Author of ‘The Slaughter’ says Chinese doctors used Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s technology to transplant organs from Falun Gong prisoners

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/02
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Ethan Gutmann, author of the book “The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem,” at a press conference today said that Chinese doctors used technology provided by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to transplant organs from jailed dissident members of the banned Chinese spiritual movement Falung Gong (法輪功).

In the book, Gutmann alleged that through an organization called “Both Sides Across the Strait Share the Same Live Organs” (器官兩岸一家親), Ko had taken Taiwanese patients to China to undergo organ transplants, all of which allegedly came from Falun Gong prisoners.

During a press conference held today by Brian Wu (吳祥輝), the pro-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) head of Butterfly Orchid Cultural Creativity (蝴蝶蘭文創) and publisher of the Chinese version of the book, Gutmann claimed that Chinese doctors illegally used ​Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) transplant technology provided by Ko, who he characterized as a “liar.”

At the beginning of the press conference, Gutmann talked about the background of the book. He also said that the Communist Party of China was murderous in harvesting organs from living political prisoners and prisoners of conscience for decades for commercial use. Gutmann claimed that not only Falun Gong students were victims, but also Uyghurs from Xinjiang.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/02
By: Fan Pei-ching and Ko Lin 

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) Super Typhoon Kong-Rey is unlikely to impact Taiwan directly, but its periphery will bring heavy rain to northern and eastern parts of the country, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Tuesday.

As of 8 p.m., Kong-Rey was located about 1,140 kilometers east-southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost tip Eluanbi and was traveling in a northwesterly direction at a speed of 18 kilometers per hour, according to the CWB.

Kong-Rey was packing maximum sustained winds of 198kph, with gusts of up to 244kph, according to CWB data.    [FULL  STORY]

‘DONG CHANG’: The premier was able to deliver his administrative report after the DPP and the KMT agreed on the establishment of an ad hoc team to investigate the incident

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 03, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday apologized to the public over a potential breach of

neutrality by the Transitional Justice Commission in an incident involving former commission deputy chairman Chang Tien-chin (張天欽), who reportedly compared the commission to “Dong Chang” (東廠), the Ming Dynasty-era secret police and spy agency.

It was the second time the premier, who nominated commission members, apologized for the incident since it happened on Sept. 12.

“We [the government] swore a solemn vow to the Taiwanese public to realize transitional justice and consolidate democracy in Taiwan,” Lai said.

“However, former deputy chairman Chang’s recent inappropriate behavior has hurt the agency’s reputation, sparked confrontation and caused a disturbance in society. I hereby apologize to society,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Typhoon Kong-Rey will come closest to Taiwan by Friday, according to meteorologist Peng Chi-ming

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/01
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Based on its current movements, Typhoon Kong-Rey is likely to come closest to Taiwan by Friday and could more directly impact the country than its predecessor Typhoon Trami, according to Meteorologist Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明).

WeatherRisk Explore Inc. President Peng Chi-ming, on his Facebook page today, said that atmospheric conditions are similar to what influenced Typhoon Trami last week, and Kong-Rey is likely to follow a similar pattern as the past few Typhoons by heading toward Taiwan before veering north toward Japan. However, Peng said that Kong-Rey has a better chance of directly impacting Taiwan, or at least coming closer than Trami.

Peng predicted that Kong-Rey will come closest to Taiwan by Thursday or Friday. He said the margin of error is still quite large, and it will take more time to more accurately predict Kong-Rey’s path. Nevertheless, Peng emphasized that it is currently on a trajectory to come closer to Taiwan than Trami.

Peng said that the weather in Taiwan this week will be similar to last week as northwesterly winds bring cooler temperatures with the lows in northern Taiwan dropping to 19 to 23 degrees Celsius in the early mornings. Highs in northern Taiwan will not exceed 30 degrees, while temperatures in central Taiwan will range between 21 to 32 degrees and occasional showers are likely in mountainous areas.     [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-01

President Tsai Ing-wen said Monday that she trusts Taiwan’s Constitutional Court to

continue to uphold the country’s democratic order and protect the human rights of citizens.

The president was speaking at an event to mark 70 years since the Constitutional Court first sat. That followed the adoption of the current Republic of China constitution at the end of 1947.

