Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 19 December, 2019
By: Jake Chen

Vacuum cleaners poses health threat: Doctor (CNA Photo)[/caption] A doctor has pointed out that using vacuum cleaners could lead to higher concentration of dusts and particulate matters that could harm the health of people in the room.

Robot vacuums are increasingly popular in Taiwan because of the convenience they offer busy people. However, these cleaners may have unseen consequences on their owners’ health.

A doctor at Fu Jen Catholic University’s College of Medicine says that a robot’s spinning brushes spread dusts and other particulate matters in the air. All these particulate matters cannot be completely absorbed by the vacuum.

PM2.5, a kind of particulate matter small enough to enter directly into the lungs, poses a particular danger. The doctor says that PM2.5 concentrations double in the room after a robotic cleaner has finished cleaning it up.    [FULL  STORY]

Sputnik Internatinal
Date: 22:04 19

The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense has condemned an ex-legislator who recently revealed critical details pertaining to the Republic of China’s military defense systems.

Former Taiwanese lawmaker Chiu Yi appeared on China Central Television’s “The Two Sides of the Strait” earlier this week and divulged that back in October, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen ordered several Kestrel rockets be delivered to “fortify” her office in case of a “decapitation strike,” according to the Taipei Times.

Chiu, who is a member of the pro-reunification New Party, explained that Tsai’s order for the Military Police Command to deploy the indigenously-made rocket launchers was made to calm her “deep-seated fears” and ultimately defend prominent officials.

“While reports said the missiles would help defend government complexes and the people, they were intended to protect only President Tsai and her cohorts,” he said, as reported by the outlet. He added that while the Kestrel rockets are described by some as anti-tank missiles, they are incapable of piercing China’s Type 98 and Type 99 tanks.    [FULL  STORY]

Palau a key ally for Taiwan in Pacific region: Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/19
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) is visiting Palau from Dec. 28-30 in

celebration of the 20th anniversary of Taiwan’s diplomatic relations with the Pacific ally.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) made the announcement on Thursday morning (Dec. 19) at a press conference held at the Presidential Office. According to Hsu, Chen will lead a delegation to Palau on behalf of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the end of the year.

During the three-day trip, the vice president will hold meetings with Palauan President Tommy Remengesau Jr. and Vice President Raynold Oilouch, said Hsu. Chen will also meet with Faustina Rehuher-Marugg, the Pacific island nation’s defense minister, Hsu said.

In addition to a banquet celebrating 20 years of diplomatic relations, the delegation will take part in a series of events marking the friendship and close ties shared by Taiwan and Palau. Chen will also meet with the Taiwanese technical mission's diplomats and staff as well as the overseas Taiwanese community, added Hsu.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/19
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) Twelve hotels in Taiwan, rated as five-star or international tourist class, were found earlier this year to be in violation of food safety standards, and fines were imposed accordingly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.

The FDA said it tested 116 food products at 58 hotels between April and July this year, and checked whether their food services were in compliance with two food management systems — Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Good Hygiene Practices (GHP).

The tests found that bean curd strips at Palais de Chine Hotel in Taipei contained hydrogen peroxide, a bleaching agent and anti-bacterial compound, while noodles at Papago International Resort in Taitung contained benzoic acid, a food preservative, the FDA said.

The suppliers of the two food items were each fined NT$30,000 (US$986), according to the FDA.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 20, 2019
By: Jake Chung  /  Staff writer, with CNA

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has sent inspectors to investigate the finances of the Chang Jung

Girls’ Senior High School in Tainan after school dean Tai Chih-hsun (戴智勳) confirmed that the school is on the brink of insolvency and cannot pay its faculty.

In August, the school’s board of directors declared a salary cut, which led to the dismissal of two board members: Wang Chao-ching (王昭卿), who doubled as the school’s dean, and Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), the deputy minister of the interior.

Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told reporters yesterday that he and K-12 Education Administration Director-General Peng Fu-yuan (彭富源) agreed to dispatch a task force to the school as soon as possible.

The school has a decent record and 3,000 students, Pan said, adding that the ministry hopes to bail out the school after gaining a better understanding of the situation, as high-school education is tuition-free.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 18 December, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

Taiwan to adopt new earthquake intensity scale[/caption] Taiwan sits on shaky ground. Every year, there are earthquakes here, both big and small. In addition to measuring the size of earthquakes with the usual magnitude scale, Taiwan also has a scale of its own used to measure shaking intensity. Come January 1, this scale is set to get a big overhaul.

In the moments after an earthquake hits Taiwan, people flood the internet with searches for how powerful the shaking was. They often get two answers- the earthquake’s magnitude, familiar to people around the world, and also the earthquake’s local intensity.

News reports will list affected areas and give each a number from one to seven based on how intensely the ground shook there. It’s used by the Central Weather Bureau and found only in Taiwan. Crudely speaking, you’ll feel a three and worry about a four or five. Anything bigger than that, and you might find yourself in big trouble.

But the scale isn’t perfect. For instance, five and six on the scale are both much broader than the other intensities, and so calling an earthquake a five or a six doesn’t really tell people much. The director of the Central Weather Bureau’s Seismological Center, Chen Kuo-chang, says that fives can be a disaster, but often aren’t.    [FULL  STORY]

Epoch Times
Date: December 18, 2019
By: Nicole Hao

A popular Youtuber in Taiwan known for his videos on humorous flirting advice has lost his access to China after he addressed the Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen as “president” in a recent video.

Chen Chia-chin, known by the moniker “Potter King,” on Dec. 14 posted a video on Facebook and Youtube of him trying his pickup lines on Tsai during a visit by the president to his media startup. During the interaction, Chen repeatedly refers to Tsai as “president,” which is in fact her title.

The video went viral, garnering more than 4 million views on Facebook within three days, with most users commenting on how humorous it was.

But Chen’s Chinese talent agency, Papitube, did not see it as a laughing matter. The agency demanded Chen take down the post, not use the word in his videos, canceled his contract, and locked him out of his Weibo account, a Chinese Twitter-like platform, without his permission, Chen wrote in a Facebook post on Dec. 15.    [FULL  STORY]

More than 20 percent of NTU's endowment portfolio is in such industries

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/18
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Taiwan University (NTU) will divest its endowment funds from high-polluting industries by the end of 2020, becoming the first university in Asia to do so, according to its student association.

The National Taiwan University Student Association (NTUSA) Department of Sustainability said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Dec. 17) that the management of Taiwan’s most prestigious university promised on Nov. 28 to adopt a new principle on which to carry out investment plans.

That principle involves the withdrawal of funds from high carbon-emitting industries. It also requires the establishment of an investment assessment mechanism to take into account a company's corporate social responsibility and performance regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues as well as adherence to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment.

The move has been hailed as a milestone in the student association's three-year push for a more environmentally conscious approach to the school’s finance operations. Currently, up to 22 percent of NTU's investment portfolio is in high emission sectors, according to the NTUSA Department of Sustainability.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/18
By: Flor Wang, Wang Cheng-chung and You Kai-hsiang

Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Wednesday in a live policy presentation on TV that her main challenger in the 2020 presidential election does not have the qualities needed to serve as head of state.

Tsai said the rhetoric from the campaign of Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who is also mayor of Kaohsiung, has been discriminatory, emotional, divisive and at times misleading.

For example, Han has made the claim that "many people around President Tsai are corrupt," she said, adding that he should explain why two of his wife's close friends were appointed to head the culture and tourism bureaus in Kaohsiung.

Tsai, who is seeking a second term in the Jan. 11, 2020 presidential election on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ticket, also noted that Han has promised to revive the disbanded Special Investigation Division (SID) to probe allegations of corruption among senior government and military officials.    [FULL  STORY]