228 INCIDENT:Alex Tsai said all KMT members and officials should remember that Chiang Kai-shek was a veteran warrior who put Taiwan’s interests above all

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 06, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was a “respected veteran” who put Taiwan’s security ahead of

his goals, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Policy director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said yesterday, adding that all KMT members must be required to recite this “standard” response to questions about the former president’s role in the 228 Incident.

Tsai hosted a KMT news conference to address criticism by pan-green politicians and their supporters who say Chiang, who died 42 years ago yesterday, was the mastermind of the 228 Incident.

After the 228 Incident erupted in 1947, militia occupied public agencies — including airports, city governments, schools and hospitals — prompting Chiang, the national leader at the time, to deploy troops to Taiwan in a last-ditch effort to quash the insurgency, just like any head of state would, Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: April 6, 2017
By: The China Post news staff and CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese travelers to the United States could be subject to “extreme

vetting” as the U.S. government mulls extending stiff security measures to visitors from friendly countries, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Citing officials in the U.S. government, the report said foreign nationals planning to visit the U.S. could be forced to “reveal mobile phone contacts, social media passwords and financial data” and answer questions about their ideology.

The goal of revealing phone contacts is to “figure out who you are communicating with. What you can get on the average person’s phone can be invaluable,” the WSJ quoted a senior Department of Homeland Security official as saying.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-04

Tuesday was Children’s Day in Taiwan. President Tsai Ing-wen marked the occasion by

announcing a new subsidy plan for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The president posted on her Facebook page, where she described children as the future of the nation. She said the government would soon promote a scheme called “children and youth future education and development accounts.”

The scheme targets children in foster homes and in lower income families. If a parent or guardian can save NT$15,000 (US$500) on a qualified child’s behalf in one year, the government will match that amount. The money becomes available to the beneficiary when they reach the age of 18. The president said this would be a stepping stone to help the individual on the path to further education or employment.
[FULL  STORY]

Numbers of bugs found in Taichung suggest nationwide threat

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

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The lychee giant stink bug, which originates in China, could soon affect the fruit’s harvest in the entire country, reports said Tuesday.

The insect, known officially as the Tessaratoma papillosa (Drury), was found to have multiplied in the Taichung area in February compared to its first appearance in Central Taiwan last year, leading experts to believe it is already able to damage lychee and longan fruit harvests in all of the country.

Not only can the bug lay 70 eggs in one go, but its defensive chemicals can also cause damage if they come into contact with the human skin.

The giant stink bug originally lived in southeastern parts of China, and made its first appearance on the offshore island of Kinmen in 1999, reports said. It later made its way up to Taichung and Changhua, and with temperatures climbing above 20 degrees Celsius, it could soon expand even further, Council of Agriculture experts said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 05, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) on Monday said that it was

not up to him whether to lift a ban on imports of US pork containing ractopamine, but added that he was responsible for ensuring that food is safe for consumers.

Taipei again came under pressure from Washington on the issue of pork in a report on foreign trade barriers issued by the Office of the US Trade Representative on Friday last week insisting that Taiwan respect maximum residue limits established for ractopamine — a leanness-enhancing feed additive prohibited in Taiwan — in pork.

Chen had earlier told the media that he would not oppose lifting the ban on US pork as long as safety could be ensured.

“If it is not safe, the ban cannot be lifted because of political considerations,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: April 5, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Motorists on National Freeway No. 5 found themselves in heavy

traffic earlier than expected on the morning of the last day of Tomb Sweeping long weekend.

The National Freeway Bureau had forecast that the flow of travelers making their way home would surge in the afternoon, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., but traffic was already on the rise around 10 a.m.

Lanes were clogged as fair weather and tomb-sweeping events drew people to the roads, particularly as the four-day holidays drew to a close.

Bureau data indicated that from 11:20 a.m., driving speeds never rose above 40 kph on routes between Toucheng (頭城) and Pinglin (坪林).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/04
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Lilian Wu

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) Drug rings have aggressively recruited “unknown third parties” to

act as “mules” to transport drugs for them in recent years, and two high school students have become their latest prey, aviation police said Tuesday.

The two teenagers, both studying in night schools, were caught Sunday trying to smuggle drugs out of Taiwan in their check-in luggage, a more open approach than the typical tactics used by drug mules of strapping drugs to their body or hiding them to avoid detection.

The two teenagers, one 16 years old with the surname Chen and the other 19 with the surname Hu, intended to take a China Airlines flight bound for Auckland, New Zealand at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Sunday night.

But aviation police spotted suspicious objects in their check-in luggage, and found 3,393 grams and 3,439 grams of amphetamines — a category two narcotics — in the suitcases.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-03

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says he is not opposed to lifting a ban on US pork and certain Japanese food imports. Chen made the comment in a Monday interview with Apple Daily.

Chen said, however, that food safety is a priority. He promised that if there are any safety concerns, he will not lift the ban at the expense of public health, simply for political considerations.

Taiwan has imposed a ban on US pork laced with ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing additive, due to safety concerns.

The ban on Japanese food imports from Fukushima and four neighboring prefectures is due to concerns about contaminated food following the 2011 meltdown of a nuclear power plant. Chen promised to send a delegation to Japan to collect more evidence about radioactive residue if Taiwan resumes negotiations with Japan.  [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/03
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took it to Facebook on

Monday to welcome international visitors to Taiwan, urging the public to “tag your friends and invite them to visit Taiwan” because it is getting more fun to visit the country.

She said in her post that the tourism industry is one of the industries that Taiwan has put much value on and that the pattern of sightseeing in Taiwan has gradually transformed. She cited examples of what foreign tourists do in Taiwan nowadays: Korean tourists buying tooth paste and milk tea, Muslim tourists looking at maps to find Muslim restaurants, more Southeast Asian tourists taking selfies, and more Hong Kong and Macao visitors combing alleys to find interesting places for social media check-ins.

Tsai also shared two video clips made by Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau to promote Taiwan in the Philippines.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/03
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 3 (CNA) The drought that Taiwan experienced from December to February

was the second worst the island has faced in the past 70 years, and the consequences are still being felt today, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said Monday.

In view of Taiwan’s depleted water reserves, the WRA said its current goal is to not impose second-phase water rationing in any part of Taiwan before the end of April and to avoid third-phase water rationing before the end of May.

A persistent dry spell between December 2016 and Feb. 22 resulted in the second lowest amount of winter precipitation in Taiwan since 1947 and started to dry up reservoirs, according to the agency.    [FULL  STORY]