Radio Taiwan International
Date: 02 October, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

When people in Taiwan think of Yanshui, they immediately think of the famous Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival. But the town is also popular for its old street, where old traditions are still practiced and old houses are preserved.

Tainan’s Yanshui District is home to a hundred year old ironsmith that is still open, hammering iron tools the old fashioned way. And it’s far from the only venerable old institution around. A stroll down Yanshui’s old street is a trip back to the era of the Qing Dynasty. Chiao Nan Street was once on an important thoroughfare through the Tainan area. It is now one of Taiwan’s only remaining streetscapes dating from the Qing period.    [FULL  STORY]

RNZ News
Date: October 3, 2019

The US and its allies need to "double down" in light of two countries switching recognition from Taiwan to China, a US Army senior commander in the Pacific says.

Last month, Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition despite US efforts to dissuade them.

Speaking in Palau, Major General Pete Johnson said while every country had a right to make its own decisions, he was hopeful Taiwan's remaining allies would stay with it.

"You know if anything, we need to double down. We need to continue to invest and show the benefits of the like-minded nations across this region that should seek to a different environment than I think what's being promised. We're hopeful that countries like the Republic of Palau continue to stand tall."
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan's Forestry Bureau is encouraging the public to refresh their senses and take a relaxing walk in a national forest park

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/02
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau said it will offer half-price admission to 13 national forest recreation areas during the four-day, Double Ten Day holiday from Oct. 10-13.

The 13 national forest recreation areas are: Taipingshan, Neidong, Dongyanshan, Manyueyuan, Dasyueshan, Basianshan, Aowanda, Alishan, Kenting, Shuangliu, Chihnan, Fuyuan, and Chihnan.

Meanwhile, the Wulai Trolley (烏來台車) in Wulai, New Taipei City, will offer discounted ticket prices of NT$30 during the holiday, the bureau said in a press release.

The nation’s forest recreation areas are abundant in health-enhancing negative ions and phytoncides (a substance naturally produced by plants to fend off germs and bugs). The concentration of negative ions in forests is several times higher than in the city.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/02
By: William Yen and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) The Taiwan International Ports Corporation Ltd. (TIPC) plans to give compensation of NT$5 million (US$160,857) to the families of each migrant fisherman who died when their boats were crushed under a collapsed bridge in Yilan County, a TIPC official said Wednesday.

The bridge above the entrance to the port of Nanfang'ao suddenly collapsed at around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, crushing three fishing boats.

Lin Chien-ming (林健明), TIPC chief secretary, said that the families of each migrant fisherman who have died are expected to receive NT$5 million in compensation, while the 10 injured — including nine migrant fishermen and one Taiwanese driver– will receive between NT$10,000 and NT$36,000.

As of press time, the authorities had found the bodies of five migrant fishermen — three Indonesians and two Filipinos.    [FULL  STORY]

NEW ERA:The NTU team was able to learn more about the ocean with fewer personnel, by using US-made Seagilders that even the military is unable to purchase

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 03, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

A team of oceanographers from National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday unveiled the first

observations of the Kuroshio Current’s interleaving structures made using a Seaglider, a US-made uncrewed underwater vehicle that they hope will usher in a new era for oceanography studies in Taiwan.

While layered hydrographic structures are often observed in waters with less velocity, such as in the Arctic Ocean and currents near the equator, the team is the first to document such structures in the Kuroshio east of Taiwan, NTU Institute of Oceanography director Jan Sen (詹森) told a news conference at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taipei.

As part of its long-term observations of the Kuroshio since 2012, the team operated a Seaglider to complete 434 dives down to a depth of 1,000m from December 2016 to March 2017 and obtained high-resolution hydrographic data, Jan said.

