NOT MY WHEELHOUSE:Property owners must maintain and operate historical properties in accordance with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, an official said

Taipei Times
Date: May 17, 2015
By: Lin Ching and Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taoyuan city councilors accused the Taoyuan Department of Cultural Affairs of

failing to appraise the practicality of conservation efforts at properties after their designation as conservation sites.

Two Japanese dormitories in the city’s Jhongli District (中壢) — one near the Chung-Li Primary School and the other opposite Matsu Village (馬祖新村) — were listed as historical buildings in 2004 and 2011 respectively, but they have not been opened to the public due to lengthy renovations, Taoyuan City Councilor Lu Ming-che (魯明哲) said.

Lu urged the department to speed up its restoration work and open the sites.

Taiwu Village (太武新村), an old veterans’ complex in Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪), and the Japanese dormitory at Dasi Primary School are historical buildings, but the village has become an eyesore and a security blind spot, Taoyuan City Councilor Yang Chao-wei (楊朝偉) said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/15
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Friday warned

of the growing enterovirus threat as more people were infected with the disease in the past week.

The CDC said the number of patients seeking emergency treatment for enterovirus symptoms had increased to 465 in the one-week period from May 3 to May 9, representing an emergency consultation rate of 3.8 per thousand, higher than the epidemic threshold of 2.7 per thousand.

The numbers were up from 314, 307 and 427 emergency enterovirus cases reported in Taiwan the three previous weeks, according to CDC data.

The Coxsackie A virus has been the dominant strain of enterovirus circulating around the country, accounting for 64 percent of total enterovirus infections, the CDC said.     [FULL  STORY]

Two youths were arrested for the same thing earlier this week

Gay Star News
Date:15 May 2015
By: Darren Wee

Four more men have been arrested in Taiwan for having oral sex on a train, days after two youths were arrested for the same thing.

The latest arrests come after a 29-second clip was posted online showing two of the men openly having oral sex in a train carriage during the day.

Taiwan Railway Administration reported the incident to police and said they may sue the men for yet unassessed amount.

Police were able to pinpoint the location of the train by an announcement that can be hear in the video and the scenery outside the windows.

By going through station CCTV, police found one of the men in the video, 34-year-old Pan from Pindong, who they identified by bright green sneakers.

Pan then told police the identities of the other two men involved: 32-year-old Wu from Kaohsiung and 47-year-old Huang, who filmed them on his phone.

Huang told police he
– See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/four-more-men-arrested-taiwan-having-oral-sex-train150515#sthash.wxAq0hCU.dpuf

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-15
By: CNA

An incident in which the captain and crew of a Taiwanese fishing boat were

detained in the Philippines last week for alleged poaching has been resolved, Taiwanese foreign minister David Lin said Thursday.

After completing immigration procedures, the Pingtung-registered Sheng Feng No. 12 and its crew will be able to leave Basco, the capital of Batanes, the Philippines’ northernmost province, where they had been detained over the past few days, said Lin.

The crew–two Taiwanese and four Indonesians–and their boat are likely to leave the Philippines as early as Thursday afternoon, Lin told the local media on the sidelines of a book launch.

They were released and allowed to return home Wednesday after paying a fine of US$50,000.     [FULL  STORY]

BBC News
Date: 15 May 2015
By:  Cindy Sui

Taiwan is facing its worst drought in 67 years, with the island reservoirs at dangerously low levels.

The government has responded by cutting the water supply two days a week in some areas, and forcing factories to reduce consumption.

The last time that happened was in 2002.

As well, officials are warning power could also be rationed, with reserve supplies at their lowest level for 10 years.

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/15
By: Chen Che-fon and Lilian Wu

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) Kaohsiung City government said on Friday it will accept

lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) designating who their partner is in city records, starting May 20.

Tseng Tzu-wen (曾姿雯), head of the city government’s Bureau of Civil Affairs, said the nation’s Civil Code only recognizes heterosexual marriages, which means people from the LGBT community cannot register for same-sex marriage.

“But Kaohsiung City, to show respect and good will toward pluralist culture, will allow those from the community to mark their partner in its household registration and conscription information system for the consolations of hearts before laws are revised,” Tseng said.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-15
By: CNA

Japan’s Interchange Association said on Thursday that Taiwan and Japan have

reached a consensus to cooperate on investigating a recent incident of false labeling of Japanese food imports to Taiwan, which has lead the Taiwanese government to tighten regulations on Japanese food imports.

The incident occurred in March, and Taiwan and Japan have agreed to cooperate in the investigation into the case and take measures to avoid similar incidents, said the association, which represents Japan’s interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties.

The association, however, repeated Japan’s wish that Taiwan would not strengthen regulations on Japanese food imports. It reiterated that false labeling of the origin of products and tightening rules on food imports are two separate issues.     [FULL  STORY]

DYING ARTS?The award winners — all in their 70s and 80s — are concerned about passing on their traditional arts to a new generation in a new legal environment

Taipei Times
Date: May 16, 2015
By: Yang Yuan-ting and Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Six “living national treasures” — people who embody important intangible

cultural properties — are being honored with the Ministry of Culture’s National Cultural Heritage Conservation Award: architects Hsu Han-jen (許漢珍) and Liao Chih-te (廖枝德), who specialize in traditional Chinese architecture; master carpenter Yeh Ching-yi (葉經義); Luantan (亂彈) Opera actress Pan Yu-chiao (潘玉嬌); Beiguan musician Chiu Huo-jung (邱火榮) and late paper-cutting master Lee Huan-chang (李煥章).

While grateful for the ministry’s recognition, the laureates said at a pre-ceremony press conference earlier this week that modern technology and new legislation have presented challenges to their fields, as a younger generation of artists — which are virtually nonexistent in certain fields — can hardly make a living in the modern world.     [FULL  STORY]

Reuters
Date: May 14, 2015
By: Tim Kelly

The U.S. Marine Corps is bringing together foreign commanders from

amphibious forces deployed mostly in the Asia-Pacific for a conference aimed at taking steps to integrate operations, with China excluded from the event, according to officials and planning documents.

The effort centers on a first-of-its-kind conference between the Marine Corps and military officials from 23 countries that opens in Hawaii on Monday. More than half the nations attending are from Asia, including some embroiled in territorial disputes with China such as Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

On the agenda will be amphibious assault tactics, including ship-to-shore assaults, and a demonstration of shore landing tactics, said a USMC spokesman in Hawaii.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/14
By: Chou Yi-ning & Bear Lee

Taipei, May 14 (CNA) Cross-strait relations are set to move into the “abyssal zone” in the future and Taiwan has to face the reality and deal properly with China, a scholar said Thursday.

Speaking at a Taipei forum on the review and outlook of cross-strait relations, Suisheng Zhao, a professor of the University of Denver in the United States, said that current cross-strait engagement involves only the easier parts, such as economic exchanges between the two sides.

However, he said, Taiwan-China exchanges will one day enter the “abyssal zone” featuring far more difficult issues like political negotiations.     [FULL  STORY]