Front Page

Law catalyst for social integration: Albie Sachs

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/19
By: Emmanuelle Tzeng and Kuo Chung-han

Vienna, Nov. 18 (CNA) Law helps various ethnic groups respect each other and 201511190031t0001thus activate social cohesion, former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa Albie Sachs said in Vienna on Wednesday.

Following the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January and the Paris attacks on Nov. 13, some pundits in newspapers think one of the reasons why France has been targeted by terrorists is because Muslims’ lives have been limited by the principle of the separation of church and state and they feel they are not being accepted by mainstream society in the Catholic country.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan, Philippines sign fisheries law enforcement pact

Taiwan Today
Date: November 19, 2015

An agreement on facilitating bilateral cooperation in fisheries law enforcement

MOFA Minister David Lin announces the conclusion of a Taiwan-Philippines fisheries law enforcement cooperation agreement during a press conference Nov. 19 in Taipei City. (CNA)

MOFA Minister David Lin announces the conclusion of a Taiwan-Philippines fisheries law enforcement cooperation agreement during a press conference Nov. 19 in Taipei City. (CNA)

was recently concluded between Taiwan and the Philippines, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nov. 19.

Under the pact signed earlier the month in Taipei by Lin Song-huann, the ROC’s representative to the Southeast Asian country, and his Filipino counterpart Antonio I. Basilio, the two sides agreed to avoid using violence or unnecessary force, create an emergency notification system and establish a prompt release mechanism.

“The agreement upholds the spirit and principles of President Ma Ying-jeou’s South China Sea Peace Initiative, which calls for shelving disputes, pursing peace and reciprocity, while promoting joint exploration and development of resources,” MOFA Minister David Lin said.     [FULL  STORY]

DPP’s Tsai urges ‘digital nation’ to compete globally

Taipei Times
Date:  Nov 20, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Becoming a “digital nation” and an “intelligent island” is the Democratic

Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen, center, poses for a photo with Taichung Deputy Mayor Chang Kuang-yao, second right, Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang, second left, and high-ranking representatives from Cisco Systems at a ceremony held yesterday in Taipei.  Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen, center, poses for a photo with Taichung Deputy Mayor Chang Kuang-yao, second right, Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang, second left, and high-ranking representatives from Cisco Systems at a ceremony held yesterday in Taipei. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Progressive Party’s (DPP) development blueprint for the nation to enhance competition, the party’s presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.

At a ceremony in Taipei celebrating the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Taichung, Keelung City and Cisco Systems to create “smart city” solutions in the two cities, Tsai illustrated her policy of maintaining Taiwan’s “speed in progress” by analyzing information in the era of the “Internet of Things (IoT)” and “Internet of Everything.”

In partnership with Cisco, Taichung will focus on building a smart public transportation network, a Taichung official said.     [FULL

  STORY]

NGC highlights Taiwan’s e-waste recycling prowess

Taiwan Today
Date: November 18, 2015

A documentary showcasing Taiwan’s world-leading e-waste recycling capabilities

MOFA Deputy Minister Vanessa Shih (fourth left) and EPA Minister Wei Kuo-yen (third left) promote an NGC documentary showcasing Taiwan’s e-waste management prowess Nov. 17 in Taipei City. (CNA)

MOFA Deputy Minister Vanessa Shih (fourth left) and EPA Minister Wei Kuo-yen (third left) promote an NGC documentary showcasing Taiwan’s e-waste management prowess Nov. 17 in Taipei City. (CNA)

will debut on the National Geographic Channel Nov. 22 in Taiwan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Jointly produced by MOFA and NGC, “Megastructures: Urban Mine” highlights the state-of-the-art facility of Super Dragon Technology Co. Ltd. in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City.

Built using reclaimed materials and jointly developed with Taipei City-based Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Co. Ltd., the facility is able to recycle 99 percent of all e-waste, extracting such precious metals as gold, platinum and silver in the process.

At a Nov. 17 conference in Taipei City, MOFA Vice Minister Vanessa Shih said the program will help audiences better understand the achievements and contributions of the ROC’s public and private sectors in combating climate change.     [FULL  STORY]

Dengue epidemic sees eight more deaths, toll hits 158 in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-18
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan has confirmed another eight deaths from hemorrhagic dengue fever,

8 more dead from dengue, toll hits 158.  Central News Agency

8 more dead from dengue, toll hits 158. Central News Agency

bringing the total number of fatalities since May 1 to 158, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported Wednesday.

The confirmed deaths were in Kaohsiung, which recorded seven, and in Tainan, where there was one, the center said, adding that another 23 deaths are being examined to determine whether they were also caused by dengue fever.

The latest deaths involved five women and three men, aged between 62 and 96. Most of them were suffering from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, kidney failure, and heart disease, and were therefore at higher risk, the center said.

As of Tuesday, Kaohsiung has seen 455 new cases of the mosquito-borne disease, an increase of 113 from last week, while the epidemic in Tainan continued to show signs of abating with 24 new cases.     [FULL  STORY]

Ketamine use rising in Kaohsiung schools: city councilor

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/18
By: Wang Shu-fen and Lee Mei-yu

Taipei, Nov. 18 (CNA) The use of the ketamine as a recreational drug is a growing imagesproblem in Kaohsiung schools, a city councilor said Wednesday, disclosing that 160 students in the southern Taiwan city are currently put into a counseling program for taking drugs.

Last year, some 900 students in Kaohsiung were referred to the police for drug use, city councilor Chen Tsui-luan (陳粹鑾) said.

She said 1,733 kilograms of illegal drugs were confiscated in the southern Taiwan city last year, the biggest amount in five years, and a third of it was third-grade ketamine.

