Flightglobal
Date Aug 13, 2015
By: James Drew

Lockheed Martin has signed a contract to equip Taiwan’s F-16s with its Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod and the first two units are just about ready to deliver from the production site in Orlando, Florida.

A company spokeswoman tells Flightglobal that two units will be delivered in the fourth quarter for integration by the US Air Force, which is running Taiwan’s F-16 upgrade programme through the American foreign military sales process.

Although it’s a small order initially, Lockheed’s missiles and fire control business can likely expect further orders down the road as the first two pods are fielded. The disclosure of deliveries to Taiwan comes just days after the company revealed Japan’s decision to carry Sniper Pod on its Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2.

Lockheed said in a 13 August statement that Taiwan has also contracted it to provide integration support for the LANTIRN targeting and navigation system, which is being employed on Taipei’s recently modernised F-16s. Lockheed is currently upgrading 144 Taiwanese A-model F-16s, which includes the installation of Northrop’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR).     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/13
By: S.L. Chang and Lillian Lin

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) have expressed concern and offered help to Chinese authorities in the wake of a series of deadly explosions that rocked the port city of Tianjin on Wednesday night, MAC Deputy Minister Wu Mei-hung said Thursday.

He said the Ministry of Economic Affairs has also contacted the Taiwanese businessmen’s association in Tianjin to learn more about the situation there.

According to international media reports, a shipment of explosives detonated Wednesday in a warehouse in Tianjin, a major Chinese port city, killing at least 44 people and injuring more than 500.

Fan Liqing, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office under its State Council, said Thursday that only one Taiwanese was known to have been injured in the blast. The worker, who is employed at a Taiwanese-invested paper manufacturing plant, suffered minor cuts when the plant’s dormitory windows were shattered by the explosions, Fan said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-13
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

CSIST’s demonstrates its MALE UAS control post during TADTE 2015 on Thursday.
A slew of new weaponry and military equipment was being showcased on Thursday as this year’s biennial Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) kicked off with an opening ceremony hosted by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).

Co-organized by the Committee for Aviation Industry Development (CAID) and the Taiwan Aerospace Industry Association (TAIA), this year’s show has earmarked 27 percent exhibitor growth compared to the previous event held two years ago, said Peter Huang, president and CEO of TAITRA.

“TADTE 2015 has also brought together many large global corporations, including world-renowned Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Rockwell Collins from the United States, as well as others from Germany, Sweden, and Japan,” he said.

One of the major highlights this year is without doubt Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), as they are beginning to be used for aerial photography and rescue operations, Huang added, saying Taiwan’s industry insiders have discovered the market opportunity and are actively participating in this booming segment.

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/13
By: Keoni Everington

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) The Chinese Ghost Month (鬼月), observed in the 7th month of the lunar calendar, is once again upon us, this year running from Aug. 14 to Sept. 12. During the festival the gates of hell are opened and all of the hungry ghosts are released to the world in search of food, money, entertainment, and what not.

A “hungry ghost” is a being that has been sent to the underworld to suffer an eternal state of hunger for their misdeeds or for not having a proper burial. Once a year, they are set free from hell and are given the opportunity to satiate some of their cravings and perhaps gain some good karma for a reincarnation into a better life with the help of their family members.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the following are some handy tips to avoid any phantom faux pas or ghoulish gaffes during Ghost Month:     [FULL  STORY]

COMMANDO-STYLE OPERATION:Shots were fired as the coast guard deployed heavily armed officers to rescue three of its own. The fishermen were detained

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 14, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter, with CNA

Eight Chinese fishermen were apprehended and taken in for questioning yesterday after

the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) mounted a commando-style operation to rescue three of its officers the fishermen had allegedly taken hostage in the Taiwan Strait.

The incident began with confrontations between Taiwanese and Chinese fishermen in waters off the coast of Hsinchu County on Wednesday, and escalated when the three coast guard officers were allegedly abducted after boarding a Chinese ship.

CGA officials said it was necessary to take decisive action and dispatched armed patrol vessels with specially trained officers to prevent the hostages being taken to China.

CGA officials said one officer sustained minor injuries during the raid.

All three hostages were safely back in Taiwan yesterday, but slightly shaken from the ordeal, officials said.    [FULL  STORY]

Asia One
Date: Aug 12, 2015

TAIPEI – The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) announced yesterday that

about 500 burn patients are eligible for post-acute care (PAC), which is equivalent to those afforded stroke patients.
.
The Formosa Fun Coast Water Park explosions caused large numbers of victims with severe burns, whose recovery will require both time and comprehensive rehabilitation. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) held a meeting to discuss the further treatment of the victims and decided to activate the PAC for all burn patients, including those who were not victims of the water park blaze.

NHIA Director-General Huang San-kuei pointed out that the PAC mainly includes daytime care, clinical rehabilitation and assistance from community care treatment organisations.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/12
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) A woman died Wednesday of injuries she sustained in a fiery dust explosion at a water park in New Taipei on June 27, bringing the death toll from the incident to 11, according to a local hospital.

The woman, Tsai Hsin-yu (蔡心瑜), suffered burns to over 70 percent of her body and died of multiple organ failure, doctors said.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s latest report released on Aug. 10, 269 of the nearly 500 victims from the incident remained hospitalized, 117 of whom were in intensive care units.

The ministry said it has not yet updated the latest status of the patients.

Shanghaiist
Date:  Aug 12, 2015
By: Dan Cunningham

A designer from Taichung created a set of stickers that allows supporters of Taiwan independence to turn their Republic of China passports into Republic of Taiwan passports, Hong Kong Free Press reports.

Taiwan has been known as the Republic of China (ROC) since Chiang Kai-shek arrived with the KMT party in 1948. Although there are Taiwanese nationals that still believe in retaking China, many young people see the island as an independent country.

By creating the stickers, designer Denis Chen aims to help redefine Taiwan’s national identity. He was inspired by a friend who replaced the word “China” on his Taiwanese passport cover and the simplified Chinese characters for Taiwan with the traditional characters. His friend had managed to enter Sydney without any issue. Chen thought that a sticker campaign would create an exciting “cultural shock” for many Taiwanese.

Chen’s stickers are not dissimilar to a Taiwanese Independence Party (DPP) campaign in 2012, when it distributed 10,000 stickers saying “Taiwan is my country”. The DPP campaign was launched in response to the new issue Chinese passports, of May 2012, which cited Taiwan and the South China sea as territories of the PRC.    [FULL  STORY]