UPPING THE PRESSURE:The Presidential Office said it had instructed government agencies to spare no efforts to safeguard the advocate’s rights and his safety

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 12, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday stepped up the pressure on Beijing and turned to

the international media to call for the release of detained human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), saying the government would spare no efforts in defending the nation’s dignity and the rights of its citizens.

The council held an impromptu international news conference in Taipei hours after the legislature passed a motion proposed by the New Power Party accusing the government of being passive about Lee’s detention and urging it to bring the case to the attention of the international media.

“We must stress the government will do everything to defend our national security and people’s rights. Democracy and freedom are universal human rights that are protected by the Constitution and insisted upon by the 23 million Taiwanese,” Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: April 12, 2017
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan

Taiwan on Tuesday raised the penalty for animal abuse and became the first country in

Asia to ban the consumption of dogs and cats.

Under an Animal Protection Act amendment that passed its third reading at the Legislature, people who sell, purchase, eat or possess the carcasses of dogs or cats or any food products made with their carcasses or organs are subject to a fine between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000.

Violators will be banned from registering any pets and from applying to adopt a pet.

Prior to the amendment, Taiwan’s Animal Protection Act had only penalized the act of selling or purchasing dog and cat meat.    [FULL  STORY]

It was awarded the 2017 SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards in March, the same award Twitter and Airbnb have won in the past. And it was inspired by the inexpensive and highly accessible street fashion in Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/04/10
Olivia Yang

We all went through the temporary tattoo phase at some point as a child; whether it was

hearts, dinosaurs, cars or a random prize out of the cereal box. Just when we thought we were past the age, metallic temporary tattoos took the market by storm with their polished glamor. Beyoncé even teamed up with a temporary tattoo brand in 2015 to launch her own line of metallic body art.

But did you ever imagine controlling your mobile device or storing information with an inexpensive self-customized temporary tat? This is what DuoSkin offers.

DuoSkin allows users to create three types of user interfaces via the temporary wearable tattoos: input on skin through capacitive touch sensing; output on skin through thermochromic resistive heating circuitry; and, wireless communication via near-field communication (NFC). That means you could adjust the volume on your smartphone, just by touching one of these temporary tattoos.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications suggests to raise prices for Taiwan Rail tourist routes

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/10
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—The minister of Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and

Communications Ho Chen Tan (賀陳旦) proposed to charge foreigners taking tourist rail routes to visit scenic areas in the country to pay higher train ticket fares in the future on Monday.

The suggestion is part of MOTC proposal to change Taiwan Rail ticket pricing system by charging different rates for various rail routes, and introduce new compartment rates.

As part of the new rail infrastructure upgrade, the MOTC is considering amending the Railway Act, and charge ticket prices based on operation costs and rail functions, said Ho Chen.

Taiwan Rail trains ticket prices have remained stagnant for 20 years made the rail line rather unprofitable, ticket prices reach nearly only 50 percent of operation costs, said Ho Chen.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/10
By: Scarlett Chai and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) A tourist bus carrying 28 members of junior chapters of

Taiwanese chambers of commerce in different countries overturned while traveling in Melbourne, Australia on Monday, leaving one person dead and 14 injured, Taiwan’s Overseas Community Affairs Council said.

The passengers were among more than 600 people who attended a meeting of directors and supervisors held by the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce in Melbourne from Friday to Sunday, the Cabinet-level council said.

When the accident occurred, the 28 junior chapter members were on a three-day sightseeing tour on the Great Ocean Road. One person died during the crash while 14 others suffered from moderate or severe injuries, the council said.   [FULL  STORY]

BULLYING TACTICS:Lee Ching-yu said that a Taiwanese man working on behalf of Beijing had tried to persuade her to give up her trip to China by threatening her

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 11, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Lee Ching-yu (李淨瑜), wife of detained human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲),

was yesterday prevented from boarding a plane to Beijing to search for her husband after her “Taiwan compatriot travel document” was canceled by the Chinese government.

Lee approached a Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport check-in counter with a crowd of supporters only to be stopped from boarding her plane. Taiwanese are required to present the permit, which is issued by Chinese authorities, when traveling to China.

“I am surprised, shocked and saddened,” Lee Ching-yu said. “I am just a weak female trying to travel to visit my husband; why is there any need for China to show such force?”

She added that the Chinese government’s action showed that there was a “political scheme” behind her husband’s arrest, who disappeared after entering Guangzhou from Macau last month.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: April 11, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Wei Yang (魏揚), a student leader accused of inciting other students to storm and occupy the Executive Yuan three years ago, was acquitted by the Taipei District Court on Monday.

Another 11 defendants in the same case were sentenced to three to five months in prison for damaging public property and disrupting public services, which can be commuted to fines.

The court ruling after despite Premier Lin Chuan (林全) had dropped most criminal charges against the 126 students who occupied the Executive Yuan in March 2014.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-09

The incumbent chairperson of Taiwan’s main opposition party – the Kuomintang (KMT)

– Hung Hsiu-chu, is joining the race for chairperson. Hung made the announcement on Sunday.

Hung said that the reason why the party has been in decline is because it has lost the spirit upon which it was founded. She said that she would utilize the stories of outstanding members, as well as innovative democratic practices within the KMT, to help rebuild the party’s brand.

All of the other candidates for the chairpersonship are set to present their policy platforms at a forum on Monday. Hung, however, is facing flack for turning down an invitation to present her policies at that event.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/09
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese couple has been arrested and charged after allegedly attempting to smuggle the precursor agent for more than AUD$7 million worth of the drug ice into Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The husband and wife duo – a 51-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman – were stopped at Sydney International Airport after officers identified them for a targeted baggage examination. Australian Border Force officers discovered five packets of milk powder and two heat packs in their luggage, each of which were found to contain a pink or orange powder, which allegedly tested positive for pseudoephedrine.

The seized findings totalled 7.7 kilograms – enough to produce 75,000 hits of ice – with a street value of more than AUD$ 7 million.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/09
By: Sophia Yeh and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 9 (CNA) Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), wife of human rights and democracy

advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲) who has been detained in China since March 19, said Sunday night she will not accept blackmail from anyone and she called on Beijing to understand her good will and self- restraint.

Lee issued a statement in response to an earlier statement of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office that an unnamed organization had been authorized to send private messages and personal letters from her detained husband to her and to his parents in Taiwan.

She called the Beijing delegate “a broker,” quoting the broker as telling her to “remain low profile and cooperative” so Lee Ming-che will be released soon but if she insists on taking a scheduled flight to Beijing to make her appeals, then a “TV in Guangdong Province will immediately broadcast a film of Lee Ming-che confessing to his crime.”
[FULL  STORY]