The event was attended by 15 of Taiwan’s top justices as well as legal scholars from home and abroad, including from the United States, Canada and European countries.
[FULL  STORY]

A social worker with a Taiwanese NGO reflects on helping a man through the impossible grief of losing his son to preventable police violence in a faraway land.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/01
By: TNL Staff

Editor’s note: On Aug. 31, 2017, Nguyen Quoc Phi (阮國非), a Vietnamese runaway migrant worker in Hsinchu, was caught allegedly stealing a car. When police arrived, he threw stones at the officers and tried to flee. The police fatally fired nine shots at Nguyen. They were accused of failing to assist Nguyen as he lost blood and laid helplessly on the street.

Afterwards, his father, Nguyen Quoc Dong (阮國同), wrote a personal letter, conveyed through the Taiwan International Worker’s Association (TIWA), which questioned why his son would steal a car as he did not know how to drive.

On Aug. 28, 2018, Nguyen’s family reached a civil settlement with police. Terms were not made public, but the amount was higher than the standard NT$2,500,000 (US$81,175) loss of life compensation issued for wrongful use of weapons by police. The family accepted the outcome and agreed to a suspended sentence for policeman Chen Chung-wen (陳崇文), whom the judicial panel ruled used his gun improperly.

The author of this article is Chen Hsiu-lien (陳秀蓮), a researcher at TIWA. Below, she details her experience hosting the father of the deceased in Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

Film about a century-old trail network in northern Taiwan connecting Taipei and Yilan was selected and screened at the inaugural World Trails Film Festival during the in Spain

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/10/01
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—A film that introduces and discusses the past, the present, and the future of a century-old trail network in northern Taiwan connecting the Taipei and Yilan areas was selected and screened at the inaugural World Trails Film Festival during the World Trails Conference in Spain in September.

The 2018 edition of the World Trails Conference, a biannual event, took place at Santiago de Compostela in Spain from Sep 26 to Sep 29.

New Taipei City Government, Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association, and Xiao Qing-yang’s studio participated in the conference to promote the Tamsui Kavalan Historical Trails (淡蘭古道).

Produced and directed by Xiao Qing-yang, the film “Tamsui Kavalan Historical and Cultural Trails” was selected as one of seven films to be screened at the World Trails Film Festival during this year’s World Trails Conference, the TTD said.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/01
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) The Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy next month will

commission two Perry-class guided missile frigates it bought from the United States, a Navy official said Monday.

Fielding questions during a Legislative hearing, Navy chief of staff Vice Admiral Lee Chung-hsiao (李宗孝) told lawmakers that training and preparations are underway for the commissioning of the two vessels into the Navy sometime in November.

On the question of how the new ships will help improve the nation’s defense capability, Lee said they are Perry-class vessels, which means they have much better anti-submarine capabilities than the Navy’s existing eight Chengkung-class frigates.

The two military vessels, built in the 1980s and named USS Taylor and USS Gary in the U.S. Navy, were delivered on May 2017.    [FULL  STORY]

KIOW News
Date: September 30, 2018
By: AJ Taylor

Congressman Steve King, a Member of the House Agriculture Committee, announces that he will be hosting a tour of Iowa farms for members of a Taiwanese agricultural procurement delegation on Sunday, September 30. The agriculture tour comes on the heels of an announcement that Taiwan will increase their purchase of American soybeans by 30%.  Last September, following a series of meetings King held in Taiwan with Taiwanese government officials (Related: King Persuades Taiwan to Buy $2.8 Billion of Corn, Soybeans, Wheat), Taiwan committed to purchasing $2.8 billion of American grains. The Taiwanese announced that they planned to increase their previous purchase order of American grown soybeans, a component of last September’s agreement, by 30%. The Taiwanese have now pledged to purchase $1.56 billion of soybeans.

“It is a privilege to be able to bring the Taiwanese delegation to Iowa so that they can see our first rate agriculture in the full flow of harvest,” said King. “I have been so aggressive in encouraging the Taiwanese to import increasing amounts of our goods that some have even taken to calling me ‘Soybean Steve.’ I have little doubt that the Taiwanese procurement officials on this tour will be even more excited about increasing future purchase of our agricultural commodities after they get a chance to personally see what we have to offer them.”   [FULL  STORY]