Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/16
By: Sunrise Huang and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Feb. 16 (CNA) A group of 1,000 people with the surname Liu gathered Friday near the site of a family shrine in New Taipei to celebrate their ancestry and plan for the collection of their history and genealogical records.

Liu Chi-chun (劉啟群), president of the Liu Clan Association, said the gathering was testimony to “the power of unity,” which tends to be rare in urban areas like New Taipei.

Some of the 1,000 members of the Liu clan traveled from other cities and counties for the family reunion lunch at a restaurant near the site of their shrine in New Taipei’s Xindian District.

As is customary, the clan leaders disbursed “respect” money to the senior members and bursaries to the students who are doing well in school, from elementary to university level.    [FULL  STORY]

Stanley Kao’s letter to the editor was published in the print edition of The Hill on Feb. 13

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/02/15
By:  Central News Agency

WASHINGTON (CNA) — Taiwan’s representative to the U.S. Stanley Kao (高碩泰)

emphasized Taiwan’s commitment to fighting “sharp power” and championing human rights and economic freedoms in a letter published on a U.S. political newspaper Tuesday.

Kao’s letter to the editor of The Hill, titled “Taiwan remains a partner in upholding democratic values,” highlighted the country’s determination to “continue to work with our friends in upholding universal values of democracy, freedom, and human rights.”

The Taiwan official addressed the increasing use of sharp power by authoritarian regimes around the world to undermine democratic rights and the open market.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/15
By: Chung Jung-feng and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Thursday in her New Year’s

Eve speech that her government is hoping to devise a security system that will help to minimize earthquake damage.

Speaking of the deadly Hualien earthquake that struck on Feb. 6, Tsai said she wanted to assure residents of the eastern county that the government and people are standing with them, no matter what the challenges.

The government cannot prevent quakes, but it can devise an earthquake protection system to reduce the damage to a minimum, the president said in a pre-recorded video address.

She said that since the magnitude 6.0 quake struck, killing 17 people and injuring hundreds, there has been an outpouring of love and support for the victims, which inspires confidence in the future of the country.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan could do more to roll out the carpet for internet businesses, a move that would improve the country’s economic and political situation.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/02/14
By: Ryan Terribilini

Taiwan has one weapon that China doesn’t — a free and open internet, able to respond

to the needs of global internet users.

Underpinned by Taiwan’s stable political, legal, and financial institutions, the establishment of a globally accessible e-business environment would put the economy at the forefront of the government’s campaign to win international recognition.

Global entrepreneurs setting up businesses in Taiwan would also be able to tap into a highly educated high-tech labor force which would increase employment and put upward pressure on wages.

Taiwan’s digital sovereignty
Following Panama’s recent decision to break off diplomatic ties with Taiwan in order to recognize the People’s Republic of China, the government now only has formal relationships with only 20 nations. China’s long-term strategy of systematically isolating Taiwan by individually poaching allies appears to be heading towards inevitable and complete detachment from the international community of sovereign nation-states. This reality is a direct threat which must be addressed.    FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese astrologer lists out the horoscope for all 12 zodiac animals in the Year of the Dog in 2018

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/14
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In an interview with Apple Daily, Taiwanese astrologer Chan

Wei-chung (詹惟中) predicts that the coming Year of the Dog in the lunisolar calendar will see more shotgun weddings, real estate will fall flat, a treacherous stock market and religious dissension or scandals, especially in the eastward direction.

The first day of the Year of the Dog, which is associated with the earth element this year, is Feb. 16, 2018. There are twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac for which a year can be represented by, with the animals following a specific sequence in a 12-year cycle before repeating again. Traditionally, in Taiwan and many countries in East Asia, people born in each of these years are believed to have specific characteristics and fates associated with their birth animals.

Chan says that the Year of the Dog will bring good fortune in terms of wealth, health and love for people born in the following animals of the zodiac: Rat, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, Monkey and Rooster. However, he says that this will be a less fortunate year for those born in the year of the Ox, Dragon, Ram, Dog, and Pig.  [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/14
By: Emerson Lin and Flor Wang

Manila, Feb. 14 (CNA) The body of a Philippine caregiver who was killed in the Feb. 6

earthquake in Hualien City was taken back to Manila on Wednesday.

Taiwanese officials stationed in the Philippines, led by representative Lin Song-huan (林松煥), and officials from the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, were at the airport to pay their respects when the body of Melody Albano Castro arrived.

On Thursday, the body will be taken back to Castro’s hometown of Abulug in Cagayan Province, some 600 kilometers away from Manila.

The body of the 28-year-old, who had been working in Hualien as a caregiver for three years, was found Feb. 8 in the rubble of the Yun Men Tsui Ti building that partly collapsed in the magnitude 6.0 earthquake two days before.    [FULL  STORY]