BUILDING A FUTURE: Chen Liang-gee said his ministry pushed to hold the national science and technology conference a year early as it seeks to counter a brain drain

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 29, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) used an annual lunar-year-

end news conference in Taipei to outline the government’s plans to boost the nation’s technological competitiveness, including a new subsidy program for outstanding doctoral students in key technology fields.

The Ministry of Science and Technology’s budget this year is NT$38.8 billion (US$1.26 billion), up from last year’s NT$36.5 billion — which had been an eight-year low, and it would continue striving to boost its budget for basic research, Chen said.

To draw up a road map for the nation’s technological development, the ministry has advised the Executive Yuan to move up the 11th national science and technology conference to this year, instead of next year, and it would host several preparatory meetings to collect opinions prior to the conference, he said.

Taiwan has a shortage of people in fields related to biotechnology and digital transition, including gene sequencing, manufacturing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, and quantum computing, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

South China Morning Post
Date: 27 January, 2019
By: Lawrence Chung

• Observers say proposal was part of discussions within the mainland-friendly party on its 2020 presidential election strategy
• .Ruling DPP has maintained an office in the US for many years and has had the backing of US-based groups supporting Taiwan independence

Party. officials last week said the proposal was part of discussions within the mainland-friendly KMT on the 2020 strategy following its landslide victory in November’s local government polls that saw it take control of 15 of Taiwan’s 22 cities and counties.

According to observers, the move is needed to boost the party’s visibility in America and it could also help its election candidates test the water in the US, amid Taipei’s complicated triangular relations with Washington and Beijing.

With the ruling Democratic Progressive Party planning to send a group of lawmakers to Washington to meet members of Congress and other officials next month, they said it had become more urgent for the KMT to have a presence in the country.    [FULL  STORY]

Informant earns NT$100,000 per month catching smokers toss their cigarette butts in Miaoli Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/27
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Becoming a “cigarette litter informant” has become a lucrative profession, with Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that an informant in western Taiwan earns NT$100,000 (US$3,251) per month, reported TVBS.

With the popularity of traffic recorders and hidden cameras, many have started to make money by becoming professional informants. In western Taiwan’s Miaoli County, an expert informant who reports on those who litter cigarette butts earns NT$100,000 for providing evidence of the offenders in the act to the EPA.

According to Miaoli’s EPA, 7,904 cases of litter were reported last year, an increase of about 1,600 cases compared to the previous year. Among them, 90 percent consisted of discarded cigarette butts, with fines ranging between NT$1,200 and NT$6,000.

Those who successfully report a liter bug to the EPA will receive 50 percent of the fine amount levied on offenders.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/27
By: Chen Yi-hsuan, Liu Chien-pang and Shih Hsiu-chuan 

Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) was elected legislator in a by-election in Taipei held Sunday, beating Chen Ping-fu (陳炳甫) of the Kuomintang (KMT).

Chen Su-yu (陳思宇), the candidate backed by popular Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), finished a distant third.

In the race that saw a turnout of only 30.39 percent, Ho received 38,591 votes, or 47.76 percent of the valid votes cast, against 9,689 votes (12.2 percent) for Chen Su-yu., and 31,532 (39.02 percent) votes for Chen Ping-fu.

Independent Wang Yi-kai (王奕凱) and the national non-partisan coalition’s Chen Yuan-chi (陳源奇), two minor candidates, received 897 and 89 votes respectively.   [FULL  STORY]

‘VERY UNHEALTHY’: The hourly concentration of PM10 in Yunlin County reached 623 micrograms per cubic meter at one point, the agency’s data showed

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 27, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday issued its first text

message air pollution alert to residents in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮), when the area’s air quality index (AQI) reading exceeded 200.

A cold front carrying pollutants from China to Taiwan resulted in poor air quality in the central and southern coastal regions yesterday, the agency said.

The agency’s monitoring station in Mailiao gave a “purple” AQI reading of 211 — meaning “very unhealthy” — at 2pm yesterday, EPA data showed.

The hourly concentration of PM10 — particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less — reached 623 micrograms per cubic meter at one point, the data showed.

The alert advised residents to avoid outdoor activities, EPA Department of Environmental Monitoring and Information Management Director-General Chang Shuenn-chin (張順欽) said.

