TEAM EFFORT:Head coach Ni Tai-chih praised the nation’s archers for showing their capabilities and determination to compete until the finish

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 25, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Taiwan yesterday claimed gold in the Taipei Summer Universiade men’s 100m

sprint, while archers picked up three silvers and there was a bronze in taekwondo.
Yang Chun-han (楊俊瀚) won the gold medal in the 100m final at the Taipei Municipal Stadium with a time of 10.22 seconds, coming off a national record in the semi-finals of 10.20 seconds that marked him as a favorite in the decider at 8:40pm.

Thando Roto of South Africa took silver 0.02 seconds behind, while Cameron Burrell of the US claimed bronze in 10.27 seconds.

Yang set the previous mark for Taiwan’s best time over the distance in May.
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: August 25, 2017
By: The China Post

The host team claimed its first-ever Universiade gold medal in pommel horse

yesterday. Lee Chih-kai, the star of the documentary “Jump! Boy,” received a score of 15.3 points with a Thomas Flair and took the gold. At the press conference today, Lee said that pressure and nervousness before a match have always been challenges that he deals with. He felt more relaxed and much less pressured competing at home and was therefore able to deliver his best performance for the win.

The news conference was attended by Lee, his coach Lin Yu-hsin and director Lin Yu-hsien, who filmed “Jump! Boy” 15 years ago, telling a story centered on the gymnastics team of Gongzheng Elementary School in Yilan. Lee was the only one of the young gymnasts featured in the documentary to participate in last year’s Olympics, in the process fulfilling a promise he had made. Now, he has made history by clinching a gold medal.    [FULL  STORY]

ANTI-PENSION REFORM:Chen Chin-tien was still being questioned at press time for allegedly throwing a smoke bomb and disrupting the Universiade’s opening

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 24, 2017
By: Lo Ching-ho and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, staff writer, with CNA

Taipei police yesterday identified Chen Chin-tien (陳進添), an anti-pension reform

activist and military veteran, as the suspect who threw a smoke bomb that disrupted the Taipei Summer Universiade’s opening ceremony on Saturday.

Protesters had prevented the athletes from entering the Taipei Municipal Stadium, the venue for the opening ceremony.

Several officers were injured in clashes with the demonstrators.

Taipei Police Department Deputy Commissioner Lin Shun-chia (林順家) said that a joint task force of the Criminal Investigation Bureau and Taipei Police Department are investigating the incident.

A review of footage from security cameras and mobile devices led to the identification of Chen, Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan has been sinking into a state of stagnation for more than a decade, the Tsai government continues to give businesses too much latitude.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/08/23
By: Justin Hugo

Taiwan’s Basic Wage Deliberation Committee announced last Friday a proposal to increase the country’s monthly minimum wage from NT$21,009 (US$694) this year to NT$22,000 (US$726) next year. The committee comes under the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

Following the committee’s announcement, the MOL said this week that the proposed wage increment would increase employers’ spending by NT$16.29 billion (US$538 million), including via premiums paid to labor insurance, employment insurance and national health insurance.

This is much lower than what business leaders had previously claimed the increase would cost them – a director of the Chinese National Federation of Industries, Ho Yu (何語), had exaggerated the amount, claiming costs to employers would increase by nearly NT$30 billion a year.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan defense minister to make brief stops in New York and Los Angeles  

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/08/23
By: Juvina Lai, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – According to reports from the South China Morning Post,

on Tuesday while speaking to the media, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reminded United States officials that there is only one China and that Taiwan is a part of it.

The reminder or warning came as Taiwan’s defense minister is set to visit Central American allies to strengthen the bond.

Taiwan’s defense minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) will be visiting some of Taiwan’s allies in Central America from Tuesday until September 8 and is likely to make brief stops in New York and Los Angeles.

