The News Lens
Date: 2016/04/25
Translated by Olivia Yang

Photo Credit: y . l yeh CC BY SA 2.0

Changhua is probably not an unfamiliar place for most people. Even if you have never been there, you have surely heard of the place, which is known for its agriculture industry. But did you know that Changhua is actually one of the first cities to have been developed in Taiwan?

The first attraction most people visit when arriving in Changhua is the Lukang (鹿港) in the traditional saying, “First Tainan, second Lukang, third Bangka” (「一府二鹿三艋舺」). The most unique architecture landscape of Lukang is the temples. Are you curious why such a small town like Lugang houses so many temples with historic value? Let’s hop on a pedicab and discover the culture of Lukang in the old streets of the town.

Take a historical look into Lugang on a pedicab

We can’t actually look at Lukang from a modern perspective. During the Qing Dynasty, the town was the trading location in southern Taiwan due to its geographic location and natural coastal terrain. It was where goods from both the north and south were gathered and distributed. No one would have called Lukang a “small town” (otherwise all the other places in Taiwan would be called, “nano towns”). Lukang traded frequently with other coastal towns and temples like Lukang Mazu Temple (鹿港天后宮) and Longshan Temple (龍山寺) were built for the fishermen and merchants to pray for safety on the waters. Even to this day, people still visit the Mazu Temple frequently, and paying a visit to the temple is like seeing the fishermen gathering in the space and praying to Mazu (媽祖) piously.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-25
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Last month, the U.S. and the Philippines began conducting joint naval patrols in the South China Sea. The two nations signed a 10-year military agreement in January known as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which allows the U.S. to build military facilities and give the nation wide access to Philippines military bases.

United States Pacific Command on Friday issued a statement saying that the Air Contingent had completed a flying mission from its Clark Air Base in the Philippines, involving four A-10C Thunderbolt II and two HH-60G Pave Hawks aircraft, on April 19 near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

Amid growing tensions between China and the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal, also known as Huangyan Island in China, the statement stressed that the mission was conducted through international airspace in the vicinity of the disputed reef and was in accordance with international law.

Last month, the U.S. and the Philippines began conducting joint naval patrols in the South China Sea. The two nations have signed a 10-year military agreement in January known as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which allows the U.S. to build military facilities in the Philippines and access the Asian country’s military bases.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/25
By: Tyson Lu, Yeh Tzu-kang and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) A National Yunlin University of Science and Technology student who had been reported missing since Feb. 23 was found Sunday night sleeping on a street in Taitung’s Guanshan Township.

Liu Wai Siong, a 35-year-old from Malaysia, had nothing on him except two cellphones and a flash memory but the memory cards in his cellphones were gone too, said Liu Cheng-kuang, Guanshan police chief who found the missing student the previous night.

Social workers had to ask two young men on alternative military service who were able to speak English to help get information from Liu Wai Siong, who was not able to speak but was able to tell his story by writing down that he did not remember anything except that he had “flown to Taitung from afar” and had been “hit hard” and “it hurts.”

His university said he left his dormitory in western Taiwan in the early hours of Feb. 23 on motorcycle and has not been heard of since — until now.

Guanshan police said when they took him in, he was dressed properly, an indication he has been fed well and has washed himself often over the past two months. His motorcycle was not with him any more.     [FULL  STORY]