Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/07
By: WildAid ,Agencies

(SAN FRANCISCO / WILDAID) – With an estimated value of $7 to 23 billion annually, the illegal

wildlife trade threatens endangered species around the globe.

Recently, Peruvian police seized 29 Galapagos giant tortoises from traffickers attempting to smuggle the highly-endangered species to the European Black market on a bus. Unfortunately, two of the 29 turtles were dead upon rescue, but the remaining turtles were sent back to the Galapagos, where they are now being checked by Galapagos National Park staff.

More commonly, the poaching of sea turtle eggs occurs at nesting sites around the world. Sea turtles can lay hundreds of eggs per nest, and with the price of an individual egg reaching the thousands of dollars on the black market, it’s no mystery why poachers plunder their nests. In Nicaragua, sea turtle eggs are a cultural delicacy, and a study by Fauna and Flora International revealed that eggs were consumed primarily for their taste and perceived nutritional value.

Another industry fueled by lucrative prices is the tropical reef fish trade which is prevalent in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Approximately 10 to 30 million fish are traded annually with a value of approximately $200 to 750 million. The industry is rife with destructive and illegal fishing practices. Fishermen, typically in poverty stricken areas, practice dynamite and cyanide fishing to retrieve the fish. The blasts and chemicals stun the fish, facilitating their capture, but they simultaneously kill many other fish, marine animals and destroy the coral reefs.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/06
By: Elaine Hou and Tang Pei-chun

Brussels, July 6 (CNA) The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday calling for China

to release Lee Ming-che (李明哲), a Taiwanese human rights and pro-democracy advocate who has been detained in China for more than three months for alleged “subversion of state power.”

In a plenary session, members of the European Parliament discussed the cases of Lee and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) and passed the resolution calling for the Chinese government to release the two human rights activists, according to the statement released by the parliament.

Lee, a former Democratic Progressive Party worker, staff member at Wenshan Community College in Taipei and a volunteer at the local NGO Covenants Watch, was detained by China after entering Zhuhai City via Macau on March 19.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament called on Beijing to immediately release Liu and his wife from house arrest and allow him to seek medical treatment wherever he wishes, the statement said.
[FULL

[FULL  STORY]

COORDINATED EFFORT:Chinese embassy staff in Abuja monitored the operation to seal the nation’s representative office while senior officials were out of town

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 07, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Nigeria has allowed itself to be used as China’s “hired thug,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

yesterday, blasting China’s “sick mentality” toward Taiwanese diplomacy and adding that the battle for Taiwan’s representative office in the African nation has been lost.

“On the surface, we have been facing off against Nigeria, but in reality we are facing off against violent and savage China, which does not care about the niceties of international law,” Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Chen Chun-shen (陳俊賢) said, attributing the sending of armed guards to seal off the nation’s representative office in Abuja on Friday last week to pressure from Beijing.

“Our staff and Nigerian friends have reported that, for some unknown reason, China suddenly exerted a ‘mountain-toppling’ amount of pressure on June 30,” he said, adding that Chinese embassy personnel monitored the operation to seal the office and expel staff.

“The incident was pure political harassment, as Taiwan’s representative had already departed the country and the remaining counselor was in Lagos looking at potential offices with a colleague,” he added.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 6, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A migrant worker from Indonesia was killed Thursday after she leapt from the

third floor of a building as it was being swarmed by immigration agents, the state-run Central News Agency reported.

The woman, named Danisah and aged in her 30s, suffered head injuries in the fall and was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.

The National Immigration Agency reportedly initiated the raid after being tipped off that a large number of undocumented migrant workers were being employed at the site — a “logistics factory” in Taoyuan District, the seat of Northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City.

A total of 17 migrant workers in the country illegally were found, according to CNA. Danisah was among four of them who had attempted to flee, agents said.

Several others suffered minor injuries; it is unclear how these injuries were sustained2
[FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/07/05
By: Michael Tatarski, Saigoneer

Take a tour of the Losheng Sanitarium which was built in the 1930s when lepers were forced to be isolated from society.

Taipei is known as a highly advanced, efficient city famous for modern marvels such as the Taipei 101 and a convenient metro system.

On the outskirts of the city, however, things can get a little more gritty. Head west into the suburbs of New Taipei City, home to used car dealerships and an urban sprawl wedged into narrowing valleys, and one will find the eerie and mostly abandoned Losheng Sanitarium.

