PARTICLES MATTER: Doctor warned that particles in the air can cause lung cancer and that food delivery workers and others who work outside should be aware

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 03, 2019
By: Liao Hsueh-ju and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Doctors on Friday warned that long-term exposure to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is severely

damaging to the human body. The WHO has listed air pollution as the biggest risk to human health.

Ton Yen General Hospital Thoracic Department doctor Hsieh Tsung-hsin (謝宗鑫) said that the hospital recently treated a 51-year-old patient, surnamed Chen (陳).

Chen came to the hospital complaining of a month-long persistent cough in addition to severe migraines, Hsieh said.

The patient was diagnosed with stage 4 lung adenocarcinoma. The cancer cells had also spread to the brain and liver, Hsieh said, adding that the patient is currently under target therapy treatment.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 01 November, 2019
By: Leslie Liao

The air force has decommissioned the last of its UH-1H helicopters. After decades of service, their

The last of Taiwan's UH-1H's were decommissioned[/caption]functions are being taken over by another model.

Earlier this week, the air force bid farewell to its UH-1H helicopters, a model that has been in use in Taiwan for 50 years.

For the decommissioning ceremony, one of the final UH-1H helicopters in service unloaded six special forces members as it touched down. Trailing the old helicopter was one of its new replacements, a UH-60M Blackhawk.

In the next stage of the ceremony, the pilots of the two helicopters disembarked and walked towards one another. The pilot of the older UH-1H helicopter handed over a large D-ring used during rescues to the pilot of the newer Blackhawk, symbolically entrusting the new helicopters with their mission.
[FULL  STORY8]

Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu and former Premier Yu Shyi-kun were among the attendees of the foundation's annual fund-raising dinner

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/11/01
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) and former Premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) on Friday (Nov. 1) attended a fund-raising dinner organized by the Taiwan New Century Foundation (TNCF) in Taipei, showing their support for the organization while calling on the audience to vote for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in the key election next January.

Recalling her first experience in reading a book by TNCF Founder Chen Lung-chu (陳隆志) when she was part of the democratic movement in the late 1970s, Chen said the law professor’s dedication to Taiwan’s independence had inspired a generation of young people.

The normalization of Taiwan’s statehood is an ultimate goal that requires a sense of unity, said Chen, urging the guests to retain faith and support Tsai’s reelection. The government cannot satisfy all people, but Tsai has made a lot of effort in carrying out various reforms left undone by the Kuomintang, said Chen, adding that she has confidence in Tsai’s continual contribution to the country for the next four years.

Yu, who has once chaired the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), expressed gratitude for Chen Lung-chu. His work discussing Taiwan’s independence and statehood has greatly influenced the DPP and Taiwan, said Yu.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/11/01
By: Chiang Chin-yeh and Elizabeth Hsu

Washington, Oct. 31 (CNA) The content of the U.S. Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020 that touches on Taiwan affairs has not been kept in a curtailed version of the bill, which it is hoped will pass legislation by the end of the year.

Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced the "skinny" NDAA for fiscal 2020 "to ensure that critical defense programs are authorized," according to a statement released by Inhofe Tuesday.

The move was made amid intense negotiations and voting on government budget bills for the new fiscal year in Congress before it enters recess in mid-December.

Almost every part of the NDAA related to military cooperation and exchanges with foreign countries, including Taiwan, have been deleted in the 67-page streamlined version, except for parts relating to the militarily and politically tense Middle East.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 31 October, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

The National Palace Museum says it is impossible to remove the connection between its collection and

China.

Cross-strait tensions have made the museum and its collection a focus of debate.

The museum’s Taipei branch is filled with classical Chinese artwork and historical artifacts brought to Taiwan by the KMT government as it retreated to the island during the Chinese Civil War.
[FULL  STORY]

Epoch Times
Date: October 31, 2019
By: Frank Fang

The U.S. Senate and House foreign affairs committee recently passed versions of a bill that would boost Taiwan’s ability to safeguard its sovereignty and fend off Beijing’s intimidation, paving the way toward the legislation’s formal approval.

Taiwan is a full-fledged democracy with its own elected officials and military. However, Beijing views its democratic neighbor as a renegade province that should be united with the mainland, with military force if necessary. Recently, it has pressured Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to drop their ties in favor of the Chinese regime.

The Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act calls for a decrease in U.S. engagements with countries that “undermine ties with Taiwan.”

For example, in September, Taiwan’s longtime allies the Solomon Islands and Kiribati announced that they switched diplomatic ties to Beijing.    [FULL  STORY]

Shipbuilder spent bank loans in China instead

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/31
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taipei District Court awarded the Ministry of National Defense

compensation worth a total of NT$73.19 million (US$2.4 million) Thursday (October 31) in a case involving Navy minesweepers and fraudulent loans, but appeals were still possible.

In September, the chairman of Ching Fu Shipbuilding Co. (慶富造船) was sentenced to 25 years in prison for obtaining the loans and spending them on investments in China. Chen Ching-nan (陳慶男) was also fined NT$105 million (US$3.38 million), and his company NT$280 million.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/31
By: Ku Chuan and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 31 (CNA) Taiwan's Cabinet passed a NT$246.7 billion (US$8.04 billion) special budget Thursday to be spent on the purchase of a new fleet of F-16 fighter jets from the United States amid the rising threat from China.

The budget was passed after the Legislative Yuan first passed a bill Tuesday authorizing the Cabinet to allocate a special budget of no more than NT$250 billion to cover funding for the 66 advanced aircraft in a purchase plan that will stretch until Dec. 31, 2026.

Following the special budget's passage, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said the purchase is of vital importance for Taiwan as it will largely boost the nation's defense capabilities.

The purchase will also boost Taiwan's defense industry if the U.S. agrees to transfer some of the key technologies for the fighter jets to Taiwan, he said.    [FULL  STORY]