RESCUE ONGOING: A crew member reportedly ordered more than 10 people to jump overboard at knifepoint after killing his crewmate during a verbal altercation

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 21, 2019
By: Chen Yen-ting, Chien Hui-ju and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Crew members aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean were held by their crewmates

yesterday after a verbal conflict between two Philippine crew members escalated into a physical confrontation, witnesses said.

Twenty-four people were aboard the Wen Peng, including three Taiwanese, 10 Filipinos and 11 Indonesians, the Fisheries Agency said.

The three Taiwanese were captain Chen Chen-mao (陳振茂), chief engineer Kao Hsin-kuang (高信光) and observer Yang Wen-pin (楊文斌), an agency official, it said.

Two Philippine crew members were engaged in a verbal conflict when one stabbed and killed the other at about 2am, sources said.    [FULL  STORY]

A daily breakdown of Taiwan’s top stories and why they matter.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/20
By: TNL Daily News

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who announced yesterday she will run for re-election in 2020 in an English-language interview on CNN, also took the time to school a Chiayi high school teacher whose test question sparked controversy.

The teacher at National Chiayi Senior High School, surnamed Chang (張), asked students to answer a question about the “silly” behavior of “President Tsai-englishit” in an English-language course exam last week. (Chang denies the question was about Tsai Ing-wen, saying ‘Tsai-englishit’ is not a translation of any real politician’s name, reports the Taipei Times.)

The question read: “President Tsai-englishit made some silly ________ in her speech.” The correct answer, chosen out of four multiple choice options, was “comments.”

The Facebook page of Tsai Ing-wen responded yesterday by posting a “definition” of the word “comment.” It gave two examples of the word’s usage: “President Tsai Ing-wen rejects Beijing’s unfriendly comments.” and “As there is no censorship in Taiwan, Brother Caramel can freely comment on public affairs.”
[FULL  STORY]

Over 600,000 visitors attended opening night of Taiwan Lantern Festival

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/02/20
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Over 600,000 visitors attended the opening night of the Taiwan Lantern Festival in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County yesterday evening (Feb. 19).

At 7 p.m. last night, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) presided over the opening ceremonies of the festival, which included spectacular light performances on land, sea, and air. According to statistics from the Pingtung County Government, over 600,000 visitors attended the opening night of the festival.

Last night’s opening ceremony was timed to coincide with the traditional date of the Lantern Festival, which is the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar calendar. This year’s festival, which is in its 30th year, is taking place in three zones in Pingtung County, including Dapeng Bay, Pingtung, and Donggang.

The opening ceremony included a flyover by a formation of five Taiwan-built IDF jet fighters from the Air Force First Tactical Fighter Wing. Performances held during the opening ceremony included fireworks, water dance light shows, a performance on the sea by French dance troupe Ilotopie, and songs by Crowd Lu (盧廣仲) Bobby Chen (陳昇).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/19
By: Tai Ya-chen and Chung Yu-chen

London, Feb. 18 (CNA) Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre was named Monday as the winner of the Stef

Stefanou Award for Outstanding Company, one of the most prestigious dance honors in the United Kingdom.

The Stef Stefanou Award for Outstanding Company is one of the UK’s National Dance Awards, presented annually by the Critics’ Circle. Among those who chose the winners were dance critics with the Guardian and the Times, two of the most read news outlets in Britain.

Lin Hwai-min (林懷民), founder and artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, was also nominated for “Best Modern Choreography” for his farewell work “Formosa.”

Lin announced in 2017 that he would step down as artistic director of Cloud Gate at the end of 2019 to make room for new talent.    [FULL  STORY]

CHALLENGES: Despite calls from senior independence advocates for her to step aside, the president said that she is prepared and confident about her prospects

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 20, 2019
By: Su Yung-yao and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

President Tsai-Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday confirmed that she would run for re-election next year to

complete her vision for the nation.

“It’s natural that any sitting president wants to do more for the country and wants to finish things on his or her agenda,” Tsai said in an interview with CNN’s Matt Rivers aboard the presidential plane, when asked about her plans for next year’s presidential election.

Asked if that means she would seek re-election, Tsai nodded and said: “Yes, yes.”

The interview took place on Monday, the Presidential Office said.

Tsai said she was confident about her prospects, adding that it is “something I have prepared for.”
[FULL  STORY]

A daily breakdown of Taiwan’s top stories and why they matter.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/18
By: TNL Daily News

Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has drawn criticism for proposing that only KMT

members should be allowed to decide the party’s next presidential candidate.

