FOOT-DRAGGING:Entrenched interests, ‘dinosaur judges’ and distrust of the judiciary are hampering efforts to reform the judicial system, several critics said

Taipei] Times
Date: Jun 05, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

A weekend conference on the nation’s judicial system attended by legal experts and

representatives of civic groups heard concerns from several participants that the Presidential Office-led judicial reform effort is being derailed by entrenched forces inside the judiciary.

“Taiwanese do not trust the justice system because our nation still has not completed the ‘transitional justice’ process and is just in the starting stages of judicial reform,” Legal Aid Foundation secretary-general Chen Wei-shyang (陳為祥) said.

“In Japan and Germany, there is no crisis of distrust in their justice systems, and their citizens do not suspect court judges of taking bribes,” Chen said.

“However, we have a very serious problem of distrust in Taiwan,” he said.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-03

Severe weather Saturday has seen two counties in central Taiwan close government

offices and two southern cities evacuate residents of mountainous districts.

Yunlin and Nantou Counties in central Taiwan announced the closure of government offices amid torrential rainfall. The Central News Agency reports that private companies in these two counties were also expected to remain closed Saturday.

Further to the south, the cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan announced the evacuation of residents from several mountainous areas prone to flooding and mudslides. Though the more densely populated coastal areas of these cities have been largely unaffected by the recent weather, the mountains inland have seen heavy downpours and mudslide warnings.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/03
By: Huang Kuo-fang and Christie Chen

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) A section of the scenic Alishan Highway in southern Taiwan’s

Chiayi County will be closed from Saturday night as a precautionary measure following two days of extremely heavy rain.

The section from the 66-kilometer mark to the 88-km mark will be closed from 8 p.m., the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) announced.

The DGH said the road could re-open at 8 a.m. Sunday, depending on weather conditions.   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan battles floodwaters as torrential rain hits

AccuWeather.com
Date: June 03, 2017
By Kristina Pydynowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Two people are dead after moisture from former-Tropical Cyclone Mora led to torrential rainfall and major flooding in northern Taiwan on Friday.

Out of the 163 mm (6.42 inches) of rain that inundated Taipei on Friday, 120 mm (4.72 inches) fell in just two hours, according to data obtained by Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau.

Flooding quickly swamped the area and turned streets into rivers, including in Taipei. Flooded tracks disrupted rail traffic.

In the Taipei area on Friday, the majority of that rain occurred with a 12-hour period.

Northern parts of New Taipei City were hit the hardest on Friday with rain totals exceeding 300 mm (12 inches).    [FULL  STORY]

Torrential rain expected to continue lashing at least 9 counties and cities

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – With extreme torrential rain expected to continue across

much of the island Sunday, Nantou County was one of the first areas where schools and offices would remain closed for the day.

In many other areas, a decision had not yet been reached by Saturday evening, or could be taken by local governments depending on the local situation.

Conditions were right to keep offices and schools shut Sunday in Taoyuan City’s Heping area and in the Kaohsiung City districts of Liugui, Taoyuan, Jiaxian, Maolin and Namaxia, the central government said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/03
By: Chu Che-wei, Wang Shu-fen, Huang Li-yun, Chen Chih-chung and Elaine Hou

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Casualties and damage were reported from around Taiwan as

torrential rain continued to batter the island Saturday, with agricultural losses reaching at least NT$21 million (US$714,100), according to government statistics.

As of 5 p.m., two people had been killed, five had been injured and one was still missing after heavy rain began to drench Taiwan a day earlier, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. A total of 15 others were stranded in a mountainous area of Miaoli County and awaiting rescue, it added.

The deaths were a woman in New Taipei’s Bali District and a man in the northern city’s Shimen District, both of whom were swept away by floodwater, while New Taipei and neighboring Keelung City reported five injuries amid the torrential rain, the center said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: June 3, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Ministry of National Defense has set up a disaster response

center and military personnel, vehicles and apparatus are on stand-by to help local governments with rescue work in the wake of torrential rain which has pounded Taiwan since Friday morning.

Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明), chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, ordered the disaster response preparations earlier on Friday as part of efforts to help protect people and property, the ministry said in a statement.

Currently, over 36,000 military personnel are on stand-by, while more than 3,600 vehicles and 105 boats are ready for action, the ministry said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/02
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, June 2 (CNA) Four Taiwanese citizens have been confirmed to be among

more than 30 people found dead at a Philippine casino resort, where a gunman fired shots at the closed-circuit monitoring system and set gambling tables ablaze before committing suicide early Friday, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At least 34 people died and about 50 others were injured, mainly due to smoke inhalation, the ministry said in a statement.

After confirming with the Philippine authorities, Taiwan’s representative office in Manila was told that four of the bodies found at the resort were identified as Taiwanese nationals, the ministry said.

The ministry said it has notified the families of the deceased and will help them travel to the Philippines to repatriate the bodies of their loved ones.    [FULL  STORY]