Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/05
By: Yeh Tzu-kang, Tai Ya-chen and Ko Lin

Taipei, April 5 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) insisted Friday that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation, and that is a reality that will never change.

“We will never cease to exist,” she said in response to the ongoing controversy surrounding a sculpture erected at the London School of Economics (LSE) that has emerged as the center of a dispute between Taiwan and China.

On March 26, the LSE unveiled a sculpture called “The World Turned Upside Down” by Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger outside its Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.

When it was unveiled, the sculpture showed Taiwan labeled as “REP. CHINA (Taiwan)” and colored in pink, while China was labeled “CHINA (People’s Republic) and colored in yellow.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 06, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA, LONDON

A British parliamentary group on Thursday waded into a debate on Taiwan’s status,

saying that its designation on a giant globe sculpture on the campus of a London university was not based on fact.

The World Turned Upside Down sculpture at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) was altered to show Taiwan as part of China, which the lawmakers said was not only erroneous, but contrary to government policy in the UK.

“Depicting Taiwan as part of China is inaccurate and misleading, as Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China,” lawmakers Nigel Evans and Lord Rogan, cochairs of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group, wrote in a letter to the university.

The university’s decision, driven by pressure from its Chinese students, is also contrary to the British government’s long-standing policy of referring to Taiwan as “Taiwan,” they said, citing a public statement made in July last year by British Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 04 April, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

Children’s Day falls on April 4th in Taiwan. Since Children’s Day falls right next to the Tomb Sweeping Festival, most people in Taiwan will enjoy a four-day long weekend. Many families are taking the opportunity to check out the pandas and other animals at the Taipei Zoo.

Happy Children’s Day! This year, the Taipei Zoo was the destination of choice for many Taipei area children. That’s because Taipei saw sunny weather, and children twelve and under enjoyed free admission.

Since so many children wanted to go see the animals on Children’s Day, the zoo was crowded.

One cute pair of brothers said they wanted to see the giraffes and penguins. Another child wanted to see the lions and tigers.    [FULL  STORY]

Meredith Huang entered the Legislative Yuan in March 2014 as an activist bearing two speakers and a microphone. Five years later, she’s a NPP city councilor.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/04/04
By: Cat Thomas

Ask yourself for a moment: You have helped plan an act of civil disobedience, but it is all disintegrating into chaos. What saves the day?

Meredith Huang (黃郁芬) is a former activist who played a pivotal role in Taiwan’s 2014 Sunflower Movement. She was part of the small group who first hatched the plan to storm the Legislative Yuan. The following morning, it was Huang, as the assigned media contact, who emerged to speak to gathered journalists. She’d barely woken up and hadn’t expected the cameras from the TV stations but quickly gathered herself and rolled with it. From that point onwards, she became an official media spokesperson for the movement.

In the years following the Sunflower Movement, Huang, now 29, has gone on to put her money where her mouth is, converting her activist roots into a string of political assistant roles. In November last year, she won a seat on Taipei City Council representing the people of Shilin-Beitou District for the New Power Party (NPP).

The News Lens sat down with Huang in her office at Taipei City Council on March 22 for an interview where we uncovered rather more than we had expected. By the end of the interview, which has been condensed and edited for clarity, it became clear that this is a young politician to watch: This is the legacy of the Sunflower Movement in action.
[FULL  STORY]

Investigation of claw machine arcades in 6 major Taiwanese cities finds 70 percent contain illegal goods

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/04
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee and the Consumers’ Foundation released the results of an investigation which found that 70 percent of claw machine arcades sold illegal goods and violated at least seven laws and regulations and many are within 100 meters of schools.

During a press conference held on Children’s Day today, the two organizations announced that an investigation of claw game arcades in six major Taiwanese cities revealed that 20 percent of the shops were within 100 meters of schools and 70 percent were selling illegal goods such as e-cigarettes, lingerie, sex toys, and other adult products.

