Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/21
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) 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.    [FULL  STORY]

EXPECTED PUNISHMENT: Su’s suicide was reportedly precipitated by a telephone call from his superiors to inform him that he and his staff would be reprimanded

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 22, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The widow of a former diplomat to Japan, who committed suicide in September after

his office had come under fire for its handling of stranded Taiwanese tourists due to a typhoon, on Thursday denied that false information drove her husband to take his own life, saying that it was instead “anticipated humiliation” by his superiors.

In a statement issued through Eastern Broadcasting Co (EBC, 東森電視), the wife of Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠), who was director-general of the Osaka branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office until his death on Sept. 14, said that only family members had read Su’s suicide note, which did not mention pressure caused by fake news.

“Rather, he committed suicide after finishing a reflection report ordered by his superiors and on the eve of a work meeting to defend his honor, leaving behind a note saying that he ‘does not want to be humiliated,’” said Su’s wife, who did not make her name public.

She was referring to a meeting originally scheduled for Sept. 15 between the nation’s six branch offices in Japan to discuss how to revise their emergency response protocols.    [FULL  STORY]

122 Taiwanese donate NT$810,000 to help deliveryman pay NT$12 million repair bill for 4 wrecked Ferraris

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/12/21
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After a young Taiwanese deliveryman dozed off and crashed his van into four Ferraris worth NT$50 million (US$1.6 million) on Sunday, 122 members of the public have come forward to help him pay the estimated NT$12 million repair bill, reported Apple Daily.

While delivering goods in New Taipei City’s Shiding District at 5 a.m. Sunday morning (Dec. 16), a 20-year-old man surnamed Lin (林) nodded off and smashed his van into four Ferrari sports cars parked on the roadside. The total value of the four Italian supercars is over NT$50 million, and the estimated cost to repair the damage inflicted by Lin’s van is more than NT$12 million, but his insurance only covered injuries not damages.

The young man’s plight has drawn the sympathy of many people, and as of 1 p.m. yesterday (Dec. 20), the New Taipei City Social Welfare Department had received 122 donations totaling about NT$810,000 since Dec. 18. The department said that people from all walks of life had come forward to help out.

The largest donation was NT$200,000 given by a man surnamed Chen (陳) yesterday. Others have donated amounts as small as NT$100 to express their support.    [FULL  STORY]

No early voting and no absentee ballots make it impossible for many citizens to exercise their right to vote.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/20
By: 札克利 / Zachary Lee

Elections are the busiest periods for news journalists. Every reporter must support their news outlet by following different leads and engaging in interviews, even if they don’t have a background in politics. Those who do specialize in political reporting are likely to be working 24/7 throughout that period.

On election day in Taiwan, journalists and editors will often try to find the time to sneak away from work and vote. However, if a reporter’s hometown is in another county or city, they are forced to give up that sacred vote.

I have had the right to vote for eight years. Until this year, I have never been able to exercise that right.

My hometown is in Chiayi County, and the 2010 mayoral elections were the first elections held after I had reached voting age. At the time, I was interning at a radio station. On that day, I was assisting with an interview, so I was unable to go home and vote.    [FULL  STORY]

15 person crew of fishing boat in custody, 2,500 kg catch released

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/20
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Chinese fishing vessel was intercepted by the Taiwan coast guard for illegally fishing in Taiwanese waters in the early hours of Dec. 20, with the event leaving the coast guard boat with minor damage, reported CNA.

No one was injured in the incident, and the 15-person crew of the fishing vessel were taken to Magong, Penghu for questioning. Charges are expected to be laid, and the expedition’s catch of around 2,500 kilograms of fish was released into water.

The fishing boat was intercepted by the Penghu coast guard at 5.25 a.m. this morning, approximately 12 miles northwest of Hua Island.

The Penghu Coast Guard said the collision occurred after the fishing vessel refused to yield for inspection. Apple Daily on the other hand, reports a member of the fishing vessel as saying that the collision occurred unintentionally, and was partly due to the coast guard’s use of a search light during night time.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/20
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan 

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Taiwan’s options for the future lie only between maintaining the status quo tied to the “1992 consensus,” a formula endorsing the one China principle, and unifying with China, while independence was not possible, former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said Thursday.

