Taipei Times
Date: Nov 17, 2016
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter

Chang Kai-chen and Chuang Chia-jung advanced to the quarter-finals of the doubles at the OEC

Taipei WTA Challenger at the Taipei Arena yesterday, while fellow Taiwanese Hsu Ching-wen and Lee Ya-hsuan also won their first-round match at the WTA 125k tournament.

Chang and Chuang ousted fourth seeds Jessica Moore of Australia and Varatchaya Wongteanchai of Thailand 6-0, 7-5 in exactly 1 hour.

The Taiwanese pairing saved four of five break points and converted five of 12 to set up a quarter-final against Olga Govortsova of Belarus and Evgeniya Rodina of Russia.
Hsu and Lee defeated fellow Taiwanese Lee Pei-chi and Nicha Lertpitaksinchai of Thailand 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour, 17 minutes.

The Taiwanese pairing converted five of 12 break points, winning 68 of the 120 points contested to advance to a clash with Russian duo Natela Dzalamidze and Veronika Kudermetova.    [FULL  STORY]

DOING BUSINESS:Taiwan earned valuable points for its efficient processing of tax return applications, as it mostly dealt with export-oriented manufacturers

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 18, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Taiwan has gained significant headway in the ease of paying taxes, moving from 39th to 30th place

worldwide, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s (PwC) Paying Taxes 2017 report said.

While favorable tax terms carry heavy weight in global investment decisions, multinational corporations assign more importance to tax policy predictability, transparency and consistency, said the report, which is part of the World Bank’s Doing Business project.

“The improvement in ranking has much to do with the introduction of a new criterion — post-filing — that aims to measure the time it takes for tax authorities in different countries to process return applications,” PwC Taiwan financial services leader Richard Watanabe (吳偉臺) told a media briefing.

In developed nations, companies spend an average of eight hours to go through the process, which takes up to 27 hours in developing countries, Watanabe said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 16, 2016
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter

Chang Kai-chen triumphed in an all-Taiwanese first-round showdown at the OEC Taipei WTA

Challenger at the Taipei Arena yesterday.

The world No. 154 defeated wild-card Hsu Ching-wen 6-3, 6-3 in 69 minutes.
Chang saved all four break points and converted three of three, winning 67 of the 120 points contested to advance to a second-round clash with either China’s Zhang Kai-lin or Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain.

Chang’s victory was the high spot of an otherwise disappointing day for the Taiwanese fans in the nation’s capital.

Earlier, Taiwanese wild-card Hsu Chieh-yu crashed out 6-2, 7-5 to Japanese qualifier Junri Namigata in 1 hour, 24 minutes.

Namigata, the world No. 289, saved four of five break points and converted four of eight, winning 77 of the 132 points contested to advance to a second-round clash against Ashleigh Barty after the Australian stunned third seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.

Hsu returned to the court in the first round of the doubles alongside Dalila Jakupovic, but she fared no better as the Taiwanese-Slovenian duo were beaten 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 by Evgeniya Rodina and Olga Govortsova in 1 hour, 19 minutes.

It was not Lee Pei-chi’s day either, as she was crushed 6-2, 6-1 by sixth seed Rodina in 65 minutes.

The Russian saved all four break points she faced against the Taiwanese and converted five of 11, winning 64 of the 103 points contested to advance to a second-round clash with Jakupovic.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
By: Lin Hung-han and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 15 (CNA) Fubon Financial Holdings Co. Ltd. (富邦金控) has changed the name of the EDA Rhinos (義大犀牛) to Fubon Guardians (富邦悍將) after it took over the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, 中華職棒) team last month, the company said Wednesday.

Fubon Financial’s subsidiary, Fubon Sports and Entertainment Co., has purchased the EDA Rhinos (義大犀牛) for NT$300 million (US$9.47 million) and officially took over the team Nov. 1.

Since the takeover, the timing of an announcement of the team’s new name, mascot and trademark had become a major concern among fans.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 17, 2016
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter

Chang Kai-chen and Chuang Chia-jung advanced to the quarter-finals of the doubles at the OEC

Taipei WTA Challenger at the Taipei Arena yesterday, while fellow Taiwanese Hsu Ching-wen and Lee Ya-hsuan also won their first-round match at the WTA 125k tournament.

Chang and Chuang ousted fourth seeds Jessica Moore of Australia and Varatchaya Wongteanchai of Thailand 6-0, 7-5 in exactly 1 hour.

The Taiwanese pairing saved four of five break points and converted five of 12 to set up a quarter-final against Olga Govortsova of Belarus and Evgeniya Rodina of Russia.

Hsu and Lee defeated fellow Taiwanese Lee Pei-chi and Nicha Lertpitaksinchai of Thailand 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour, 17 minutes.

The Taiwanese pairing converted five of 12 break points, winning 68 of the 120 points contested to advance to a clash with Russian duo Natela Dzalamidze and Veronika Kudermetova.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: November 14, 2016

Representatives from the Taiwan-based diplomatic corps, international chambers of commerce and

organizing committee of the 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade contested the Diplomatic Woodball Friendship Tournament Nov. 12 in Taipei City, expanding exchanges and learning more about Taiwan while experiencing the locally invented sport.

Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Woodball Federation, the daylong event took place at National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences in Beitou District. It has been staged annually since 2011 and is considered a highlight on the diplomatic calendar.

MOFA Vice Minister Leo Chen-jan Lee said at the tournament’s opening ceremony that woodball has generated widespread attention, affording Taiwan many opportunities for sporting exchanges with countries around the world. He also praised its creator Weng Ming-hui for his tireless efforts in promoting the hybrid sport mixing croquet and golf.

From its humble beginnings 26 years ago on the terraced hills of a scenic spot in Taipei’s Shihlin District, woodball has grown in popularity due to its simple equipment—a ball, mallet and gate—and the fact that it is easy to learn and play. In 1990, woodball was recognized as an official sport by the Olympic Council of Asia and incorporated into the Asian Beach Games in 2008—the first time an athletic activity created in Taiwan achieved official status at an OCA-organized event.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 15, 2016
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter

Seeded players Naomi Broady and Risa Ozaki fell to unexpected defeats on the the opening day of the

OEC Taipei WTA Challenger at the Taipei Arena yesterday.

British second seed Broady came unstuck against a familiar opponent in her first-round match, falling to a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/4) defeat to wild-card Vitalia Diatchenko.

The Russian world No. 553 saved one of four break points and converted two of four to edge the world No. 88 in 2 hours, 7 minutes, improving her career record over the Briton to 4-1 in the past seven years.

Japanese fifth seed Ozaki also made an early exit from the WTA 125k tournament when she fell to a 6-1, 6-3 defeat to Olga Govortsova in just 61 minutes.

The Belarussian world No. 198 saved one of two break points and converted five of eight, winning 56 of the 89 points contested to improve her career record against the world No. 94 to 2-0 following a similarly one-sided 6-1, 6-0 victory at last year’s Australian Open.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 12, 2016
By Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Yang Dai-kang (陽岱鋼) has said he would “love” to

represent Taiwan at the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC), but warned he was still recovering from injury.

Taiwan will head to Seoul next March to compete in a round-robin series of pool matches against South Korea, the Netherlands and Israel as part of the WBC’s first round.

“I’ve never been to Korea before, so I would really like to go there. The Korean side is extremely competitive and never gives up,” said Yang, who has played for over a decade in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB).

“I will do my best if the coach and selection team decides to put me in the side for the WBC.”

But the outfielder added he was still undergoing rehabilitation for an injury gained back in August.