Taipei Times
Date: Jan 28, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao and Yu Chao-fu / Staff reporters

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended a ceremony to

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, center, bows with other guests yesterday at a memorial ceremony in Keelung commemorating the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the Taiping, known locally as the “Chinese Titanic.” Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times

commemorate the sinking of the ferry Taiping (太平輪), which ferried more than 1,500 people from China during the Chinese Civil War, promising that she would help accelerate the establishing of a memorial hall for the Jan. 27 1949 collision that killed more than 900 people

Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) also attended yesterday’s memorial.

Families of those who lost their lives petitioned Tsai to set up an association and a memorial hall for the incident and the re-establishment or relocation of the monument, which is in a Keelung Naval Logistics Support Command campground.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/26
By: Chen Chia-lun and Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) The cynical saying “no good deed goes unpunished” came to life recently for Taiwanese director Paul Lin (林伯勳), who is now fighting for his life in China after being stabbed there by a homeless man he was trying to help.

As a result of his injuries, Lin is now in a coma in a hospital intensive care unit in Zhuhai City, Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) confirmed Tuesday, following a report the previous day in the Apple Daily.

Lin, 41, was leaving a beer bar in the early hours of Jan. 16 when he saw a homeless man sleeping in the cold in a short-sleeved t-shirt near a bus station.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-25
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A police officer surnamed Chang and his wife were found dead around 9:30 AM Monday morning after their car fell to a valley off the 40.1K mark on Dasyueshan Forest Road on their way back from a snow watching trip.

According to police investigation, Chang, 47, was a captain of the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Taichung City Police Department. He and his wife, 45, went on a snow watching trip around the Dasyueshan National Forest Recreation Area on Sunday. The couple’s family members lost contact with them after the couple last made contact around 8 PM Sunday night when they planned to head back.

Later, their family members reported them missing to the police.

The police found out the couple made their last call at the 43K mark of the forest road, and later discovered their car in a valley off the 40.1K mark. The police’s initial investigation indicated the car slid off the highway and fell to the valley due to the frozen conditions of the forest road. The couple was found dead on the scene.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: January 25, 2016

ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said Jan. 23 that the government is fostering

President Ma Ying-jeou (left) welcomes foreign dignitaries to the WLFD annual conference Jan. 23 in Taipei City. (Courtesy of Presidential Office)

the development of freedom and democracy in Taiwan, while promoting regional peace and stability.

“As the first republic in Asia, the ROC places a premium on these goals and has gained great recognition for its accomplishments in this regard,” Ma said. “The country’s outperformances in various global rankings also stand testament to this progress.”

Ma made the remarks while addressing the annual conference of Taipei City-headquartered nongovernmental organization World League for Freedom and Democracy. The event coincided with World Freedom Day, which is celebrated in the ROC and South Korea to mark the decision by 14,000 People’s Liberation Army prisoners of war to go to Taiwan instead of mainland China following their release by U.N. forces during the Korean War.

According to Ma, Taiwan has chalked up significant headway in human rights, as evidenced in the annual report released last year by Washington-based Freedom House. “On a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 being the freest and 7 the least free, the report rated Taiwan 1 in political rights and 2 in civil liberties, while listing it as a free nation alongside Japan, the U.S. and some countries in Western Europe,” he said.      [FULL  STORY]

FARMING CASUALTIES:Agricultural product losses were estimated at NT$50.74 million, with 688 hectares of crops affected, according to the Council of Agriculture

Taipei Times
Jan 26, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Agricultural losses caused by the cold front enveloping the nation yesterday

Cabbages are blanketed in a thick layer of snow yesterday in Yilan County’s Nanshan Community. Photo: CNA

reached NT$132.15 million (US$3.93 million), according to Council of Agriculture estimates.

In an unprecedented move, the council said it would award cash grants to eligible municipalities and counties before the areas have undertaken the previously required damage assessments.

Tainan suffered the largest agricultural losses, estimated at NT$81.38 million, followed by Miaoli County with losses of NT$35.40 million and Hsinchu County with NT$4.38 million, the council said, citing figures valid as of 5pm yesterday.
All Tainan’s losses were in the farmed aquaculture sector, with products hardest hit including milkfish, groupers and orient clams.     [FULL  STORY]