Focus Taiwan
Date: 02015/04/27
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) A first batch of relief supplies from Taiwan will arrive in Nepal on Tuesday to contribute to relief efforts in the Himalayan country devastated by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake last week, Foreign Minister David Lin said Monday.

After checking with Nepalese authorities, Taiwan will be sending blankets, water, dried foods and medical supplies to areas recovering from the aftermath of the strongest quake to strike Nepal since 1934, Lin said at a press briefing.

Vice Premier Chang Shan-cheng said an eight-member advance team of medical and foreign affairs experts will also be on the plane with the humanitarian assistance to get a better feel for Nepal’s medical needs.     [FULL  STORY]

IN WHAT CAPACITY?If Chu travels as New Taipei City mayor to his proposed meeting with the Chinese president, the trip must meet one of four conditions

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 27, 2015
By: Shih Hsiao-kuang and Hsu Sheng-lun  /  Staff reporters

The legality of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫)

scheduled meeting with Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing on May 4 has been called into question, as his status as New Taipei City mayor means such a visit is subject to certain legal restrictions.

According to the National Immigration Agency, the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that if the mayor of a municipality plans to visit China, the visit must be applied for in advance.

Under the Regulations Governing Public Servants and Special Status Personnel from the Taiwan Area Entering the Mainland Area (臺灣地區公務員及特定身分人員進入大陸地區許可辦法), the mayor of a municipality is only allowed to enter China when the visit is related to their official duties, or is a visit to a relative.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/26
By: Lu Gang-chun and Ted Chen

Taipei, April 26 (CNA) The Hsinchu City government on Sunday held an early

celebration of International Spank Out Day, ahead of the officially designated April 30 for the global movement against the use of corporal punishment on children.

The occasion was celebrated with a street procession and a carnival, attracting more than 500 children and their parents.

Hsinchu City Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), a father of two children, said that he hopes to make Hsinchu an ideal place to enjoy happy childhoods for the young.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/26
By: Bien Chin-feng and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 26 (CNA) A Taiwanese group of mountain climbers who experienced the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated Nepal on Saturday arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport from Nepal on Sunday, happy to be safely home.

The 12 travelers were the first group of Taiwanese travelers in Nepal to fly home after the earthquake. They flew from Kathmandu to Guangzhou in China on Saturday night and then transferred to a flight to Taiwan.

Members of the group said it felt good to be back home safe and sound, but one traveler, surnamed Hsiao, still had a vivid impression of the quake, which hit as they were walking around Kathmandu.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 26, 2015
By: Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff Reporter Staff reporter

Amid calls from politicians and the public for stricter regulations governing

acceptable behavior on social media Web sites, Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday expressed concern that such measures would harm Taiwan’s hard-earned right to freedom of speech.

Following the suicide of entertainer Cindy Yang (楊又穎), which her family attributes to vituperative online criticism, a number of politicians, media outlets and academics have called for laws to be amended to allow for stricter penalties for “online bullying,” — aimed at preventing a similar tragedy from occurring.

However, Tsai, the DPP’s presidential candidate, said she was opposed to such moves.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/26
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 26 (CNA) The number of the Taiwan nationals known to be in Nepal

when a magnitude-7.8 earthquake shook the Himalayan kingdom Saturday has increased to 177 as of 6:30 p.m. Sunday, 149 of whom are confirmed to be safe, according to the latest update provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The information was obtained by the MOFA’s outposts at the request of the travelers’ family members and travel agencies or through their travel registrations, MOFA spokeswoman Anna Kao (高安) said, noting that there were still 28 people with whom the ministry has yet to make contact.

These individuals, however, cannot be categorized as having “lost contact” as her ministry is still trying to reach them via various channels, Kao said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 26, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A couple were attended to this week after their three young children told police

that their parents were trying to commit suicide, New Taipei City police said yesterday.

The boys were carrying luggage when they arrived at Shalun Police Station in Banciao District (板橋) late on Thursday.

Police said the children told officers that “father and mother told us to ask for help from the police to contact our grandfather.”

Asked where their parents where, the children said: “Mom and Dad said they are going to commit suicide.”     FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-25
By: CNA

Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency (NIA) announced Friday that a Chinese

national who had been listed as a fugitive in Taiwan for committing real estate fraud had been arrested.

The April 22 arrest represents the latest result of the Agreement on Jointly Cracking Down on Crime and Mutual Legal Assistance Across the Strait inked between Taiwan and China in 2009.

The fugitive, surnamed Zheng, had once served as chair of a real estate development firm based in Xiangshan county in Zhejiang province.

The NIA said that after a project for the company to build 30 luxury houses went belly up, Zheng illegally sold the same housing units to multiple buyers and absconded to the US after amassing about US$14.6 million in ill-gotten gains.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/25
By: Sunrise Huang and Maubo Chang

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) Motorbike riders who enjoy taking their dogs for a ride, beware: don’t let the dog stand on the back of the seat if you don’t want a ticket.

A man in Luzhou in New Taipei City got a ticket for NT$300 (US$10) early this week for letting his dog stand on the back of his motorbike seat when he rode to nearby Mount Guanyin to get some exercise.

Accompanying the ticket was a photo taken by an anonymous car driver from behind the motorbike who filed a complaint against the driver with the police, saying he was putting the canine in danger.

Police marked the standing dog in the photo in red to justify the ticket, given for failing to properly secure the dog to the seat.     [FULL  STORY]