ALWAYS PREPARED: The drill is to focus on protecting critical infrastructure, and the president might be evacuated using the CM-32 armored vehicle, a source said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 26, 2018
By: Lo Tien-pin and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The National Security Council is planning a three-day drill this week to test the

government’s ability to respond to an emergency, an unnamed senior-level government official said yesterday.

The timing of the drill is to be confirmed in the next few days, after evaluations have been made regarding heavy rainfall over the past few days, the source added.

The purpose of the drill is to practice ensuring the safety of political and military leaders during a military crisis, while maintaining the government’s core functions and protecting critical infrastructure, the source said.

The drill is divided into three sections: the activation of the emergency command post and the evacuation of the president, the vice president and other important leaders to the command post; the protection of critical infrastructure; and exercises responding to various scenarios, the source said.    [FULL  STORY]

Bloomberg
Date: August 24, 2018
By: Samson Ellis and Peter Martin

• Vows to oppose China from ‘interference in Western Hemisphere’
• ‘This has a flavor of the Cold War,’ Chinese academic says

The White House cautioned China against luring away Taiwan’s allies, in the latest sign

that that trade friction between Washington and Beijing was expanding into a broader struggle for global clout.

In a harshly worded statement issued late Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the U.S. would rethink relations with the Central American nation of El Salvador after it cut ties with Taipei this week in favor of Beijing. Sanders said the U.S. would seek to deter Chinese efforts to forge new diplomatic bonds in the region.

“The El Salvadoran government’s receptiveness to China’s apparent interference in the domestic politics of a Western Hemisphere country is of grave concern to the United States, and will result in a reevaluation of our relationship with El Salvador,” she said. “The United States will continue to oppose China’s destabilization of the cross-strait relationship and political interference in the Western Hemisphere.”

While the statement threatened no specific action, it represented a potentially significant shift in the Trump administration’s posture toward China. The U.S. has tolerated both China’s growing influence in Latin America and its recent efforts to lure allies from the democratically run Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.   [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-24

President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday met Admiral Scott Swift, former commander of the US

Pacific Fleet, at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Swift, now retired, was commander of the US Pacific Fleet from 2015 to May this year. It is his first visit to Taiwan.

Tsai thanked Swift for his support for Taiwan during his time in command. This included pushing for Taiwan to be involved in rescue and humanitarian missions, as well as for further military exchanges with the United States.

The president said China has stepped up its military exercises in the East China Sea in recent months, with activities specifically targeting Taiwan. These include drills encircling Taiwan from sea and air. These have gone hand in hand with tactics intended to suppress Taiwan’s space in the international community.    [FULL  STORY]

Excessive levels of banned arylamide found in potato chips and coffee by Taipei’s Department of Health

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/08/24 
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Department of Health, Taipei City Government announced the result of a recent food inspection on Aug. 24, with two products exceeding the legal limit of arylamide, a chemical byproduct of heating starchy and other foods.

Jacker’s “Hot & Spicy” potato chips and Robert Timm’s “Mocha Kenya Style” coffee both failed the Department of Health’s safety tests.

Arylamide is known to have toxic effects on the nervous system, as well as potentially increasing risk of developing cancer, and is restricted in many countries.

The Department of Health said that it had recently tested 50 products to ensure public safety.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/24
By: Pan Tzi-yu and Ko Lin 

Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Torrential rain over the past 24 hours has caused NT$53.48 million (US$1.74 million) in agricultural losses and damage to 157 schools around Taiwan worth an estimated NT$18.06 million as Friday, according to statistics from the Council of Agriculture (COA) and the Ministry of Education.

Chiayi County accounted for an estimated 74 percent of the agricultural losses, followed by Kaohsiung (11 percent) and Yunlin County (6 percent), according to the COA.

The figure is expected to rise as water was still receding in many places in southern Taiwan, the COA indicated.

Kaohsiung, which has been heavily battered by the heavy rains brought by a tropical depression, had the most schools damaged in the storm at 51 and the greatest amount of damage at NT$8.86 million.    [FULL  STORY]

MAINTAINING STABILITY: Tsai Ing-wen thanked the US for its support after the White House press secretary said that the US would oppose Beijing’s political interference

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 25, 2018
By: Lee Hsin-fang and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer and Bloomberg

The White House late on Thursday cautioned China against luring away Taiwan’s allies,

in the latest sign that trade friction between Washington and Beijing is expanding into a broader struggle for global clout.

