Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/15
By: Chao Li-yen, Milly Lin and Kay Liu

Taipei, Nov. 15 (CNA) Taichung has introduced measures to tackle the poor air quality that

has affected the central city recently, and has asked companies considered major sources of pollution to address the issue, officials said Sunday.

Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the poor air quality has been caused partly by seasonal factors and partly by overdevelopment of the city.

Lin said the city government plans to establish a standard procedure and order companies to reduce output when air pollution reaches a certain level.

Since late October, Taichung has recorded air quality at an unhealthy level several times, according to the Environmental Protection Administration.     [FULL  STORY]

VOLATILE:People living near naphtha crackers have said they are concerned for their health due to high air pollution levels, which has been linked to various cancers

Taipei Times
Date:  Nov 16, 2015
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

Residents of Changhua and Yunlin counties yesterday gathered in front of the Presidential

Office Buiilding to petition the central government to authorize local governments to legislate bylaws to regulate coal burning to curb air pollution.

Holding placards and photographs of deceased family members, dozens of people shouted: “No more obstruction to coal burning ban” and “shut down the [Mailiao] naphtha cracker by 2020” and “people have the right to clean air.”

The Yunlin County Government announced a ban on the burning of petroleum coke and coal in June, following an oath-taking in April by government heads of Yunlin and Chiayi counties and Chiayi, Tainan, Taichung and Chunghua cities in April to phase out petroleum coke and coal to fight air pollution.

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in September rejected the ban, saying that it involved national energy policies and regulations that fall within the jurisdiction of the central government, according to the Energy Administration Act (能源管理法) and the Local Government Act (地方制度法).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/15
By: Tang Pei-chun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 15 (CNA) Taiwan is scheduled to begin an electronic visa (eVisa) application system in January next year, with 27 countries to benefit in the first stage of the system’s implementation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials said Sunday.

The 27 nations include Turkey, Macedonia, Brunei and the 22 countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan, excluding the Holy See, according to the MOFA.

The other three countries on the list are those that have offered Taiwan preferential visa waivers, but the ministry declined to disclose which ones they are, saying only that they will be made public in an official announcement upon the launch of the new system.

Also, foreign nationals who are invited by Taiwanese organizations to visit Taiwan will be entitled to eVisa applications, the officials said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 15, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Two air force pilots earlier this month escaped injuries when an Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) aircraft at the Tainan Air Base sustained damage when a cockpit canopy was accidentally blasted off.

Ministry of National Defense officials on Thursday confirmed that the incident took place on Nov. 2, when two pilots from the 443rd Tactical Fighter Wing squadron were conducting pre-flight checks for an IDF jet fighter training mission.

It was reported that the mission’s co-pilot, surnamed Chen (陳), had violated safety procedures by pulling out an insertion pin which was part of the cockpit’s canopy ejection mechanism.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/14
By: Chiu Chun-ching and Christie Chen

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) The Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has stepped up security measures following a series of deadly terrorist attacks that killed at least 127 people in Paris Friday.

Armed SWAT teams patrolled the airport on Saturday and security checks were also tightened on flights to Europe.

Airport police said stricter luggage and passenger checks and heightened security measures were put in place at the airport with immediate effect.

At least 127 people were killed after a series of coordinated attacks by gunmen and bombers at multiple locations across Paris, including the Bataclan concert hall, which saw the worst bloodshed. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the assaults.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/12
By: Tang Pei-chun and Christie Chen

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) A few Taiwanese citizens have been denied visa-free entry to Japan in

recent months because they were unable to explain their frequent visits to the neighboring country, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

After they were denied entry, those citizens sought help from Taiwan’s representative office in Japan, said Roger Luo (羅添宏), deputy director-general of the foreign ministry’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, at a regular press conference.

Japanese authorities thought that the Taiwanese citizens had been traveling too frequently to Japan – each averaging about two or three visits per month – and were unable to clearly explain their travel plans, which violates the visa-waiver regulations, he said.     [FULL  STORY]