Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-18
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Legislative Yuan on Friday approved the third reading of a

proposal to allow foreign family helpers to stay a total of 14 years in the country instead of the previous 12 years.

People taking care of infants, elderly or handicapped relatives can apply to have helpers from overseas stay with them, but there are limits how long they can live and work in Taiwan.

Under the existing version of the Employment Services Act, 12 years was set as the maximum period for a foreign helper. The proposed amendments which were approved Friday extend that period to 14 years, but it still forces each helper to leave Taiwan after each three-year period before returning.

The central government has also set conditions for the employment which include language ability, diploma, work experience and performance, reports said. Potential employers have to follow a relevant course and present evidence of that course when they apply for a foreign domestic helper.

Critics of the changes said they still did not go far enough, because the fact that a foreign helper had to leave Taiwan after three years played into the hands of middlemen and brokers who profited from the situation by charging high fees.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/18
By: L.Y. Huang and Lillian Lin

Taipei, Sept. 18 (CNA) Residents of Shezi, a 290-hectare sandbar at the confluence of the

Keelung River and Tamsui River in Taipei, will decide the peninsula’s future course of development in a vote on Dec. 12, with voters able to cast ballots or vote online.

Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Chin-jung (林欽榮) said Friday that since it will be the first plebiscite held in Taipei, the city government will brief local residents twice in October on the three different development plans they can choose from and the methods of voting.

Due to Shezi’s geology and the threat of flooding, construction of new buildings has been banned there since 1970 and basic infrastructure, including electricity and water supply systems, has lagged far behind other parts of the city.

The city has made many promises since the 1990s to build landfills and dyke walls, enable residents to renovate their houses and give them better access to electricity and running water.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Sep 19, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Civil activists yesterday urged the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the

five Chinese nationals found on a yacht off Taoyuan County last week to determine whether they were planning to seek asylum in the US, as they claimed, or Chinese spies, coming as they did around the time of the Han Kuang military exercises.

Taiwan Association for China Human Rights chairman Yang Hsien-hung (楊憲宏) told a press conference that whatever the group’s motivations were, they should not be repatriated to China within 15 days of their detention.

The news was first reported by Radio Free Asia (RFA), which on Monday said that the five were found on a yacht on Sunday last week.

Three of them left China’s Shandong Province on Aug. 6 and almost perished at sea when they encountered a typhoon on Aug. 20, but were rescued by the Japan Coast Guard and sent to China’s Fujian Province, the report said. From there, the trio again set out for Taiwan to pick up two other Chinese citizens who had been staying in Taiwan with expired visas, it said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-17
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Kuomintang presidential contender Hung Hsiu-chu arrived in Miaoli as part of her election

campaign to oversee the county’s school lunch program, reports said Thursday.

“Having a hot, healthy lunch prepared by the school campus can also be as nutritious as homemade meals,” Hung said, reminiscing that back in her elementary school days, she would have meals prepared by her mother as lunch programs weren’t that predominant back then, especially in the provinces.

Hung’s Jhunan Elementary School visit in Miaoli County on Thursday comprised of KMT legislators Hsu Chih-jung and Chen Chao-ming, Miaoli County Councilor Liao Ing-li, and among several others.

After taking a tour of the school’s central kitchen and getting a feel of its day-to-day operations, the presidential candidate discussed issues with school authorities over its newly-imposed free lunch program for students beginning this semester, whose fees will be funded together by parents and the Miaoli County Hall, reports said.     [FULL  STORY]

‘INAPPROPRIATE’:KMT city councilors are demanding Ko apologize for banging his fist after one councilor implied he had a sexual relationship with Tai Chi-chuan

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 18, 2015
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Taipei city councilors yesterday reached an agreement to arrange two dates to make up

for question-and-answer sessions delayed as a result of a boycott against Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) — on the condition that Ko apologize at the city council for his “inappropriate behavior” the previous day.

Taipei City Council Speaker Wu Pi-chu (吳碧珠) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) made the announcement following a cross-caucus negotiation, adding that the city government should deliver an official document detailing which Taipei city councilors and city government officials requested controversial “porn star” EasyCards allotted for public relations uses from EasyCard Corp (悠遊卡).

Ko, an independent, on Wednesday slammed his fist on his desk upon hearing a remark by KMT Taipei City Councilor William Hsu (徐宏庭), in which Hsu said Ko’s alleged protection of former EasyCard chairman Tai Chi-chuan (戴季全) over the firm’s issuance of controversial EasyCards implied the two men have a “special/sexual” relationship (特殊性關係).

Ko’s reaction raised the ire of some KMT city councilors, who said Ko’s move was disrespectful to the council and demanded an apology.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-16
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

“Who knows what will happen between now and May 20 next year,” former president Lee

Teng-hui said during a press conference for his newly-published book titled “New Taiwan Perspective” on Wednesday evening.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if the PLA decides to test fire their range of missiles near our waters,” Lee said.

The former president expressed his worry that Chinese President Xi Jinping would pressure the United States during a state visit later this year for Taiwan’s presidential candidates to accept the 1992 Consensus under the “one China” framework.

Lee also pointed out his concern that after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen is elected President next January, she would be powerless until inaugurated on May 20, adding that there is four months of window where President Ma Ying-jeou still holds the executive decision.

“We should all keep an eye out for China during this period of transition.”

The former head-of-state sparked a huge debacle earlier this year when he said Japan was Taiwanese people’s homeland, and that the Taiwanese did not partake in China’s War of Resistance against Japan.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/16
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and Elaine Hou

Taipei, Sept. 16 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said Wednesday that Taiwan will follow international regulations and join global efforts to combat climate change, although it is not party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Taiwan’s commitment to cutting its carbon emissions in line with international standards was evidenced by its passage of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act in June, Ma said while receiving Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder and director of the German-based Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

The new law, which stipulates that Taiwan seek to cut its carbon emissions to half of the 2005 level by 2050, was a big step in the country’s effort to combat climate change, Ma said.

He said it is one of four climate change bills he has been pushing since he took office in May 2008.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-16
By: CNA

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the country’s main gateway, opened a departure

lounge featuring Taiwanese music Tuesday to offer passengers a quick chance to experience a taste of local culture.

The lounge in Terminal 2 is divided into different sections, providing multi-media services to allow interaction by people waiting for their flights.

Passengers can read about the history of Taiwan’s music development, listen to clips and watch videos, according to the Ever Rich Duty Free Shop, which designed and maintains the lounge.

The company has launched a few dozen such departure areas themed on various aspects of Taiwanese culture, including movies, cuisine and Taiwanese opera.     [FULL  STORY]