Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/16

Taipei, May 16 (CNA) A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Taiwan’s southeastern county of Taitung at 7:12 a.m. Tuesday, the Central Weather Bureau said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

An intensity of 5 was felt in Taitung City, 3 in neighboring Hualien and in the western cities and counties of Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yunlin and Chiayi, 2 in Pingtung, Nantou, Taichung, Changhua and Miaoli, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

Not all Taiwanese have been excluded from attending the World Health Assembly this year. One Taiwanese researcher who will be at the meeting in Geneva explains why gaining “observer” status is not all it is cracked up to be, and why Taiwan needs a new strategy that does not rely on its unguaranteed status at the WHA.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/15
By: Kai-Yuan (Kyle) Cheng

The 70th World Health Assembly (WHA) is scheduled to convene next week, and

Taiwan, for the first time since 2009, has not been invited to join the meeting as an observer because of continued pressure from China to narrow Taiwan’s international space.

Many in Taiwan, including President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), continue to protest the exclusion. Commentators and health experts have said Taiwan’s non-attendance could heighten the risk of the spread of disease in the region.

Why WHA matters

The World Health Organization was founded in 1946 as the specialized agency within the United Nations structure for health related issues. It bears the objective of “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.”   [FULL  STORY]

The incident did not affect the electricity supply given the infected computers were used mainly for administrative work, Taipower said..

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/15 18:48
By: Wendy Lee , Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The state-owned Taiwan Power Company (Taipower)

confirmed Monday that as many as 779 computers at the Taipower offices had been infected with the WannaCry ransomware in last week’s attack.

While most have been repaired, some 152 computers are still affected by the malware, the company said.

The incident did not affect the electricity supply given the infected computers were used mainly for administrative work, Taipower said.

As soon as the hack was detected, the staff was immediately told to unplug their internet cables, and the virus was removed from most of the computers as of Monday afternoon, according to the company spokesman.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/15
By: Hsu Chih-wei, Hao Hsueh-chin and Ko Lin

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) New cases of an attack by the malicious WannaCry ransomware

were reported Monday involving 10 schools in southern Taiwan and a trading company in Taichung, central Taiwan.

According to the Ministry of Education, the malware infected 59 computers in the 10 schools.

The malware mainly affected the schools’ computers, but their core database systems remained intact, said Chan Pao-chu (詹寶珠), director of the ministry’s Department of Information and Technology Education.

The department has already issued reminders to the nation’s institutions to update the operating systems on their computers regularly, create backup files on a separate hard drive, and not to download software programs from unknown sources, Chan said.    [FULL  STORY]

BARRED:The ministry has also questioned reports that the UN Information Service would only let journalists from UN-recognized nations to cover next week’s assembly

Taipei Times
Date: May 16, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The government is pushing for participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) in

Geneva, Switzerland, with the help of the nation’s diplomatic allies, after not receiving an invitation to the annual meeting this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

At Taiwan’s request, the diplomatic allies have written separately to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍) proposing that the issue of “inviting Taiwan to participate in the WHA as an observer” be included in the meeting’s agenda, which is set to begin on Monday next week, the ministry said.
The WHA is the decisionmaking body of the WHO.

The ministry expressed its appreciation to the allies, which it did not name, for their assistance, and urged the WHO and its members to recognize that Taiwan is an indispensable part of the global disease surveillance system and to respect Taiwanese’s right to health.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: May 15, 2017
By: The China Post

The malware cyberattack hitting computers across the globe has put banks, hospitals,

governments and individuals at the mercy of hackers demanding payment.

But in Taiwan, one man seems to have gained a reprieve.

In a post on the PTT discussion forum, a purported malware victim says he contacted the hackers and told them he couldn’t afford to pay the ransom of 0.345 bitcoins — about NT$18,700 — because his monthly wage was only NT$12,000.

It worked.     [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-05-14

President Tsai Ing-wen sent out a Mother’s Day greeting on her Facebook page on Sunday.

The president posted a photo of herself along with her mother. In the post she wrote

that her only hope was for her mother to stay healthy. She also offered her best wishes for all mothers on this special day.

Meanwhile, the National Freeway Bureau is reporting an 8% increase in traffic volume over Mother’s Day weekend. The increase in traffic has led to traffic congestion on Highway No. 5. The bureau says the average speed of traffic was 28km/h for the westbound section of the Highway, and 58km/h on the eastbound section.

The bureau has not ordered any traffic restrictions on the highway. Officials say, though, that they will consider expanding the number of available lanes if congestion continues.    [FULL  STORY]

showers and thunderstorms likely for north, central, and northeastern parts of the island…

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/14
By: Wendy Lee , Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A front that is forecast to pass through Taiwan Monday will

bring rain and on-and-off showers across the island which will last through the week, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) latest forecast.

The annual plum rain season has begun in Taiwan with the arrival of a frontal system Saturday, brining unstable weather conditions to much of the north and central Taiwan.

According to the forecast, another front is set to arrive Monday as a “typical lingering front for the rainy season,” the weather bureau said.

Periods of rain will be around starting Monday, with showers and thunderstorms likely for north, central, and northeastern parts of the island.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/14
By: Cheng Che-fon and Kuo Chung-han

Kaohsiung, May 14 (CNA) A 32-year-old woman, expecting twins in mid-May, visited

a clinic while experiencing shortness of breath on April 18 and agreed to undergo a Cesarean section the following day.

On April 19, the woman, surnamed Liao (廖), was due to deliver at Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, but her heart stopped beating as she laid on the obstetric delivery table.

The medical staff in the delivery room performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while simultaneously proceeding with the C-section, delivering a boy and a girl.    [FULL  STORY]

PERCEPTIONS:A poll by the Cross-Strait Policy Foundation found a majority back Tsai’s cross-strait policies, and feel Taiwan should not accept the ‘1992 consensus’

Taipei Times
Date: May 15, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Nearly 60 percent of the public blame China for Taiwan’s likely exclusion from this

year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), with the majority saying the government should take a tougher line on the issue, according to an opinion poll released yesterday.

The monthly poll conducted by the Cross-Strait Policy Foundation found that 56.2 percent of respondents blamed China for Taiwan’s WHA exclusion, while 29.8 percent said the government is responsible.

Asked if the government should call an international news conference to seek WHA participation, 68.9 percent of respondents said yes, while 69 percent said an official delegation should visit Geneva, Switzerland, during the WHA meeting to lodge a formal complaint about Taiwan’s exclusion.

Asked if they believed the government had tried hard to seek WHA participation, 58.5 percent of respondents said yes, but 29 percent said it did not.
[FULL  STORY]