BORDER TENSIONS:Yesterday’s fly-by was the third such incident in the past two weeks. Meanwhile, China’s defense ministry warned India over their border stand-off

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 25, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA and Reuters

Four Chinese Xian H-6 strategic bombers were spotted yesterday in two formations

flying close to Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, passing through the Bashi Channel (巴士海峽) and the Miyako Strait south of Okinawa before returning to Chinese airspace, the Ministry of National Defense said.

The bombers, part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, were taking part in a long-range drill in the Western Pacific, the ministry said.

The Miyako Strait, a strategic entryway into the Western Pacific between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa, offers a small strip of international waters and airspace through Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the ministry said, adding that all Chinese military movements are closely monitored by the ministry.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-24

The presidential office says the defense ministry and national security personnel were

closely monitoring China’s military maneuvering on Monday morning. That was the word from Presidential Office spokesperson Alex Huang on Monday.

Huang was referring to four Chinese bombers flew over waters off Japan’s southern Miyako Islands, and through the Bashi Channel, before returning to southern China. The Bashi Channel is a waterway between eastern Taiwan’s Orchid Island and the Philippines.

While the flight path was outside southern Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the military nevertheless dispatched fighter jets and frigates to monitor the maneuvers.    [FULL  STORY]

Part 3 of American photographer Andrew Haimerl’s series on street scenes focuses on pet dogs

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/24 18:45
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In part three of this series on images of street life captured by

American photographer Andrew Haimerl (韓莫), the Taiwanese love of man’s best friend is examined in great detail, including the way they ride on scooters, place them in strollers, cradle them and even how they coordinate them with their outfits.

In this series of photos, it is clearly obvious why in such a densely packed urban environment as Taipei why small dog breeds are preferred, because they can easily fit on a scooter or even slip into one’s jacket.

The photographer, Haimerl (韓莫), 30, first came to Taiwan “to experience something unique while practicing my creative passion.” What started as a one-year stint has turned into over three years, but Haimerl says it feels like only six months and he could spend the rest of his life in Taiwan taking photos.

When asked why he likes street photography, Haimerl said, “I often find funny or strange people to shoot. I feel that street photography is a good extension of my personality.” With photos of ordinary people such as these, Haimerl is also seeking to “expand people’s consciousness by pointing out things that often go ignored in our daily lives.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/24
By: Hau Hsueh-chin and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Two Vietnamese girls celebrated their new life at the China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) in Taichung on Monday, after receiving successful surgical treatment for the treatment of elephantiasis.

The hospital held a birthday party for Loan, a 13-year-old Vietnamese girl who first came to Taiwan several years ago for treatment provided by a medical team led by Chen Hung-chi (陳宏基), director of CMUH’s International Medical Center.

Loan was joined by another patient from Vietnam, a 12-year-old girl surnamed Le. Together, they celebrated the new chance at life the surgery has given them.

Chen recalled that Loan weighed 25 kilograms when he first met her at the hospital three years ago, at which time her abnormally swollen leg weighed 15 kg.
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 24, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A Taiwanese LGBT publisher has been forced by organizers to stop

selling several books at a major expo in Hong Kong.

G Books (基本書坊) said in a Facebook post that it was ordered to pull nine titles from its stall at the Hong Kong Book Fair, as the Hong Kong Free Press reported.

Event organizers cited a regulation prohibiting the sale of Class II “indecent” books under Hong Kong’s Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance.

The order came despite all of the books being sealed and carrying warning labels — and despite the covers containing no explicit material.

For instance, the cover of “A Gentleman’s Wedding” (男大當婚) shows only two grooms hugging.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-23

Culture Minister Cheng Li-chun says that the government will begin preparing a

budget to create a television station that would broadcast in the Minnan dialect, which is often called “Taiwanese”. That would require amending current laws which have paved the way for two other minority language television stations that broadcast in the Hakka dialect and in the languages of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.

The Minnan dialect is the most widely spoken language in Taiwan, following Mandarin Chinese. It was once forbidden to speak that language in the nation’s schools, but continues to be popularly spoken in southern Taiwan.

The culture minister’s remarks on language came on Sunday during the last of eight public hearings for a proposed new national language development law. She said that Taiwan is home to a diverse array of languages, but the government’s past policy which had focused on a single unifying language had threatened the existence of many of those minority languages.    [FULL  STORY]

Good Eye Taipei’s recommendations for night markets in Taipei.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/07/23
By: Good Eye Taipei’s

Where do Taiwanese people go at night?

Night markets have existed in Taiwan for over a century and are often located on the

street in front of a temple or on main roads in cities. The night market is highly competitive for businesses, and Good Eye Taipei, a new bilingual Taipei city guide, recommends three night markets to discover delicious food.

Ning Xia Night Market (寧夏夜市)
Ningxia Road, Taipei City (台北市寧夏路)
Hours: 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Recommended snacks: crispy taro balls, oyster omelet and Rong’s Pork Liver.

Shida Night Market (師大夜市)
Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路)
Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Closed on Mondays.
Recommended snacks: Xu’s Pan-fried Dumplings, Healthy Lu Wei and Lan’s Gua Bao.
[FULL  STORY]

Only for flights to and from China: airline

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/23
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwanese crew members at Malaysian budget airline AirAsia

X have been forced to report their nationality as Chinese for flights to and from China, reports said Sunday.

According to a report in the Chinese-language Apple Daily, this is the latest example of pressure by China against Taiwan, which it regards as a province to be isolated diplomatically and brought into its fold, by force if necessary.

A Taiwanese crew member at AirAsia X said that on a recent flight from Shanghai’s Pudong Airport to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, the nationality listed in the NTLY column on the necessary General Declaration had been changed from TWN for Taiwan to CHN for China.

In a message shown by the Apple Daily, an official at the airline’s cabin crew department writes that the nationality of Taiwanese crew members will be reflected as CHN, but only for flights to and from China.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/23
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) A reactor at the No. 3 nuclear power plant in Pingtung County

was shut down Sunday morning due to a cooling system failure, which could strain Taiwan’s power supply this week, Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) said.

The power supply at the nuclear plant was interrupted at 1:10 a.m. Sunday after the cooling system of the second reactor developed problems, Taipower spokesman Lin Te-fu (林德福) said.

The plant managers decided to shut down the reactor as a safety precaution but gave the assurance that there was no risk of radiation leaks, Lin said, adding that the cause of the cooling system problem had not yet been determined.

The affected generator at the plant has a full capacity of 950,000 kilowatts, accounting for more than 2 percent of the country’s total energy consumption of 36 million kilowatts per day, Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

PROTEST TO CARNIVAL:Temple groups reached a compromise with the government that only one stick of incense would be used in each burner

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 24, 2017
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Religious troupes with divine palanquins from about 100 temples across the nation

yesterday paraded through the streets of Taipei in a rally that was initiated to protest a rumored government policy to ban incense burning, but was later defined as a “religious carnival.”

Rally organizers estimate that about 50,000 people gathered at Liberty Plaza in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall at about 2pm before marching toward Ketagalan Boulevard with “holy generals” and temple staff carrying divine palanquins.

Onlookers lined up along the streets to witness the large number of religious troupes gathered in one event, a rare sight, as they are usually only seen at temples during deity pilgrimages.

Some believers knelt down and waited for Matsu’s palanquin to pass over their heads, a ritual that is said to bring good luck and blessings.    [FULL  STORY]