Radio Taiwan International
Date: 03 January, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

President Tsai Ing-wen convened with Taiwan’s top defense aides on Friday morning in the wake of a deadly helicopter crash that claimed eight of thirteen lives onboard, including Chief of General Staff Shen Yi-ming. Before the meeting, President Tsai visited survivors of the crash at the hospital, and met with family members of the deceased.

Tsai met with National Security Council Secretary-general David Lee, defense minister Yen De-fa, and other military officials. The meeting began with a minute of silence to commemorate the fallen. Following this, President Tsai issued three directives to military leaders.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2020/01/03

New Bloom interviewed Lai Pin-yu (賴品妤), legislative candidate for the DPP in New Taipei City District 12. Lai, who was a member of the Black Island Youth Front, was previously known for participating in social movements in cosplay in the years prior to the Sunflower Movement before later becoming a political worker and eventually deciding to run for office.

The video version of the interview can also be seen here. 

Brian Hioe: After participating in the Sunflower Movement and working in Freddy Lim’s office, why did you decide to run for office this time?

Lai: I have relatives who are from Ruifang, they run a small business there. So I visited often and I’m familiar with the area. I was quite concerned with things there. 

First, I’ll talk about the DPP.  I originally believed that the incumbent legislator, Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), had a base here so this is a difficult district. I was going to give precedence to Huang. There was still the possibility of the DPP having a chance here, but it’s not as easy. 

At the time, the pan-Blue camp had already announced their candidate, who was a political elite, Li Yung-ping (李永萍). The DPP didn’t believe that it could run a candidate with a similar profile, so they decided to run a younger woman who wasn’t a traditional political elite instead. That’s why they chose me.    [FULL  STORY]

Prime Yonghe murder suspect could face life in Taiwan prison

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/03
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A New Taipei City court last week found the main suspect of the gruesome murder and dismemberment of a Canadian English teacher guilty.

When the Taiwan New Taipei District Court's trial for the Yonghe murder case ended on Dec. 27, the three judges found the prime suspect, Israeli-American tattoo artist Oren Shlomo Mayer, guilty. Although Mayer insisted to the end that he did not commit the murder, prosecutors believed that he had masterminded the killing, dismembered and disposed of the corpse, and shown no remorse after committing the crime.

Therefore, prosecutors called on the court to impose a life sentence on Mayer, reported CNA. Sentencing for the whole case will be held on February 15.

Mayer, aka "Oz," and American Ewart Odane Bent were tried for the murder of 43-year-old Canadian English teacher-turned-drug dealer Sanjay Ryan Ramgahan (顏柏萊) on Aug. 21, 2018, as well as the abandonment and destruction of a corpse. Taiwanese-Canadian Triangle promoter Wu Hsuan (吳宣), also known as Dan Wu, and American Jason Hobbie were tried as accomplices.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2020/01/03
By: Matt Yu, Wang Yang-yu and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) The flight data recorder of the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter that crashed Thursday morning in a mountainous region of New Taipei has been found, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced Friday.

In a press release, the MND said military investigators recovered the black box from the site of the crash at around 10:40 a.m. Friday and were transporting it to the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB), which is responsible for interpreting the device's data.

A 49-person investigation team had been dispatched at 6:40 a.m. to the crash site, which is located near the Tonghou River in Wulai District, on the border between New Taipei and Yilan County, according to Maj. Gen. Huang Kuo-ming (黃國明).

The investigators successfully extricated the flight data recorder from the wreckage at 10:40 a.m., and reported that the device's exterior was still intact, Huang said.    [FULL  STORY]

LOYAL SERVANT: Tsai Ing-wen posthumously promoted Shen Yi-ming to a four-star general and also awarded him the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun with Grand Cordon

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 04, 2020
By: Lee Hsin-fang, Aaron Tu and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Military officers who were killed in a helicopter crash on Thursday are to be posthumously given

decorations for their service to the nation, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday at a top-level military and national security meeting at the Presidential Office in Taipei.

Tsai also issued “three assurances” to boost morale.

A UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, carrying military personnel to Dongaoling Base (東澳嶺) in Yilan County, went down in the mountains of New Taipei City’s Wulai District (烏來) on Thursday with 13 people on board. Eight, including Chief of the General Staff General Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴), died in the crash.

