Monthly Archives: April 2016

Taiwanese in Ecuador safe and sound after strong quake

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/17
By: Y. C. Tai and Flor Wang

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) Most of Taiwan nationals in Ecuador are safe and sound

(From local mediaEl Noticiero's website http://www.elnoticiero.com.ec)

(From local mediaEl Noticiero’s website http://www.elnoticiero.com.ec)

after a powerful 7.8 earthquake rattled the South American country’s central coast on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei.

Citing initial information provided by Taiwan’s representative office in Ecuador, the ministry said there are no reports of Taiwanese killed or injured in the capital of Quito and Machala, but that some in Guayaquil have remained unaccounted for because of a lack of communications.

“We are doing our best to gain a better understanding of those Taiwan nationals who are still out of contact,” the ministry said.      [SOURCE]

Taiwan’s table tennis player grabs Olympic spot

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/16
By: Stanley Cheung and Romulo Huang

Hong Kong, April 16 (CNA) Taiwan’s table tennis player Chen Chien-an (陳建安)

(Photo courtesy of the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association)

(Photo courtesy of the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association)

grabbed an Olympic spot on Saturday after defeating his rival Tanviriyavechakul Padsask from Thailand in the finals of the Men’s Singles Draw C at the second stage of the 2016 ITTF-Asia Olympic Qualification Tournament being held in Hong Kong.

Chen, who is ranked 64th in the world, won the six-game encounter 4-2 (11-6, 11-6, 10-12, 13-15, 15-13 and 11-7), becoming the only Taiwanese table tennis player to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games in August.

Athletes from 23 countries and territories are participating in the Olympic qualifying tournament, which commenced on April 13 and will run through April 17.     [FULL  STORY]

Two Taiwanese Taekwondo athletes qualify for Rio Olympics

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/16
By: Lee Yu-cheng and Romulo Huang

Manila, April 16 (CNA) Two Taiwanese Taekwondo athletes secured Olympic 201604160022t0001qualification for Rio 2016 on Saturday after defeating their rivals in the semifinals of their respective weight divisions at the Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament being held in Manila, the Philippines.

Liu Wei-ting (劉威廷) got past Mahmoud Abdelrahim from Qatar with 4:2 in the semifinals of the men’s division under 80 kilograms at the qualifying tournament and clinched an Olympic spot.     [FULL  STORY]

Pure Youth edge Game 1 on buzzer

SPLIT SECOND:A three-point shot from Taiwan Beer’s Chiang Yu-an was counted out by 0.1 seconds, leaving the defending champions with a close victory of 73-70

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 17, 2016
By: Paul Huang / Contributing reporter

Overcoming several misses from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, Pure

Taiwan Beer guard Yu Huan-ya looks for options during their game against Pure Youth Construction at the Kaohsiung Feng Shan Gymnasium last night. Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times

Taiwan Beer guard Yu Huan-ya looks for options during their game against Pure Youth Construction at the Kaohsiung Feng Shan Gymnasium last night. Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times

Youth Construction held off a late-game rally by Taiwan Beer to collect a 73-70 win in Game 1 of the championship finals at the Kaohsiung Feng Shan Gymnasium last night to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Tsai Wen-cheng came up huge with three clutch baskets and as many defensive rebounds in the final quarter to lift the four-time defending champions past a feisty Brew Crew, who nearly turned the tide with what would have been the game-tying three by Chiang Yu-an that missed the final buzzer by 0.1 seconds.

“We needed a big break to help us get through the first one and that was exactly what we got tonight,” Tsai said after the game.

He more than lived up to his two-time championship finals-MVP billing by connecting on shots that either gave his team a multi-possession lead or stopped a Taiwan Beer run in the final quarter.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese banks’ Chinese yuan deposits down for 2nd consecutive month

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-16
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang, Central News Agency

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Chinese yuan-denominated deposits held by banks operating in Taiwan fell for the second consecutive month in March in the wake of the Chinese currency’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar, according to the central bank.