Located on a hill behind the enormous construction site of a new MRT depot, this facility is a must-visit for anyone interested in photography, abandoned places and urban exploration.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/05
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–The sacred flame is coming to the highest point of the torch relay for Taipei 2017 Universiade on July 6 (Thursday), and the 10-member team responsible for carrying the flame to the summit of Taiwan’s highest peak, Mt. Jade, is already stationed at the trailhead at Tataka on Wednesday.

Deputy team captain Huang Tien-yu (黃天裕), who was once president of National Taiwan Normal University mountaineering club, said he felt very excited about being tasked with the important responsibility of carrying the flame to the highest peak in Taiwan.

After coming down from the summit of Mt. Jade, the sacred flame will be carried through 22 counties and cities, beginning from the offshore archipelago of Penghu County on July 13.

The flame will eventually return to Taipei again and carried around the 12 administrative districts until the ignition at the torch tower at the Taipei Stadium, which signifies the official opening of Taipei 2017 Universiade.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/05
By: Hsu Chih-wei and S.C. Chang

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) China has cut by more than half the number of Chinese students permitted to

study in Taiwan for the current academic year, a decision Taiwan called on it to reconsider.

Chang Hung-te (張鴻德), executive secretary of the joint committee of Taiwan universities for recruiting Chinese students, said Chinese authorities approved only 1,000 Chinese students to apply for positions in Taiwan universities this year, down from 2,136 last year.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), which is in charge of Taiwan’s China policy, urged Beijing not to restrict the quota assigned to Chinese students who want to study in Taiwan.

“The government’s policy of welcoming Chinese students remains unchanged. Youth and student exchanges across the Taiwan Strait should not be restricted or interfered with in any way,” said the MAC.   [FULL  STORY]

CONSENSUS:A new motion added three new projects — establishing friendly nursing rooms; measures to ensure food safety; and nurturing talent and boosting employment

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 06, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

The special act on the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program yesterday cleared a

third reading at the legislature, with lawmakers passing a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) motion to adjust the program’s budget from NT$882.49 billion (US$28.93 billion) over eight years to NT$420 billion over four years.

The legislature met in plenary session to review the bill after the DPP caucus on Tuesday made a concession to adjust the program’s budget and time frame during cross-caucus negotiations, ending the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) occupation of the legislative speaker’s podium that began on Monday morning.

The DPP, KMT and People First Party (PFP) caucuses on the same day signed on a DPP motion to divide the program into two stages of four years each, with a NT$420 billion special budget for stage one.

Budget requests for the second stage are to be delivered to the legislature for review with the proviso that its size and time frame does not exceed the first budget.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 5, 2017
By: The China Post

 

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A fire at a plastics factory sent toxic black smoke churning up into the air over Pingtung’s Wandan Township earlier Wednesday.
The blaze at Fenq-Ronq Enterprise Co. (鳳榮塑膠棧板製造廠), which makes plastic pallets, was reported at 7 a.m. and extinguished around 8:15 a.m.

Even after the fire had been put out, pallets and plastic parts stacked up in the 1,500-ping facility continued to smolder.

Pingtung’s Environment Protection Bureau is warning the public to clear out from the area, because burning plastic releases dioxins and other harmful chemicals into the air.

Currently the toxic cloud is headed north, entering parts of Pingtung including Jiuru (九如), Ligang (里港) as well as Kaohsiung’s Dashu (大樹) and Daliao (大寮).

Dioxins are a known carcinogen that can also cause reproductive problems, harm the immune system and interfere with hormones.    [SOURCE]

 

Radio Taiwan International
Date; 2017-07-04

The Presidential Office has condemned North Korea’s test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic

missile (ICBM) on Tuesday. Presidential Office spokesperson Sidney Lin said Pyongyang’s move sabotages regional peace and stability.

Lin said Taiwan is in close contact with its partners regarding the matter.

“Taiwan attaches great importance to regional peace and stability. We play a responsible role in the region. Relevant departments are aware of the details of the test,” Lin said. “Our goal remains to maintain peace and stability in East Asia. We will keep close communication with neighboring countries to maintain that goal.”

Meanwhile, the foreign ministry says any communication between the United States and China should not harm the interests of Taiwan. That’s the word from foreign ministry spokesperson Eleanor Wang on Tuesday.    [FULL  STORY]