Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/22
By: Liu Hsih-yi and Ted Chen

Taipei, June 22 (CNA) Taipei prosecutors on Monday indicted Liu Chi-ju (劉其儒), a retired Air

Force officer who is suspected of serving as a collaborator in a major military espionage network on behalf of China.

Prosecutors said they had earlier indicted a Chinese national named Zhen Xiaojiang (鎮小江), a retired People’s Liberation Army captain who is suspected of having recruited several Air Force officers into his spy ring.

The investigation into Zhen revealed that Liu played an instrumental role in the recruiting of active and retired Air Force officers for the Chinese spy ring.

Liu, who retired from the ROC Air Force with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2005, is facing charges of violating the National Security Act (國家安全法). However, Liu’s exact whereabouts remains unknown, as he has been residing in China running businesses since his retirement.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/22
By: Wang Shwu-fen and Elizabeth Hsu

Kaohsiung, June 22 (CNA) A Taiwanese survivor of 27 hours trapped in a crevice on Uluru in

Australia returned to his hometown of Kaohsiung Monday, where he is faced with follow-up medical treatment and daunting medical costs his mother says he cannot afford.

Twenty-seven-year-old Yang Cheng-hsiao (楊成效) was admitted to Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital after landing in the southern Taiwan port city.

Suffering from multiple bone fractures to his face, chest, ribs, spine and limbs, Yang appeared frail and weak, lying on a stretcher.

His family has paid off NT$300,000 (US$9,760)-worth of medical treatment bills at Alice Springs Hospital in central Australia, but still faces around NT$2 million-worth of rescue and aerial transport charges, Yang’s mother said.     [FULL  STORY]

Bankok Post
Date: AFP
By: 23 Jun 2015

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s high court on Monday rejected a motion by the island’s longest-serving death row

prisoner for a retrial, saying the new evidence presented by his lawyers was not sufficient.

Chiou Ho-shun, 55, has been on death row since 1989 after being found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a six-year-old boy and robbing and killing a woman.

His lawyers lodged a motion with the high court early this month after two retired police officers backed Chiou’s claims that he confessed to the crimes after being tortured.

The officers presented their evidence to the top government watchdog the Control Yuan in 2013, which recommended an “extraordinary appeal” to prosecutors.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/22
By: Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, June 22 (CNA) The Environmental Protection Bureau of the Taichung City government decided Monday to deploy camera attached to drones in its efforts to catch those damaging air quality and jeopardizing road traffic safety by burning dry straw on open ground.

It will be the first time the city has used this form of technology to catch polluters after patrol vehicles on the ground often fail to accomplish the task, bureau officials said.

The drones can collect immediate data that can be relayed to ground patrols, which can then rush to the crime scene in time to apprehend the culprits, the officials added.

Drones for aerial photography have become more and more popular in Taiwan since the 2013 documentary, “Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above (看見台灣),” which showed the world the beauty of Taiwan from different angles and from different altitudes.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-22
By: CNA

Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency (NIA) launched an app on Sunday that enables organizations

to quickly check if a resident certificate presented by a foreign national when applying for a job or opening a bank account is valid.

In the past, employers had to verify the residency status of a potential foreign employee with the NIA before it could proceed with the hiring process, but that can now be done through an app on the phone, the NIA said.

The app will also speed up the process for foreign residents who want to open bank accounts or handle other matters requiring them to present their resident certificate, it said.

After downloading the app on either an Android or iOS platform, the user can scan the bar code on the foreign national’s resident certificate and enter its serial number and other information to immediately confirm the certificate’s validity, the NIA said.

The app also allows users to check the photo of a foreign resident shown on his or her resident certificate.

The certificates are issued to foreign nationals as well as Taiwan nationals who are residents of the country but do not possess a Taiwan national ID card.

As of April this year, there were more than 620,000 foreign nationals living in Taiwan who held resident certificates.

‘ASTONISHED’:Farglory’s representative, Shih Yi-fang, announced her resignation just before the start of the first round of arbitration talks with the city government

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 23, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

The 2017 Universiade’s opening and closing ceremonies will not be held at the Taipei Dome — as

originally planned — but will instead be moved to the Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.

“If you take into account the time needed to prepare the interior, it cannot be guaranteed that the Taipei Dome project will be completed on time,” Ko said, adding that it would be easier to conduct city business if the Taipei Dome and the Universiade were “disconnected.”

The ceremonies were originally scheduled to be held in the Taipei Dome, but construction has fallen behind schedule amid conflict between the city government and contractor Farglory Group (遠雄集團) over safety and contract terms.

Ko said the stadium had already been used for the 2009 Summer Deaflympics, adding that its smaller seating capacity was the only drawback.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-21
By: CNA

Taiwan bagged 33 gold medals, 32 silvers and seven special awards Thursday at the 30th Invention

and New Product Exposition (INPEX) held June 16-18 in Pittsburgh in the United States.

Nearly 700 inventions from 18 countries were shown in this year’s event, 85 of which came from Taiwan. Both in terms of number of medals and win rate, Taiwan was the biggest winner for the fourth consecutive year.

A 5-in-1 implant surgery technique by Taiwan-born Leon Chen of the American Dental Implant Center in Pasadena, California, which can dramatically reduce implant operating time, won two gold medals, a special award and a cash prize of US$2,000. The technique has acquired patents in China, Taiwan and the United States.

A test chip based on nutritional genomics by TCI won a gold medal and a special award. It’s RNA (Ribonucleic acid) chip can detect somebody’s gene expression and the cause of diabetes, giving nutritional advices to the testers.

An optical fiber lighting system of Sun-in Energy Technology, which can collect solar power through special light processing and channel the power into an optical fiber for lighting, also won a gold medal and a special award.     [FULL  STORY]

The Straits Times
Date: Jun 21, 2015

TAIPEI – And now for an update on the hottie market in Taiwan.

Hunting for pretty boys at traditional markets has become the vogue as summer arrives in Taipei. In Beitou, a soya bean curd shop has risen to fame after photos of a strapping shop assistant went viral last week, travelling as far as Thailand and Vietnam.

There was a long queue at the shop, Chuan Tong Zhi Zui Dou Hua Tang (Hall Of The Most Traditional Bean Curd), when Apple Daily dropped by last Thursday.

The main attraction for many of the women in line was the shop assistant, whom some of them said looked like a “Zara-grade male model”, the newspaper reported.     [FULL STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/21
By: Wu Che-hao and Christie Chen

Taipei, June 21 (CNA) A team of four Taiwanese bikers on Saturday (U.S. time) joined competitors from around the world in the Race Across America team event, a strenuous bike ride covering 3,000 miles from California to Maryland.

The four bikers are Hsiao Yi-ting (蕭依婷), a doctor, Juan Chien-yeh (阮建瞱), a software engineer, and sales managers Huang Yi-kuang (黃儀光) and Lu Hsuan-chiu (盧玄梂).

“All four of us are not the kind of people who give up easily. We joined this event to challenge ourselves,” said Juan, the team’s captain, before they set off.

Over the next week or so, the group of four will pedal 3,000 miles in a relay format from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland in the annual race, one of the world’s toughest and most grueling bicycle events.     [FULL  STORY]