Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-17
By: CNA

The largest Japan tourism expo Taiwan has ever seen will kick off Friday and is expected to

attract 80,000 people, organizers said Thursday.

Japan’s Tourism Promotion Associates said the event, to run through April 20 at the Taipei Expo Park, will feature Japanese pop culture, including trending entertainment, technology and tourism attractions.

The highlight of the expo will be on Friday afternoon, when three members of Japanese girl group AKB48–Minami Takahashi, Saya Kawamoto and Mion Mukaichi–will perform.

One hundred humanoid communication robots called Robi, designed by Tomotaka Takahashi, CEO of robot design company Robo Garage, will perform a synchronized dance the following day.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 17, 2015
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

While rosy cheeks can be a sign of health in young children, that was certainly not the case

for a six-year-old boy whose pink cheeks were recently identified as the symptom of a virus.

According to Reshining Clinic deputy superintendent Pan Chun-shen (潘俊伸), the boy’s parents thought the red blotches on his cheeks were caused by warm weather, until they started spreading to his torso and limbs a few days later.

“The rashes were slightly itchy and were accompanied by fever and a runny nose, which led the clinic to diagnose the boy with parvovirus B19 infection, a common illness in children that is sometimes referred to as slapped-cheek syndrome or the fifth disease,” Pan said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/17
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) An Air Force officer is on her way to realizing her dream of being a

fighter pilot, as she is undergoing flight training at an air force base in the eastern county of Taitung.

After three months of training at the base, 1st Lt. Kao Tzu-yu (高慈妤) completed a mission of flying an F-5E fighter solo that included mid-air drills such as rolls, on Wednesday.

“I made it,” said Kao, who added that when she landed, she screamed to express her absolute excitement.

During an interview with the local media, Kao said that it was not easy to learn how to operate the fighter in just three months. But she was happy that she managed to achieve the task.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-17
By: Lu Su-mei and Staff Reporter

The idea of Taiwan independence will not find a place in cross-strait relations, according to

the spokesperson of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), Ma Xiaoguang, our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily reports.

Ma made the statement after Tsai Ing-wen, the leader of Taiwan’s main opposition Democratic Progressive Party was officially named as the party’s candidate for the 2016 presidential election. Tsai was nominated by the party’s Central Executive Committee on April 15.

At the press conference to officially announce her second presidential bid, Tsai stressed that she will seek to maintain the cross-strait status quo. The TAO said in response that Beijing will also maintain its stance on Taiwan, and will not comment on Taiwan’s elections.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/17
By: Jay Chen and Christie Chen

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Friday reiterated that he would not run for president next year, despite a new poll showing him as the ruling Kuomintang’s best chance of defeating opposition candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

“I will not run in 2016,” he said in response to reporters’ questions.

His comment came after Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), vice chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), said earlier this week that Chu has been “thinking long and hard” about whether to stand in the election, which is due to be held next January.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/16
By: Wu Jhe-hao, Sophia Chen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Changhua prosecutors on Thursday searched several properties as part of an investigation into charges of corruption against former county magistrate Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) while in office and questioned his wife, Lin Jung-jung（林蓉蓉).

The Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office (彰化地檢署) searched Cho’s old residence in Tienchung, Changhua; a mansion in Nantun, Taichung City; a frozen foods factory under the name of Cho’s father, the home of Cho’s sister in Taichung, and Lin’s office in Taichung.

After the searches, Lin, a prosecutor of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office’s Taichung branch, was reportedly summoned by the Changhua prosecutors for questioning, but they refused to reveal any details about the investigation. Meanwhile, Cho’s mother and younger sisters also declined to comment on the matter when asked by the media.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/16
By: Lo Hsiu-wen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Farglory Land Development Co., which is contracted by the Taipei city

government to build and operate the Taipei Dome, on Thursday rejected the local government’s demand for a revision of the project’s construction plans.

Citing safety hazards, the city government said the contractor must either tear down the half-completed centerpiece arena or demolish the surrounding commercial buildings on the complex.

In a report released earlier in the day, the city government said that with the help of computer simulations, it had identified five major safety issues on the project, including insufficient surrounding outdoor space to accommodate 140,000 people — the capacity of the complex in downtown Taipei — in the event of an evacuation.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-16
By: Staff Reporter

The US has reaffirmed the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United

States and Japan on territorial disputes between Japan and China over the disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan, Diaoyu in China and Diaoyutai in Taiwan, said Antony J Blinken, deputy secretary of state, on Tuesday as cited in Huanqiu Net, the website of the nationalistic Chinese tabloid Global Times.

The US official said the country and Japan jointly built an order that has been the foundation for post-war peace and prosperity during a town hall meeting in Washington DC. Japanese news outlet Kyodo News said his remarks set a positive note to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the US starting on April 26.

Japan has made greater efforts in humanitarian aid and regional security than it did in the past, said Blinken. That will be taken into consideration when US and Japanese officials amend the Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation in late April, said the official.     [FULL  STORY]

DOOMED DOME?Taipei’s safety inspection commission recommended that either the Dome or its neighboring shopping mall should be demolished due to safety issues

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 17, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Either the Taipei Dome (台北大巨蛋) or its neighboring shopping mall should be demolished,

Taipei Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮) said yesterday, as he presented the results of the city’s safety inspection commission into the Dome’s evacuation plans.

Computer analysis of the evacuation plans found that the construction of a large shopping mall adjoining the Dome would prevent the site from being evacuated within 15 minutes.

In addition to increasing the difficulty of evacuating the Dome itself, the city’s computer model found that the shopping mall would be difficult to evacuate, with exits remaining clogged a full hour after an evacuation began.     [FULL  STORY]

Japan Times
Date: Apr 15, 2015

TAIPEI – An actor from Japan who came to Taiwan last month to shoot a movie was indicted
Wednesday on charges of obstructing and assaulting an immigration officer, prosecutors said.

The Taoyuan District Prosecutor’s Office requested that judges mete out a harsh punishment 58-year-old Daisuke Ryu if he is convicted and deport him after he completes his sentence.

Ryu has been prohibited from leaving Taiwan until the case is settled.

In the March 21 incident, the immigration officer asked Ryu to step aside to speak with him after his entry form was found to be incomplete. Ryu was purportedly drunk and allegedly attacked the officer, causing minor fractures on his left leg.     [FULL  STORY]