The meeting started with one minute’s silence for the deceased officers — Shen, Political Warfare Bureau Deputy Director Major General Yu Chin-wen (于親文), Major General Hung Hung-chun (洪鴻鈞) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence, Major Huang Sheng-hang (黃聖航) of the Office of the Chief of the General Staff, Chief Master Sergent Han Cheng-hung (韓正宏), pilot Lieutenant Colonel Yeh Chien-yi (葉建儀), copilot Captain Liu Chen-fu (劉鎮富) and crew chief Master Sergeant Hsu Hung-pin (許鴻彬).    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 02 January, 2020
By: Jake Chen

A resident of the offshore Taiwanese island of Kinmen has removed the official flags of the People’s Republic of China from a local street in fear of being falsely accused of violating Taiwan’s new Anti-Infiltration Act.

The ruling DPP says the law, which was passed on Tuesday, will curb foreign attempts to intervene in Taiwan’s politics and elections. However, opposition lawmakers say the law is too vague and that there is a concern that people could break the law without knowing it.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens interviewed Chen Jiau-hua, the first legislative candidate on New Power Party's party list. Chen is a longtime environmental activist who wishes to enter the legislature and push for real changes.

The News Lens
Date: 2020/01/02
By: Abby Huang, News editor at The News LensPhoto Credit: CNA
Translated by: Lin Ying-jen

Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華), the party list candidate for New Power Party, is a longtime environmental activist. In the past two decades, Chen participated in nearly all of the significant domestic environmental protection movements.

She is the convenor of the Anti-Air Pollution Union of Southern Taiwan. She closely followed issues like the No. 6 Naphtha Cracker Complex petrochemical pollution, the Matoushan landfill site, and the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation. She was even once beaten up and wounded by black-clad individuals while she was speaking against the Yunyang landfill site. 

Some call her the “Iron Lady of Environmental Protection,” while others refer to her as an “environmental extremist.” What would a veteran environmentalist and a political amateur like Chen bring for Taiwanese people if she’s elected?    [FULL  STORY]

Chinese tourists nabbed by police after making obscene gestures at Taiwan independence supporter

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/02
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Three Chinese tourists were charged with public insulting (公然侮辱罪) by police after they made obscene gestures at pro-Taiwan independence supporter Kuo Chien-kuo (郭建國) in front of Taipei 101 on Dec. 29.

In a video of the incident, which was uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday (Jan. 1) by Toyakoi Jay, a Chinese tourist can be heard singing the national anthem of Communist China, while one of his comrades drops his trousers to expose his buttocks to Kuo. A third accomplice can then be seen flashing both of his middle fingers at Kuo as he walks in front of another man holding a Taiwan independence banner.

However, before they could reach the entrance of Taipei 101, they were pulled aside by police, who had witnessed their aggressive behavior. Kuo then rushes to the scene and repeats the officer's request to present their identification cards.

Kuo quickly confronts the men and asks, "What did you just swear at me?" The demeanor of the men quickly changes from brash to sheepish.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2020/01/02
By: Matt Yu, Huang Li-yun and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) Taiwan has grounded 52 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters after the nation's chief of general staff and seven other officers were killed when a military Black Hawk helicopter crashed in a mountainous region in the north of the country Thursday.

The Air Force has grounded the 14 Black Hawk helicopters in its fleet and the Army its fleet of 30 for inspections of dynamic, radar and control systems, as well as fuselage structure, a military spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) said it has suspended training operations with its eight UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters.

Chief of General Staff Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴) was among eight officers who died when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in New Taipei's Wulai District en route to a military base in Dong'ao, Yilan County Thursday, as part of a pre-Lunar New Year visit to troops.    [FULL  STORY]

COLLABORATION: The safety board said it would offer any assistance needed, such as decoding information on the aircraft’s flight data and cockpit voice records

Taipei Times
.Date: Jan 03, 2020
By: Jake Chung  /  Staff writer, with CNA

A military helicopter crashed yesterday morning, killing eight of 13 military personnel onboard,

including Chief of the General Staff General Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴), the nation’s most senior military official ever killed in such an incident, the Ministry of National Defense said.

At a news conference at Songshan Air Force Base in Taipei at 1:55pm, Air Force Commander General Hsiung Hou-chi (熊厚基) confirmed that a UH-60M Black Hawk crashed and only five of those onboard had survived.

The other fatalities included Political Warfare Bureau Deputy Director Major General Yu Chin-wen (于親文), Intelligence Staff Office Deputy Assistant Major General Hung Hung-chun (洪鴻鈞), senior enlisted adviser Major Han Cheng-hung (韓正宏) and Major Huang Sheng-hang (黃聖航), a general staff officer, he said.

The helicopter’s pilot, Colonel Yeh Chien-yi (葉建儀), and copilot, Captain Liu Chen-fu (劉鎮富), were also killed, he added.    [FULL  STORY]