Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/03
By: Scarlett Chai, Phoenix Hsu and Ko Lin

Taipei, Feb. 3 (CNA) One Taiwanese was killed and nine others injured in an accident Sunday on a street in Shanghai, China, officials and a travel agency in Taiwan have confirmed.

The Taiwanese were part of a 31-member tour group organized by Lion Travel Service, one of the largest travel agencies in Taiwan.

The incident took place Sunday morning, when a car lost control and ran into pedestrians on a busy intersection in the city’s Huangpu District, Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau said.

A 45-year-old man was killed in the accident and nine other Taiwanese members of the tour group were injured, the bureau said.    [FULL  STORY]

REPEAT OFFENDER: A driver who killed two people had a blood-alcohol level well in excess of the legal limit and was caught driving under the influence twice last year

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 04, 2019
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Ministry of Justice officials and lawmakers yesterday said they would push for more

severe penalties for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol after two people were killed on Saturday in an apparent drunk-driving incident.

Officials said they would also propose an amendment to allow homicide charges against DUI offenders.

Chen Jui-ying (陳瑞盈), 48, was allegedly driving in the wrong direction on a road in Taichung’s Dali District (大里) when he plowed into three motorcycles, then hit a taxi and four parked cars, police said.

A 21-year-old man surnamed Peng (彭) and a 25-year-old woman surnamed Cheng (鄭) were struck while riding their motorcycles and died, police added.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: February 2, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier
The remains of a woman reported missing in January have been found, after her boyfriend confessed to killing her, dismembering her body, and dumping the remains in long grass in Tainan City.

Ms Zhang (張), 42, was reported missing on January 24 after her son failed to make contact with her for several days. Police investigating the case located Zhang’s car, which was being used by her 30-year-old cohabiting boyfriend, Wu Maoteng (吳茂騰).

The car showed signs of having been thoroughly cleaned, and police took Wu in for questioning. During the interrogation, Wu broke down and confessed that he had killed Zhang, cut her body into 6 pieces in the bathroom of their residence, put the body parts into three large garbage bags, and disposed of them in long grass in Barclay Memorial park in the East District.

Wu admitted that he had wanted to bury the bags, but there were too many people around at the time.    [FULL  STORY]

The man, whose body was torn to pieces by the train, carried no identifying documentation or luggage

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

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 1, at the Miaoli Nanshi train station (苗栗南勢車站), a man fell onto the tracks and was stuck by an oncoming train.

The man was killed instantly by the south bound TRA122 train, which was pulling into the station at 3:15 p.m. Traffic had to be halted in both directions and over 800 passengers were forced to exit the train and wait on the platform while the train, and track were checked, and the body removed.

After the sudden stop and loud noise caused by breaking, passengers reportedly assumed there was a technical malfunction, before being told that a man had been struck and killed.

When personnel arrived at the scene it was discovered that the man was carrying no bag and no identifying documents. An investigation is ongoing to determine his identity.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/02
By: Wang Cheng-chung and Lee Hsin-Yin 

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Saturday thanked those allies and like-minded countries that expressed support at the recent World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board Meeting for Taiwan’s efforts to gain participation in the WHO.

The ministry extended gratitude to Taiwan’s allies Haiti, Paraguay, eSwatini, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and the Solomon Islands and to the United States and Japan, which all spoke at the meeting in Geneva Jan. 24-Feb. 1 against Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO.

Taiwan is hoping that the WHO will recognize its contribution to global health issues and will make practical arrangements for its inclusion in the international organization, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said Nicaragua Foreign Minister Denis Moncada and Health Minister Sonia Castro have also written to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling for Taiwan’s participation as an observer this year in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the WHO.    [FULL  STORY]

SWINE FEVER PREVENTION: Sixteen new X-ray scanners are being used to reduce waiting times, as all carry-on luggage from China, Hong Kong and Macau is checked

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 03, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

More than 150,000 people traveled through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport

yesterday — the first day of the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday — with all carry-on luggage on flights from China, Hong Kong and Macau having to pass through X-ray scanners to prevent illegal meat imports.

