The China Post
Date: January 16, 2017
By: CNA

Taipei — The current cold air mass that has been affecting Taiwan since Friday will begin to weaken on

Tuesday, but another stronger cold air system will arrive on Friday, causing temperatures to drop to as low as 11 degrees in Northern Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Sunday.

Flat areas of Taipei, Tamsui in New Taipei and Yilan in northeastern Taiwan recorded low temperatures of 13.3 degrees Celsius in the early morning Sunday, according to the bureau.

Under the effect of the ongoing cold air mass, the mercury around Taiwan will remain low Sunday and Monday, with northern and eastern parts of the island to see occasional rain, it said.

In the northern and northeastern parts of the country, daytime highs on Sunday were forecast to reach 16-17 degrees, with 18-20 degrees expected in the eastern counties of Hualien and Taitung and 20-23 degrees in central and southern Taiwan, according to the bureau.    [FULL  STORY]

CBS News
January 14, 2017
By: Mark Albert

What do you do when you move to a foreign country and no one makes one of your favorite foods? That’s the pickle a Los Angeles foodie found himself in after moving home to Taiwan, where he discovered there was no locally produced cheese.

His next move changed his life forever, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Albert.

Whichever food lover first cooked up the saying, “There is nothing in this world more motivating than cheese,” may have had Henry Gerard in mind.

“I dream about it now. I guess that’s…” Gerard began to say.

“You dream about making cheese?” Albert asked.

“Yeah,” Gerard said.

Gerard is living his dream in Taiwan, stretching mozzarella one day and his limits the next. He can certainly take the heat.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/01/14
By: Sam Roggeveen

Even if Tillerson and the Trump team walk back these comments in coming days, they will no doubt be remembered in Beijing.

U.S. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson has made some potentially explosive remarks about the South China Sea at his Congressional confirmation hearing:

“In comments expected to enrage Beijing, Rex Tillerson told his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that China’s building of islands and putting military assets on those islands was “akin to Russia’s taking Crimea” from Ukraine. Asked whether he supported a more aggressive posture toward China, he said: “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.”

The normally restrained Reuters said Tillerson had “set a course for a potentially serious confrontation with Beijing.” Reuters is not exaggerating. Short of a military blockade, it’s hard to see how the U.S. can stop Chinese island-building and deny Beijing access to the islands it has already built. I see China observer Patrick Chovanec is already saying Tillerson misspoke, while my colleague Euan Graham suggests the comments may have been a “trial balloon.” Ankit Panda’s piece for The Diplomat explains just why these comments potentially represent such a big departure from settled U.S. policy and even from Donald Trump’s recent statements.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/14
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

“Everything is under negotiation, including one China,” Donald Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal when asked if he is committed to the ‘One China’ policy, once again jangling the most sensitive nerves in U.S.-China relations.

In this interview with the Wall Street Journal published Friday night, or six days ahead of his inauguration ceremony, the United States President-elect suggested he may drop sanctions against Russia if the country helps the U.S. to battle terrorists and achieve other goals, while he said he would keep the sanctions that the Obama Administration recently imposed on Russia “at least for a period of time.”

When asked about the One China policy, Trump said that he “wouldn’t commit to” the long-standing ‘One China’ policy the U.S. has taken over China-Taiwan relations, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Taiwan has been considered by Beijing as part of Chinese territory after the Nationalist government lost the civil war to the communist party and fled to Taiwan in 1949. Any suggestion in the past that the U.S. may change its stance on China-Taiwan relations has been met with alarm in Beijing.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/14
By: Tang Pei-chun and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) A national affairs conference on pension reform will be held next weekend in

Taipei, Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said Saturday after a fourth and final regional seminar on pension reform concluded peacefully in Taitung.

Chen, who heads the national pension reform committee under the Presidential Office, said the national affairs conference will be held Jan. 21-22, and he asked all participants to communicate rationally and present concrete proposals for reform, according to a statement issued by the committee.

Chen thanked all participants at the seminars and police officers who maintained the order at venues, allowing the meetings to run smoothly.

