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Inspections of expired food treatment to begin in May: EPA

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Monday said it will 6748910launch inspections of expired food treatment in May to make sure food business operators follow related regulations.

The EPA, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), the Council of Agriculture, and representatives from the six municipalities jointly held a meeting to discuss the topics of expired food products and kitchen waste management mechanism and surplus food utilization.

According to EPA statistics, every year a total of about 13.000 tons of expired food products are treated as waste, with convenient stores, supermarkets and restaurants outputting most of the expired food products. Most of the food business operators hired waste management organizations to handle these expired food products for them, the EPA said.

EPA Department of Waste Management Director-General Wu Sheng-chung said the department will join hands with the MOHW to launch inspections of expired food treatment. The inspections will be carried out by local inspection units across the country, Wu added.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan in danger of becoming haven for fraudsters: KMT lawmakers

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/18
By: K.H. Wen and Flor Wang

Taipei, April 18 (CNA) Several Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers warned Monday

Fraud suspects deported by Malaysia April 15.

Fraud suspects deported by Malaysia April 15.

that Taiwan could become a safe haven for its nationals suspected of fraud in China or other countries because of gaps in cooperation with Beijing and legal constraints at home.

They issued the warning two days after 20 Taiwanese nationals suspected of defrauding people living in China from a base in Malaysia were allowed to go free on arrival in Taiwan after being deported from the Southeast Asian country.

Taiwanese law enforcement officers said they had no choice but to release the suspects, who had been arrested in Malaysia in March, because of a lack of solid evidence of their involvement in criminal activity overseas.

Authorities in Beijing were trying to have the Taiwanese suspects deported to China rather than Taiwan, arguing that most of the victims were people in China.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan boosts Japan earthquake relief aid

Taiwan Today
Date: April 18, 2016

The Taiwan government is stepping up efforts to assist Japan in the wake of the

A rescue team comprised of 30 volunteers from the Fire Department under the New Taipei City Government in northern Taiwan stands ready to assist relief efforts in Japan if requested to do so. (CNA)

A rescue team comprised of 30 volunteers from the Fire Department under the New Taipei City Government in northern Taiwan stands ready to assist relief efforts in Japan if requested to do so. (CNA)

magnitude-6.5 and 7.3 earthquakes that struck Kumamoto Prefecture April 14 and 16 on the country’s Kyushu Island, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs April 16.

President Ma Ying-jeou announced the same day that the Taiwan government would donate a further US$500,000 to Japan, in addition to an earlier aid contribution of US$92,000.

“The aim is to help authorities in Japan reconstruct the quake-hit area and help those affected rebuild their lives as soon as possible,” the MOFA said in a statement.

“The Taiwan government has also informed the Japan government that search and rescue teams from Taiwan stand ready to provide assistance if needed.”     [FULL  STORY]

Ko said Ma behind Farglory: councilor

‘CONTEMPTIBLE’:A DPP official said that the mayor was enraged and choking back tears when he made the accusation, which the Presidential Office and Farglory denied

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 19, 2016
By: Lu Heng-ching and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has accused President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, second right, provides an update on the ongoing review progress of two controversial property development projects during a Democratic Progressive Party city council meeting in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, second right, provides an update on the ongoing review progress of two controversial property development projects during a Democratic Progressive Party city council meeting in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

of rendering clandestine protection to Farglory Group (遠雄集團) over its scandal-prone Taipei Dome project, a Taipei city councilor said yesterday.

Taipei City Councilor Chang Mao-nan (張茂楠) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said Ko made the accusation when he met with the DPP’s council caucus earlier yesterday to discuss the dome’s future.

Ko appeared enraged during the meeting, Chang said, adding that Ko at one point was choking back tears and pounding on the table, saying: “Behind Farglory, there is President Ma Ying-jeou, watching its back.”

Ko was quoted by Chang as saying that the city government’s struggle with Farglory has been protracted because he had “insisted on justice and fairness” as a bottom line from which he “will not retreat,” and called Ma’s alleged protection of Farglory “contemptible.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese boss dies after Chinese subordinate’s knife attack in southern Vietnam

Thanh Nien News
Date: April 17, 2016
By: BINH DUONG

The chairman of a Taiwanese shoe company based in the southern province of

Li Me You at the police station in the southern province of Binh Duong. Photo: Do TruongLi Me You at the police station in the southern province of Binh Duong. hoto: Do Truong

Li Me You at the police station in the southern province of Binh Duong. Photo: Do TruongLi Me You at the police station in the southern province of Binh Duong. hoto: Do Truong

Binh Duong died on Saturday, five days after a knife attack by his Chinese subordinate over a dispute at work.

The family of Chen Ming Hsiung, chairman of Kingmaker Company, was taking him to his hometown in Taiwan but he succumbed to the serious injuries on the way, local media reported on Sunday.

