News24
Date: 2015-12-01
By: Wally Santana, AP

Taipei – Families of victims killed during an explosion at a “colour party” in Taiwan that left

15 dead and hundreds injured are calling for the event organiser to receive a stiff sentence, as a procedural hearing opened in Taipei on Tuesday.

In October, Lu Chung-chi, the owner of Color Play Asia that organised the event, was charged with negligence leading to death and injury and faces up to five years in prison.

The accident occurred in June at the Formosa Fun Coast water park, just outside the capital Taipei, when clouds of multi-coloured corn starch sprayed on revellers ignited after heat from stage lights triggered a blast that ripped through the crowd.

The event organiser appeared in a Taipei court on Tuesday as a four-day procedural hearing commenced, where relatives of victims gave testimony.

Critical condition

“[Lu] really destroyed our very happy family,” the mother of Wu Yen-chieh, who died after 67 days in hospital, told the court.

“[Lu] really destroyed our very happy family,” the mother of Wu Yen-chieh, who died after 67 days in hospital, told the court.

“Even if it’s a death sentence I won’t forgive him,” she said, holding a portrait of her deceased daughter.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: December 1, 2015

The first cross-strait exhibition of tricolor glazed pottery from the Tang dynasty (618-907)

kicked off Nov. 24 at the National Museum of History in Taipei City, in celebration of the facility’s 60th anniversary.

Featuring 120 signature artworks from the NMH and Luoyang Museum in Henan province, mainland China, the two-month event features largely brown, green and white-glazed items comprising animal and human figurines, everyday utensils and burial objects.

“These vividly designed pieces showcase the museum’s efforts to foster a vibrant multicultural scene,” NMH Director Chang Yui-tan said. “The event also underscores the government’s commitment to preserving traditional arts in conjunction with our counterparts on the other side of the strait.”

Unearthed in Henan in the 1920s during the construction of the Longhai Railway connecting Lianyungang in Jiangsu province with Lanzhou in Gansu province, many of the artifacts with unique and significant form, decoration, glaze and style offer showgoers a glimpse of everyday life during the heyday of the Tang dynasty, according to Chang.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-12-01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Former Defense Minister Chen Chao-min will not be charged over

the wrongful execution of airman Chiang Kuo-ching for the murder of a little girl, prosecutors decided Tuesday after a second review of the case.

In 2011, a military court acquitted Chiang of the crime, but the young man had been executed in 1997 at the age of 21. Critics said that Chen, who headed the air force at the time, was responsible for the mishandling of the investigation which fingered Chiang as the culprit.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office launched a second review into Chen’s responsibility, but on Tuesday it announced it could find no cause and effect between the senior military officer and the execution. In addition, the case had also passed relevant time limits for the investigation, reports said.

Chiang’s mother, Wang Tsai-lien, has the right to demand a third investigation by prosecutors, reports said.     [FULL  STORY]

Date: November 30, 2015
By: Melnie

The time has come to end the GFM page. The Haas family cannot express the overwhelming gratitude we have for everyone that has contributed. We are so fortunate that things didn’t

follow the original diagnosis, and we have to thank the emergency room staff for tending to his immediate needs. I can’t imagine what they were dealing with. I want to say a very special thank you to Dr. Chang for his phenomenal medical and surgical skills and for his personal involvement in Alex’s progress and recovery. He would say, ‘it was his job’, but he went above and beyond and put up with the Haas family’s never ending questions. James Cheng the international liaison was there for us every single day at a moment’s notice. He coordinated and kept us up to date on everything. Dr. Daisy Heish, spoke wonderful English and helped Alex on a daily basis in the ICU. As a treat, she even brought Alex donuts and hot chocolate, and she deserves a special shout out. The 6th and 7th floors’ ICU units,

the team of doctors and nurses that did his wound care and bandage changes, and Alisse, with her team of nurses on the 8th floor always paid extra attention to Alex , not only his physical state, but emotional as well. We also received incredible support from Carol, the PR Rep for MacKay Hospital.

The support we have received through the GFM page has enabled the family to care and provide Alex with the help he needs. His surgeries at MGH begin in December with Dr. Jeremy Goverman and the Burn Center team. As we continue his road to recovery we don’t know what the future holds, but one thing we have learned is how unbelievably supportive the people we know and even the people we have never met can truly be. Your support helped so much. We now know that we are not alone, we have all of you, Thank you. This picture is Alex holding my hand at the press conference just before leaving Taiwan. WE MADE IT HOME! May you all have a wonderful upcoming holiday season, and be thankful for all of your blessings. We are so thankful to all of you.

With all our love,
The Haas Family

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-30
By: Ko Lin,c Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Changhua District Prosecutors Office said it will appeal over the Ting Hsin case after

which it was found not guilty by the Changhua District Court last weekend, reports said Monday.

Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Deputy Director Lin Hui-huang said during a question-and-answer session at the legislature in the morning that the ministry backs the Changhua prosecutors for an appeal, saying the verdict passed down by the district court has turned out far from expected.

On Friday, former Ting Hsin International chairman Wei Ying-chung and six other defendants were found not guilty by the court for their alleged role in the food safety scandals.

The prosecutors had been unable to prove that raw materials for oil imported from Vietnam were not suitable for human consumption, the court ruled.      [FULL  STORY]