In a harshly worded statement, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the US would rethink relations with El Salvador after the Central American nation this week cut ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.

The US would seek to deter Chinese efforts to forge new diplomatic bonds in the region, Sanders said.

“The El Salvadoran government’s receptiveness to China’s apparent interference in the domestic politics of a Western Hemisphere country is of grave concern to the United States, and will result in a re-evaluation of our relationship with El Salvador,” she said. “The United States will continue to oppose China’s destabilization of the cross-strait relationship and political interference in the Western Hemisphere.”  [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-23

August 23 is the 60th anniversary of the 823 Artillery Bombardment when

China attacked Taiwan’s outlying island of Kinmen. In the ensuing exchange of fire, Taiwan and China each lost over 400 soldiers. Special events were held in Kinmen on Thursday to remember that historical battle.

The defense ministry is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 823 Artillery Bombardment of Kinmen with a historical exhibit, a concert and a calligraphy exhibit. Defense Minister Yen De-Fa also went to Kinmen to commemorate the battle on its 60th anniversary.

Yen said that China shot over 470,000 shells of artillery at Kinmen so Kinmen has over 3,200 shells per square kilometer. This conflict was the continuation of the First Taiwan Strait Crisis which began right after the Korean War ended.

“We remember the battles of history and the legacy of our core values. Famous calligrapher Yu Yo Ren once wrote, “We cannot forget this important chapter in history”. This means we will not forgot the glorious battle 60 years ago on August 23. The passing of time does not mean we will forget,” said Yen.     [FULL  STORY]

Indigenous people’s must be considered as urbanites seek relief from the pressures of the city in Taiwan’s green spaces.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/23
By: Greg Brost

Do green spaces lower suicide rates? A new study suggests that for European city dwellers, the answer is yes, but when it comes to indigenous peoples the question opens a web of complexity that highlights the urgent need for action and education on issues related to transitional justice in Taiwan.

In a study released earlier this year in The Lancet Planetary Health, researchers attempted to explore the relationship between green space and suicide. Findings showed a reduced suicide risk for people in the Netherlands who live in municipalities with a large proportion of green space.

In response to the study, however, a comment article appeared in the August 2018 issue of The Lancet Planetary Health, in which authors Wu Yi-cheng and Harry Yi-Jui Wu argue that connections between suicide and green space should include the perspective and situation of indigenous people, such as the population of more than half a million who live in Taiwan.

For these indigenous populations, the authors propose, exposure to natural environments doesn’t necessarily contribute to a lower suicide risk, and city folks’ desires for green space may have negative impacts on the indigenous communities impacted by an urbanite exodus to the hills.    [FULL  STORY]

A mother and her son died, one woman in coma: reports

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/08/23
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Two people died and one person was gravely injured Thursday after being buried by falling scaffolding from a 20-story-tall building under construction in Kaohsiung.

The incident happened as strong winds were buffeting the area amid a tropical depression which caused flooding and traffic disruption across the region, with several county and city governments announcing evening closures for schools and offices.

At around 3 p.m., a strong wind hit the scaffolding, and amid a loud noise, the metal elements fell from the structure, burying three people in the street, according to the police precinct in the city’s Sanmin District.

Police cordoned off the area while a rescue team removed the wreckage from the scene. Underneath they found one man and two women who showed no signs of life, the Central News Agency reported.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/23
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Aug. 23 (CNA) The Pilots Union Taoyuan on Thursday called on EVA

Airways to come up with some concrete solutions by Monday in response to its pilots’ demands for better working conditions.

After an internal meeting, the union told reporters that many of its members from EVA Air are growing impatient at the slow progress of the negotiations with the airline.

EVA Air management and the union have held three rounds of negotiations so far, but have failed to reach any agreement on the pilots’ demands for a better pay structure and work hours, among other issues.

The third meeting, which was held Wednesday, was cut short because EVA Air was not adequately prepared to discuss the demands at the top of the pilots’ agenda, according to the union.    [FULL  STORY]