I think this subject, the sexual exploitation of minors, is a very difficult one. We wanted to do it in a way that I would want to watch it, even if I don’t understand that world.’

The News Lens
Date: 2016/08/10
By: Olivia Yang

A new documentary series and TV film are raising awareness about the role of minors in

Taiwan’s sex industry by connecting the victims and the audience at a more human level.
With between 300 and 500 minors victims of sexual exploitation in Taiwan each year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2014 originally wanted to commission a dramatic film on the issue to reach a general audience.
However, Jay Chern (陳鈺杰), award-winning director and producer at Epic Entertainment, wanted to tackle the issue through a different approach, and this is how “Warmth” came into production.
“I think this subject, the sexual exploitation of minors, is a very difficult one,” Chern told The News Lens International. “We wanted to do it in a way that I would want to watch it, even if I don’t understand that world.”

Chern and his team pitched the idea of producing a documentary and a TV film and, to their surprise, won the public bidding of NT$6 million (US$193,000).
“I thought there were aspects of the subject matter that we could explore more if it was done in a way that’s not like melodrama,” says Chern. “The idea was that the general audience would be more engaged if they understood the background behind it [sexual exploitation], instead of going, ‘Oh, this is just fiction.’”     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-08-10
By: Jennifer Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Xincheng dans la comté de Hualien a célébré le 30 juillet le Festival de la Moisson avec l’Union des peuples Indigènes Taiwanais. Cette cérémonie a réunie de plus de 200 personnes qui viennent des groupes ethniques comme Amis, Sakizaya et Kavalan pour célébrer la moisson et de donner leur grâce aux ancètres et aux dieux.

Le Festival de la Moisson a commencé par les chefs de chaque tribut en faisant un tour pour rendre hommage aux spectateurs, et pour lancer les cérémonies, tout d’abord le “Patakos – pour envoyer des informations et les meilleures récoltes aux ancêtres”.

Photo courtesy of the Office of the President

D’après les statistiques du Conseil des Peuples Indigènes, la communauté indigène, qui représente environ 2 % des 23 millions de Taïwanais d’à peu près 530,000, ont vu leurs cultures traditionnelles, leurs langues, leurs coutumes et leurs structures socials érodés depuis l’arrivée des migrants de Chine il y a plusieurs siècles. 16 tributs sont reconnus pas le gouvernement dont Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Tsou, Rukai, Puyuma, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan, Truku, Sakizaya, Sediq, Hla’alua et Kanakanavu.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date:2016/08/10
By: Yu Hsiao-han and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is considering imposing a complete ban on the use of two-stroke motorbikes in Taiwan by 2020, EPA chief Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said Wednesday.

Lee said the plan is to gradually phase out the use of two-stroke scooters through a democratic process, by amending the Air Pollution Control Act after reaching a common consensus on the issue throughout society.

The EPA will also stop offering subsidies to owners of the highly polluting two-stroke scooters to exchange their motorbikes for cleaner models by the end of 2019, before the ban on two-stroke scooters is imposed in 2020, Lee said.

The EPA launched the subsidy program in 2007, but progress has been slow. As of the end of 2015, there were still 2.16 million two-stroke motorbikes in use in Taiwan, accounting for about 16 percent of the 13.66 million motorbikes on the country’s roads.     [FULL  STORY]

DISAPPOINTMENT:Lin Tzu-chi’s withdrawal opened the way for her main rival, Deng Wei of China, to win the gold medal with a record-breaking combined lift of 262kg

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 11, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Weightlifter Lin Tzu-chi trains in a Taipei gym on May 11. She was suspended from competing in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday because of an abnormal doping test result. Photo: Liao Yu-wei, Taipei Times

Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee vice president Steven Chen on Tuesday apologized after weightlifter Lin Tzu-chi (林子琦) was suspended because of an abnormal doping test, costing the nation a strong medal chance.

Lin was considered a gold-medal contender in the women’s 63kg division on Tuesday, but her absence opened the way for her main rival, Deng Wei (鄧薇) of China, to win the gold with a record-breaking combined total of 262kg.

The previous record, 261kgs, was set by Lin at the Asian Games in 2014, but her performance has slipped since then. She placed sixth at the World Weightlifting Championships in November last year, with a combined lift of 238kgs.

“As the leader of Taiwan’s Olympics delegation, I take full responsibility for a failure to win a medal in the weightlifting event,” Chen said. “We disappointed everyone in Taiwan.”

The delegation decided to pull Lin from the competition after receiving a report on Friday last week that indicated abnormalities in a doping test.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: August 11, 2016
By: Howard Chao ,Special to The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A seven-year-old giraffe has died while being shipped to Leofoo Village Zoo in order to participate in a breeding program Wednesday, with zoo authorities citing a myriad of reasons as causes of its death.

