PROGRESS: Opposition parties called for giving the EPA more control, while the New Power Party wanted to allow local governments to set stricter standards

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 26, 2018
By: Yang Chun-hui and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

Legislators yesterday passed the third reading of draft amendments to Article 12 of

the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法), now all that is needed for the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to consult with — rather than decide with — the Ministry of Economic Affairs on regulations related to controlling the total volume of air pollution.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agreed to change the phrasing of Article 12 after opposition parties called for giving the EPA more control.

Draft amendments to Article 9, which allows emission allowances to be obtained for stationary sources of air pollution through trades and auctions or by reducing the emissions of mobile sources, also passed its third reading yesterday.

Article 9 encourages companies to obtain emission allowances by buying used cars to speed up the replacement of older cars.    [FULL STORY]

Military.com 
Date: June 24, 2018
By Christopher Bodeen, The Associated Press

BEIJING — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has accused China of

“intimidation and coercion” in the South China Sea, is visiting Beijing this week as the countries increasingly spar over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and Beijing’s expanding military presence overseas.

The Defense Secretary’s trip highlights the need for the U.S. and its chief rival in East Asia to engage each other despite increasingly stark differences and mutual suspicion.

Mattis’ mission comes at a difficult time as the Trump administration is set to start taxing $34 billion in Chinese goods in two weeks, while Beijing has vowed to retaliate with its own tariffs on U.S. products. The U.S. appears likely to rely on China for help in getting North Korea to deliver on denuclearization promises made at a summit in Singapore between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.    [FULL  STORY]

Kyodo News
Date: June 24, 2018

NAHA Japan-Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui on Sunday attended a memorial service in Okinawa for Taiwanese soldiers killed there fighting for Japan.

Lee, 95, is in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture, on a four-day visit from Friday to pay tribute to Taiwanese killed in the 1945 battle on the island. Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule for a half century until 1945.

Lee attended a plaque-unveiling ceremony for a monument in honor of the Taiwanese who died in the bloody battle. The event took place at the Peace Memorial Park, located in the Mabuni Hill area of Itoman city.    [FULL STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/06/24
By:  Central News Agency

Taipei, June 24 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense on Sunday declined to

comment on a news report that Taiwan’s military will join the United States in an exercise that will focus on medical emergencies at sea.

According to the Liberty Times report, a team of Taiwan Navy and military medical personnel will be assigned to U.S. warships when the drill begins in the Solomon Islands in November.

The report said international medical and humanitarian assistance will become central to exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S., hence their plan to assemble an international team for the exercise.

Asked whether he could confirm the report, MND spokesman Chen Chung-chi (???) said “there is no comment or further explanation” on the subject.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/24
By: Yang Ming-chu, Shih Hsiu-chuan and William Yen

Okinawa, June 24 (CNA) China’s worst enemy is that it does not genuinely embrace

democracy and freedom and Taiwan, which does so, will not be its enemy, former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said on Sunday in Japan.

Lee made the remarks at a dinner gathering with Taiwanese expatriates in Okinawa, in which he said that Taiwan will someday present itself on world stage with its own name.

In the 21st century, China has become an assertive player on economic, political, military, and technological fronts, but it has been seen as a hegemony, not a civilized country upholding the ideas of democracy and freedom, Lee said.

Lee said that China has become the “most destabilizing factor” in Asia and has caused disturbances that threaten the security of countries in the region.
[FULL  STORY]

HAUNTED BY MEMORIES: The psychotherapy center might also provide help to guilt-ridden perpetrators of repression and expects to treat 3,000 to 5,000 people

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 25, 2018
By: Chen Yu-fu  /  Staff reporter

The Transitional Justice Commission has said that it would establish a psychotherapy

center for survivors of political repression as part of a pilot program.

Although martial law was lifted more than three decades ago, the need to provide psychotherapy to people suffering psychological trauma caused by political repression has remained unaddressed, the commission said.

Many survivors, their families, as well as family members of political victims, still suffer from psychological stresses caused by traumatic memories, it said.

The commission said it has asked the National Property Administration for space in a government building that could be turned into a psychotherapy center dedicated to treating people with mental trauma caused by political repression.
[FULL  STORY]

The Straits Times
Date: June 23, 2018
By: Eunice Quek

SINGAPORE – Singaporean singer-songwriter JJ Lin and Taiwanese singer A-Mei

began the evening on a high note, with both up for six awards each at the 29th Golden Melody Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the Grammy Awards. But the two stars went away empty-handed.

The big awards went to Hong Kong singer Eason Chan who won Album Of The Year, as well as the Best Male Vocalist (Mandarin).

Also jubilant was Taiwanese singer Lala Hsu who took home the awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Female Vocalist (Mandarin).

Appearing shocked each time her name was called, Hsu said in her acceptance speech for Best Mandarin Album: “This feels like a dream because my fellow nominees are outstanding. I will continue to work hard.”

Chan, on the other hand, was at ease on stage and whipped out his mobile phone to take a photograph of his trophy. He said: “I’m very relaxed today, and my body is stiff from sitting for so long. I will focus on singing for everyone, and I’m sorry to keep everyone waiting for a concert.”    [FULL  STORY]

Some say that despite the high healthcare standards, they are sometimes unable to give informed consent

The Guardian
Date: 23 Jun 2018
By:Calla Wahlquist

Asylum seekers flown from Nauru to Taiwan for medical treatment have complained to

lawyers that language barriers meant they were unable to give informed consent even when the overall quality of care was good.

Australia signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan in 2017 to provide medical treatment for asylum seekers detained on Nauru, in an effort to prevent people indefinitely detained on the island from applying for a medical transfer to Australia.

The agreement was disclosed by a Taiwan representative in a letter to the Guardian last month, following a report about an Iranian woman and her son who were transferred to Taiwan so she could undertake life-saving heart surgery, and confirmed by the Australian government overnight.

Iranian refugee and son at risk of suicide returned to Nauru against medical advice
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/06/23
By:  Central News Agency

Taiwanese inventors won a total of 10 medals, including six gold, at Invent Arena in the Czech Republic this year, the Taiwan-based Chinese Innovation and Invention Society (CIIS) said Saturday.

Taiwan also bagged three silver medals and one bronze, which propelled it to third place among the 22 participating countries in terms of medal count at the biennial competition, CIIS said.

The Taiwanese gold medalists included a team led by Professor Hsu Tzu-kui of the Air Force Institute of Technology, which presented an all-weather wind turbine capable of generating power at the slightest breeze.

The team said that while there are many wind turbines on Taiwan’s west coast, they tend to stand idle when there is no wind.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwann
Date: 2018/06/23
By: Liao Yu-yang and Frances Huang

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has imposed anti-

dumping tariffs on imports of styrene from Taiwan, South Korea and the United States, with effect from Saturday, after it was determined they had been selling the petrochemical product at unfairly low prices in the Chinese market.

In an announcement on its website on Friday, the ministry said styrene from the three exporters had imposed material injury on China’s petrochemical market.

The tariffs on styrene imports, ranging from 3.8 percent to 55.7 percent, will remain in place for five years, starting June 23, the ministry said.

It is the first time in eight years that China has imposed anti-dumping tariffs on products from Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]