Front Page

Ex-president applies to prison for permission to attend dinner

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-05-30
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, May 30 (CNA) Former President Chen Shui-bian, who is currently on medical parole from Taichung Prison, submitted a formal application to the prison Monday seeking permission to attend a June 4 dinner to be held by the Ketagalan Foundation, of which he is a founding member, a spokeswoman for his medical team said.

The dinner will be held in Chen’s honor on the foundation’s 11th anniversary. Chen expressed his desire to attend the event when the prison sent officials to visit him at his home in Kaohsiung last Friday.

At the prison’s request, the former president filled out an application and submitted it to the prison, according to Janice Chen.

Su Kun-ming, deputy warden of the prison, said the prison had received Chen’s faxed application and will begin to review his application upon receiving the original copy. [FULL STORY]

KMT lawmakers block premier from making first report to Legislature

Fiocus Taiwan
Date: 2016/05/31
By: Wang Cheng-chung, Chen Chun-hua and Jay Chen

Taipei, May 31 (CNA) Resorting to the same tactics that the other main party adopted when it was in opposition, lawmakers of the Kuomintang (KMT) occupied the podium of the legislative chamber Tuesday to block Premier Lin Chuan (林全) from delivering his first policy report since coming to office.

Lin has to sign a pledge not to lift a ban on U.S. pork containing leanness-enhancing drugs or food products from nuclear affected areas in Japan before KMT lawmakers would allow him to speak, said Lin Te-fu (林德福), a KMT caucus whip.

The premier was due to outline the new government’s policies in an oral report to the Legislative Yuan after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power on May 20. In the presidential and legislative elections in January, the DPP also won a majority in the legislature for the first time.

When the DPP was in opposition over the past eight years, its lawmakers successfully blocked the ruling KMT from passing laws or the premiers of the time from making their report on several occasions. [FULL STORY]

The Plan Taiwan Needs to Defend against China

What Tsai Ing-wen should be reading this weekend.

The National Interest
Date: May 28, 2016
By: J. Michael Cole

After eight years of relative calm in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan turned a page in its history on May 20, when Tsai Ing-wen of the Taiwan-centric Democratic Progressive Party was sworn in as president. While it may be premature to argue that the cross-Strait relationship has now entered a new, and possibly more conflict-prone, era under Tsai, we must nevertheless keep in mind that the military option to impose unification was never obviated by Beijing, and that as its power grows that option may look increasingly inevitable. Therefore, as the Tsai administration performs the onerous act of balancing between stability in the Taiwan Strait and meeting the expectations of its China-wary citizens, it must continue to prepare against the eventuality that China could resort to force of arms to break the status quo.

Although not exhaustive, the following discussion looks at a number of areas that will be key to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against external aggression in the coming years. This article, moreover, takes it for granted that Taiwan has experienced and internalized a doctrinal transformation whereby victory in the military sense no longer implies the defeat, if not annihilation, of its opponent, but rather focuses primarily on countering limiting scenarios while strengthening its deterrent capability against more escalatory measures by its opponent. In other words, Taiwan realizes it could not possibly challenge the People’s Liberation Army symmetrically and expect to emerge victorious; instead, the main aim of its national defense strategy is—or should be—to ensure that Beijing does not resort to force in the first place. [FULL STORY]

The Rise of Taiwanese Horror: Corpse Brides and Little Girls in Red

Two recent horror flicks suggest that Taiwanese directors are finally willing to break some longstanding taboos, with promising results

The News Lens
Date: 2016 / 05 / 30
By: Hélène Belaunde

When it comes to the horror genre, Asian movies are legendary. Japan, Thailand, South Korea and

Photo Credit: josef.stuefer@ Flickr CC BY 2.0

Hong Kong boast prolific industries and some of the scariest movies of the last decades. Whether it is the 1998 Japanese cult classic Ringu (The Ring), the Korean family drama “Tale of Two Sisters” (2003) or Hong Kong’s spine-chilling ghost film “The Eye” (2002), Asian movies usually hold a special place in the hearts of horror movie fans. They are known for their distinct, heavy atmosphere and minimalist setting, as well as the singular appearance of ghosts — usually white figures with flowing black hair — who have returned with a vengeance.

Compared to its neighbors, Taiwan’s horror movies are both scarce and relatively unknown. You will seldom find one on the lists of best Asian horror movies periodically released by sites like horror-extreme.com. Not only that, they are not considered to be particularly scary. As one report on Asian horror movies stated, Taiwanese thrillers ”aren’t scary at all (…) they have mediocre make-up and special effects.”

Nevertheless, a few exceptions have managed to fly under the radar.

“Double vision” (雙瞳, 2002), “The Heirloom” (宅變, 2005), “Silk” (詭絲, 2006), for example, didn’t fare very well with critics, but they were a success at the box-office and praised for incorporating Taiwanese folklore and Chinese mythology. In a less traditional vein, let us not forget the gory “Invitation Only” (絕命派對, 2009), which was dubbed Taiwan’s “first-ever slasher horror.” [FULL STORY]

COMPUTEX 2016 features IoT applications, startups and gaming

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-05-30
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

COMPUTEX 2016, the largest information and communications technology (ICT) show in Asia, will

Walter Yeh, Executive Vice President of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), one of the COMPUTEX co-organizers

feature Internet of Things (IoT), innovative startups, and gaming from May 31 (Tuesday) to June 4 (Saturday), according to Walter Yeh, Executive Vice President of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), one of the COMPUTEX co-organizers, at the international press conference on Monday.
The show will host over 1,602 exhibitors from 30 countries, occupying 5,009 booths across 4 show venues, according to TAITRA.

