Radio Taiwan International
Date: 29 January, 2020
By: Jake Chen

For a lot of people in Taiwan, you’re not celebrating Chinese New Year right if you’re not playing

Mahjong. In today’s Chinese New Year Encyclopedia, find out why many Taiwanese love playing this game.

You’re hearing the clank of Mahjong tiles as they rub and knock against each other on a square Mahjong table. Sitting at each side of the table, the four players place their palms on the tiles and move their hands in circular motion to randomly mix those tiles. If you didn’t know better, you’d have thought they were swimming, but indoor, on a table.

So… what exactly is Mahjong?

Well it’s essentially a game that involves lots of tiles. The objective of the game is to get a series of special tile combinations and you win.

The game can be played anytime, anywhere, but it’s particularly popular during the Chinese New Year holiday. During this time, members of the extended family would traditionally convene at the grandparents’ place.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/29/2020
By: Chang Hsiung-feng and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, Jan. 29 (CNA) As director of Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation's (TOAF) coastal tree planting initiative, Cheng Li-yi's (程禮怡) work involves setting high goals and putting in the hard work necessary to achieve them.

In addition to determination, she says, sometimes a bit of serendipity also helps.

During a 2018 speech at the Trillion Trees Campaign — a joint project of the NGO Plant for the Planet and the United Nations Environmental Programme — Cheng inadvertently mistranslated her organization's goal of planting 100 million trees, boosting that figure to one billion.

In an interview with CNA, Cheng called the moment a "beautiful error," explaining that "since I said it, I had no choice but to take responsibility for it".    [FULL  STORY]

Radiio Taiwan International
Date: 28 January, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

The color red is considered auspicious and can be seen everywhere during Chinese New Year, especially on little red envelopes stuffed with cash. 

Red envelopes or hong bao are a type of gift given in Chinese-speaking communities and other parts of East Asia. The envelope itself has little intrinsic value; it's the money stuffed inside that constitutes the gift. Red envelopes can be gifted during special occasions, such as weddings, and holidays, such as Chinese New Year.

The amount of money in a red envelope depends on the occasion and who is receiving it. During Chinese New Year, small cash gifts are given among relatives and close friends. They are typically given by older family members who have established incomes to younger relatives and children.

When accepting a red envelope, children are supposed to give their blessings for the new year. Parents often receive red envelopes on behalf of very young children, insisting they will "deposit it for them." But whether or not the children will ever see that money again is up to the parents' discretion.    [FULL  STORY]

"Guaidó needs real allies," said Joseph Humire, international security specialist and executive director of the Center for a Free and Secure Society

Panam Post
Date: Jan 28, 2020
By: Sabrina Martín 

Spanish – The interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, is continuing his international tour seeking alliances to defeat the regime of Nicolás Maduro. However, it is clear that on his tour, he should approach those countries that are actually “battling” Russia, China, and Iran, the regime’s main friends.

“Guaidó needs real allies,” said Joseph Humire, international security specialist and executive director of the Center for a Free and Secure Society

Humire stated that the Venezuelan president’s tour is essential, but he should have a clear strategy and remember the famous saying: “the enemies of my enemies are my friends.”

According to the global security expert, Guaidó should approach countries such as Poland, Taiwan, and Israel, which have become the real “enemies” of Russia, China, and Iran. The latter three are Nicolás Maduro’s closest allies.    [FULL  STORY]

The PSLO has made the most of the unique sloping terrain of Ki-Pataw Shan-Tseng-Chi Park to create the multi-layer flower landscape

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/28
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAPEI (Taiwan News) —The visual sensation of the famed Kamifurano flower fields in Japan has been recreated at a new park in Taipei’s Beitou District, the city’s Parks and Street Lights Office (PSLO) said in a news release on Jan. 23.

The PSLO has made the most of the unique sloping terrain of Ki-Pataw Shan-Tseng-Chi Park (北投社三層崎公園) to create the multi-layer flower landscape, which has just recently been made open to the public, the release said. It went on to say that a map had been released showing recommended attractions and places to eat in the neighborhood.

PSLO Director Chen Rong-xing (陳榮興) said that Ki-Pataw Shan-Tseng-Chi Park is situated on the mountain slope across from the Fire Department’s Xiushan branch. The address of the fire station is No. 50, Xiushan Road, Beitou District (北投區秀山路50號).

Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters director Lin Chao-chia (林晁嘉) said that the mountain slope located on the edge of Beitou’s downtown area was turned into a park in 2019 and the flower field was created using more than 90,000 colorful flower pots. Lin added that the plants selected for the Ki-Pataw Shan-Tseng-Chi flower field consist mainly of three species: scarlet sage, wax begonia, and silver ragwort. He added that the bloom would last until the end of February and urged the public to take a look.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/28/2020
By: Hsiao Po-yang, Liu Chien-pang and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Jan. 28 (CNA) Snow fell in mountainous areas of Taiwan on Tuesday as the first cold surge of the winter season hit the country along with abundant moisture from south China, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

As much as 10 centimeters of snow was recorded on Yushan and Hehuanshan as of Tuesday morning, the bureau said.    [FULL  STORY]

ALWAYS LEARNING: Lin Hsiu-Hau called his move from physics into neuroscience a sort of midlife crisis, saying that he wants to learn about how humans tell lies

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 29, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Becoming a full professor might signal the start of an easier work life for some academics, but for

National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) physicist Lin Hsiu-Hau (林秀豪) it means embarking on a new research trajectory — neuroscience.

After receiving his doctorate in physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Lin obtained an academic position at NTHU at 30 and was promoted to full professor at 38 — faster than most academics.

Specializing in statistical physics and spintronics, Lin, now 50, has published nearly 80 research papers, including several that have been cited more than 100 times and one that has been cited more than 350 times.
[FULL  STORY]