My days of watching Taiwan TV may have been a long time ago, but the effects last forever. I still feel close to Taiwan, maybe also because I am a little nostalgic

South China Morning Post 
Date: 23 December, 2018

Though I have never been to Taiwan, and I grew up in a communist country whose political system and ideology are totally different, I have always felt a strong connection to the island. This consistent and deep-rooted feeling was nurtured by watching Taiwan TV.

My home city, Xiamen in China’s Fujian province, lies just across the Taiwan Strait. It was within Taiwan TV’s coverage and, since childhood, I immersed myself in watching their shows many hours a day. The deeply held cultural perspectives and thinking I nurtured were not the result of a one-shot message blast, but a strong emotional connection stemming from the world view as perceived on Taiwan TV.

Xiamen is special in that it shares the same language with Taiwan (the Minnan dialect) which helps us understand their programmes better. Exposure to those messages over time should mean something, we tended to perceive the world through Taiwan TV’s angle. Predisposition formed by TV before we attended formal politics classes in Chinese schools was difficult to subvert. “Counter-attack the mainland” was a phrase I learned from Taiwan TV, although with the current disparity in military power it sounds more like a joke.    [FULL  STORY]

One passenger tried to smuggle 4.2 kg of meat products into Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/23
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Amid ramped up efforts by Taiwanese customs to restrict meat products from entering Taiwan, two more Chinese tourists were nabbed with contraband meat on Dec. 22, reported CNA.

One passenger was caught with 4.2 kilograms of pork and beef products, which puzzled customs authorities.

A range of authorities across Taiwan have worked to limit the potential of African swine flu reaching Taiwan through processed meat products. Some of these measures have included improved signage, sending of a text message to people upon arrival to Taiwan, and an increased the fine for those caught breaking the law.

Customs authorities said one tourist, surnamed Tsao (曹), arrived from Changzhou, Jiangsu Province with 0.2 kg of undeclared meat. Tsao was caught trying to pass through the “Nothing to Declare” counter (Green Channel), and the contraband was found after a search by customs.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/23
By: Wang Shu-fen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) The government plans to subsidize the installation of either an

anti-lock braking system (ABS) or a combined braking system (CBS) for motorbikes and scooters with 125cc engines or smaller starting next year, Acting Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said Sunday.

The ministry is expected to provide a subsidy of NT$4,000 (US$130) toward the installation of ABS or NT$1,000 for CBS, on new or old motorbikes, including scooters, with 125cc engines or smaller, according to Wang.

The subsidies will cover almost half the installation cost of the braking systems estimated at NT$2,000-NT$8,000 per unit, Wang said, adding that the subsidies will be available only to motorbikes with an engine under 125cc, which account for 93 percent of the market.

However, new motorbike models with engines that are 126 cc or larger must have ABS installed and are not eligible for the subsidies.    [FULL  STORY]

GREEN MOUNTAIN LINE: The tram is to follow the traffic rules while traveling on ground level alongside other vehicles, such as stopping at red lights

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 24, 2018
By: Staff Writer, with CNA

The first phase of the Danhai Light Rail Transit system in New Taipei City’s Tamsui

District (淡水) opened yesterday, with people being offered free rides for a month starting today.

A ceremony was held at the Tamsui District Office, with New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) taking guests on an inaugural ride.

The 7.3km-long tram line, called the Green Mountain Line, connects the Hongshulin MRT Station and Kanding Station to the north, and has a total of 11 stations. It is the first light-rail system in northern Taiwan.

It is part of what is to become a four-section rail network comprised of the Blue Seaside Line currently being built, as well as the Bali and Sanzhi lines, which are still in the planning stages.    [FULL  STORY]

The Sun Daily
Date: 22 DEC 2018

HONG KONG: A popular Taiwanese heavy metal band which advocates

independence for the island announced Saturday it had been forced to cancel a show in Hong Kong after failing to get visas in time.

“The Hong Kong government has kept delaying and has yet to issue work visas … We have no choice but to cancel the show,“ ChthoniC, one of Asia’s best-known black metal bands, said in a statement on their verified Facebook account.

Denise Ho, a pro-democracy canto-pop star who had invited ChthoniC to perform at a festival, said in a Facebook post that immigration officials have not responded to the applications, which were filed in November.

