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Taiwan launches climate change adaptation initiative at COP21

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/07
By: Emmanuelle Tzeng and Kay Liu

Paris, Dec. 6 (CNA) Taiwan launched the Pan Pacific Adaptation on Climate Change

EPA Minister Wei Kuo-yen (sitting, left; photo courtesy of the EPA)

(PPACC), an initiative to help the region deal with the effects of global warming, in Paris Sunday.

Several countries in the region are facing similar challenges as a result of climate change, and Taiwan has the technology to deal with those issues, said Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥), minister of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), at the launch.

Asia needs the PPACC to help prepare for the impact of climate change, he said

The PPACC will work with the Center for Collective Intelligence (CCI) of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, according to the EPA.

The EPA’s Office of Greenhouse Gases Reduction Management has also signed a letter of intent with the CCI’s Climate CoLab on future cooperation, the EPA said. [FULL STORY]

Modernity and Tradition in Taipei, Taiwan’s Capital

International Living
Date: December 6, 2015
By: Ellie Dyer

Wacky and wonderful, polite and pristine, the beautiful island of Taiwan lies off mainland China’s southeastern coast. It’s home to a fascinating culture that celebrates modernism and tradition in equal measures. You can explore the best of this in just a few days in the capital, Taipei.

Taipei’s frenetic night markets are a good place to start. If you only visit one, make it the Raohe Night Market in Songshan district—a gastronomic utopia. It’s held under the stars, near the city’s luminous Rainbow Bridge. Circle the market’s narrow lanes in a counter-clockwise direction and join locals grazing on bowls of fragrant pork-rib soup, indulgent ice-cream pancakes, and mountains of oysters. Most dishes cost under $5. My favorite cheap eats here are the huge pepper-pork buns cooked inside big, steaming pots.

For a spot of shopping and good people-watching opportunities, join the bright young things in the labyrinth of shops and stalls in Ximending, in Wanhua district. Even if you aren’t drawn in by the brightly-colored shoes and psychedelic-neon accessories, it’s a great place to watch the world go by. Ximending is also home to Taiwan’s weirdest restaurant, Modern Toilet. This bizarre eatery is themed around all things bathroom, from toilet-shaped furniture to excrement-inspired food presentation.

Looming above the capital, the Taipei 101 skyscraper is impossible to miss. Rising 1,670 feet, the aqua-colored building is the symbol of modern Taiwan and was once the tallest building in the world. Buy a $17 ticket to take the world’s fastest elevator up to its 360-degree observation deck in an ear-popping 37 seconds. [FULL STORY]

Chen woos Ilan residents during campaign rally

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-12-06
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Democratic Progressive Party vice presidential candidate Chen Chien-jen called on the public Sunday to

Chen woos senior citizens, Ilan residents. Central News Agency

root for Chen Ou-po, a Democratic Progressive Party legislator who is currently running for re-election.

“I look forward for your continued support,” he pleaded, urging voters in Ilan to allow Chen to seek a second term in office so that he could help improve the livelihood of the city’s residents.

The vice presidential contender was all smiles onstage at a rally in Ilan as he campaigned for the party legislator, who had helped establish a number of positive social welfare programs for its senior citizens.

“Taking care of the elderly has always been one of the party’s top priorities,” Chen told supporters in the morning. [FULL STORY]

Actor Ko Chun-hsiung dies of cancer at 69

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/07
By: Wang Chin-yi and Jay Chen

Taipei, Dec. 7 (CNA) Ko Chun-hsiung (柯俊雄), one of the best known Chinese actors of his generation, has

Ko Chun-hsiung (center) in his award-winning performance in the 1967 movie Lonely Seventeen

died, his agent said early Monday. He would have turned 70 in January.

Ko reportedly died of lung cancer, which he was first diagnosed with in 2014. Sources said that the actor died late Sunday in a hospital in Taipei.

Born in Kaohsiung on January 15, 1945, Ko’s acting career spanned half a century, highlighted first by his leading roles in adaptations of best-selling romantic novels and then his portrayal of military heroes in China’s war of resistance against Japanese invasion during World War II.

In 1968, he became the first Taiwanese to win the best actor award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival for his role in Lonely Seventeen. He won in the same category at the festival seven years later. [FULL STORY]

Students abandon curriculum meeting

UNANIMOUS WITHDRAWAL:The ministry’s reluctance to improve data transparency shows that it is not serious about addressing students’ concerns, one student said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 06, 2015
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Students who participated in a so-called “expert consultation meeting” yesterday to review issues

Students who participated in an “expert consultation meeting” at National Taiwan Normal University yesterday protest outside the venue after withdrawing from the meeting in protest of what they said was the Ministry of Education’s attempt to downplay controversy. Photo: Wu Po-hsuen, Taipei Times

surrounding controversial history curriculum changes unanimously withdrew from the meeting venue in protest of what they said was the Ministry of Education’s attempt to downplay the controversy.