Three features

The IoT applications include seven exhibiting categories such as Smart Manufacturing, Security, Smart Home, Wearable Technology and 3D Printing, with most of the exhibits being housed at the brand new SmarTEX exhibition area. Key players in IoT include Siemens for Industry 4.0, ABB for industry robots, Mercedes Benz to showcase Intelligent drive system and Audi for its virtual cockpit. Major Taiwan companies include ASUS, Acer, TSMC, Mediatek, and Advantech, TAITRA said. [FULL STORY]

Reactor at New Taipei nuclear power plant shuts down

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/05/30
By: Milly Lin and Lilian Wu

Taipei, May 30 (CNA) One of the reactors at Taiwan Power Company’s (Taipower) second nuclear

Inside the second nuclear power plant in New Taipei. (CNA file photo)

power plant in New Taipei has shut down and the cause is being investigated, the company said Monday.

It said maintenance of the reactor had been completed recently and the reactor was restarted May 16, but half an hour later, it automatically shut down for reasons that are not yet clear.

Taipower said it is investigating the cause of the shutdown and will submit a report to the Atomic Energy Council, which supervises the safety of nuclear power plants.

This means the reactor is likely to be offline for at least a month, the power company said, estimating a restart date sometime in July. [FULL STORY]

UBER driver loses lawsuit against authorities over fine

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-05-29
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Supreme Administrative Court has affirmed a fine imposed on a UBER driver for using his private car unregistered for commercial use to take passengers and charge for the service.

The court ruling said the authorities received a tip-off that Hsiao used his private car to provide cab-calling service on Christmas Eve in 2014. Consequently the Taipei Motor Vehicle Supervision Office (TMVSO) imposed a fine of NT$50,000 (US$1,500) and suspension of his license plate for two months on Hsiao for bleaching the Highway Act by running transportation operation without permit.

Hsiao disagreed and insisted that he was an occasional provider of car-pool service to make extra money, which should not be considered as a business operation. Therefore, he filed an administrative lawsuit against the TMVSO. [FULL STORY]

2 workers killed, 5 injured after scaffold collapses

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/05/29
By: Chang Che-fon and Kay Liu

Kaohsiung, May 29 (CNA) Two workers were killed and five others injured after a

(Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung City Fire Bureau)

scaffold of a construction project in Taiwan Power Co.’s (Taipower’s) Dalin plant in Kaohsiung collapsed Sunday.

The seven workers were on the 50-meter-high scaffold set up around a coal storage facility when it collapsed, and one of them, a 47-year-old man surnamed Huang, was found dead after he was pulled out from under the collapsed structure, according to the local police and fire services.

Another 25-year-old was also pronounced dead after being treated by medical personnel who arrived the site, while five other workers were sent to three different hospitals. [FULL STORY]

Taiwan Shipbuilding calls for unity on goal

Taipei Times
Date: May 30, 2016
By: Lo Tien-pin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwan’s largest shipbuilding company called on the nation’s three major

Hung Shen Propeller Co president Cheng Cheng-i displays some of the firm’s propellers at its factory in Pingtung County’s Sinyuan Township on Thursday. Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times

shipbuilders to set aside their differences and band together to achieve the goal set by the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of building submarines.

The Tsai administration has highlighted domestically produced submarines and training aircraft as staples of its national defense policies, with the stated goal of operating a self-built submarine by 2025.

Taiwan Shipbuilding Corp chairman Lai Sun-quae (賴杉桂) said completing such an objective would be a difficult and complex process that would require every ounce of expertise Taiwan has to offer, as well as some foreign support.

Despite being competitors and having some bad blood between them, the nation’s shipbuilders should put aside their differences, as indigenous submarines are a national goal, Lai said. [FULL STORY]

Overdue Justice for Aboriginals Following New Government?

The News Lens
Date: May 29, 2016
By: Yang Olivia

Indigenous people in Taiwan are now allowed to apply for ownership of self-made hunting guns and spears.

In respect of the traditional aboriginal culture, the Ministry of the Interior has passed the amendment of the “Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act,” which only excludes those that have been sentenced three years or more in jail and specific offenses.

The ministry says the amendment was mainly in consideration of how hunting is part of the traditional aboriginal life and helps maintain self-identification within the tribes. It believes adequate loosening of related regulations will help pass down the hunting culture of the indigenous people.

Other than the Act, 97% of the 230 aboriginals that have been sentenced for hunting have been charged by Wildlife Conservation Act in the last ten years, reports PTS News Network.

“Most aboriginal hunters have a criminal record,” says Chen Tsai-yi (陳采邑), a lawyer. [Quote translated] [FULL STORY]

Page 824 of 1067

« 1 … 822 823 824 825 826 … 1,067 »