The Taipei Zoo was in the process of shipping the giraffe, Hsiao-chiu, to Leofoo Village Zoo in Hsinchu County when the death occurred. Zoo authorities originally planned to see the seven-year-old giraffe breed with giraffes from different family backgrounds to avoid inbreeding.

According to the autopsy carried out by School of Veterinary Medicine National Taiwan University group, Hsaio-chiu suffered comprehensive hemorrhagic pyogenic pneumonia, enlargement of the liver and spleen, and kidney-related complications. The giraffe also suffered acute muscle injuries.

The medical experts said that the confined shipping environment had led to the giraffe’s muscle injuries, while the pneumonia potentially led to its respiratory problems.

These two factors made it impossible for the giraffe to stand upright by itself and eventually led to its death from exhaustion.     FULL  STORY

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/31
By: Peoples’ Day, Lu Hsin-hui and Kay Liu

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will formally issue an apology to

Taiwan’s aboriginal people and outline her policies on reconciliation Monday, Aug. 1, the Indigenous People’s Day, according to the Presidential Office.

Tsai promised during her presidential campaign to make the apology as president to Taiwan’s indigenous people for the unfair treatment they suffered under different regimes in the past, as a way to begin to face and deal with the issue.

On Monday, representatives from different aboriginal tribes will gather in front the Presidential Office, announcing their arrival before Tsai greets them and welcomes them into the building.

Inside the building, the apology will be made through a series of rituals, which will start with a blessing ceremony, to be followed by Tsai’s apology speech, a response from the indigenous people, and an exchange of tokens, according to the Presidential Office.     [FULL  STORY]

2Taipei Times
Date: Aug 01, 2016
By: Chen Wei-tzu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A Taichung woman appeared in court on Friday last week after allegedly booking a ticket

with a “randomly” entered ID card number, unaware that the number was from a legitimate ID card owned by someone else.

The woman, surnamed Lu (呂), while attempting to purchase a t2rain ticket to return to her home in Taichung, said she was worried about her personal information being stolen online and so she entered the ID number A123456789 instead of her own.

The transaction was successful, but she canceled the ticket purchase out of fear that the transaction would get her in trouble, she said.

Railway authorities, upon learning of the transaction, deemed it to be a violation of forgery laws and pressed charges against Lu, but the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office concluded that her actions did not constitute intent to commit a crime and decided not to indict her.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: August 1, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

Fishery authorities said penalties were awaiting the crew of five fishing boats who

returned to Taiwan Sunday from a voyage intended to assert sovereignty over Taiping Island in the South China Sea.

The vessels were welcomed by more than 600 people who erupted in applause, set off firecrackers and shouted “true heroes,” as the boats sailed into Yenpu Fishing Port, Pingtung County, at about 10 a.m.

Kuomintang Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu, who was among the crowd, expressed disapproval that the government had threatened to penalize the crew.

The Fisheries Agency (FA) said each of the crew members could be slapped with a fine of up to NT$150,000, and one of the boats, the Hai Chi Li, which carried three reporters from Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV to Taiping Island, could see its license revoked.

The three reporters were reportedly taken to a coast guard depot for questioning after landing at the Yenpu Fishing Port. But the Coast Guard denied that everyone on board the boats was taken in for questioning.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 31, 2016
By: Alan Fong,The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yung-te (李永得) hosted a press conference on Friday, July 29, to promote Hakka food to be featured at the 2016 Taiwan Culinary Exhibition from Aug. 5-8 in Taipei.

Lee invited the visitors to head to the Wan Wei Hakka Cuisine Pavilion (翫味客家館) of the Taiwan Culinary Exhibition to get a taste of the Hakka delicacies on offer. The pavilion will feature food from 22 restaurants and shops from all over Taiwan.

He also expressed his best wishes to the Hakka team that will represent Taiwan in an international culinary competition at the exhibition. Lee pointed out that the fact that a team of Hakka chefs are chosen to represent the nation has shown the widespread recognition of Hakka food culture in Taiwan. The minister presented the five chefs at the team with the tradition Hakka talismans known as “kien (絭)” and Hakka chef’s hats.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-31
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The last-day performance of a giant crocodile dwelling in a crocodile farm in Madou, Tainan on Sunday attracted a great many visitors as it will be leaving for a zoo in China very soon.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher prepared 100 milkfish bellies for Shiao-he, the nickname of the reptile, to relish, hoping it will miss the Taiwanese special after it arrives in China.

As the news had spread Sunday is the last to see Shiao-he and the admission is free, many tourists had been waiting at the door of the crocodile farm in the morning before it opened. The place where the gigantic crocodile was shown was later jam-packed with crowds of visitors, who took the last opportunities to take photos and listen to owner Chiu Shi-he’s guide.

A guitar band, which had performed at the same place for the first time four years ago, sang the song “Any song reminds you of me?” to Shiao-he to bid farewell to their acquaintance, showing their lingering affection towards the animal and wishing it will also live a good life in China.    [FULL  STORY]