Hsiung, 63, was rushed to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, near Binh Duong, in a coma on April 12 after being attacked by Li Me You, 45, the company’s warehouse manager.

A quarrel occurred after Hsiung reportedly questioned You, a Chinese national, over shoes missing from the warehouse.     [FULL  STORY]

China criticises Taiwan over telephone fraud case

BBC News
Date: 17 April 2016

Taiwan says it has no evidence the alleged suspects did anything wrong

Alleged fraud suspects arrive at Taoyuan Airport from Malaysia on 15 April 2016.Image copyrightAFP

Alleged fraud suspects arrive at Taoyuan Airport from Malaysia on 15 April 2016.Image copyrightAFP

China has criticised Taiwan for releasing 20 people suspected of being involved in a telephone fraud case linked to mainland China.

They were part of a group of Taiwanese nationals arrested in Malaysia and deported to Taiwan.

China said it wanted to prosecute them, but Taiwanese officials said there was insufficient evidence.

Taiwan has protested after Kenya deported to China 45 Taiwanese nationals accused of the same crime.

Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Media captionChina-Taiwan relations in 60 seconds
What’s behind the China-Taiwan divide?     [FULL  STORY]

A newly-released video shows beauty of Yilan City

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-17
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Yilan City Office has recently released a video that had employed aerial 6748659photography to introduce the beauty of Yilan City and promote tourism.

Yilan Mayor Chiang Tsung-yuan said the video revolves around the Yilan River, which is like a mother of the city that has given birth and nutrition to the development of this city.

To promote Yilan City as a beautiful and good place to live, the city office in September last year began to make a plan for the video, Chiang said. The videography breaks away from traditional city videos that contain too much preaching and bragging, Chiang said.

The video introduces cultural heritage of the city, including old temples, a legacy brick kiln, and the Museum of Yilan Government History. In addition, the video also touches on the good water quality in the city that has bred high quality rice, such as the rice that won the Ten Best Classic Rice Awards, and brewed high quality wine, such as the Old Red Wine produced by the Yi-lan Distillery.     [FULL  STORY]

Premier calls for close cooperation with China to fight telecom fraud

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/17
By: Tai Ya-chen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) Premier Simon Chang (張善政) has vowed to proactively

Cash, phones ans equipment seized in a raid of the fraud ring in 2015. (CNA file photo)

Cash, phones ans equipment seized in a raid of the fraud ring in 2015. (CNA file photo)

look into overseas telecommunications fraud cases involving Taiwanese suspects and Chinese victims and said he hopes a long-standing systematic model can be established to deal with similar cases through negotiations with China, Executive Yuan Spokesman Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said Sunday.

Chang made the remarks during an inter-ministerial meeting on how to best manage similar cases after Malaysia deported 20 Taiwanese implicated in fraud back to Taiwan on Friday, following Kenya’s extradition of 45 Taiwanese to China last week over suspected telecom fraud.

In addition to the cases in Kenya and Malaysia, there are Taiwanese suspected of transnational telecom fraud targeting Chinese victims being held by police in Indonesia, Egypt and South Korea. Therefore, Chang hopes a systematic model can be created through negotiations between Taiwan and China, according to Sun.     [FULL  STORY]

 

INTERVIEW: Ko reflects on lessons learned from first year

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s approval ratings have dropped in the polls, but in an interview with Chinese-language ‘Liberty Times’ (the ‘Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) staff reporter Chen Hsiao-yi, Ko said that while his policies are headed in the right direction, their priority should be rethought, which would help boost his ratings

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 18, 2016

Liberty Times (LT): What are your thoughts about the recent drop in your

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je gestures during an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on April 8. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je gestures during an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on April 8. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

approval ratings?

Ko Wen-je (柯文哲): It is only to be expected. We are a group of su ren (素人, “plain people,” ie, not politicians by profession) and that the administrative “team” was hastily slapped together. The upside is the diverseness of the group, but the downside is that such diversity takes time to develop into a cohesive whole.

Among the local governments’ administrative teams, we have one that spans both sides of the political spectrum, including deep-blue and deep-green supporters. As such, while Taipei could be said to be the least affected by political strife across party lines, the city’s administrative team has also spent a lot of time in our first year “meshing” and “engaging.”

Politics requires professionalism. As an individual with no prior political experience, I appointed too many individuals like me as bureau and department heads. The result was that while we are on the right track, but we did not implement our policies in the right order.     [FULL  STORY]

Eighteen pedestrian bridges in Taipei to be demolished

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-17
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je has approved a project to tear down 18 pedestrian 6748613bridges before the end of 2017 due to their low usage rates.

Ko said in August last year that he had ordered the city’s Public Works Department to make an evaluation of 59 pedestrian bridges and 34 underpasses within the city limits in six months to determine their fate, adding that the initial cost for demolishing all of them was estimated at around NT$200 million.

The evaluation was completed last week and its result was approved by Ko on April 11.     [FULL  STORY]