Monthly Archives: April 2016

Taiwan slams China for ‘abduction’, demands return of nationals

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/11
By: Tai Ya-chen and Jay Chen

Taipei, April 11 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday 51739992demanded an immediate repatriation of eight Taiwan nationals sent to China from Kenya after they had been acquitted of phone fraud in Nairobi earlier this month.

In announcing the news of the deportation, which occurred on April 8, the ministry expressed its “serious protest” against the “uncivilized act of extrajudicial abduction” which represents a “gross violation of basic human rights.”

The eight persons were put on a Chinese airliner in Nairobi and flown to China despite a court order that they be handed back to the Kenyan police authorities pending a further hearing.

They were among 23 Taiwanese accused of being members of a fraud ring which was busted toward the end of last year. A total of 77 Chinese and Taiwanese were arrested and charged with illegal entry and telecommunications fraud, according to MOFA.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying finishes 2nd at Malaysia Open Badminton

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/10
By: Kuay Chau-churh and Elizabeth Hsu

Kuala Lumpur, April 10 (CNA) Taiwan’s ace badminton player Tai Tzu-ying 201604100013t0001(戴資穎) had to settle for second place in the women’s singles at the Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open Badminton 2016 after she was defeated in the final Sunday.

The 21-year-old lost to Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand 21-14, 21-15 in straight sets.

The Malaysia Open is one of 12 World Superseries tournaments organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). It carries a total cash prize of US$550,000.

Tai, a right-hander, made history in Taiwan when she won her first national title at the age of 16.     [FULL  STORY]

Builders bully Braves to set up Beer showdown

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 11, 2016
By: Paul Huang / Contributing reporter

Top-seeded Pure Youth Construction clinched an unprecedented fifth

Liu Sheng-yao of the Fubon Braves, right, goes to the basket against Pure Youth Construction in Game 6 of their SBL playoff semi-final series in New Taipei City yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

Liu Sheng-yao of the Fubon Braves, right, goes to the basket against Pure Youth Construction in Game 6 of their SBL playoff semi-final series in New Taipei City yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

straight trip in the championship finals by topping the fifth-seeded Fubon Braves 77-64 in Game 6 of their semi-final series at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night to win the best-of-seven series 4-2.

Tsai Wen-cheng lead a quartet of double-digit scorers for the Builders, who had too many offensive weapons for the Braves as they shook off the underdogs with a 25-15 scoring differential in the game-deciding third quarter to blow a narrow halftime lead wide open.

“We just played our game in the second half the way we knew how and the rest just took care of itself,” Tsai said.

His team-high 16 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter, helped spoil any chance of a Braves comeback.

Also worthy of praise were Darian Townes and Keh Chi-hao.

The former led a Pure Youth squad that dominated the Braves on the glass by outrebounding their opponents 45-32, while the latter converted four of six from behind the three-point line as they combined for 29 points.     [FULL  STORY]

Domestic gasoline and diesel prices to drop on Monday

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/10
By: Line Meng-ju and Brook Hsiao

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) The CPC Corp., Taiwan (中油) announced Sunday

CNA file photo

CNA file photo

that it will lower its gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.2 (US$0.006) and NT$0.1 per liter, respectively, from Monday, based on its fuel price calculation formula.

After the adjustments, the reference prices at state-run CPC Corp. gas stations will be NT$20.9 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$22.4 for 95 octane unleaded, NT$24.4 for 98 octane unleaded, and NT$18.3 for premium diesel, according to the company.

The international oil prices fell because oil producing country Iran said it decided to increase its productions at the beginning of this year.

But the crude prices climbed later as crude oil reserves in the United States decreased and a meeting to discuss the possibility of freezing output is scheduled to be held in Qatar on April 17.     [FULL  STORY]

Asustek counting on ZenFone 3 boost

SMARTPHONE ZONE:The company said it would start mass production of its latest phone in July and has set a goal of a 25 percent increase in sales over last year’s results

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 11, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) hopes the launch of its next-generation smartphone — the ZenFone 3 — in June will help boost growth momentum in the second half of this year, a company official said on Friday.

“We expect to introduce the new flagship smartphone at the end of June and start mass production in July,” Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) said in a telephone interview.

Together with the launches of other handsets in the second half of the year, the company aims to sell 25 million smartphones this year, an increase of 25 percent from last year’s 20 million units.

