Taipei Times
Date: Jul 31, 2017
By Hung Jui-chin and Lu Kuan-cheng / Staff reporters

A petition to replace Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen’s (孫中山) image on the

NT$10 coin with that of philanthropist Chuang Chu Yu-nu (莊朱玉女) had collected more than 5,000 online signatures on the National Development Council’s Public Policy Network Participation Platform as of Saturday.

Until Thursday, the petition had received little attention since its June 20 launch, with just 28 people signing it.

However, after the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on Thursday published a story about the petition, the number of signatures rose by 3,000 in one day and reached 5,000 on Saturday.

The council’s platform allows the public to propose policies. A proposal must obtain 5,000 signatures within 60 days of its launch to warrant a response from the government, which means the government must respond to the coin petition by Sept. 29.

Chuang Chu was born in 1920 in Penghu County’s Baisha Township (白沙). After moving to Kaohsiung, she met a group of people from Baisha who worked at the docks unloading cargo. She allowed them to live in her warehouse and offered them free meals.    [FULL  STORY]

‘Good Eye Taipei’s’ recommendations for temples to check out in Taipei.

The Nwews Lens
Date: 2017/07/30

A trip to Taiwan would not be complete without going to a temple and experiencing what most Taiwanese people do routinely. At these temples, you can light incense in prayer, throw “Poe” (wood blocks used for divination) and draw fortune sticks, have one’s frightened spirit retrieved and soothed, and pray for protective amulettes. In a great metropolis like Taipei, temples are one of the few places where one may find peace.

Taiwan religious environment is free and inclusive. For the majority of people, it is difficult to clearly define their religion, which is a blend of Buddhism and Daoism. Furthermore, many Taiwanese also pray to their ancestors. Even presidents and other political and business figures pay homage at prominent temples. During New Year’s, it is a tradition for the president of Taiwan to draw a fortune stick that tells the nation’s fortune in the coming year.    [FULL  STORY]

There have been nearly 150 cases of dengue fever infections reported on the island this year.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/30
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Typhoon Nesat left many puddles on the streets and objects

filled with rain water in Taiwan, which could increase the possibility of dengue fever outbreaks, said Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), deputy director general at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 疾病管制署) Sunday. He advised the public to clean up containers or objects where mosquitoes are likely to breed.

Typhoon Nesat brought pouring rain to the island, particularly in southern Taiwan, which led to many streets and areas brimming with rainwater. As people are bracing for the incoming tropical storm Haitang, they should also pay attention to potential dengue fever outbreaks, said the CDC.

“Rainwater is likely to accumulate in outdoor containers, where mosquitoes can breed in mass numbers between one to two weeks,” said Chuang, adding that “people should clean up containers and objects such as tires, cans, bottles, and potted plants around their neighborhood if they are filled with rainwater.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/28

CNA will be providing updates on Typhoon Nesat, which is forecast to make landfall in

eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County Saturday night.

July 30
11:10
Over 5,000 households, mostly in Kaohsiung and Tainan, were blacked out as Typhoon Haitang swept through southern Taiwan Sunday. Flooding was reported in low-lying areas of Pingtung.

10:40pm
HAITANG COULD TURN INTO TROPICAL DEPRESSION
Typhoon Haitang was packing winds at slightly lower speeds in a slightly smaller radius of maximum winds — a trend that the Central Weather Bureau said could turn it into a tropical depression.    [FULL  STORY]

RIGHT TO LEAVE:About 500 EVA Air flight attendants took yesterday’s typhoon day off in accordance with their contracts, affecting 50 flights and stranding travelers

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 31, 2017
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

EVA Air Corp (長榮航空) yesterday canceled 50 flights after about 500 of the company’s

flight attendants went on strike, leaving operations at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in disarray.

They have exercised their right to ask for leave of absence due to a natural disaster and have followed the proper procedures, the nation’s second-largest airline said.

EVA Air spokesperson J.C. Kuo (柯金城) at a news conference at the airport apologized for the inconvenience caused by the strike and said that the company would assist passengers in changing or refunding tickets free of charge.
He also thanked the ground staff and flight attendants who came to work yesterday.

Kuo said he could not speculate on the motives of employees who chose to go on strike the day after Typhoon Nesat hit the nation, adding that further calculations are needed to determine the financial losses caused by the strike.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan is a great place to view many different species of snakes.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/07/30
By: By Steven Crook, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

When the temperature rises and rain falls, the life forms that inhabit Taiwan’s forests

become more active. Some expatriates might loathe Taiwan’s sultry summers, but for snake aficionados Bill Murphy, Hans Breuer, and Dane Harris, the season has definite advantages. All three spent many years in Taiwan before they began to appreciate the size and diversity of the island’s serpentine population.

“I’ve been interested in wildlife my whole life, ever since my grandmother used to explain the flora and fauna during hikes,” says Wisconsin-born Bill Murphy. “For the first decade I was in Taiwan, I’d occasionally see a snake, but I wasn’t particularly interested in them to the exclusion of other wildlife. Taiwan is an area of unusually fecund biodiversity. In the hills, I’ve come across flying squirrels, ferret badgers, pangolins, giant moths, glass lizards, rhinoceros beetles, barking deer, and Swinhoe’s pheasants.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/29
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, July 29 (CNA) All cities and counties in Taiwan, except for offshore Kinmen

County, have announced school and office closures for Sunday as Typhoon Nesat swept the country, according to data released at 8:47 p.m. by the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration.

Typhoon Nesat made landfall at 7:10 p.m. at Su’ao Township in Yilan County, northeastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said earlier that evening, warning of heavy rain and strong wind across Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

 

Two Taiwanese students were denied entry by India border protection officers on

Thursday because of the word “China” on their passport.

Tensions have run high between India and China over a border stand-off in the Himalayas.

The two Taiwanese students had intended to travel in India and were trying to enter from Shimla, the capital of the northern India state of Himachal Pradesh.

Customs officers denied them entry permits after seeing “Republic of China” printed on the passport covers and mistaking them for citizens of the People’s Republic of China.
[FULL  STORY]