Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/10
By: Elaine Hou and Claudia Liu

Taipei, June 10 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense on Saturday expressed sorrow over the death of Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), director of the much acclaimed documentary “Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above” (看見台灣) who had also worked with the military to document stories in the Air Force.

“The defense ministry expresses sorrow over the unfortunate passing of Director Chi Po-lin,” ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) told reporters.

The ministry also expressed its gratitude to Chi for having worked with the Air Force to film a documentary and make a short film, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

 

[From Air Force’s Facebook page]

The second of these marked the 60th anniversary of the Air Rescue Group, established in 1954, with which Chi maintained a close relationship even after filming was finished, an Air Force official said.

PRECIOUS SUPPLY:A KMT legislator has blamed the government for deforestation and leaky water pipes, which she said lose about 10 reservoirs worth of water annually

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 11, 2017
By: Chen Yu-fu / Staff reporter

The Executive Yuan’s proposed budget for the so-called “development of aquatic

environments” project of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program is “clearly insufficient” and would likely hamper efforts to prevent floods, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers said yesterday.

The Cabinet introduced the aquatic environments program to facilitate the nation’s water distribution and improve drainage systems in flood-prone areas, and has planned a NT$250.7 billion (US$8.33 billion) budget out of the NT$890 billion earmarked for the infrastructure project.

KMT Legislator-at-large William Tseng (曾銘宗) said two of the three project objectives outlined by President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration — ensuring steady water supplies and preventing flooding — would cost more than NT$220 billion, but the administration has not yet laid out any plans to assess the viability of the objectives.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: June 10, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), director of the much acclaimed documentary

“Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above”(看見台灣), is believed to be one of the three people killed when the aircraft they were in crashed in a township in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County Saturday, local police said.

The name of the 52-year-old director was on a list of people who were supposed to be on board the helicopter, flight No. B31118, when it crashed in the mountainous region of Fengbin Township at around 11:56 a.m., killing all three on board, according to Hualien police.

The identities of the victims will need to be confirmed later, police said.

The helicopter, which belonged to Emerald Pacific Airlines (凌天航空), was conducting an aerial photograph mission related to the sequel of “Beyond Beauty” when it crashed, officials said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-09

Taiwan will seek to garner more support from other nations at the 2017 World Health

Summit, scheduled for October in Taipei. That’s the word from the health minister, Chen Shih-chung, on Friday.

Chen recently led a delegation to Geneva during the World Health Assembly and held 59 bilateral meetings and two technical meetings with representatives from other nations. That’s after Taiwan was barred from attending from this year’s WHA due to political pressure from China.

Chen told Radio Taiwan International on Friday that his efforts led to multiple nations voicing their support for Taiwan to participate in the WHA. He said the health ministry will continue to garner support from other nations during the World Health Summit in October.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan beats Italy, France and Hong Kong in Rakuten poll

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/09
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan is the country with the tastiest food according to

Japanese gourmets, vaulting ahead of Italy and South Korea in a poll by Japan’s Rakuten Travel website.

The site interviewed 1,155 people in Japan between April 5 and 13 about their favorite country or region for food.

Taiwan emerged on top with 166 votes, coming far ahead of both European culinary paradises such as France and Spain, as well as Asian gourmet hotspots like Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.

Taiwan’s steamed dumplings, braised pork rice and braised beef noodles were typical local delicacies that tempted the palate of Japanese travelers, helping the island to win the poll.    [FULL  STORY]

BAIL JUMPER?Reports said that Lee Chien-yi did not appear in court after being released on bail after her role in protests in a bid to stop evictions in Hong Kong

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 10, 2017
By: Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA

The National Immigration Agency yesterday said that an 18-year-old Hong Kong

woman who allegedly jumped bail in the territory after being accused of offenses in last year’s Mong Kok civil unrest has overstayed her visa by more than four months.

Lee Chien-yi (李倩怡) — who Hong Kong news Web site am730 on Thursday reported was in Taiwan on a tourist visa, but seeking asylum — was one of 91 people detained by Hong Kong police after the unrest over the Lunar New Year.

She was to attend her first court hearing on Jan. 17 at a district court after being released on bail, am730 reported.

However, the Chinese-language Headline Daily yesterday reported that Lee had allegedly fled the territory to seek asylum in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: June 9, 2017
By: The China Post

 

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Air Force released photos Friday of its Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team flying over Yushan, Taiwan’s highest mountain.
Moving in a seven-aircraft formation, the AT-3 trainer aircraft put on an impressive display around the 3,952-meter mountain, with the blue skies, white clouds and rugged terrain below making for a perfect backdrop.

The Thunder Tigers have been stepping up their training regime ahead of performances later this year at open-house events at air bases around the country. The first show is in Kaohsiung on Aug. 12 and will be followed by shows in Hualien and Hsinchu on Sept. 23 and Nov. 25.    [SOURCE]

In a win for Taiwan’s indigenous people, wild animals may be caught as food for the hunters and their families or for sharing with others.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/06/08
By: Central News Agency

Indigenous people in Taiwan can legally hunt to provide food for themselves and their families, according to an interpretation of the Wildlife Conservation Act published by the government Thursday.

Once wild animals are not caught for the purpose of making a profit, it is not illegal for indigenous people to hunt them, the Council of Agriculture and the Council of Indigenous Peoples said in their interpretation of the law.

Wild animals may be caught as food for the hunters and their families or for sharing with others, in accordance with the traditional culture of the indigenous people, the two agencies said.    [FULL  STORY]

Decision could be turning point in Taipei Dome deadlock

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/08
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – In a move likely to break the two-year deadlock surrounding

the construction of the Taipei Dome (大巨蛋), the Ministry of Interior (MOI) Thursday approved adapted plans concerning fire prevention and safety escapes for the project.

Work on the 40,000-seat arena complex was halted in May 2015 amid sharp differences between Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and chief contractor Farglory Group (遠雄) chief Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄), for a large part about safety concerns.

The MOI’s Construction and Planning Agency (營建署) said Thursday a committee of 11 experts had held 19 meetings to review the new design plans and told Farglory about its unanimous decision.    [FULL  STORY]