They found that two dissimilar water masses within the 500m to 800m part of the Kuroshio do not blend quickly; rather, their contact gives rise to interleaving layers with varying salinity levels and temperatures, revolutionizing their concepts about the Kuroshio, the hydrological layers of which are not as smooth as they had presumed, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 01 October, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

Tuesday, October 1 is the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, China’s National Day. In

his national speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that he would adhere to the “one country, two systems” for Hong Kong and Macao and maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. Xi also called for the peaceful development of relations with Taiwan and to continue to fight for full reunification of the country.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Spokeswoman Hsueh Cheng-yi said, “Chairman Xi is unilaterally asking that Taiwan accept ‘one country, two systems’ and ‘peaceful reunification’ and has not considered the wishes of the 23 million people of Taiwan. Taiwan has already established its democratic system, so the people of Taiwan cannot accept Xi Jinping’s statements.”    [FULL  STORY]

Deadline
Date: October 1, 2019
By: Tom Grater

The nominations for this year’s Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan were unveiled Tuesday, with no Chinese films in contention amid the political fallout from last year’s ceremony.

Now in their 56th year, the awards have traditionally been seen as among the most prestigious for Chinese-language film. But tension bubbled over last year after Taiwanese filmmaker Fu Yue said onstage during an acceptance speech that she hoped Taiwan could be regarded as “independent.”

China classifies Taiwan as a renegade province rather than a separate country, and, according to various reports, authorities declared that China’s actors, directors and producers would not be allowed to submit to year’s Golden Horse Awards.

Instead, this year’s nominees list is largely composed of Taiwanese films, with a handful of features from Hong Kong and elsewhere also up for prizes. Taiwan’s Detention, John Hsu’s thriller, leads the pool with 12 noms including Best Narrative Feature, Best New Director, Best Leading Actress and Best New Performer.    [FULL  STORY]

Failure of suspended cables suspected to be factor in bridge collapse in NE Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/01
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After the sudden collapse of the Nanfang'ao Bridge in Taiwan's northeastern county of Yilan today (Oct. 1), the structure's steel cables are at the center of the initial investigation.

As of 1 p.m., the Ministry of the Interior's National Fire Agency said that of the 10 people requiring hospitalization, six were Filipinos, three were Indonesians, and one, the truck driver, was a Taiwanese citizen.

Up to six fishermen are still believed to be trapped beneath the bridge inside their fishing boats. Divers have reportedly heard knocking sounds apparently coming from inside the boats, and Marines have been dispatched to the scene to aid with the rescue.

As for the reason why the bridge suddenly imploded, the initial assessment is that its vertical suspension cables, known as "hangers," snapped, causing the bridge's deck to plummet six stories below. After the collapse, badly frayed cables could be seen strewn across the deck of the bridge.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/01
By: Hung Chien-lun and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) "Gemini Man," the latest film by Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee (李安), is scheduled to make its Taiwanese premiere in Taipei on Oct. 23.

Lee will be joined by lead actor and Hollywood megastar Will Smith as well as producers Jerry Bruckheimer and David Ellison for a three-day promotional tour of the country from Oct. 20-22.

Originally scheduled for Oct. 25, the release date was moved up by two days to coincide with the director's birthday.

"Gemini Man" tells the story of a middle-aged assassin (Will Smith) being pursued by a younger assassin, who he discovers is quite literally a younger version of himself.    [FULL  STYORY]

NEWS CONFERENCE: Twelve lawmakers have signed a petition launched by the groups, with several saying that everyone could do more to help protect animals

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 02, 2019
By: Hsieh Chun-lin and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Ahead of World Animal Day on Friday, several animal rights groups yesterday launched a petition to

have animal protection written into the Constitution, among other legal changes.

They are calling for animal rights to be guaranteed by the Constitution; the institutionalization of compensation for injured animals; establishing a standing animal protection task force; legalization of humane rescue efforts; transparency of information regarding the treatment of animals in scientific research; the legalization of animal-friendly husbandry and the legalization of the promotion of vegetarian diets.

Taiwan Animal Protection Administrative Oversight Alliance secretary-general Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) told a news conference in Taipei that 12 out of 113 legislators have signed the petition so far.

About 11 legislators took part in the news conference to lend support to the signature drive, including Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄), who brought their pets.    [FULL  STORY]