Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/12
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Feb. 12 (CNA) Dozens of migrant workers from the Philippines and Indonesia staged two dancing flash mob shows at Taipei Main Station and a shopping center, dubbed “the Little Philippines,” in Taipei on Sunday, in a protest against labor exploitation.

The foreign workers danced to showcase control over their own bodies and call for the government to protect their rights and interests, said the organizers of the shows, the Taiwan Chapter of Migrante International and the Taoyuan Service the People Association.

They explained the dancing performances were held to echo the “One Billion Rising” movement, launched by American feminist Eve Ensler and started on Valentine’s Day in 2012 as a call to mass action to end sexual violence against women.   [FULL  STORY]

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT:After retiring from the post office seven years ago, Lin Chow-chin returned to his first love — lanternmaking — but not disposable ones

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 13, 2017
By: Amber Wang / AFP, TAIPEI

As the nation lit up for the start of the Lantern Festival over the weekend, one eco-

friendly craftsman is breaking with tradition.

Lantern maker Lin Chow-chin is part of a growing movement to make the celebrations “greener,” creating sustainable lanterns which can be converted into anything from desk lamps to flower vases.

Each year, huge electric sculptures go on display in major cities, children carry tiny disposable lanterns and the skies fill with floating lights for the festival that marks the end of two weeks of Lunar New Year festivities.

Environmentalists say used lanterns are not properly recycled and pile up as garbage, while batteries inside them contain hazardous chemicals that cause pollution.

Lin hopes to help combat the problem by creating lanterns that owners would want to keep rather than discard.    [FULL  STORY]

A stabilizing move or a concession to China?

The News Lens
Date: 2017/02/11
By: TNL Staff

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) spoke by

phone Friday morning, Beijing time.

The White House says that during the call, “President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our ‘one China’ policy.”

The position is a change from Trump’s earlier questioning of the policy. While the call has been mostly interpreted as stabilizing for shaky U.S.-China relations, others argue that the concession gives China an “upper hand” in the dynamic between the worlds two biggest economies.

In China, the state-owned Global Times notes in an editorial that “since assuming office, Trump and his team have changed their rhetoric about China. Trump has stopped openly challenging China’s core interests, and instead showed respect to Beijing. The change creates an impression that Trump is learning about his role in the realm of Sino-U.S. ties. He’s now sending a new message that he does not want to be a disruptor of the Sino-U.S. relations.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/11
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The official Lantern Festival, better known as Yuan Xiao Jie (元

宵節), falls on February 11, the 15th day of the first lunar month, marking the end of the lunar new year’s celebrations. In Taiwan, Miaoli Hakka descendants across the island usually return to their hometown on this day to clean the graves of their ancestors and prepare to perform a ritual of commemoration the next day.

As one of Taiwan’s key minorities, the Hakka people (客家人) usually visit the graves of their ancestors right after the Lantern Festival and before the traditional Tomb Sweeping Day on April 5 in the Gregorian calendar. Among the major Hakka communities, the one in Miaoli of central Taiwan traditionally chooses to visit the grave sites on the 16th day of the first lunar month, but if that is a working day, they do that on any weekend of the first lunar month. On this day, they usually clear away weeds and wild grasses, put flowers and offerings in front of the grave, light joss sticks and papers, and pray for prosperity and wellness while holding the joss sticks.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/11
By: Scarlett Chai and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) has said categorically that any drones that encroach on Taiwan’s airports will be shot down and there is no need for officers to ask for prior approval to do so, after a recent incident involving a drone forced a Taipei airport to close for nearly one hour.

Feng, while inspecting the Army 602nd Aviation Brigade Friday, noted that the increasingly popular drones have posed security concerns to airports, and could be used by the enemy to collect information.

He said he has therefore asked military personnel to act within their legal duty and shoot down drones to protect national security.    [FULL  STORY]

CRITICAL CONDITION:Doctors said that Chang Hsin-ju should not be moved until she can breathe on her own, while family members flew to the territory to visit her

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 12, 2017
By: AFP, HONG KONG

A Taiwanese tourist was among three people in critical condition yesterday after a rush-

hour arson attack on a Hong Kong metro train on Friday night, officials said, with one man with a history of mental illness arrested for the crime.

A total of 18 people were injured in the incident, which occurred at 7:15pm on Friday, while Hong Kong police said they had seized suspected liquid accelerants from the scene.

Police have ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack and said the man acted alone, with investigators looking into his mental state.

Except for the Taiwanese woman, all of the injured are residents of the territory.
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: February 12, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

Over a million visitors swarmed into Yunlin County on Saturday for the opening day of

the 2017 Taiwan Lantern Festival.

The county government said crowds peaked at around 6 p.m. as warmer temperatures in the afternoon prompted people to head into Huwei District, one of two venues hosting Taiwan’s main Lantern Festival event.

Heavy congestion was seen on roads leading to the lantern areas.

A diverse range of eco-friendly and multicultural lanterns were on display, many with designs reflecting this year’s Chinese zodiac animal: the rooster.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: February 11, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred off the coast of Tainan early Saturday, jolting residents in the southern municipality just over a year after nearly 120 lives were lost in a strong earthquake, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.

Aftershocks of various magnitudes may occur over the next two weeks, said CWB director-general Shin Tzay-chyn. There were already three aftershocks after the main earthquake that occurred at 1:12 a.m., according to the CWB website.

The epicenter of the earthquake, which struck at 1:12 a.m., was located 12.2 kilometers to the southwest of the Tainan City Hall at a depth of 18.4 kilometers, the bureau said.

An intensity of 6 was felt in Tainan, a city with a population of 1.88 million, and in Kaohsiung and Pingtung to the south and Chiayi, Yunlin, and Changhua to the north, an intensity of 3 to 4 was felt, it said.    [FULL  STORY]