Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/21
By: Chen Wei-ting and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, June 21 (CNA) Traffic on several sections of three national freeways in Taiwan was heavily congested on Sunday, the last of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, before easing up after 8 p.m., National Freeway Bureau officials said.

Northbound traffic on the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 national freeways began slowing down at around noontime, the officials said, and several accidents occurred in the afternoon when much of Taiwan was pummeled by heavy downpours.

Heavy car flows and the accidents caused traffic jam on many sections of the freeways, the officials said.

The jammed sections included the Taipei-Wuku southbound lanes, the Xiluo-Puyan northbound lanes, the Taichung-Fengyuan section, the Touwu-Hsinchu section, and the Hsinchu-Hukou section in National Freeway No. 1, according to the bureau.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 21, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

An exhibition that opened on Wednesday in New Taipei City is focusing on the lesser-known stories of

Relatives of White Terror political prisoners attend the opening of an exhibition about their experiences at the Jing-Mei Human Rights Memorial and Cultural Park in Taipei’s Wenshan District on Wednesday. Photo: Weng Yu-huang, Taipei Times

women during the White Terror era, a period of political persecution in Taiwan that lasted from 1949 to 1987.

Titled “A Jail Beyond the Prison Walls,” the exhibition features displays such as letters written by political prisoners to their families, and video interviews with White Terror victims, their wives, daughters and sisters. Also on display are photographs, artworks, personal notes and court verdicts, all pertaining to political prisoners during the White Terror era.

“For many years, the discussion on the White Terror era was focused on the political victims themselves — how and why they were imprisoned and their lives after prison — but we cannot exclude the stories of their families if we wish to gain a comprehensive understanding of the collective pain and suffering of our society,” National Human Rights Museum Preparatory Office director Wang Yi-chun (王逸群) said.

Among the items on display is a seashell painting that political prisoner Tseng Meng-lan (曾夢蘭) made in prison for his daughter Tseng Yu-pin (曾玉霦). The painting features two white cranes on a tree and is signed “from father.”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/20
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) Photographer Adam Ferguson, whose portrait of Taiwanese president hopeful

Photo from www.ptt.cc

Tsai Ing-wen made the cover of TIME magazine’s Asia edition but drew mixed reactions in Taiwan, has found the local response to his photo interesting and asked netizens to provide more of their thoughts.

Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he appreciated different opinions of his work after it drew some criticism on the Internet, mostly accusing him of making the 58-year-old Tsai look older than she is.

“I actually think the image is quite stoic in nature and depicts Tsai Ing-wen in a positive way,” Ferguson said Friday, in response to one of his admirers who shared feedback from Taiwanese netizens on his page.

Many of Tsai’s supporters and some local media said the portrait made Tsai “look old” and as though she “has poor skin.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 21, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is said to have invited several public figures not affiliated with the

National Chengchi University professor and Taiwan Rural Front spokesperson Hsu Shih-jung, center, speaks at a housing rights rally in Taipei on Aug. 26 last year. Photo: Chen Ping-hung, Taipei Times

party — including National Chengchi University professor Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮), a campaigner often seen on the streets protesting the government’s land policies — to its weekly Central Standing Committee meeting to deliver speeches.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that the KMT is to invite personalities from different walks of life to the meeting, which until now has seen only public officials giving policy presentations.

The list of invitations disclosed so far includes Hsu, director Khan Lee (李崗), who is now working on the second part of Taiwanese history documentary film Attabu (阿罩霧風雲), and high-school teacher Tseng Kai-hsin (曾愷芯), a male by birth who has recently received national attention for her decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

Hsu confirmed the report on Facebook, saying that he has accepted the invitation and is slated to give a speech at the meeting on Wednesday next week.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/19
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, June 19 (CNA) A team from Israel — the Haifa Lions — is competing in the annual Taipei dragon boat races for the third time, hoping for a better performance than last year.

Participation in the races has become a tradition for the Israeli paddlers. This year, the team has 23 members, some of whom are competing in the competition for the first time.

In a preliminary round in the mixed category Friday, the Haifa Lions finished second, to advance to the second round of the preliminaries the following day.

Last year, the team made the quarterfinal heat in the full-sized boat Mixed Open division but was eliminated. Coming back again, they are aiming to perform better this year, according to a statement released by the Israeli representative office.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-19
By: CNA

A team from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto US embassy in Taiwan, participated in

Kin Moy watches the dragon boat races in Taipei, June 19. (Photo/CNA)

this year’s dragon boat races, but faced a setback in a preliminary round of the competition.

The outcome was unexpected, as the team–composed of AIT officials and staff–failed to move their boat straight and did not manage to finish the race in the men’s division.

The team was unable to navigate the boat in a straight line, said Mark Zimmer, outgoing AIT spokesperson, who was participating in the Taipei Dragon Boat Competition for the third time.

“Last year they gave us a steersman,” he told CNA after the race. “This year we had to provide our own.”

But “it’s not an excuse,” he said. “We’re happy to participate,” he said, expressing hope that the AIT women’s team will do better in its preliminary race Saturday.     [FULL  STORY]