Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/14
By: Liao Jen-kai, Chao Li-yen and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) A total of 12 persons, including 10 tourists from

Photo courtesy of the police

mainland China, were injured in a traffic accident involving a tour bus with a group of 26 Chinese tourists on board, two sedans and a gravel truck that happened Monday in a section of the north-south Freeway 1 in central Taiwan, the police said.

The other two injured in the accident are the guide of the group of Chinese tourists and the driver the gravel truck, the police added.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Date: December 14, 2015

A lighthouse and wharf were inaugurated Dec. 12 on Taiping Island,

MOI Minister Chen Wei-zen reaffirms the government’s commitment to safeguarding ROC sovereignty in the South China Sea during a lighthouse and wharf inauguration ceremony Dec. 12 on Taiping Island. (Courtesy of the MOI)

underscoring the commitment of the ROC government to protecting the nation’s territorial rights and maritime interests in the South China Sea, according to the Ministry of the Interior.

During the ceremony, MOI Minister Chen Wei-zen said the facilities are in keeping with the spirit of the South China Sea Peace Initiative proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou in May.

“This initiative reaffirms the longstanding principles of safeguarding sovereignty, shelving disputes, pursuing peace and reciprocity and promoting joint development,” Chen said.

Taiping, which boasts an abundance of natural resources and groundwater, is the largest naturally formed island of the Nansha (Spratly) Islands and located 1,600 kilometers southeast of Kaohsiung City.     [FULL  STORY]

Realty Today
Date: Dec 13, 2015
By: Staff Reporter

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – MARCH 21: South Korean actor Kim Soo-Hyun waves at the

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – MARCH 21: South Korean actor Kim Soo-Hyun waves at the ‘1st Memories In Taiwan’ press conference on March 21, 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan. Kim will stay in Taipei for 2 days to meet with fans. (Photo : Ashley Pon/Getty Images)

‘1st Memories In Taiwan’ press conference on March 21, 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan. Kim will stay in Taipei for 2 days to meet with fans. (Photo : Ashley Pon/Getty Images)

Kim Soo Hyun is already in the age bracket of those who are required to serve the South Korea military for two years. Add that to his wide fan base and popularity, people are always on the edge that he might enlist soon and be away from the limelight for a while.

One of his latest projects is the movie “Real” which will start production in January 2016. Many can’t help but ask whether this will be the actor’s last project before he goes into military service. Nate.com (via Soompi.com) has reported that a representative from KeyEast Entertatinment, Kim Soo Hyun’s management company, has told OSEN, “We don’t know. Kim Soo Hyun is currently focusing only on the work ‘Real.'”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date:  2015/12/13
By: Yang Shu-min and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, Dec. 13 (CNA) Thirty-three farmers markets will have opened across Taiwan by Dec. 20, giving small farmers an opportunity to sell their agricultural produce directly to consumers, according to the Council of Agriculture (COA) said.

The farmers markets will be located at both outdoor and indoor venues, including supermarkets run by local farmers associations, and will be open weekly or bimonthly, some on weekends and some on weekdays, the COA announced Wednesday.

Hsu Hui-ying (徐惠瑩), an official at the COA’s Agriculture and Food Agency, said about 1,000 different types of produce, some in the crop tracking system, will be sold at the 33 markets. Some of them have opened, while the rest will all open by mid-December.     [FULL  STORY]

Official inaugurates new wharf, lighthouse, reasserting Taiwan’s territorial claims in South China Sea

The Wall Street Journal
Date: Dec. 13, 2015
By: Jeremy Page

BEIJING—Taiwan’s interior minister has paid a rare visit to a disputed island in

A handout picture from the Taiwanese Interior Ministry shows Taiwanese officials, naval officers and Coast Guard officers posing for pictures in front of the Taiwanese flag on the island of Taiping in the South China Sea, 12 December 2015.

the South China Sea and inaugurated a new wharf and lighthouse there, reasserting his government’s territorial claims in a region where China’s land reclamation has ignited international tensions.

Chen Wei-zen and other senior officials flew to Taiping Island on Saturday to preside over a ceremony marking the completion of a two-year project to upgrade infrastructure, according to a statement from Taiwan’s interior ministry.

Taiping Island, which houses a military airfield, is the largest natural island in the Spratlys chain and the only one controlled by Taiwan, whose claims in the area overlap with those of China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.     [FULL  STORY]