Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/06
By: Chen Ja-fo and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, June 6 (CNA) Kaohsiung Customs officers on Tuesday seized a shipping

container of smuggled cigarettes that were estimated to have a market value of about NT$20 million (US$676,000).

The officers said that after checking the shipping list, they became suspicious of a container of goods being transshipped from Singapore and declared as polyethylene.

They then ordered the goods unloaded from the container vessel for inspection. The container was found to contain 900 cartons of cigarettes worth an estimated NT$20 million.

The Ministry of Finance and relevant central and local government agencies have adopted tougher measures to combat cigarette and tobacco smuggling since Oct. 20 last year in anticipation that a law that could double the health surcharge on cigarettes from NT$10 per pack to NT$20 from June 12 could spur smuggling.
[FULL  STORY]

CONTESTED:Committee Chairman Wellington Ku asked why a contract presented by the KMT as evidence of a 1964 land sale had not been given during previous court cases

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 07, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) representatives yesterday abruptly left a hearing on

the party’s acquisition of land in Taipei’s Muzha District (木柵) decades ago to protest what they said was abuse of government power against the party.

The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee called the hearing to review the KMT’s purchase of a plot of land that is now part of the site housing the KMT’s National Development and Research Institute.

Yeh Chung-chuan (葉中川) acquired the land in 1939, but it was taken over by the Imperial Japanese Army not long afterwards and then claimed by the KMT government after the end of World War II.

The KMT purchased the land from Yeh in 1964, but below the price that he had set for it.    [FULL  STORY]

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

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The CTBC Anti-Drug Educational Foundation (中信反毒基金會)

received an annual national award on Saturday for its outstanding performance in Taiwan’s war on drugs.

Created in August 2015, the anti-drug education group was the youngest of this year’s award recipients and the only one established with funding from a corporation, CTBC Group.

Foundation Chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr. (辜仲諒) accepted the award from Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and said he saw the drug prevention campaign as an important mission in his life.

The CTBC Anti-Drug Educational Foundation organizes substance abuse prevention programs, with a focus on educating children.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/06/05
By: Beyonder Times

‘Why throw away food which is still edible? Food waste is not just about food

themselves, but also about the waste of water, earth, energy and labor resources that are required to produce the food,’ said Stefan Simon.

Food waste has become a dominant global issue, especially in developed countries in recent years. According to Taiwan People’s Food Bank Association, approximately 2.75 million tons of food is wasted in Taiwan every year.

The good news is that the movement against food waste is now thriving with the efforts of civic groups and individuals. One of those who is devoted to combating food waste in Taiwan is Stefan Simon. “Why throw away food which is still edible? Food waste is not just about food themselves, but also about the waste of water, earth, energy and labor resources that are required to produce the food,” said Simon.
[FULL  STORY]

The strongest plum rain Taiwan has seen in 21 years has led to severe flooding across the nation. Over 30,000 households were affected by power outage and water shortages…

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/05
By: Wendy Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As of 11 a.m. Monday, agricultural losses as a result of

torrential rain over the past few days across Taiwan have reached nearly NT$70 million and are likely still growing, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Monday.

Total agricultural losses have reached an estimated NT$67.52 million (US$2.24 million) as of Monday morning, with Yunlin County being the most affected, recording a loss of NT$25.91 million and accounting for 38 percent of the total losses nationwide.

New Taipei City was second only to Yunlin in terms of crop losses, with a total of NT$17.8 million, or 26 percent of the national total, followed by Nantou County (9.58 million, 14 percent), and Chiayi County (4.23 million, 6 percent).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/05
By: Worthy Shen and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) Repair work on the Suhua Highway linking Yilan and Hualien

counties in eastern Taiwan has made good progress since rockfalls on May 28 closed the road. Two-way traffic will resume from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekend and holidays, highway officials said on Monday.

During weekdays, the road will be open with traffic controls and one-way traffic in place from 6-9 a.m, 12-1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m, officials from the Directorate General of Highways’ Maintenance Division said.

Heavy rain caused rock falls at the 112.6 km mark on Provincial Highway No. 9 — known as the Suhua Highway — in Jiugong, Yilan County on May 28, the second day of the Dragon Boat Festival, causing severe traffic jams between northern Taiwan and Hualien.    [FULL  STORY]

FINE-TUNING:The navy is to hold additional meetings later this year with potential contractors to discuss changes to its specifications and designs for the new ships

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 06, 2017
By: Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Republic of China Navy’s next-generation frigates are likely to be equipped with

an active electronically scanned array (AESA) as well as other weapons, a Ministry of Defense official said.

The combat systems designed by Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology for the frigates are to be the equivalent of and be interoperable with Aegis combat system-equipped US warships, said the ministry official, who wished to remain anonymous.

The navy plans to build six to 10 of the frigates.

Unless the bulk of the AESA radar is reduced by redesigns, the system’s installation on the frigates would increase each vessel’s total displacement from 4,000 tonnes to between 4,500 tonnes and 5,200 tonnes, the official said.    [FULL  STORY]

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

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Officials at National Chengchi University has suspended all

teaching activities by one of its instructors after reports claimed he sexually harassed multiple students.

In a press conference Monday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei said the Korean language instructor may have sexually harassed “more than one” female student.

Chen said she had requested the Education Ministry take action.

After the allegations surfaced online, school officials alerted the Education Ministry, which has formed an investigation task force.

The instructor is currently still allowed on school premises; however, a class scheduled to be led by the instructor Tuesday has been canceled and final examinations for the semester will be conducted by a substitute.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-04

President Tsai Ing-wen was in Yunlin County, southern Taiwan on Sunday to inspect

flooding caused by torrential rain.

During her visit, she called for a comprehensive flood prevention plan to be implemented in stages. The president said the central government would provide oversight, with local governments offering assistance, in order to keep citizens and their property out of harm’s way.

After observing the flooding and listening to a report from officials on the ground, President Tsai spoke about the shortfalls of the current flood control plan. She said those would be dealt with in the government’s new Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.    [FULL  STORY]

Nantou and Kaohsiung to close some schools and offices Monday

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/04
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Following three full days of extreme torrential rain battering

most of Taiwan, there was no sign of a letup by Sunday night, with the Central Weather Bureau warning that 19 cities and counties could still fall victim to excessive rainfall.

While the three counties on the east coast, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung, were not included in the latest alert, that did not mean that those areas would be dry, forecasters said.

Residents should be on their guard against sudden precipitation, lightning, strong gusts of wind and flooding, the weather bureau said. Landslides and rockslides remained a possibility, according to the latest warnings.    [FULL  STORY]