The data is alarming and suggests that ketamine is still a popular recreational drug in Taiwan, Chen said.     [FULL  STORY]

No eighth roads in Keelung 基隆禁八路

Taipei Times
November 18, 2015

In the Japanese era, roads in Keelung were called “ding.” After World War II ended, roads were

Today’s Zhongxing Road is pictured on Nov. 10 in Keelung. 今日基隆的中興路,攝於十一月十日。  Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Liberty Times  照片: 自由時報記者盧賢秀攝

Today’s Zhongxing Road is pictured on Nov. 10 in Keelung.
今日基隆的中興路,攝於十一月十日。 Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Liberty Times 照片: 自由時報記者盧賢秀攝

named after the “eight virtues,” namely zhong (loyalty), xiao (filial piety), ren (benevolence), ai (love), xin (honesty), yi (righteousness), he (peace) and ping (equality). Roads that were named after love ranged from Ai First Road to Ai Ninth Road, and roads named after righteousness ranged from Yi First Road to Yi Tenth Road.

However, Keelung’s Renai District today only has Ai Seventh Road and Ai Ninth Road but no Ai Eighth Road, because it has been replaced by Lau-ming-thuan Road. There is no Yi Eighth Road either, because it was replaced by Zhongxing Road. Huang Jen-hsiang, a man in his eighties and a retired director-general of the department of social affairs of the Keelung City Government, recounted the history and revealed the secret when he took part in the city government’s 70th anniversary of establishment on Nov. 3.

As it turns out, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) fled to Taiwan in 1949, it was particularly sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Eighth Route Army and so ordered that Keelung must not have any “eighth road.” As a consequence, on May 1950, Ai Eighth Road was renamed to Lau-ming-thuan Road, while Yi Eighth Road was renamed to Zhongxing Road. The young generation today think it is odd it, but they do not know the history.     [FULL  STORY]

‘Central Park’ to replace airport by 2020

TSAI CONCURS:DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao said at a forum that the party’s presidential candidate is in favor of a proposal to vacate Songshan airport by 2020

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 18, 2015
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The Taipei City Government yesterday said it hopes to vacate the site currently occupied by

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, left, points to a model of the city at a forum in Taipei yesterday to discuss plans to relocate Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Taoyuan by 2020.  Photo: CNA

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, left, points to a model of the city at a forum in Taipei yesterday to discuss plans to relocate Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Taoyuan by 2020. Photo: CNA

Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) by 2020, and that it plans to transform the site into a 330-hectare “Central Park” with an emphasis on ecology, leisure and humanities.

Taipei Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮) unveiled the plan at a forum in Taipei attended by government officials from Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan, as well as representatives of presidential candidates, to discuss the future of the airport, which participants said should be vacated and merged with Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

The plan involves linking a strip of land vacated by the Songshan airport on the southern bank of the Keelung River (基隆河), with river sections in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) and Dawan (大灣) areas, which Lin said would make for a “wetland park” covering 162 hectares.

The park would benefit from its close proximity to the 170-hectare Taipei Expo Park (花博公園), where the Yuanshan natural landscape park is to be built after the city decided to relocate the Taipei City Museum to the former site of the Taipei City Council over concerns about potential damage the construction of the museum could cause local freshwater ecology and the nearby Yuanshan Archeological Site (圓山遺址).    [FULL  STORY]

Chiayi railway warehouse stages art festival

Taiwan Today
Date: November 17, 2015

The 2015 Black Golden Section Art Festival kicked off Nov. 14 at the Art Site of Chiayi Railway

Hou Chun-ming’s six prints depicting the outward appearance of his inner self are on display at the Inside Out exhibition of the 2015 Black Golden Section Art Festival Nov.14 to Jan. 5 in Chiayi City. (Courtesy of CCG)

Hou Chun-ming’s six prints depicting the outward appearance of his inner self are on display at the Inside Out exhibition of the 2015 Black Golden Section Art Festival Nov.14 to Jan. 5 in Chiayi City. (Courtesy of CCG)

Warehouse in southern Taiwan, showcasing artists’ life experiences and reflections on their relationships with the world.

Organized by the Chiayi City Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, the eclectic event features an exhibition comprising installations, ink paintings, photographs, prints, sketches and video recordings by five talents from the Chiayi area and nine artists from other parts of Taiwan and abroad.

“Themed Inside Out this year, the 14th edition of the display centers on the importance of self-exploration,” said Chen Yi-fan, who curated the event and doubles as an art professor at National Changhua University of Education. “Representing reflections of the artists’ inner selves, the pieces may also spur visitors to embark on their own journeys of self-exploration.”

One exhibition highlight is a six-print series, with each work composed of 20 smaller pieces, by local artist Hou Chun-ming. The artist created images that reimagine his outward appearance as a reflection of his inner self in the years 1985, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2002 and 2005.     [FULL  STORY]

Songshan Airport to close by 2020

Taipei City promises new park

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-17
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The removal of Taipei Songshan Airport from the capital will be

Songshan Airport to close by 2020. Central News Agency

Songshan Airport to close by 2020. Central News Agency

completed by 2020, with no aircraft landing or taking off anymore, Taipei City Vice Mayor Charles Lin said at a forum Tuesday.

The issue of the airport closure first became a major issue during the 2002 mayoral election, but the topic gained importance as Songshan was transformed from a mere domestic hub to an airport for flights to and from China and several East Asian cities.

“The sky above the capital will see an end to its martial law, and Songshan Airport will no longer fly any airplanes,” Lin was quoted as telling a multi-party forum at the Ministry of Transportation.

He reportedly also promised that most of the land would be converted to parkland, maybe along the lines of what opposition mayoral candidate Lee Ying-yuan promised during the 2002 election, when he said he wanted to set up a local version of New York’s Central Park.