In addition to the seminar held in Taitung, the other three regional forums were held on Dec. 31, Jan. 7 and Jan. 8 in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, respectively, to gather proposals on pension reform issues.    [FULL  STORY]

MUTUAL BENEFITS:Tsai said that her administration would propose a new trade policy for the region in an effort to base bilateral diplomatic ties on stronger trade exchanges

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 15, 2017
By: Staff Writer, with CNA

Taiwan’s model of assisting its diplomatic allies is to shift from one-way assistance to a bilateral model, in

order to help allies’ economic and social development, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Friday in El Salvador at a breakfast with Taiwanese reporters.

Taiwan should think about promoting diplomacy in new ways, including focusing on bilateral cooperation rather than simply providing aid to allies, she said.

Tsai said that during her visit to Central America, which took her to Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala and ended in El Salvador, she discovered that the countries are hoping to boost their economic development, following periods of political turmoil.

The countries are also making an effort to improve their infrastructure, education and public health, she said, adding that Honduras has sent many delegations to learn more about Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program and other social welfare systems.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 15, 2017
By: Tammy Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館 and the Chinese Calligraphy

Association, R.O.C.(中華民國書學會) jointly hosted a ceremony for the year of rooster on Saturday, Jan. 14.

A two-hour activity based on writing new year’s couplets (新春揮毫大會) was held at the memorial hall. Thousands of calligraphy-loving participants took part in the ceremony and brought home over 1,000 Spring Festival couplets. This activity has been held for more than 20 years by Ministry of the Interior (內政部) to create a traditional new year’s atmosphere.

This year, the auspicious couplets were written by 14 famous calligraphers including Sun Yat Sen Academic and Cultural Foundation President Hsu Shui-teh (許水德), Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun (花敬群), Director general of the Memorial Hall Lin Kou-chung (林國章), Chinese Calligraphy Association R.O.C. Founding Chairman Chang Ben-hang (張炳煌) and other masters. Each wrote one giant calligraphic character.

There are expected to be many other Chinese calligraphy writing events hosted around Taiwan on the first two weekends of the new year. The Taipei Confucian Temple (台北孔廟) and Keelung Calligraphy Association (基隆書道會) will also hold similar events. Both activities invite members of younger generations to participate in writing and sharing couplets. It can be a great way to experience traditional cultural heritage, as pasting the spring festival couplets on doors can bless all those who enter with the couplets’ auspicious meanings.   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan this week passed new legislation to deregulate the electricity market and boost the uptake of clean energy. But do the changes go far enough?

The News Lens
Date: 2017/01/13
By: Rosemary Chen

Taiwan’s attempt to boost the renewable energy sector may be hindered by strict reserve requirements

placed on independent power providers, critics say.

Taiwan’s parliament, the Legislative Yuan, this week passed a swathe of changes to its Electricity Act. One of the main components of the new amendments is to enable renewable energy companies to sell electricity directly to consumers. This will potentially be a big change for Taiwan’s electricity market, which has long been dominated by fossil fuel and nuclear generation supplied by state-owned monopoly Taipower, and has been welcomed by local environmentalists.

However, one article in the new law states, “In order to maintain the stability and safety of electricity supply, the energy providing company must be equipped with appropriate energy reserves.” Environmental groups fear that smaller-scale renewable energy companies will not be able to meet the requirements nor compete with larger corporations.    [FULL  STORY]

Can you find where you live in Taipei on this Japanese map dating to the 1930s?

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/13
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News) — An image of a well-preserved map of Taipei during the Japanese colonial era

has been circulating on social media lately, with many netizens trying to figure out what landmarks are still recognizable.

The illustrated folding map titled “A Bird’s Eye View of Greater Taipei,” originally printed by the Taipei Publicity Company (台湾宣伝事業社) in 1935, shows major streets, railroads, structures, and the surrounding landscape in vivid color.

Among the more notable structures that can be seen in this map include the Taiwan Grand Shrine (now the Grand Hotel), Chienkung Shrine (now the Center of Educational Resources and Publishing), the office of the Governor General of Taiwan (now the Presidential Office Building), Longshan Temple, Taihoku Imperial University (now National Taiwan University), and Babacho (now Nanjichang Night Market).

The map is made from an aerial vantage of the city facing west. When this map was drafted in the 1930s, the population of the city was concentrated almost entirely in present day Wanhua, Datong, Zhongzheng, Zhongshan, Daan districts. Today, these areas are considered the older, less desirable, and therefore less expensive areas to purchase real estate compared to the newer districts such as Xinyi, Neihu, and Wenshu.    [FULL  STORY]