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Not clear whether dengue fever really slowing down in Tainan: CDC

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/21
By: Lung Pei-ning, Lee Hsin-yin and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Taiwan’s southern city of Tainan has seen the first slowdown in the 201509210029t0001number of newly reported daily cases of dengue fever after the epidemic surged for 14 consecutive weeks, but whether this indicates a steady decline will need to be watched over the next three weeks, the Central Epidemics Command Center said on Monday.

As of Sunday, Tainan has recorded a total of 11,462 cases of dengue fever, around 87 percent of Taiwan’s total.

Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥 ), deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), said the number of dengue fever cases in Tainan has increased for 14 weeks in a row since the 22nd week, or late May this year.

But a first turnaround appeared last week when the number of cases was 2,920 (Sept. 13-19), lower than the 3,128 cases in the 36th week.

Another southern Taiwanese city that was also hit hard by the mosquito-borne dengue fever is Kaohsiung, where the number of dengue fever cases has continued to rise to 529 in the 37th week, compared with 129 cases, 232 cases and 364 cases in the 34th to 36th week.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan LGBT activists declare war on religious homophobia

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-21
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Several LGBT groups in Taiwan on Sunday “declared war” against what they called

Hsu Hsiu-wen gives a press conference on June 30. (Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights)

Hsu Hsiu-wen gives a press conference on June 30. (Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights)

homophobic religious groups attempting to gain seats in the Legislative Yuan next year to block the passage of a same-sex marriage bill.

The newly established Faith and Hope League is one such group, said Hsu Hsiu-wen, head of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, at a press conference that was held under the theme “Declaring All-Out War Against Homophobic Religious Forces.”

She said the Faith and Hope League, established on Sept. 6 by former legislator Joanna Lei and a number of Christian pastors, is actually a political party with an agenda to block a proposed amendment to the Civil Code that aims to legalize same-sex marriage.     [FULL  STORY]

Police forum puts social media, big data under microscope

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-21
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

Taiwan’s police agency convened a forum on Monday to help police officers tap into social

Police forum highlights social media, big data. Taiwan News

Police forum highlights social media, big data. Taiwan News

media and big data trends in a bid to enhance both professionalism and public trust.

Over 100 police officers islandwide gathered at the forum held in Taipei City organized by the National Police Agency (NPA), Ministry of Interior. The director-general of the National Police Agency Chen Kuo-en made opening remarks at the forum, pointing out that information technologies and social media have been particularly highlighted in reducing crimes and strengthening public communications respectively since he took office in April. Chen added that the agency has to cultivate more professional talents specializing in information technology amongst police officers in order to effectively serve in terms of maintenance of public order and securities.

The Internet scam has been a big headache in Taiwan, but a Criminal Investigation Bureau official said at the forum that the adoption of the information technology and the cooperation with telecommunication service providers have significantly reduced the number of the reported online fraud from approximately 500 cases per month years ago to the single digit number today.     [FULL  STORY]

Jay Chou sues Weibo user who called him ‘traitor’

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-21
By: Wu Kuan-chin and Staff Reporter

Taiwanese pop star and actor Jay Chou has filed a lawsuit demanding total damages of

Jay Chou. (Photo coutesy of The Voice of China)

Jay Chou. (Photo coutesy of The Voice of China)

600,000 yuan (US$94,000) from a Weibo user who called him a “Hanjian,” or “traitor to the Chinese race,” reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

The Weibo account of a user with the handle Weixiu Shenghuo posted an article on June 4 calling Chou a “Japanese Hanjian,” also attacking the singer’s family. The article claimed that Jay acknowledged himself as a descendant of Japan.

Chou said the piece has damaged his reputation and is demanding 500,000 yuan (US$78,500) in economic damages and 10,000 yuan (US$15,700) for emotional distress.

JVR Music International, Jay Chou’s record company in Taiwan, confirmed the legal action and said they have addressed the gossip of Jay Chou as a “descendant of Japan.”

Internet users in China have expressed support for Chou’s libel action.

Chou this year also filed a suit against a hotel in China who used his wedding photos for advertising without authorization. A court in Beijing ordered the hotel to pay the singer US$170,000 in early September.     [FULL  STORY]

Ko tells city council he is sorry, asked Tai to resign

Taipei Times
Date:  Sep 22, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday bowed and apologized to Taipei city councilors

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je yesterday apologizes to Taipei City Council for losing his temper during a council meeting on Wednesday last week. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je yesterday apologizes to Taipei City Council for losing his temper during a council meeting on Wednesday last week. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

for losing his temper while attending a council meeting last week.

Ko said he had already called Taipei City Council Speaker Wu Pi-chu (吳碧珠) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to offer his apology immediately after the incident.

“You just have to correct mistakes. I deserve the criticism I received,” Ko said.

