Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/02
By: Tang Pei-chun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) A New Southbound Policy introduced by the administration of President Tsai

Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been showing results in the tourism sector, with visitor arrivals from the target countries increasing, the Cabinet’s Office of Trade Negotiations said Friday.

In October, visitor arrivals from South and Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand grew 25.4 percent year-on-year to 166,931, the office said in a statement, citing Tourism Bureau statistics.

The robust growth in tourist arrivals from those areas, compared with an 8.75 percent decline in arrivals from all over the world, proves that the government’s New Southbound Policy is reaping success in the tourism sector, the office said.

The number of visitors from those areas is expected to continue to increase, the office said, adding that the figures for the period from January to October showed a 47.1 percent year-on-year growth in tourist arrivals from Thailand, 24.3 percent in the number from Vietnam and 18.8 percent from the Philippines.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: December 1, 2016

Local airlines and foreign carriers have unveiled new direct flights and code-share routes between

Taiwan and major international destinations, the latest in a series of public and private sector efforts to expand transportation links between the nation and South and Southeast Asia.

Taiwan’s EVA Airways Corp. and Air India launched Dec. 1 a code-share Taipei-Mumbai route that will connect EVA flights from Taipei to Bangkok and Singapore with Air India services between the two Southeast Asian cities and the Indian metropolis.

EVA, which operates 24 flights a week to Bangkok and two daily flights to Singapore, said the service allows for more convenient connections by enabling passengers to travel using one ticket and check luggage through to their final destination.

Vietnamese budget airline Vietjet Air has announced the commencement of ticket sales for its new Taichung-Ho Chi Minh City direct route. Slated to begin Jan. 15, the service will comprise four round-trip flights a week.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/01 19:19
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan is the Asian country most likely to legalize same-sex marriage. Unfortunately for its

supporters, if that phrase continues to be used, it means that the issue has been postponed and delayed, and that is precisely what has been happening.

Mobilization by radical opponents of same-sex marriage, often belonging to a variety of religious groups, succeeded in preventing a rapid passage of the necessary amendments.

Instead, the Legislative Yuan promised to organize two hearings, where supporters and opponents could both explain their views and theories. The hearings came and went, and the Legislative Yuan set December 26 as the new date for its review of the proposed amendments.

There are three versions, one from ruling Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Yu Mei-nu, one from opposition Kuomintang legislator Jason Hsu, and one from the New Power Party.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/01
By: Sophia Yeh and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) National Security Council (NSC) Secretary General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said

Thursday that Taiwan will not permit the importation of any radiation-contaminated food.

During a briefing of legislators on the NSC’s work and its budget for 2017, Wu was asked whether he could guarantee that contaminated food would not enter Taiwan if the government lifted its ban on food imports from radiation-affected areas of Japan.

In response, Wu said Taiwan would apply international standards to determine whether food imports were contaminated.

“I can assure you that no contaminated foods will be allowed into Taiwan,” he said. “I’ve asked the relevant government agencies (about this issue) and they’ve all assured me that they’re capable of handling the matter.”    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan, The China Post and CNA
December 2, 2016, 12:03 am TWN

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Former Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) chief Chang Kuo-cheng (張國政)

and TransAsia Chairman Vincent Lin (林明昇) were subpoenaed Thursday as part of a probe into a takeover offer for TransAsia Airways (復興航空).

Chang and Lin were called as witnesses by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office (台北地檢署).

Chang said yesterday that it wasn’t he who had wanted to announce an offer on Tuesday to take over the troubled airline.

Instead, it was Lin who suggested that it would be best to follow the proper procedures and make everything public, Chang said.

The offer — which Chang made Tuesday on behalf of backers he would not identify — was aborted the next day and decried by the government for being “premature” and showing “a lack of discretion.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: November 30, 2016

A disaster response drill in the waters surrounding Taiping Island in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands

underscored the Republic of China (Taiwan) government’s commitment to providing emergency assistance and transforming the island into a base for humanitarian aid and supplies in the South China Sea, according to the Coast Guard Administration Nov. 30.

CGA Minister Lee Chung-wei said at a news conference in Taipei City that the previous day’s Operation Nanyuan No. 1 clearly demonstrated the capabilities of participating agencies to coordinate effectively in responding to emergency situations. The drill involved elements of the CGA and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health and Welfare, National Defense, and Transportation and Communications, as well as the National Rescue Command Center.

A media delegation was also on hand to observe the exercise. The group comprised five local journalists as well as seven correspondents from Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Kyodo News, NHK and Reuters.    [FULL  STORY]

100 people raise their hands for HIV prevention

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/11/30
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – About a hundred young Taiwanese raised their hands and lit up lights in front of

the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to call for an end to prejudice and discrimination on the eve of World AIDS Day Wednesday.

The action formed part of the campaign “Hands up for #HIVprevention” launched by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. World AIDS Day has been marked on December 1 since 1998.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Centers for Disease Control responded to the UN organization’s call by gathering about 100 young people on Liberty Square Wednesday evening. They lined up in the shape of a giant red ribbon, the symbol of solidarity with HIV patients, and raised their hands holding red light sticks.

In his address to the crowd, CDC Director General Chou Jih-haw said the largest obstacle in the way of AIDS prevention was social prejudice, which isolated patients and stopped them from stepping forward to receive medical treatment. Waiting too long to seek medical assistance might lead to dangerous situations ending in unnecessary tragedy, Chou said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/30
By: Sophia Yeh and Elaine Hou

Taipei, Nov. 30 (CNA) Taiwan cherishes its long-standing relations with Singapore, the Presidential Office spokesman said Wednesday, in the wake of an incident in which Singaporean armored vehicles were seized in Hong Kong in transit from Taiwan.

Alex Huang (黃重諺) said that the Singaporean government has issued a statement confirming that there were no problems with the vehicles or the shipment.

“We highly value and cherish” the friendship between Taiwan and Singapore, Huang said.

His remarks came after Hong Kong customs officers on Nov. 23 reportedly seized containers carrying armored vehicles that were being shipped back to Singapore after a military training mission.    [FULL  STORY]