Since China first reported an African swine fever outbreak in August last year, the disease has spread to 25 of its provinces, municipalities and regions, with the 108th and most recent case reported on Jan. 20 in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Aviation police on Jan. 16 began manually checking carry-on luggage on flights from China, Hong Kong and Macau, as these have been identified as high-risk areas.

As 16 new X-ray scanners began operating at the airport yesterday, visitors’ waiting times were reduced to about 1.5 minutes from seven minutes, said Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), who visited the airport to inspect the machines.
[FULL  STORY]

The 43 year old victim was reported missing Jan. 24, her dismembered body was discovered in Tainan’s Barclay Memorial Park on Feb. 1

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

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A 31 year old man, surnamed Wu (吳) in Tainan was arrested for the murder and dismemberment of his live-in girlfriend on Feb. 1, after investigators were able to locate her body at Barclay Memorial Park in Tainan’s East District.

The 43 year old victim, surnamed Chang (張), was last seen on Jan. 8. According to reports, the suspect killed her late that night and dismembered her body the next day in their shared apartment’s bathroom.

Wu continued to go to his job at a metal working factory following Chang’s disappearance. It was only after a week of no word from Chang, that the woman’s co-workers and her son, who was away at university, began asking questions and seeking her whereabouts.

A missing person’s case was filed with the local police on Jan. 24, which led investigators to Wu. When initially approached by officers Wu denied any knowledge of her whereabouts.    [FULL  STORY]

A landmark year for the LGBT community opened with one of Taiwan’s own receiving a special award for activism.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/01
By: Jay Lin

When Newsweek publicly announced that I was one of the 15 members of the “Creative Class of 2019,” I seriously had to pinch myself. I was discussing video streaming services at a conference in Mumbai, where I had been invited to speak about GagaOOlala’s plans to forge Indian alliances in preparation for the roll-out of our services in South Asia

During the conference break, I read about the other 14 listed personalities, and felt immediately “outclassed” by the Noble Prize winners & nominees, and CEOs running billion-dollar companies.

The award salutes “innovators who have developed creative solutions to the problems that face our world,” and I was recognized as an LGBT rights activist.

I used the opportunity to reflect on whether I was indeed developing creative solutions to global problems, or indeed if I deserved the accolade as an “LGBT rights activist,” given that so many friends and people I admire work tirelessly and courageously in NGOs in Taiwan and beyond for marriage equality, transgender rights, decriminalization or HIV prevention.    [FULL  STORY]

Among those who recently passed away was a 4-year-old girl

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/01
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced today seven more people have died this season due to flu-related complications.

One of the seven was a four-year-old girl who suffered both encephalitis and pneumonia after contracting the H1N1 strain of the influenza virus. The girl passed away just two days after she began to exhibit symptoms.

CNA interviewed CDC Deputy Director Dr. Yi-jun Luo (羅一鈞) Friday afternoon. The doctor said the flu epidemic should not be ignored and immediate action ought to be taken at the first sign of serious symptoms.

The girl reportedly caught a fever Jan. 22 and began vomiting and exhibiting fatigue the next day, after which she was rushed to hospital. An MRI scan revealed her brain was inflamed and bleeding.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/01
By: Lee Hsin-Yin 

Taipei, Feb. 1 (CNA) EVA Air, one of Taiwan’s largest carriers, said Friday that it is discussing with lawyers to see if it can deny future service to a foreign passenger confined to a wheelchair unless he is accompanied by a caretaker.

The move comes in the wake of his involvement in what a female flight attendant described as “sexual harassment” of herself and other female flight attendants during a recent flight.

EVA Air spokesman Golden Kou (柯金成) said the company is working to make sure, without violating anti-discrimination codes, that the passenger does not pose a threat to flight crew in the future.

“We have to handle this case very carefully because we don’t want to violate a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) rule that concerns the rights of passengers with disabilities,” Kou said. Kou was referring to a DOT rule that stipulates that airlines cannot refuse passengers with disabilities, even when they are not travelling with a safety assistant.    [FULL  STORY]