The company in February cut its annual shipment target for smartphones from 30 million units to 25 million units.     [FULL  STORY]

White Rose calls for forceful death penalty enforcement

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-10
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The White Rose Social Care Association will take to the streets to call for 6747075the government to more forcefully enforce capital punishment and ensure better protection for younger generations on Sunday afternoon, about two weeks after the brutal random killing of a four-year-old girl in Neihu, Taipei on March 28.

The association has called on adults to wear black clothes, children to wear white clothes, and everyone to hold a white rose in their hands for the gathering on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office at 2 p.m.

The activity is to spur the government to enforce the current laws, to give death penalty to those who deserve it and carry out without any delays, the association said.

The association said that Taiwan is neither in a good position to abolish capital punishment nor has enough budgets to “civilize” those who deserve a death sentence. The association also called for capital punishment for drug lords and life imprisonment without parole for those who are convicted of committing serious crimes after taking drugs.     [FULL  STORY]

Traffic jam as Taipei region welcomes 4th Costco outlet

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/09
By: Chiu Po-sheng, Huang Li-yun and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 9 (CNA) Costco, an American membership-only wholesale 2016040900061club, opened a new outlet in the Taipei suburb of Beitou on Saturday. Before its opening, shoppers were lining up for gifts, causing a traffic jam around the store.

The Beitou branch is the fourth Costco outlet in Taipei and New Taipei and the 12th in Taiwan after the large-size wholesale hypermarket operator made its inroads into the country for the first time in 1997.

W. Craig Jelinek, chief executive officer of Costco, attended the opening ceremony where a lion dance troupe performed — a very traditional Chinese way of wishing for good luck whenever a new business opens.

The Costco CEO distributed red envelopes to the troupe and posed for a group photo along with the head of the Beitou outlet Chang Wen-lei (張文蕾).2     [FULL  STORY]

DPP lawmakers re-propose draft bill on refugees

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 11, 2016
By: Chiu Yen-ling / Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers are re-proposing a draft bill on refugees.

Lawmakers tabled a draft bill on refugees in the previous legislative session, aiming to address international human rights, but it met opposition from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus that cost the bill a chance to be discussed and reviewed.

DPP legislators Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) and Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) have each proposed a version of the draft legislation on refugees, which have been referred for further deliberation in the Internal Administration Committee, and the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.

The Ministry of the Interior in 2005 put forward a draft refugee act, but it failed to secure passage in the legislature.

In the previous legislative session, which commenced in 2012, the Executive Yuan’s version of the draft legislation excluded Chinese and Tibetan refugees seeking asylum from the act. Hsiao and other DPP lawmakers tabled their own version, including such groups of political refugees, but it was not put to committee review.
In 2013, a version of the draft act was proposed by lawmakers across party     [FULL  STORY]

Air quality in Yunlin deteriorates to hazardous level

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-10
By: By Wu Hsin-yun and Elizabeth Hsu, Central News Agency

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) The concentration of fine particle pollution in Yunlin County in southern Taiwan fell to a hazardous level Sunday morning, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said, advising people with health issues such as respiratory problems and eye infections to avoid outdoor activities.

As of 10 a.m., the concentration of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) recorded at the Lunbei and Taixi monitoring stations in Yunlin was 7 on the EPA’s sale of 1-10, according to its data.

In Xiluo Township, the level of PM2.5 pollution was 8, the highest in Taiwan at time, the EPA data showed.

Under the EPA’s PM2.5 index, pollution levels of 7 (54-58/cubic meter) and above are deemed severe enough to cause tangible discomfort and health problems.     [SOURCE]

Quake donations to be used only for relief, recovery: Tainan mayor

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/10
By: Chang Jung-hsiang, Lilian Wu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Sunday that 201604100018t0001the full amount of NT$4 billion (US$123.3 million) in donations received by the city government after a deadly earthquake in February will be put toward the relief and recovery efforts in the city.

In a briefing on the city government’s post-disaster work, Lai said all of the money will be used to help the quake survivors rebuild their homes and to provide relief for those affected.

There will be no diversion of funds for other purposes such as building bridges, roads or museums, he told the owners of housing units in the 17-story Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex that collapsed in the Feb. 6 earthquake.

The briefing was attended by representatives of the 107 households that had ownership rights to the apartment complex.     [FULL  STORY]