While Wu insisted that loyal KMT party members should have the upper hand in the candidate selection process, some have insinuated he is trying to rig the process for himself, the Taipei Times reports.

Wu is rumored to be plotting a run for president in the upcoming 2020 presidential campaign.

According to the Taipei Times, Wu said: “If we choose not to conduct a poll among party members, it is a no brainer that [the public] would want to select someone who would be easily defeated.”
[FULL  STORY]

Korean YouTuber KyeongHeum shares four things about Taiwan’s rapid transit systems he found pleasantly “shocking” to him

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Most Taipei residents may take everything about Taiwan’s metro systems for granted, because they have long been using the public transportation to get around their city for work, recreation, and every imaginable purpose.

However, in many foreigners’ eyes, Taiwan’s metro systems are a marvel. For example, a Korean YouTuber, Kyeong Heum, shared in a video his experience of riding in Taiwan’s rapid transit systems, noting four surprisingly good things he found to be pleasantly “shocking” to him on Facebook last year.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/18
By: Ku Chuan, Yu Hsiang and Ko Lin

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government and party legislators agreed

Monday to prioritize a bill that would bar a person to run for public office in Taiwan if he or she holds a residence permit from China.

The bill stipulates that unless the Chinese permit is relinquished, the card holder is ineligible to take part in any public election or serve as a public employee, such as public school teacher or member of the Armed forces, Cabinet spokesperson Kolas Yotaka said.

Holders of Chinese residency cards would also be required to report any intention to run for public positions to Taiwanese authorities, according to the proposal, the spokesperson said.

The consensus to make the bill a priority in the current legislative session was reached at a meeting between the Executive Yuan and the Legislature hosted by Deputy Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘),    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 19, 2019
By: Chung Chih-kai, Hsieh Chun-lin and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday condemned Chinese censorship after entertainer Chen Chia-hsing (陳嘉行) said his recommendation for a new book was removed due to pressure from a Chinese publisher.

Chen yesterday posted on Facebook an image of a letter he received from the editor-in-chief of the unidentified book’s Taiwanese publisher.

In the letter, the editor-in-chief, whose name was blacked out in the online image, began by thanking Chen for agreeing to write a recommendation for the new book.

According to publishing regulations, the book cover must be reviewed by China’s CITIC Press Group, the letter said.

Last week, the Chinese publishing company informed the book’s author that Chen’s recommendation must be removed if the book is to be published, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

Cision
Date: Feb. 17, 2019  

A refreshing new year filled with great tourism offers! Taiwan Tourism Bureau is participating in the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center (February 16 – 17,2019) . Reputable partners including Allstate Travel, Gala Holiday, Mango Tours, SuperValue Tours, SITA World Tours along with China Airlines, EVA Air and Tea Station will join forces with the Bureau at the Taiwan booth. Visitors can immerse in the theme of the internationally recognized slow city and a traditional Hakka village at booth, and learn about the unique charm of Taiwan small towns through fun activities. There will be exclusive Taiwan tour deals and don’t miss out on a chance to win round trip flight tickets from China Airlines and EVA Air.

“This year, we are devoted in promoting Taiwan local culture and township. Our Taiwan Pavilion is inspired by the Zhiyang Gate of Miaoli Nanzhuang Lion’s Head Mountain (Mt. Shitou); it is decorated with Hakka prints and bamboo snack stands where southern Californians will have a taste of our charming small towns. Great tour packages are offered by our partners, such as: ‘The Ruisui Hualien Tour’ by Allstate Travel that includes Los Angeles (or Ontario) to Taipei round-trip economy flight, 2 nights of hot spring hotel, and Puyuma Express ticket between Taipei and Hualien; the ‘Taiwan Round-Island + Hong Kong/Bangkok/Vietnam Multi-destinations Value Package’ by Gala Holiday; the ‘6-Day East Coast Tour’ and the ‘7-Day West Coast Tour’ by Super Value Tours that take you to explore the Chishang rice village and the Lukang township; SITA World Tours designed a new Taiwanese cultural and natural discovery tour that goes deep into Yilan city’s Jimmy Park, the National Center for Traditional Arts, Beipu’s Hakka culture in Hsinchu, the Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum, Taichung Rainbow Village, and the Zushi Temple in Sanxia District. The tour will also showcase the cultural heritage of Taiwan bird carving crafts and Yingge pottery street; Mango Tours has an ‘8-Day Charming Taiwan Journey’ through the Sun Moon Lake, Kaohsiung, the East Coast, Taroko, and more,” says Mr. Brad Shih, director of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau Los Angeles office.    [FULL  STORY]