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The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/17
By: TNL Staff

“To make some real change internally [in the KMT] is the most important thing.” – Chiang Wan-an

Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) is the great-grandson of the infamous Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Soong Mei-ling (宋美齡, or Madame Chiang), grandson of Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), another former Taiwan president, and son of former Kuomintang (KMT) vice chair John Chiang (Chiang Hsiao-yen, 蔣孝嚴).

With this unrivaled political lineage, not to mention good looks and Silicon Valley experience, Chiang Wan-an, who also goes by Wayne Chiang, is for good reason referred to as the future of the Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan.

But the party, more commonly known as the Kuomintang, or the KMT, is at one of its lowest ebbs in recent history. Some believe it is beyond repair.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/17
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–A 77-year-old Malaysian man died Wednesday, possibly from

hypothermia, in a mountain lodge where he stayed after an aborted ascent to Taiwan’s highest peak, the 3,952-meter Jade Mountain, Chiayi County Fire Bureau confirmed.

The man, Chaiock Foong, belonged to a mountaineering team of 31 members. They arrived on Monday at Paiyun Lodge (排雲山莊), located 3,402 meters above sea level on the west slope of the mountain’s main peak. They planned to climb to the top on Tuesday morning.

However, days of rain had made the route to the summit too treacherous, and the team was forced to abort the climb, firefighters said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/17
By: Sophia Yeh and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) A total of 185 computers have been reported to be infected by the WannaCry ransomware, including one in a government unit, Chou Mei-wu (周美伍), deputy head of the National Security Bureau (NSB), said Wednesday, citing statistics of reported cases.

The malware has infected 116 computers at Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) offices and 68 others in 13 schools, Chou said at a legislative question-and-answer session.

A computer in Taichung Employment Services Center is the only one in any government organization to have been infected, because it was not covered by a security system established by the Executive Yuan to safeguard government computers from hackers, Chou said, adding that the device has been repaired.
[FULL STORY]

COUPONS FOR KILOSThe Chihshang Township office had prepared 2,000 coupons worth NT$100,000 for its bounty drive, but has seen half the money claimed in one month

Taipei Times
Date: May 18, 2017
By: Wang Hsiu-ting, Lin Yen-tung and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writer

More than 1 tonne of invasive fish have been removed from Dapo Lake (大坡) in

Taitung County a month after a bounty for such fish was announced, the Chihshang Township (池上) office said.

Chihshang Township Mayor Chang Jao-cheng (張堯城) said his office put a NT$50 (US$1.7) per kilogram bounty on invasive fish about a month ago.

The Dapo Lake ecosystem is increasingly threatened by armored catfish and snakehead murrel, the species that was thought to be responsible for biting a swimmer in Huoshuei Lake (活水湖) on Sunday, Chang said.

Taking advantage of local residents’ interest in fishing, Chang said he reopened the lake for recreational fishing with the prevision that the focus be on catching the pest fish.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: May 17, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A fire broke out at a movie theater in the bustling Ximending area of

Taipei Wednesday afternoon, with no casualties reported, Taipei City Fire Department said that day.

Firefighters rushed to the scene after receiving a report at 3:07 p.m. of fire in a third floor restroom at the Ambassador Theater.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, the fire department said.

About 50 people were evacuated from the building when the fire was discovered, it added.

Ximending is one of the busiest areas in Taipei. It features a pedestrian area, restaurants, movie theaters and many stores selling fashionable clothing and accessories.    [SOURCE]

‘Under no condition should “President (or Vice President) of the Republic of China” be used to refer to the leaders of Taiwan, even if it is put in quotation marks.’

The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/16
By: ZiQing Low

As China President Xi Jinping (習近平) woos world leaders in Beijing, the Xinhua

news agency has announced strict rules for how Chinese journalists should refer to dozens of sensitive issues.

Xinhua, China’s main news agency, has issued a notice outlining the required and prohibited conventions covering topics from people with disabilities and senior party officials, to Taiwan independence and the South China Sea.

According to a Chinese-language copy of the notice, there are 45 directives. Thirteen of those cover terminology restrictions for territory and sovereignty issues, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Xinjiang, as well as the disputed Spratly and Senkaku Islands.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/16
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–A college student saw to it that a letter addressed to a mother

in Heaven was delivered correctly before Mother’s Day after the letter was delivered the wrong way and got sent back to the university where he studies.

Assistant Professor Yang Ji-sien (楊志誠) of National Quemoy University Department of Social Work took his freshman class on a field trip to Kinmen Prison to learn hands-on experience from serving prisoners. The students invited the prisoners to write down words of thanks or missing someone for the important people in their lives, such as parents, children and spouses. These messages would be sent to the people the prisoners addressed on the envelopes that has printed address of the Social Work department. Then the students carried the letters out of the prison to a local post office and put on stamps for delivery.

After a few days, Yang saw a letter that was sent back to the department, and the letter was addressed to “Yang Bao-chih” (楊寶治) at “Heaven” (天上).
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/16
By: Chen Wei-ting and Y.F. Low

Taipei, May 16 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday reported a

cluster of five hepatitis C cases linked to shared needles at a clinic in Taoyuan.

All five patients had received intravenous injections at Wei Lien Clinic (維蓮診所) before they were separately diagnosed with acute hepatitis C between January and May this year, the CDC said.

An investigation found that the clinic has used syringes and needles on different patients instead of discarding them after one use, the CDC said, adding that the clinic has been ordered to stop providing injections to patients.

CDC Deputy Director-general Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said the investigation is still underway and that the CDC will not rule out the possibility of ordering the clinic to stop operations in accordance with the Communicable Disease Control Act to facilitate the investigation. However, the clinic remains open for business.
[FULL  STORY]

MA TRIAL TAKE TWO:The lawmaker said the judge’s explanation of the March 28 verdict was untenable, as Ma Ying-jeou’s guilt was evident, despite a lack of audio

Taipei Times
Date: May 17, 2017
By: Hsieh Chun-lin, Huang Hsin-po and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) accused a

judge of being former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) defense attorney as the second trial over alleged breach of confidence by Ma began yesterday.

Ker said that the judge in the first trial should not have ruled in Ma’s favor in the case, which stems from Ker’s accusation that Ma breached judicial independence by instructing then-prosecutor general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) to provide information regarding an ongoing investigation.

The investigation, conducted by the now-defunct Special Investigation Division, was probing allegations that Ker and then-legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) were involved in improper use of influence.

Ma is accused of soliciting Huang to break confidentiality when the former president invited him to the presidential residence on Sept. 1, 2013, to report on the investigation, Ker’s lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: May 16, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — In the investigation into the deaths of piglets in Yunlin and

Changhua counties, Yunlin prosecutors said, they found that the animals have been injected with a counterfeit product that was basically a diluted vaccine.

The counterfeit vaccines were supplied by a suspect surnamed Wang, who was selling them at NT$63 (US$2.09) per dose through a middleman surnamed Shen, according to a statement issued by the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office Monday.

In turn, Shen was selling the fake vaccines at NT$65-NT$74 per dose, undercutting the price of genuine vaccines, which is NT$75 per dose, the prosecutors said.

They said the two suspects made at least NT$25 million in the scam.  [FULL  STORY]