NATIONAL SECURITY RISK:The Ministry of Science and Technology said government employees should avoid using phones that use Beidou to prevent ‘targeted attacks’

Taipei Times
Date: May 05, 2016
By: Lo Tien-pin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

China’s Beidou Satellite System (北斗衛星) poses an information security risk to Taiwan in that

China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System is pictured in an undated photograph. Screengrab from the Internet

the satellite is able to track smartphone users via embedded malware in devices with Chinese-manufactured chips directly tied into the system or phones manufactured in China, according to the latest mobile device security report that the Ministry of Science and Technology submitted to the Legislative Yuan.

The ministry reported that China’s satellite system, despite claims of being commercial in nature, was primarily for military use, adding that over the past few years, many smartphone vehicle navigation products using Beidou Satellite System guidance chips have been imported to Taiwan.

“[Government employees] should avoid purchasing related products to avoid being the target of attacks,” the report said.

China’s Shanghai Beiga Satellite Technology Co Co (上海北伽導航科技) developed the first 40-nanometer satellite navigation chip in 2014 for use in tablets, smartphones and vehicle navigation systems specifically with the satellite system in mind.   [FULL  STORY]

5,231 DAYS IN JAIL:Cheng was happy to be reunited with his mother in time for Mother’s Day after 14 years in prison. He is to be retried after new evidence surfaced

Taipei Times
Date: May 04, 2016
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

The Taichung Branch of the Taiwan High Court yesterday ruled that death-row inmate Cheng

Cheng Hsing-tse, right, embraces his mother in Taichung yesterday following his release from death row yesterday pending retrial. Photo: Hsu Kuo-chen, Taipei Times

Hsing-tse (鄭性澤) should be released on bail pending a retrial on the charges that have seen him imprisoned for 14 years, including 10 on death row.

The 49-year-old Cheng, who has always maintained his innocence, walked out of the Taichung Prison in the afternoon and was met by family members and supporters, including representatives of the Taiwan Association for Innocence and the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty.

After 5,231 days of incarceration, Cheng said: “This taste of freedom is a really great feeling.”

“I have been imprisoned for the past 14 years, but now I am so happy that I can spend this Mother’s Day with my family,” he said as he embraced his mother.

Some supporters came with sunflowers and handed one to Cheng, as they hailed his release as a victory for human rights and shouted: “Cheng is innocent of the crime” and “We don’t want to have any more wrongful convictions.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: May 3, 2016

The Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances were reaffirmed as the U.S. policy toward Taiwan

AH-64E Apache helicopters are one of the advanced U.S.-made defensive weapons systems operated by the ROC armed forces. (CNA)

April 28 with the passage of S.1635 Department of State Operations Authorization and Embassy Security Act, Fiscal Year 2016, by the U.S. Senate.

Title I, Section 117 of the bill states that it is the “sense of the Congress that the U.S. policy toward Taiwan is based upon the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances and that provision of defensive weapons to Taiwan should continue as mandated in the Taiwan Relations Act and enhanced trade relations with Taiwan should be pursued to mutually benefit the citizens of both countries.”

The act follows resolutions by the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee April 20 and the Republican National Committee during its spring meeting April 20-23, reiterating the TRA and Six Assurances as the cornerstone of Taiwan-U.S. relations.

In response, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S.—the organization responsible for representing Taiwan’s interests in the U.S.—said it was grateful for the strong vote of confidence by U.S. Congress and Republican Party in the TRA and Six Assurances. “The series of supporting actions by the U.S. Congress and Republican National Committee demonstrates that Taiwan-U.S. relations are at their highest level since enactment of the TRA.”

Signed into law in 1979 following the switch of recognition from Taipei to Beijing by the U.S., the TRA authorizes the continuation of substantive relations between the people of the U.S. and the people on Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties between them, as well as to help maintain peace, security and stability in the western Pacific.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/05/03
By: Tsai Pei-chi and Christie Chen

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) The Ministry of Justice said Tuesday that it has asked police and

Taiwan fraud suspects deported from Malaysia in mid-April.

prosecutors to step up their evidence collection, to ensure that telecommunications fraud suspects can be arrested and held upon their arrival in Taiwan following their deportation from other countries.

The ministry’s remarks came after 20 Taiwanese suspects sent back to Taiwan from Malaysia April 15 for their alleged involvement in telecom scams were released due to a lack of evidence of their criminal activities, after they arrived at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

On April 21, however, the Taichung District Court granted a request by prosecutors to detain 18 of the 20 suspects, after the Malaysian authorities provided the necessary evidence against them.