The meeting, held at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, was arranged at the order of the Executive Yuan in compliance with an agreement reached among lawmakers during cross-caucus negotiations in early August in the wake of student-led protests against what they called China-centric history curriculum guidelines.

The meeting was attended by six students, who unanimously withdrew from the scene shortly after proceedings began.

Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science student Yu Teng-chieh (游騰傑) said the ministry delayed publishing the minutes taken during previous meetings to design and review the curriculum guidelines. [FULL STORY]

Now is best time to reform Legislature reforms: speaker

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/06
By: Sunrise Huang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) The best time to accomplish reform of the Legislature will be now until the term of

Wang (C) stumping for Wu (L) in New Taipei.

office of the incumbent lawmakers ends in January, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said Sunday.

Once new lawmakers are elected and assume the office on Feb. 1, they will not want to push the reform because “once with power in hands, no one will want to see his or her power checked and balanced,” said Wang, a veteran member of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), while stumping for KMT legislative candidate Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) in New Taipei.

The legislative elections are slated for Jan. 16, 2016, the same day when the presidential election will be held. The current Legislative Yuan is made up of 113 members, whose four-year term started on Feb. 1, 2012, and will expire on Jan. 31 next year.

Wang has recently shown an eagerness to pushing for the long-discussed legislative reform, particularly one that gives the Legislature the power to investigate major political controversies, demand the relevant authorities to present data in relation to the investigation, and hold parliamentary hearings so that anyone can be called to testify and present data as evidence. [FULL STORY]

Terrorist attacks in Taiwan a possibility, expert says

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 07, 2015
By: Huang Tun-yan / Staff reporter

Liberty Times (LT): From the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to the Islamic State [IS] group’s recent attacks

in France, are international terrorist attacks changing into something new? Are new trends emerging?

Wang Yu-wei (汪毓瑋): Yes. 9/11 is the watershed between old and new terrorism.

Older forms of terrorism, such as that of the Irish Republican Army or Spanish ETA [Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, or Basque Country and Freedom, an armed group of the Basque National Liberation Movement], have objectives such as the independence of Northern Ireland or the Basque regions. If they can enter a reasonable and equitable political process with the government, they are willing to negotiate or even make compromises.

However, new terrorist organizations, which include al-Qaeda and the IS, wish to build a Sharia state spanning from the Mediterranean to Southeast Asia, that is distinct from existing Muslim-ruled states, such as Saudi Arabia or Indonesia. In the eyes of IS, Saudi Arabia had already absorbed essential qualities of Western democracy, and is therefore a “secular regime.” [FULL STORY]

Chilly and wet weather conditions in northern Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-12-06
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

Forecasters predict a cold front moving south together with strengthening northeast seasonal winds will

Chilly and wet weather in northern Taiwan. Central News Agency

lead daytime temperatures to drop in northern Taiwan by 4 to 6 degrees on Sunday when compared to yesterday.

As for rainfall forecasts, this weather front is expected to bring intermittent rain to the island, especially to northern and northeastern Taiwan, where wet weather conditions are more obvious, with heavier rain possible in some areas.

Wet and rainy weather conditions will remain for the whole day on Sunday in northern Taiwan, with highs of about 19 or 20 in the north and Ilan County; while central and southern Taiwan as well as Hualien and Taitung Counties in eastern Taiwan will see cool and comfortable weather, with highs of 23 to 25 degrees, the forecast said.

Doctors urge air pollution law as poor air quality persists

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/06
By: Zoe Wei and Christie Chen

Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) Over 10 doctors from around Taiwan gathered in Taipei on Sunday to urge the government to tackle the growing air pollution problem that is threatening public health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already classified outdoor air pollution as a cancer-causing agent, but Taiwan’s government and political candidates have not paid much attention to the problem, forcing doctors to speak up, said participants at a press conference.

Speaking at an event organized by the Changhua Medical Alliance for Public Affairs and Changhua Environmental Protection Union, doctors urged the government to follow in the footsteps of the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and introduce policies to fight air pollution and cancer. [FULL STORY]

Instant noodles’ sudden popularity show power of a single post

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/05
By: Bernie Chiu, Chen Cheng-wei and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Dec. 5 (CNA) Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp. (TTL) has been marketing its

TTL assistant technical specialist Sigma.

Hua-Tiau Chiew Chicken Noodles (花雕雞麵) for five years, but it wasn’t until the secret behind their flavor was revealed last month that they became the hottest instant food product in Taiwan.

The noodles suddenly catapulted into the limelight after a netizen named “Sigma” decided during a sleepless night to put up a post about the “fragrant noodles” on Taiwan’s popular bulletin board website, PTT.

Sigma wrote on Nov. 23 that TTL had a large volume of 15-year-old Hua-Tiau Chiew — a wine made from fermented rice — in inventory and wanted to use it, so it supplied the brew to its instant noodle contractor to produce the product.

The post sparked active discussion and after a cyber manhunt, it was discovered that Sigma was actually a young, attractive female TTL assistant technical specialist, triggering tremendous interest and boosting the product’s sales immediately. [FULL STORY]

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