages

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/02
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News) — Despite its small size, Taiwan is home to over 20 living

Map of Taiwan’s languages (Island Folklore)

languages and Island Folklore, a site dedicated to translating and sharing Taiwan’s folk heritage, has created some illustrations to map this unique linguistic lineage.

Almost all languages spoken by the the indigenous people of Taiwan are categorized under the Formosan branch of Austronesian because they are unique to Taiwan, with the exception of Yami, which is spoken by the people of Orchid Island and originates from the northern Philippines.

In terms of numbers of speakers, Sinitic (Chinese) languages dominate Taiwan and

(Chart by island folklore)

comprise one of the two main branches of the Sino-Tibetan language family. There are three main Chinese languages found in Taiwan: Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka. Though the three are often described as “dialects,” the fact that the spoken versions are mutually unintelligible makes them closer to distinct languages like Romance languages in Europe.

As can be seen in the chart below, Min and Middle Chinese diverged from Old Chinese, before further splitting into various offshoot languages. Min evolved into Southern Min and then Hokkien before becoming modern Taiwanese (台語). While Middle Chinese evolved into Old Mandarin, which then became Mandarin, before developing into Beijing Mandarin, and then splitting into the Taiwanese Mandarin (台灣國語) and Standard Mandarin (國語) dialects that currently exist in Taiwan today. The third language, Hakka, has not diverged since it branched off from Middle Chinese, like its cousin Cantonese.     [FULL  STORY]

MOFA has not asked Japan to deny passports with ‘Taiwan’ stickers

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/02
By: Ku Chuan and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Feb . 2 (CNA) Taiwan has not asked officials at Japan’s Kansai International

CNA file photo

Airport to invalidate passports carried by Taiwanese nationals with “Republic of Taiwan” stickers on the cover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Thursday.

The ministry made the clarification after Yu Fu (魚夫), a manga artist and political pundit, posted an article on his Facebook page suggesting that Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka had requested that Kansai International Airport invalidate passports with such stickers.

“This is a rumor that is clearly not true,” an official said.

The pundit called for the public to “post about the matter aggressively” so that Foreign Minister David Lee (李大維) and Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Taiwan’s representative to Japan, are made aware of the matter.    [FULL  STORY]

Protesters call for oversight laws on cross-strait talks

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 03, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has fallen behind in realizing promises to

Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang, second left, a union member dressed as the god of wealth, second right, and two other protesters hold up spring couplets outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

pass legislation on the supervision of cross-strait negotiations, protesters said yesterday outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

A handful of Economic Democracy Union demonstrators brandished long, red Lunar New Year posters calling for the DPP to resume progress on the legislation.

“It is time for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the DPP to realize their promises, because it has been nearly three years since the Sunflower movement and this has dragged on too long,” union spokesman Chien Nien-yu (簡年佑) said.

A formal legislative review has yet to begin for the articles, which are intended to guarantee public participation in cross-strait negotiations and were a key demand of Sunflower movement protesters.    [FULL  STORY]

‘Too early’ to back a candidate: Ex-Pres. Ma

The China Post
Date: February 3, 2017
By: James Lo

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Former President Ma Ying-jeou stayed tight-lipped Thursday on who

Kuomintang members attend a Lunar New Year event in Taipei on Thursday, Feb. 2. (CNA)

he was backing for the Kuomintang (KMT) chairmanship — but stressed that acceptance of so-called “1992 Consensus” was crucial.

During Spring Festival activities at the KMT’s headquarters, Ma was asked if he favored any particular candidate in the party’s upcoming leadership election, with the former president replying that it was “too early to say.”

Thursday’s event in Taipei was attended by all KMT chairmanship candidates except for Han Kuo-yu, and all eyes were on glued on the interactions between Ma and the contenders.    [FULL  STORY]

MOFA to consider inviting Obama to Taiwan

Proposal from DPP lawmaker names former visitors such as Carter, Clinton

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday it was considering the proposal

Former U.S. President Barack Obama. (By Associated Press)

of a legislator to invite former United States President Barack Obama to visit Taiwan.

Ruling Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Lin Chun-hsien said former President Bill Clinton had also visited the island, so there was a precedent to invite Obama, who left office on January 20 to make way for Republican Donald Trump.

MOFA reportedly agreed with his proposal, adding a visit would be a witness to the steadiness and friendliness of Taiwan-U.S. relations.

Before Obama left office, he signed the National Defense Authorization Act allowing senior military officers and top officials to visit each other’s country, an unprecedented move since Washington and Taipei ended formal diplomatic relations in 1979, Lin said.
[FULL  STORY]

2 Taiwan schools on Times list of most international universities

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/01
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Feb. 1 (CNA) Two Taiwanese universities have been listed among the world’s most international

National Taiwan University (CNA file photo)

universities, in the annual Times Higher Education rankings that were released Wednesday.

Among the 150 universities around the world on the list, Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University was ranked 144th and National Taiwan University 148th.

The rankings on the list of the World’s Most International Universities 2017 take into consideration international staff, students and co-authors, and the schools’ international reputations.

National Tsing Hua University gained an overall score of 34.4, while National Taiwan University scored 32.3.

Topping the list were the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich with an overall score of 97.1 and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (96.7).    [FULL  STORY]

Hau calls for alternative pension policy

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 02, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should host an alternative national affairs conference on pension reform to draft its own proposal, KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday, adding that the party should present a positive alternative to benefit cuts proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, which he described as making “everyone a loser.”

“Retired military personnel, civil servants, teachers, other workers, businesses and the government all lose out under the draft pension reform plan of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration,” said Hau, a former Taipei mayor and a candidate for KMT chairperson.

Hau said on Facebook that it is imperative for the KMT to renew its connections with all sectors of society and present concrete strategies to address voters’ concerns.

Pension reform has emerged as a key battleground following the completion of a government-sponsored national policy conference last month, with Tsai’s administration proposing the gradual introduction of a broad set of benefit cuts to address the impending bankruptcy of national pension funds.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan can gain from US refugee ban: lawmaker

The China Post
Date: February 2, 2017
By: James Lo, The China Post

Taiwan should use the opportunity provided by U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order on immigration to attract foreign talents to Taiwan, opposition Kuomintang (KMT) legislator and TEDxTaipei founder Jason Hsu (許毓仁) said recently.

Hsu said that Trump’s ban of immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen would considerably impact the technology industry of the Silicon Valley in the U.S.

The next regulation to be implemented by the Trump administration would likely be the toughening of H-1B specialty occupation visa that the U.S. issued to experts from other countries, Hsu said, which could discourage even more foreign talents from seeking opportunities in America.

Taiwan should utilize the opportunity provided by Trump to invite such professionals to work in the country, so that Taiwan could fulfill the nation’s ambition of becoming the Silicon Valley of Asia, Hsu said.    [FULL  STORY]