To prevent similar incidents from recurring, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office under the Ministry of Justice convened a meeting Tuesday to lay out principles for handling such cases in the future.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-05-03
By George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The “Blue Tears,” the mysterious blue lights spotted along Taiwan’s outlying Matsu archipelago from April to September, have become a very important tourism resource for Matsu in recent years.

The Blue Tears were spotted along all Matsu’s islets on Monday night, including the Dongyin, Nangan and Beigan islets, according to the Blue Tears Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MatsuBluetear/ ) set up by the Lienchiang County government to announce up-to-date Blue Tears situations in each islet.

There are many theories on the cause of the glowing waters, but most people believe they are caused by certain algae called dinoflagellates, which produce a glowing light when the water they are living in is disturbed by motion.

It has been reportedly named one of the 15 natural scenic wonders of the world by CNN and has continued to draw travelers from near and far to take in the breathtaking sight in recent years.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-05-02
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Maokong Gondola will be closed for annual maintenance from May 9 to May 31, 2016, Taipei City’s Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday.

A notice posted on the gondola’s official website said the gondola is operating as normal on May 2.

The entire gondola journey has six stations (four passenger stations and two angle stations), 25 piers and 47 towers. The full length of the route is 4.03 kilometers, roughly in the shape of a numeral 7. The gondola provides passengers with an aerial view of the tea plantations in Maokong.

The department also said the visitor information center at the gondola station will also suspend its services during the May 9 – 31 period.

Taipei City Government has established 10 visitor information centers in Taipei. The services at each center are tailored to the specific attractions in the vicinity.

For information relating to the city’s visitor information centers, please visit the Travel Taipei website (http://www.travel.taipei/) or dial 1999 for the Citizen Hotline (02-27208889 for callers outside of Taipei City), the department said.     [SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/05/02
By: Wang Shu-fen and Evelyn Kao

From CWB web site

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) A magnitude 4.6 earthquake hit Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 10:29 p.m. Monday, with the quake’s greatest intensity registered at 5 in the scenic Taroko National Park.

The qauke was also felt in Yilan, Taoyuan , Hsinchu, Taichung Changhua, Nantou and Yunlin,

There were no reports of damage or injuries, Hualien County government authorities said.

The quake’s epicenter, with a depth of 9.6 km, was in the sea 26.6 km northeast of Hualien County Hall,

Earlier Monday, a magnitude 4 earthquake also hit Hualien at 8:16 p.m., with the epicenter in the sea 28.1 km north of the county hall. It had a depth of 11.8 km.      [SOURCE]

Taiwan News
Date: May 2, 2016

Japan’s seizure of a Taiwan fishing boat and demand of a security deposit to secure its release

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin calls on Japan to refrain from unilaterally expanding its Okinotori reef claim and to respect the rights of Taiwan fishermen. (CNA)

violate the spirit of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and infringe upon the rights of Taiwan fishermen, Republic of China (Taiwan) Foreign Affairs Minister David Y. L. Lin said April 29.

Taiwan-registered vessel, the Dong Sheng Ji No. 16, was seized April 25 by Japan Coast Guard while operating 150 nautical miles east-southeast of Okinotori reef in the western Pacific Ocean. The fishing boat and its crew were released April 26 after payment of a 6 million yen (US$53,973) security deposit.

President Ma Ying-jeou said April 27 that seizing foreign vessels working in international waters and demanding security deposits for their release violate freedom of fishing in high seas as laid down in Article 87 of UNCLOS.

Lin strongly protested the actions of Japan Coast Guard during an hourlong meeting with Mikio Numata, head of Interchange Association, Japan—the organization representing the interests of Japan in Taiwan. He also called on Japan to refrain from unilaterally expanding its Okinotori reef claim, and to respect the right of Taiwan and other countries to navigate and fish in the area.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 03, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Former Legislative Yuan secretary-general Lin Hsi-shan (林錫山) and 12 others were yesterday

Former Legislative Yuan secretary-general Lin Hsi-shan, in green jacket, is escorted from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

indicted for alleged irregularities in the procurement of computers for the legislature over a six-year period.

After a nearly four-month investigation, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Lin received NT$39.5 million (US$1.22 million) in kickbacks for helping Farnet Technologies Co secure contracts for the supply of computers.

Farnet won 33 contacts from the legislature between 2011 and last year, and it was usually the lone bidder, prosecutors said.

Also indicted were Lin’s wife, Liu Hsin-wei (劉馨蔚); Chen Lu-sheng (陳露生), a former section chief at the legislature’s Information Technology Office; Farnet Technologies chairman Lee Pao-cheng (李保承); six legislative staffers and four Farnet employees.

The investigation was launched after prosecutors received a tip in 2013 alleging that Lin had been taking kickbacks from the company.

Lin was legislative secretary-general from February 1999 to Jan. 31 this year, the day before a new legislature was seated.     [FULL  STORY]