Alerts are only issued when a monitoring station’s AQI reaches 200, and are only sent to residents within a 20km radius of that station, to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance, he said.

The agency recently launched a new air quality monitoring Web site, which has more infographics showing changing weather conditions, as well as scientific explanations of the chemical elements of pollution, to help people understand that “air pollution is a culmination of a combination of factors,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

BoardingArea.com
Date: January 23, 2019
By: Matthew

The News Lens caught up with ’10 Years Taiwan’ directors Lekal Sumi and Rina Tsou, who discussed what inspired them as directors and how Taiwan can avoid the film’s dismal vision of the future.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/01/26
By: Nick Aspinwall

Taiwan leaps 10 years ahead into a bleak, oft-dystopian future in “10 Years Taiwan,” its entry into the future-gazing “10 Years” franchise. The omnibus film strays away from overt cross-Strait commentary, instead adopting a resolutely human gaze on issues such as nuclear waste, pollution, inequality and the sexual abuse of female foreign workers.

The first two of the five short films, “The Can of Anido” by Ami director Lekal Sumi Cilangasan (勒嘎舒米) and “942” by Rina B. Tsou (鄒隆娜), respectively explore the hazards of storing nuclear waste on Taiwan’s Orchid Island and the future consequences of the sadly rampant sexual abuse of foreign caretakers in Taiwan.

The film, which premiered in Taipei on Monday, recently concluded a crowdfunding campaign and has been holding screening events in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The News Lens caught up with Rina Tsou and Lekal Sumi at the premiere to find out what inspired their creative choices, the experience of being an “outsider” in a majority Han Chinese society, and the film’s very subtle commentary on cross-Strait relations. The interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
[FULL  STORY]

While Ma Xiaoguang applauds the incentives, Taiwan’s scholars say the data shows a different story

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/26
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Nearly a year after Beijing announced the 31 measures to lure Taiwanese talent and investment as part of its pro-unification campaign, a China study scholar said on Saturday that the initiatives have not made much impact.

A year ago, China’s 31 measures were a source of concern for the government of Taiwan, as the incentives were intended to attract talent and business away from the country.

The sugarcoated measures included relaxed regulations on cross-strait cooperation in a wide array of industries, including media. Other measures gave a green light to Taiwanese companies in China to invest in sensitive government projects, while others aimed to provide special tax exemptions or tax refunds to Taiwanese businesses in China.

As the first anniversary of the “31 measures” is drawing near, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said at a regular press conference recently that over 9.05 million passengers traveled between Taiwan and China in 2018 alone. He added that the number of total Taiwanese and first-time Taiwanese visitors to China both set new record highs at over 6 million, and 400,000, respectively, during that period of time.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date 2019/01/26
By: Lu Kang-chun and Ko Lin

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) Samples taken from some 100 dead chickens recently found discarded near a stream in Hsinchu have come back testing positive for avian influenza infection, the county’s Animal Disease Control Center said Saturday.

Peng Cheng-yu (彭正宇), an official with the disease control center, said the carcasses have been identified as infected with the H5 strain of avian flu, a pathogenic virus that is causing global concern as a potential pandemic threat.

Farms inspected within three kilometers of the site were disinfected and cleared of any virus activity, Peng said.

According to the official, the dead birds were found abandoned near a stream in the county’s Xinfeng Township by members of the public earlier this week, who then reported the incident to authorities.    [FULL  STORY]

AFRICAN SWINE FEVER: The Chinese man was asked to return to Hong Kong after failing to immediately pay a NT$200,000 fine for illegally importing 120g of sausages

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 27, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

A Chinese traveler has been denied entry into Taiwan after he failed to pay a NT$200,000

(US$6,488) fine for illegally importing pork products, the first case since the new policy took effect on Friday, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said.

People caught illegally importing pork products from areas affected over the past three years by outbreaks of African swine fever face a fine of NT$200,000 for the first offense and NT$1 million for repeat offenses after the council raised the fines on Dec. 18 last year.

From Friday, foreign visitors would be rejected entry into the nation if they fail to pay the fines, the council said, citing Article 18 of the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), which empowers the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to deny entry to those who pose a risk to the nation’s public security or interests.

The first foreign visitor denied entry under the policy was a Chinese man who flew from Hong Kong and arrived at Kaohsiung International Airport at about 6pm on Friday, it said.
[FULL  STORY]