In response, Chen Mi-shun (陳秘順), deputy head of the MOEA’s Department of Commerce, said that the Electronic Game Arcade Business Regulation Act (電子遊戲場業管理條例) currently does not apply to claw machine arcades because they are not considered electronic gaming venues. Whether they should be included as an electronic gaming venue in the future will require public discussions.

There are a total of 8,000 claw machine arcades in Taiwan now. In January, the Consumers’ Foundation dispatched a team of volunteers to conduct a random survey of areas around elementary and junior high schools.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/04
By Joseph Yeh, CNA staff reporter

Honduran Ambassador to Taiwan Rafael Fernando Sierra Quesada had never thought he

would one day become a diplomat, let alone serve in a country thousands of miles away from home.

Prior to his posting in Taipei in 2015, Sierra’s diplomatic experience was limited to a brief stint at the Honduran embassy in Washington, D.C. when he was a graduate student in the United States.

At the age of 38, he had acquired solid administrative experience in the Honduran National Congress and National Commission of Telecommunications and was a trusted member of President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s administration.

Critics in Sierra’s home country, however, did not see that as adequate preparation for his appointment by Hernandez as Honduras’ ambassador to Taiwan, but the president stuck to his decision.    [FULL  STORY]

MAP ROW:  ‘Altering the content of the original sculpture not only disrespects the artist, but also denies the fact that the ROC is a sovereign state,’ Taiwanese LSE students said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 05, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its concern to the London School of

Economics (LSE) after the school decided to change the design of a campus sculpture to depict Taiwan as part of China.

The ministry has asked its representative office in the UK to demand that the school reconsider the decision, which belittles Taiwan’s sovereign status, spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.

Lee’s comments came in response to a decision by the LSE to change the painting of a sculpture to show that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

On Tuesday last week, the LSE unveiled the new sculpture by the Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger outside its Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 03 April, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Children with severe internet addiction may need to be hospitalized when all other courses of treatment fail. That’s according to Zhang Ru-fen, a doctor who specializes in child psychology.

Internet addition among children is a growing concern in Taiwan. Children are surrounded by TVs, cellphones and tablets, and they often throw a tantrum when parents withhold their electronic devices.

In June of last year, the World Health Organization listed internet addiction as a mental illness. Recent research shows that 3% of first graders in Taiwan are addicted to the internet. That figure jumps to 16% in 2nd grade, 19% in 3rd to 6th grade, and 20% for teenagers.

Child psychology expert Dr. Zhang Ru-fen says it’s difficult for children to kick an internet addiction. If all else fails, hospitalization is the last resort.    [FULL  STORY]

The 2014 protests have also influenced the country’s diplomatic strategy.

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2019/04/03
By: Yung Lin

It has been five years since the 2014 Sunflower Movement occurred in Taiwan. In the discourse of social movement, the Sunflower Movement’s effect on domestic politics and society are broadly seen. However, there is less discussion on its international effect.

The Sunflower Movement’s international effect should be discussed as it provides a new perspective to look at Taiwan’s vibrant social power and Taiwan’s diplomacy practices. Though limited framework analyzing the Sunflower Movement’s international effect in social movement theory, this article aims to contextualize the Sunflower Movement’s international effect in public diplomacy practices in order to define a new structure of relations between Taiwan’s society and its diplomacy.    [FULL  STORY]

Second similar incident with CAL Airbus at Sydney within a month

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A total of 157 passengers had to spend an extra night in Sydney after their China Airlines (CAL) flight to Taiwan was hit on the tarmac by a truck, the Apple Daily reported Wednesday.

The collision was the second similar incident with a CAL Airbus in Sydney in less than a month.

In the latest accident, an Airbus A350-900 was due to take off from Sydney to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 10:10 p.m. Tuesday when a truck employed by another airline hit the left side of its nose wheel, reports said.

By the time the inspection was finished, the airport had already closed for the night, forcing crew and passengers to spend a night at a nearby hotel, according to the Apple Daily.    [FULL  STORY]