HARD TRUTH:The Ministry of National Defense condemned the air force officer who wore the helmet to a Halloween party for tarnishing the image of the armed forces

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 05, 2015
By: Steven Tsao  /  Staff reporter

The army yesterday said that it would discipline 601st Air Cavalry Brigade Lieutenant Colonel

Lao Nai-cheng (勞乃成) for wearing a NT$2 million (US$63,891) integrated helmet and display sight system (IHADSS) and a full flight suit to a Halloween party in October last year.

The Ministry of National Defense called Lao a disappointment and vowed to impose a harsh punishment after it was revealed that Lao — one of the nation’s first AH-64E Apache attack helicopter instructors trained in the US — took the helmet-mounted display used with the helicopter to a Halloween party.

The news came only a day after the military announced disciplinary action against Lao and other high-ranking officers at the Army Special Forces Command for taking a group of 20 people — including showbiz personality Janet Lee (李蒨蓉), members of her family and friends — into a restricted area at the brigade’s headquarters, where they posed around and inside Apache helicopters. The incident came to light after Lee posted four photos from her visit on Facebook.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 05, 2015
By: Tsai Wen-chu and Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwan became the black-faced spoonbill’s most popular migrating site for the winter ending

this year, with the species’ record-high winter population numbering 3,259 birds, up nearly 20 percent from last winter, the Taipei-based Chinese Wild Bird Federation said, adding that about 62 percent of all black-faced spoonbills sheltered in the nation for the season.

A total of 2,034 birds were spotted in Taiwan in January, compared with 1,659 in January last year, the federation said.

Meanwhile, 411 birds were seen in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China; 371 in Japan; and 330 elsewhere in China. Fewer than 100 birds were observed in other nations, the group said.     [FULL  STORY]

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

Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warned the public Friday to stay on the alert as

the seasonal flu could rise during the Tomb Sweeping Festival weekend April 3-6 as more people travel to visit their families or go on vacation.

Although the number of flu cases this year has been smaller compared with previous years, it could worsen during the holiday period, the CDC said.

Those planning to travel to the United States, Japan and Canada should pay particular attention to their personal hygiene due to flu outbreaks there, the agency said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/04
By: Chiang Chun-liang and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) Brahmin moths have been spotted at a temple in central Taiwan’s Alishan National Scenic Area, an annual occurrence that temple-goers believe shows that the insects are paying respects to the deity, whose birthday is celebrated April 21.

Shouchen Temple (受鎮宮), which hosts Xuan Wu (玄天上帝), also known as the Heavenly Upper Emperor, has reported many moths lately resting on a statue of the deity.

The insects have been seen around this time of year every year since the temple was remodeled in 1969, the temple said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/04
By: Kuo Chih-hsuan and Christie Chen

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) A total of 16 people were arrested for using drugs in a hotel and a guesthouse in the Hengchun area Friday on the first day of the Kenting music festival, Pingtung police said Saturday.

Two men and one woman were found to be using and possessing ketamine in a hotel room, while another group of eight men and five women were also discovered to be using the drug at a guesthouse, according to the police.

All 16 were arrested.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/04
By: Claudia Liu, Chiu Chun-chin and Y.F. Low

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) The military confirmed media reports Saturday that an Army officer wore a helmet-mounted display used with the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter to a Halloween costume party held in his own home last year.

The case involves Lt. Col. Lao Nai-cheng (勞乃成), former deputy head of a helicopter squadron in Taoyuan under the Army Special Forces Command, and will be referred to prosecutors for investigation, the military said.

Lao is at the center of a controversy in which he took a group of 20 relatives and friends, including TV hostess Janet Lee (李蒨蓉) and her family, to his base in Longtan District in Taoyuan March 29.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
April 5, 2015

“When I was a kid, I would start drawing whenever I got hold of a drawing pen,” said Chang

Chun-chieh, who is 24 years old and likes painting anywhere and everything. His artistic creativity can be seen in his sketch books, on the dining tables or even walls. After growing up, his graffiti habit still stayed with him, but he also began to sketch real objects and developed his abstract style. Black and white are the two primary colors that he uses to construct irregular lines and shapes.

During junior and senior high school, Chang put his paint pens aside and stopped painting for a full six years, forcibly threw himself into other pursuits, passed the entrance examination and entered the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National United University. He led an ordinary and peaceful life. Then, three years passed in the blink of an eye. One day in his junior year, he saw Franz Kline’s artwork, Chief. The simplicity of Kline’s lines blew Chang’s mind. When he went home that day and cleaned his room, he suddenly found his childhood sketch books. “A voice spoke to me, saying that I still love drawing the most,” said Chang.     [FULL  STORY]

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

Events are being held across Taiwan Saturday to observe a lunar eclipse set to take place

later in the day.

The National Museum of Natural Science in central Taiwan’s Taichung is carrying out events both at the museum itself and the Taichung Metropolitan Park, inviting stargazers to join a series of lectures and observations between 3pm and 9pm.

The eclipse will start before the moon is visible at around 6:04pm and last until 8:45pm, the museum said.

The moon will appear copper as it becomes fully obscured by the Earth’s shadow between 7:54pm and 8:06pm, it said, adding that it will be the first time since last October that a total lunar eclipse will be visible throughout Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Tim3es
Date: 2015-04-03
By: CNA

Taiwan has made it into the third round of an online voting competition that aims to select the

most democratic nation in Asia.

Taiwan beat Vietnam and Bangladesh in the first and second rounds, respectively, of the Asia-Pacific Democracy Tournament to enter the third round, which has been named Sweet 16 after the 16 rounds in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament in the United States.

The democracy competition was initiated in 2013 by senior project researcher Amanda LeDuke at the Center for Asian Democracy at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, with the goal of identifying the most democratic country in the Asia-Pacific region, as determined by voters on a Facebook page.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/02
By: Yang Sz-ruei and Ted Chen

Taipei, April 2 (CNA) Tainan City Council Speaker Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教), Tainan City

Council member Kuo Hsiu-chu (郭秀珠) and six other people were indicted Thursday on charges of buying votes, alleged actions that prosecutors said led to Lee’s victory in the city council’s speakership election last December.

Lee is aligned to the ruling Kuomintang while Kuo was elected on an independent ticket.

The Tainan District Prosecutors Office said that Lee offered to pay bribes of NT$300,000 (US$9,632) to NT$10 million to each of six city council members, via a number of middlemen, to secure their votes in the speaker and vice speaker elections.     [FULL  STORY]