Ma, who served as president from 2008-2016, made the assertions in what he said were “ultimate solutions” to the relationship between Taiwan and China, in his biography – “A Memoir of Eight Years in Office” launched on Thursday.

But he emphasized that the possibility of cross-strait unification can only be achieved “in a democratic and peaceful manner” through a referendum on the topic by the people of Taiwan and that no specific time frame should be given on such a vote.

“Pragmatically speaking, there exists no possibility of Taiwan independence. The only option is whether to reunify (with China) or not,” Ma said in his book.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 21, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Most Taiwanese would not support a re-election bid by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英

文), but would support Premier William Lai (賴清德) if he represents the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the nation’s top office in 2020, a survey published yesterday showed.

The poll, conducted by the green-leaning Taiwan Brain Trust think tank from Wednesday to Friday last week, gauged voter preferences for the 2020 presidential race after the DPP’s landslide losses in the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections.

The poll found that Tsai’s disapproval rating has climbed 12 percentage points from a similar survey by the think tank in July to 66.8 percent, while her approval rating has dropped to only 19 percent.

While 45.7 percent of respondents said they would not vote for a DPP presidential candidate in 2020, the number rose to 66.3 percent when asked if they would support a re-election bid by Tsai, compared with 22.4 percent who said they would.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s third parties made positive gains in the 2018 elections.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/19
By: If Lin

November’s nine-in-one local elections provided some shocking results. While many young Taiwanese are either grieving the referendum results as proof of Taiwan’s “conservative values” or expressing surprise that Kuomintang (KMT) mayoral candidates Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) won by margins of over 100,000 votes in Kaohsiung and Taichung, respectively, it seems few people have paid much attention to the national “councilor-level” elections – especially the success of Taiwan’s “third force” parties at winning local seats.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at some basic information about Taiwan’s councilor-elects in the last five elections (1998-2018).

In 1998, about three quarters of councilor-elects were between 40 and 69 years old, and about a quarter were between 20 and 39. However, the percentage of young councilor-elects decreased in the following years. In 2014, only 11.6 percent of councilor-elects were 20-39-year-olds, while the percentage of 40-69-year-olds spiked to 84.7 percent.

In the 2018 election, however, the percentage of 20-39-year-old councilor-elects grew for the first time in 20 years, rising slightly to 16.98 percent. 40-69-year-old councilor-elects dropped by around three percentage points.
[FULL  STORY]

Visitors have been complaining about the exhaust emission produced by the diesel shuttle buses in the resort

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/19
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Sun-Link-Sea Forest and Nature Resort (杉林溪森林生態渡假園區) in Nantou County, central Taiwan, will introduce electric shuttle bus service to the resort, beginning Dec. 25 to eliminate the air pollution caused by diesel shuttle buses, after having received assistance from Taiwan Tourism Bureau, the bureau said in a news release on Dec. 13.

The bureau said it has been actively promoting green tourism by assisting theme parks in the country in introducing low-carbon green vehicles for visitor transportation within the parks.

Sun-Link-Sea Forest and Nature Resort is blessed with magnificent natural scenery, including forests, waterfalls, and wonderful landscapes, as well as seasonal fireflies. The resort also includes facilities such as restaurants, lodging, conference halls, and a nature education center.

However, visitors have been complaining about the exhaust emission produced by the diesel shuttle buses in the resort, according to the release.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/19
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday called on

China to provide comprehensive and real-time information about the spread of African swine fever (ASF) there to avoid creating a disease prevention loophole.

Tsai issued the call during an inspection tour of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to observe the quarantine procedures and the work of sniffer dogs with regard to meat products entering the country.

The Taiwan government’s efforts to guard against ASF include an amendment to the Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease, which took effect Dec. 14, allowing higher fines for meat or animal smuggling, she said.

Based on the new amendment, the Council of Agriculture (COA) has increased the minimum fine for meat smuggling from NT$50,000 (US$1,622) to NT$200,000 for first-time offenders to help protect Taiwan’s pig farming sector, she noted.    [FULL  STORY]