Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-04
By: CNA

A ground vehicle hit the right wing of a Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) aircraft at

The damaged rear position light, Oct. 3. (Photo/CNA)

Kaohsiung International Airport on Saturday, resulting in the cancellation of the plane’s scheduled flight.

The accident occurred at 12:40pm while the plane, bound for Kinmen, was waiting to take off. All 38 passengers were already aboard the plane and the aircraft doors had been closed.

The ground vehicle, belonging to Taiwan Airport Service Co, suddenly hit the right wing of the plane and damaged its rear position light.

According to an initial investigation, the ground vehicle was reversing when it hit the plane, and the incident could have resulted from a mistake on the part on the driver.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Tainan City Mayor William Lai said Saturday he would not attend

Tainan mayor to stay away from Double Ten. Central News Agency

the Double Ten National Day celebrations in Taipei next week, reports said Saturday.

The move follows the Democratic Progressive Party politician’s emphasis on his support for Taiwan Independence earlier in the week, leading commentators to speculate whether he is trying to distance himself from presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s advocacy of the status quo.

Later Saturday, Lai defended himself by saying he had overseen several Double Ten celebrations in Tainan City and that Taiwan was already independent under the name of Republic of China.

It was Kuomintang presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu who said Tsai should invite Lai along to the October 10 National Day events. It will be the first time in many years that the DPP leader will actually attend, though critics have said her move is inspired by the need to project a moderate image in the race for the January 16 presidential and legislative elections.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-03
By: CNA

Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture said Friday that it will insist that the country maintain a

Pork rice made with American pork. (File photo/Yao Shun)

ban on pork imported from the United States containing traces of leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine, amid fears that the issue could affect future bilateral trade talks.

Taiwan and the US held trade discussions under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on Thursday, and while the issue of US pork imports was not on the agenda, Washington has hinted that it would make signing a bilateral investment agreement more difficult.

The US suspended TIFA talks from 2007 to 2012 because of Taiwan’s refusal to import beef containing traces of ractopamine. They were restarted after Taiwan agreed to lift the ban, but local authorities are much less likely to give in on pork imports.

COA chief Chen Bao-ji said imports of US beef and pork must be considered separately, especially considering that no nations that consume more than 30 kilograms of pork per person per year have allowed ractopamine-laced park to enter their markets.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Health inspectors in Kaohsiung concluded that bleach had been

Bleach found in noodles. Central News Agency

added to noodle products by at least two food companies, reports said Friday.

During tests of various products made by Ta Liang Agricultural Produce Co. of Daliao, Kaohsiung City, sulfure dioxide levels of 0.048 gram per kilo turned up, while the legal maximum stands at 0.01 g per kg, reports said.

The Kaohsiung health department alerted local prosecutors, who visited two suppliers of Ta Liang, named by the media as Tsai Poh and Yi Tsai, on Thursday. The raids turned up large quantities of noodles treated with bleach, and the top managers of both companies admitted the scams, reports said. They were freed on bail of NT$200,000 (US$6,000) and NT$100,000 (US$3,000) respectively.

Ta Liang had sold different types of noodles containing excessive levels of preservatives and bleach to more than 300 businesses across Kaohsiung, Tainan and Pingtung, prosecutors said. The customers included noodle wholesalers, shops, fastfood stores and noodle stalls, but detainees at local prisons had also had the products served to them, according to media reports.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/02
By: Page Tsai, Liu Shih-yi and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) Three Army officers will be suspended from their duties for their involvement in a scandal earlier this year in which civilians were brought onto a military base for an unauthorized tour of Taiwan’s most advanced attack helicopters, according to a decision by the judiciary on Friday.

The decision was made by the Judicial Yuan’s Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission, which is in charge of handling cases of misconduct by civil servants.

Those suspended were: Lt. Col. Lao Nai-cheng (勞乃成), a former deputy battalion commander of the 601st Aviation Brigade at the Army Aviation Special Force Command; Maj. Gen. Chien Tsung-yuan (簡聰淵), head of the 601st Aviation Brigade; and Tao Kuo-chen (陶國禎), head of the brigade’s personnel affairs division.    [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-02
By: Chang Kuo-wei and Staff Reporter

Taiwan ranked No. 13 in a global military strength assessment published by Credit Suisse

at the end of September. The US, Russia, and China remain in the top three while Japan climbed to No. 4 from No. 9, with India sitting at the fifth spot, reports our Chinese-language sister newspaper Want Daily.

The analysis was based on a country’s capabilities in conventional war, and the overall ranking took into account active military personnel, tanks, aircraft, attack helicopters, aircraft carriers and submarines.

Japan is ten percentage points behind China in aircrafts, nine percentage points behind in submarines, five percentage points behind in attack helicopters, but 24 percentage points ahead in aircraft carriers.

Taiwan, up from No. 15, is 10 percentage points behind China in attack helicopters, closing the gap since its introduction of US-sold Apaches.     [FULL  STORY]