Ko on Wednesday last week angrily pounded his desk after KMT Taipei City Councilor William Hsu (徐宏庭) accused him of being partial to former EasyCard Corp chairman Tai Chi-chuan (戴季全) and insinuated that he and Tai had a “special/sexual” relationship (特殊性關係).

EasyCard, a semi-governmental company in which the Taipei City Government is the largest shareholder, mainly issues smart stored-value cards called EasyCards that are used to pay for fares on Taipei’s MRT and bus system.     [FULL  STORY]

Gay rights activists want ‘all-out war’ against ‘homophobic’ groups

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/20
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) Several pro-gay groups in Taiwan on Sunday “declared war”

Hsu Hsiu-wen (許秀雯), head of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights. (CNA file photo)

Hsu Hsiu-wen (許秀雯), head of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights. (CNA file photo)

against what they said were homophobic religious groups that were attempting to gain seats in the Legislature next year to prevent the passage of a same-sex marriage bill.

The newly established Faith and Hope League is one such group, said Hsu Hsiu-wen (許秀雯), head of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, at a press conference that was held under the theme “Declaring All-Out War Against Homophobic Religious Forces.”

She said the Faith and Hope League, which was established on Sept. 6 by former Legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩) and several Christian pastors, is actually a political party with an agenda to block a proposed amendment to the Civil Code that aims to legalize same-sex marriage.

The amendment, more commonly known as the “marriage equality bill,” cleared its first reading in the Legislative Yuan in 2013 and was reviewed for the first time in the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee last December. Since then, it has been shelved, largely due to opposition from religious groups.     [FULL  STORY]

Prominent Taiwan opera troupe performs in Los Angeles for first time

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/20
By: Oscar Wu and Christie Chen

Los Angeles, Sept. 19 (CNA) Taiwanese opera troupe Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural

Taiwanese opera troupe Ming Hwa Yuan's first performance in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Taiwanese opera troupe Ming Hwa Yuan’s first performance in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Group gave its first performance in Los Angeles on Saturday to an audience of over 1,000.

Ming Hwa Yuan, one of Taiwan’s most highly regarded opera troupes, performed two pieces — “Lovebird Spears” (鴛鴦槍) and “General of the Empire” (護國將軍) — during its show at the East Los Angeles College.

“Lovebird Spears” is about a teahouse owner’s daughter who is trained in martial arts and will only marry someone who is capable of defeating her using spears.

“General of the Empire” combines traditional opera with Chinese martial arts. The action sequences in the piece were inspired by ancient warfare in China, which involves the use of scaling ladders to climb fortress walls.     [FULL  STORY]

Six suspects arrested for alleged human trafficking

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/20
By: Huang Kuo-fan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) Six people in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu county have been arrested 201509200014t0001on suspicion of human trafficking and forcing runaway female migrant workers into prostitution, the authorities said Sunday.

The National Immigration Agency’s (NIA) special operations unit in Chiayi City said it received a tip-off earlier this year that a man from Hsinchu, surnamed Wu, and some karaoke club operators were running a human trafficking ring and forcing absconding female migrant workers into prostitution.

In a joint operation with prosecutors in Hsinchu and Tainan, the NIA unit arrested six suspects and rescued 10 runaway female workers in five hideouts in Hsinchu, according to Huang Yi-hsiung (黃義雄), deputy head of the unit.

Wu was arrested once about three years ago on similar suspicions, but he allegedly set up a bigger operation by partnering with karaoke club operators this year, according to Huang.     [FULL  STORY]

Hung brushes off rumors of a KMT downfall

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-20
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Kuomintang presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu brushed off rumors that the KMT’s

Hung downplays rumors of a KMT downfall. Central News Agency (2015-09-20 15:11:49)

Hung downplays rumors of a KMT downfall. Central News Agency (2015-09-20 15:11:49)

public support is dwindling, saying the party is working hard to push forward with its election campaigns, reports said Sunday.

“The rumors about our ill-fated image is nothing but full of nonsense,” Hung exclaimed.

According to media reports, a party insider said the KMT plans to assign someone powerful and influential to help Hung in her campaigning efforts, saying the move will be to secure that she doesn’t get less than 2.92 million votes, which is the number of votes former vice president Lien Chan won during his run for presidency in 2000.

“Defamation and slander is a scary thing,” she said.     [FULL  STORY]

Dengue fever cases top 12,000 in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/20
By: Lung Pei-ning, Lee Hsin-Yin and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) The number of dengue fever cases recorded since May has 45430590increased to 12,766, with 98.33 percent occurring in Tainan and Kaohsiung, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Sunday.

Of the 12,766 cases recorded, 9,608, or 75.26 percent, have recovered from the mosquito-borne disease, according to the CDC.

As of Saturday, 11,115 cases had been reported in Tainan, accounting for 87.07 percent of the total, an increase of 319 cases from the previous day, the CDC said.

Kaohsiung has had 1,438 cases, accounting for 11.26 percent, an increase of 65 cases from a day earlier.     [FULL  STORY]