Beijing warned the US against any military contact with Taiwan and reminded Washington about the “One-China policy”.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/08/23
By: Luke Sabatier, Oscar Wu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Aug. 23 (CNA) Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai (李智凱) delivered when it mattered most, nailing his routine in the finals of the men’s pommel horse at the 2017 Taipei Universiade on Wednesday to win only Taiwan’s second men’s gymnastics gold ever at a Summer Universiade.

Lee finished with a score of 15.300, topping Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine (15.033), who was crowned men’s all-around champion at the games on Tuesday, and Tomomasa Hasegawa of Japan (14.591).

“This is the best performance of my gymnastics career and I hope I can even do better in the future,” Lee said after his triumph.

Lee’s gold was Taiwan’s eighth at this year’s Universiade. Taiwan’s only other men’s gymnastics gold at the Universiade was won by Huang Yi-hsueh on the vault in 2005.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: August 23, 2017
By: The China Post

The 2017 Taipei Universiade is bringing together athletes from over 50 countries to

Taiwan, known as the “kingdom of food.” In the Athletes’ Village, over 90 percent of the food is sourced from this kingdom. Taiwanese pepper popcorn chicken has proven to be the most popular menu item, with over 100 kilograms consumed every day, followed by beef noodles in a close second. Athletes eat about 900 bowls of beef noodles a day, an impressive 90 kilograms, officials said.

The Universiade’s catering team on Wednesday gave an insider’s look into what the athletes were eating and how these foods were being prepared. The team includes Da-cheng Qu, director of the Universiade’s department of food and beverage; Australia’s Global Hospitality Group CEO Peter Wright; Zhang-fang Wu, chef of Asian cuisine in the Athletes’ Village Canteen; and opening/closing ceremony catering partners Imperial Hotel Taipei, its executive chef Shi-qi Lai and its chef of Western cuisine Zhi-wen Lin.    [FULL  STORY]

Land and sea traffic in southern Taiwan is gradually getting back to normal as Tropical Storm Hato has moved away from the country.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/08/22
By: Juvina Lai, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Authorities confirmed Tuesday that Tropical Storm Hato has moved away from Taiwan and traffic in the south is getting back to normal.

According to CNA, the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) has confirmed that the services of the south-link railway line connecting Kaohsiung with Pingtung and Taitung has resumed as of 10:20 am Tuesday.

The Alishan Forest Railway Main Line will remain suspended until Wednesday, but the service on Zhushan, Zhaoping and Shenmu branch lines will be resumed when weather conditions permit, TRA said.

According to the Directorate General of Highways, the section between Xiangyang and Wulu of the Southern Cross-Island Highway will remain closed until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/08/22
By: Yang Su-min, Milly Lin and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) Excessive levels of the highly toxic insecticide fipronil has been found in eggs produced at farms in Changhua County, Council of Agriculture (COA) deputy head Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said Tuesday.

Chen confirmed the presence of Fipronil when asked to comment on local media reports that the insecticide has contaminated eggs in Taiwan after similar incidents were seen in Europe and South Korea.

Agricultural authorities tested egg samples from 45 farms around the island and found those from three farms in Changhua to be contaminated with the insecticide at concentration levels of 153 parts-per-billion(ppb), 22ppb, and 5ppb, respectively, Chen said.

Those farms are now subject to strict controls that prohibit any eggs from leaving their premises, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 23, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is to be upgraded to a ministry,

Premier Lin Chuan (林全) announced yesterday.

The Cabinet decided that the agency would be upgraded to the “ministry of environmental protection and natural resources” to combine the management of national resources, climate change mitigation and soil and water conservation, which are currently handled by different agencies, under a unified chain of command, Lin said at a ceremony in Taipei to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of the EPA.

The upgrade, which has been under discussion for more than a decade, is part of the Cabinet’s planned government restructuring, and the Executive Yuan expects to submit its restructuring plan to the Legislative Yuan next month for approval.
However, some details still have to be worked out.    [FULL  STORY]