The website for Hong Kong’s immigration authorities states work visas can take up to four weeks to process, but in her post Ho said music acts usually get approval within a week.    [FULL  STORY]

Nobody was injured, but Taipei 101 closed for the night

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/22
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Thousands of shoppers had to leave the Taipei 101 shopping mall Saturday evening after smoke erupted from its underground food court.

Heavy smoke could be seen from all around the area, one of the Taiwanese capital’s main shopping district, but the fire had reportedly erupted inside a ventilation channel at the food plaza, media reports said.

Even though nobody was reported injured and damage was rumored to be light, the mall decided to close early for the night, the Apple Daily reported.

Fire fighters had arrived en masse on the scene and were still investigating the cause of the smoke production.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/22
Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) Taiwan experienced the hottest winter solstice in 10 years when temperatures soared above 30 degrees Celsius Saturday at noon, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said that day.

The winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is the shortest day of the year, which typically occurs on Dec. 20, 21 or 22, and is usually cold.

According to the weather bureau, the mercury rose to a high of 31.2 degrees in Taitung County’s Donghe Township at 12:50 p.m. and many other parts of Taiwan also saw temperatures above 30 degrees at around noon.

In Taipei, the temperature was 30.6 degrees, while Taichung recorded 30.8 degrees.
[FULL  STORY]

BACKPEDALING: The central bank’s claim that replacing currency would be costly is ‘ridiculous,’ especially as it is minting more coins for claw machines, a TSU official said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 23, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and victims of the nation’s authoritarian era

yesterday expressed solidarity with the Transitional Justice Commission as they accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration of shying away from transitional justice.

The Legislative Yuan last year passed the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), which provided the legal basis on which the commission was founded and can exercise its authority, TSU administrative director Chou Ni-an (周倪安) told a news conference in Taipei.

However, the entire administration, from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the Ministry of National Defense and the Veterans Affairs Council to the central bank, has distanced itself from the commission’s legally mandated task of removing publicly displayed authoritarian symbols, she said, referring to a proposal by the commission to replace coins and banknotes that bear the portrait of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).

Executive Yuan members who have spoken out against the proposal should step down for opposing a law ratified by the president, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Is Taiwan a ‘product on the shelf’ for the US, or can Taipei keep calling Washington its best foreign friend?

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/21
By: Nick Aspinwall

A handful of recent news items from the United States may have direct or incidental impacts on Taiwan:

• U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would withdraw all U.S. military troops from Syria within 30 days. The decision is at odds with Trump’s top military advisors, including Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who announced he would resign in February.
• The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted two alleged Chinese hackers for infiltrating governments and companies in at least 12 countries. The hackers stand accused of being part of the state-affiliated Advanced Persistent Threat 10 (APT10) group, according to the DOJ.
• Six U.S. senators have authored a letter to top U.S. intelligence bureaus and officials urging them to investigate alleged Chinese election meddling in Taiwan’s recent regional elections.

These moves will affect Syrian Kurds, left vulnerable in the Middle East, and already strained U.S.-China ties. They may also influence the suddenly murky future of Trump’s broader foreign policy.

Mattis departs: A disagreement over ‘treating allies with respect’

Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria came after he dubiously claimed on Twitter the U.S. has “won” against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). While ISIS has been weakened, Syria remains unstable and the risk of further destabilization is high, International Rescue Committee president David Miliband told the New York Times.

The decision rattled Trump’s own inner circle, including Mattis, who Vox called “the last ‘adult’ in the Trump administration” – a stabilizing force in an ocean of chaos. In his letter of resignation, Mattis said he and Trump disagreed on “treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/21
By:  Central News Agency

The scene after the Puyuma derailment in Yilan County. (By Central News Agency)
The three former heads of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) might face administrative punishment ranging from a minor demerit to a major demerit in the wake of the deadly derailment of a Puyuma express train in October, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said Friday.

MOTC Acting Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said the ministry will seek the punishment for Lu Chieh-shen (鹿潔身), who resigned four days after the accident Oct. 25, as well as his two predecessors Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) and Frank Fan (范植谷).

“We think the three former TRA heads must take responsibility for failing to establish a safety-first culture, particularly after a similar accident in 2007,” said Wang, referring to a train collision at Dali Station in Yilan County that left five people dead and 15 injured.

Like the Puyuma crash — which also occurred in Yilan — the Dali incident was the result of speeding because the driver of an electric locomotive shut off an automatic train protection (ATP) system that keeps travel speed under a safe limit after he found power problems on the train.    [FULL  STORY]