Citing statistics, the bank said that the balance of yuan deposits, including negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs), held by banks in Taiwan totaled 314.32 billion (US$48.36 billion) as of the end of March, down 2.503 billion yuan or 0.79 percent from a month earlier, marking the second consecutive monthly drop.

The fall in March pushed down the balance of yuan deposits taken by banks in Taiwan to a new 14-month low.     [FULL  STORY]

Formosa Petrochemical announces fuel price hike for next week

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/16
By: Wei Shu and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (台塑石化), a private 201604160019t0001gasoline supplier in Taiwan, said Saturday that it will raise its fuel prices for next week in reflection of a strong rebound in international crude oil prices seen this week.

Formosa Petrochemical said that it will hike gasoline and diesel prices by NT$1.1 (US$0.03) per liter, effective from 1 a.m. Monday, after a cut of NT$0.2 per liter for gasoline and a reduction of NT$0.1 per liter for diesel this week.

International crude oil prices staged a rebound this week amid optimism that oil producing countries will reach an agreement to freeze production in a bid to reduce the impact from a supply glut and give a boost to oil prices, analysts said.     [FULL  STORY]

Academia Sinica prepares to select new chief

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-16
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Academia Sinica narrowed down a list of 6748441prospective candidates for its presidency from four to three Saturday amid the controversy enveloping its current head, Wong Chi-huey.

The top academic returned to Taiwan and met President Ma Ying-jeou Friday, denying his alleged involvement in an insider trading scandal. He reportedly did not repeat an offer to resign, but since his 10-year period in office ends in October, the procedure to choose his successor has already started.

An Academia Sinica review committee met at 10 a.m. Saturday amid extensive media attention due to the allegations against Wong. However, committee members were unwilling to comment on their current head or on his potential successor.

According to the official procedure, the committee had to consider three of the present four candidates. After two hours of presentations and debates, the committee held one round of voting which succeeded in choosing the three remaining contenders, though the result was not announced to the public.     [FULL  STORY]

Three candidates selected for next Academia Sinica head

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/16
By: Chen Chih-chung and Elaine Hou

51505636

Academia Sinica President Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠, second right)

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) The Council of Academia Sinica selected candidates for the next head of Taiwan’s top academic research institution during a meeting Saturday, and that list will be sent to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to make a final decision.

After the seven-hour meeting, Academia Sinica President Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) — who convened the meeting — told the media that three candidates have been chosen for the post.

The list of candidates will be sent to the president within a month and the president will make the decision on who will head the institution, said Academia Sinica, which did not reveal the names on the list.

At the beginning of the meeting, Wong also apologized for the recent controversy that has marred the image of the institution.     [FULL  STORY]

NPP accuses justice ministry of dereliction of duty

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 17, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) yesterday said the Ministry of Justice had neglected its duty after 20 Taiwanese detained by the Malaysian government sent to Taiwan on Friday night were released on arrival.

Hsu accused the ministry of “deliberately taking zero action to collect evidence and misleading the public” into believing that fraud suspects — as Beijing had claimed — are not duly punished in Taiwan.

“Why is it that the ministry did not proactively collect evidence from Malaysian authorities from the beginning? This is not the first time that we have had this kind of case. Is ‘letting the suspects get away easily’ a reputation actually created by the ministry’s repeated passive reactions?” Hsu asked.

Malaysian authorities gave the evidence to Chinese authorities, Hsu said.     [FULL  STORY]

OBI Pharma chair out on bail

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-16
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – OBI Pharma Inc. Chairman Michael Chang was freed 6748444on bail of NT$1 million (US$30,900) in the investigation into insider trading with his company’s shares, reports said Saturday.

The allegations have also implicated the nation’s top academic body, the Academia Sinica, because its president, Wong Chi-huey, was accused of having sold shares in OBI Pharma he had given to his daughter.

Wong has staunchly denied any involvement, including during a meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou Friday. He is also likely to face questioning by lawmakers as early as Monday.

While Wong was meeting with Ma, the Shilin District Prosecutors Office in Taipei City was questioning Chang and eight other suspects and witnesses, while teams of investigators raided seven locations, including OBI Pharma      [FULL  STORY]headquarters.