Lee Ching-yu has been invited to the U.S. ceremony on Tuesday night

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/05
By: Central News Agency

WASHINGTON (CNA) — Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), the wife of a Taiwanese democracy advocate jailed in China, has been invited to attend U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, according to an NGO helping organize her U.S. visit.

In a telephone interview with CNA, Taiwan Association for China Human Rights (TACHR) Chairman Yang Hsien-hung (楊憲宏) said Lee will attend Trump’s speech at the invitation of Republican Representative Chris Smith.

Lee Ching-yu’s presence will reflect Washington’s concerns over the rights of the jailed activist, Lee Ming-che (李明哲), which are being undermined by the Chinese regime, Yang said.

Lee Ching-yu arrived in Washington on Sunday for a week-long visit in an attempt to seek international assistance for her husband after accusing China of treating him in an inhumane manner.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/05
By: Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) A magnitude 4.3 earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan at 7:32 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The quake was centered at sea about 44.6 kilometers southeast of Yilan County Hall and struck at a depth of 33.9 km, the bureau’s Seismology Center said.

The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Hualien’s Heping and Yilan’s Wuta, where it measured 3 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale.

Several other areas in Taipei, New Taipei and Hsinchu’s Chutung recorded an intensity of 2.     [SOURCE]

SEEKING GOOD LUCK: People started lining up three hours before the president was due at Juesiou Temple, hoping to receive one of the red envelopes she was to hand out

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 06, 2019
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Politicians yesterday visited temples around the nation on the first day of the Lunar New

Year, praying for prosperity and well-being while handing out “lucky” red envelopes to temple-goers.

More than 1,000 people lined up in the morning at the Juesiou Temple (覺修宮) in Taipei to receive an envelope from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

Temple officials said the line started to form three hours before Tsai’s scheduled arrival and grew to 300m long at one point, adding that at least 1,200 people joined the line.

Tsai was accompanied on her visit by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), the first stop of her four-day-long temple visits to distribute red envelopes with NT$1 inside, which symbolizes a new beginning.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese airlines have a long and sordid history of sexism and mistreatment of employees.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/04
By: Brian Hioe, 破土 New Bloom

EVA Air’s treatment of its flight attendants has been under scrutiny after several incidents in the past month. The first incident, which was widely reported on internationally, involved a flight attendant being made to wipe the buttocks of a Caucasian male passenger. The second incident involved a flight attendant who was aggressively questioned by management for over three hours over allegations that she acted in a pornographic video posted on the Internet.

With regards to the first incident, EVA Air has come under fire for allowing the passenger onto the flight, to begin with. This took place despite that the man had a past record of sexual harassment of female flight attendants, including incidents of defecating in his seat, making flight attendants clean his urine, and spilling a drink on himself and making flight attendants clean it up.

the incident involving the male passenger.
As such, though not widely reported on or discussed in such a lens in Taiwanese media, the incident has been criticized as an incidence of sexism and racism against the flight attendant. Criticisms, too, have followed against EVA for its poor treatment of its employees. EVA has been unresponsive to attempts to raise issues with their handling of the incident, however.

Namely, despite that the man was on a no-fly list, the man was still allowed onto the flight, reportedly because there was no space in his name on the no-fly list. That a simple typo led to the man being allowed onto flights is something which raises a number of questions about the flight-screening system for airlines in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Newly-arrived residents take note on how to celebrate Taiwan-style

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/04
By: Li Wan-yu, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Lunar New Year is fast approaching and citizens are eager to begin celebrating. Families will be gathering from far and wide Monday to tuck into a sumptuous reunion dinner.

Aside from being a time to feast and reunite with one’s family, Lunar New Year necessitates participation in many traditional customs and rituals, which includes setting off firecrackers, buying lottery tickets and playing Mahjong into the early hours.

Here are a few suggestions on how newly-arrived residents can ensure they have a happy and unforgettable Lunar New Year experience.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/04
By: Yang Ming-chu and Joseph Yeh 

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (CNA) An ice sculpture depicting Yushan, Taiwan’s tallest mountain, and the historic Kaohsiung railway station building was unveiled in Hokkaido on Monday at the opening of the annual Sapporo Snow Festival, one of the world’s largest winter carnivals.

The 10-meter-tall, 18-meter-wide sculpture combining the two Taiwanese landmarks was unveiled at the Odori Site of the festival during a ceremony witnessed by Kuo Chung-shi (郭仲熙), Taiwan’s deputy representative to Japan, and local politicians.

Kuo thanked festival organizers for again creating a Taiwan-themed ice sculpture for the annual event, which attracts around 2.5 million visitors a year from around the world. It was the eighth consecutive year a Taiwan-themed sculpture has been on display at the festival.

Kuo praised the close decades-long ties between Taiwan and Hokkaido, noting the 600,000 visits Taiwanese made to Hokkaido in 2018 and the memorandums of understanding the Japanese prefecture has signed with Taipei and Kaohsiung.
[FULL  STORY]

SONG FIGHT: The ministry’s ‘Freedom Is Not Free’ video includes footage from military exercises held last year, including missile launches and footage of tanks and fighter jets

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 05, 2019
By: Lin Liang-sheng and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday released a video showcasing Taiwan’s

military might in response to a provocative song released by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday.

The PLA released a video on Sina Weibo that depicts Chinese fighters flying around Taiwan and several sites in the nation, including Taipei 101, while the lyrics of My Fighting Eagle Flies Around Taiwan (我的戰鷹繞著寶島飛) tell of the Chinese people’s desire to “reunite Taiwan with the mainland.”

The ministry’s Freedom Is Not Free (自由並非無代價) video includes footage from military exercises conducted last year, included the firing of Hsiung Feng III and Hsiung Feng II missiles, as well as views of Keelung-class destroyers with Mark 26 missile launchers.

It is intended to show China Taiwan’s resolve to defend its sovereignty and freedoms, and that the nation’s military is standing guard around the clock, the ministry said.
[FULL  STORY]

Straits Times
Date: Feb 3, 2019

TAIPEI (DPA) – Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivered Chinese New Year greetings in a video message released late Sunday (Feb 3), as the island prepares for the arrival of the Year of the Pig.

Ms Tsai delivered New Year’s wishes in various languages, including Mandarin, Minnan, and Hakka. She also addressed ethnic Chinese living outside Taiwan in both Cantonese and Teochew, and added “Happy Lunar New Year” in English for foreign visitors to the country at the end of the video.

“In Taiwan, we are able to maintain our cultural traditions, while also enjoying freedom and democracy. This is a blessing, and these are also the values that we Taiwanese are committed to upholding,” Ms Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]

The 56 year old actor was arrested upon arrival on a China Airlines flight for the charge of ‘outrage of modesty’

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/03
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwanese actor To Tsung-hua (庹宗華) has reportedly been arrested by police in Singapore for alleged drunk and disorderly conduct on a China Airlines flight Friday, Feb. 1.

The Taiwanese actor, who is famous for his roles in films “Yes Sir!” and “Lust Caution” was accused of molesting a flight attendant and insulting another passenger who confronted him.

The actor was reportedly demanding more alcohol from a flight attendant and touched her buttocks during their interaction. He was arrested at 6:57 p.m. for the charge of “outrage of modesty,” by Singapore police.

A spokesperson for To released a statement claiming that the actor was simply “excited” and eager to celebrate the Lunary New Year holidays. The statement denies that To molested the flight attendant, according to the Straits Times.    [FULL  STORY]