Taipei Times
Date:  Jul 05, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

The Ministry of Education (MOE) on Friday added an iron gate to the entrance of its

building and put barbed wire on its outer fences ahead of demonstrations planned for today by high-school students protesting against the ministry’s adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines.

Several student groups held a news conference yesterday announcing that protests in Taipei and Taichung are planned for today.

In both cities, black umbrellas are to be held up to symbolize the amendment of the curricula having been “shrouded in darkness.”

Protesters also plan to throw paper planes into the ministry in Taipei and the K-12 Education Administration office in Taichung, carrying students’ messages to Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) urging the government to postpone the roll-out and demanding a fair education system, the student groups said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-04
By: Matthew Strong

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Formosan black bear attacked a member of staff at the

Taipei Zoo Saturday morning, sending him into hospital with injuries all over his body, reports said.

The 59-year-old man surnamed Lee had at least 30 years experience in feeding wild animals at the zoo, according to officials.

Nevertheless, he reportedly was careless and failed to check whether the 20-year-old bear, nicknamed “Little Bear,” had moved into another enclosure when he went to clean up, the zoo said.

Such was not the case, so the bear mauled Lee in several places of his body. He fled into a neighboring enclosure. When the ambulance arrived at the zoo, his colleagues had already removed him from the bear’s reach, reports said.     [FULL  STORY]

Asia One
Date: Jul 2, 2015
By: Janice Lai

It was her dream to return to Singapore next year and study to be a doctor.

But in a cruel twist of fate, Singaporean Megan Loy is back a year earlier and fighting

to stay alive as she receives treatment at the Burns Centre of Singapore General Hospital.

“It’s such an irony because it is her dream to save lives but now she is in hospital fighting hard for her own life,” said her father, Mr Joseph Loy, 47, in an interview yesterday with The Straits Times.

Ms Loy, 18, suffered serious burns on up to 50 per cent of her body when a huge fire broke out during the annual Colour Play Asia festival at the Formosa Fun Coast water park on the outskirts of Taipei last Saturday night.

She arrived in Singapore on Tuesday and was in surgery for most of yesterday.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/03
By: P.N. Lung and Flor Wang

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) The number of victims in critical condition after being wounded by a June 27 dust explosion at a New Taipei water park had risen to 211 as of Friday afternoon, according to government figures.

The new figure represents a hike from 184 recorded the previous evening, according to tallies provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

So far, of the 495 people injured in the fiery blast who were taken to hospitals for treatment, two have died, while 449 remain hospitalized, 255 of whom are being treated in intensive care units, according to the ministry.

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-03
By: CNA

A gay rights group in Taiwan announced Thursday that it will put off a planned march

by one week until July 11 out of sympathy for the victims of a fiery explosion in New Taipei last weekend that has left two people dead and nearly 490 others injured.

The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) issued a statement expressing both sympathy for those injured in the explosion, and the new intention of the march to raise money for them.

Any donations will go to the Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing services and rehabilitation for burn victims, according to the TAPCPR website.

The alliance originally planned to hold a march July 4 in Taipei following last week’s ruling by the US Supreme Court that made same-sex marriage legal throughout that country.     [FULL  STORY]

’MIRACULOUS’:One patient, who suffered burns to more than 90 percent of his body, began to breathe on his own on Tuesday after having been on a ventilator for three days

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 04, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Two hundred-and-eleven of the nearly 500 people injured in the dust explosion and

ensuing fire at New Taipei City’s Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park on Saturday night last week were in critical condition as of yesterday, 27 more than the day before, according to figures released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Out of a total of 495 people sent to hospitals after the incident, 449 remain hospitalized, official statistics showed. Two of the injured people died earlier this week.

Among the survivors, many of whom sustained burns to more than 50 percent of their bodies, staying alive and recovering will be a long and arduous process, doctors have said.     [FULL  STORY]

CNN
By: Gwendolyn Sung   @CNNMoney

Since getting engaged last September, planning for my wedding has taken over my life.

From scoping out wedding venues, to tasting banquet food, to meeting vendors, I’ve spent my last eight months planning the big day.

But here’s one thing I haven’t spent a single night worrying about: my wedding dress.

Surprised?

That’s because I’m Taiwanese American and am in on a little-known secret.

It’s called the hun sha 婚紗 package. Traditionally, hun sha means bridal portraits.

Unlike Western traditions, Taiwanese brides-to-be go through these sessions before their actual wedding day. The photos are seen as a status symbol as well as a way to capture the brides’ youth and glamor.

In my case, I chose a deluxe package that included not only the photography but my actual gown rental as well. As part of this package, I was able to choose from some of the most glamorous wedding dresses that are available for rent. My three selected gowns are altered to fit me and shipped to my house.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/02
By: Lung Pei-ning and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 2 (CNA) Minister of Health and Welfare Chiang Been-huang (蔣丙煌) said

Thursday he was grateful for China’s offer to provide medical assistance, including donations of cadaver skin to Taiwan, but it should be first confirmed that the skin was not from executed prisoners.

China has made public its willingness to provide medical assistance to Taiwan to help treat burn victims of a colored powder explosion in New Taipei last weekend that has left two people dead and over 490 others injured.

Part of the proposed assistance would be human skin grafts worth 20 million yuan (NT$100 million or US$3.22 million), the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday.

Chinese health authorities have also assembled a medical team of medical experts specializing in burn treatment ready to head to Taiwan at a moment’s notice.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/02
By: P. L. Lung and Lillian Lin

Taipei, July 2 (CNA) Hospitals treating patients suffering burns from a water park dust explosion are facing the challenge of limited manpower, despite mobilizing all related departments since patients were rushed to emergency rooms last Saturday.

Talking to the press about the situation over the past few days, a spokesman of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital said Thursday that all 456 nurses at the hospital’s 14 intensive care units have been working in shifts around the clock, because tending to the burn patients has demanded more than double the ward’s usual staff.

Dressing the wounds of a severe burn patient requires eight to 10 medical personnel to work for an average 1.5 hours, he said.

In addition to staff of the plastic and reconstructive surgery department, doctors and nurses of the surgical department and otolaryngology and oral surgery have joined in the treatment of burn patients.     [FULL  STORY]

SUBSIDIES?As Taipei sought to find out which districts are most flood-prone, the city also began considering subsidies for flood control measures

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 03, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Taipei will consider subsidizing private land owners who adopt flood prevention measures, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.

“I do not approve of giving out money every time there is a flood because it does not solve the problem,” Ko said.

He made his remarks before listening to a report on new flood control measures planned for the Wenshan District (文山), which saw flooding twice last month.     [FULL  STORY]