Page Three

Purchase of tanks, F-16Vs will boost Taiwan’s defense: ex-U.S. official

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/20
By: Elaine Hou and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's defense capabilities will be enhanced with the acquisition of M1A2

Wallace Gregson (CNA file photo)

battle tanks and F-16V fighter jets from the United States, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Wallace Gregson said Tuesday in Taipei, one day after it was confirmed that the aircraft deal had been approved.

Asked to comment on the U.S.' recent decision to sell Taiwan two separate arms packages, Gregson told reporters that given Taiwan's unique defense problem, tanks can be a valuable addition to its arsenal.

The M1A2 is "a very capable system" with "high cross-country speed — an effective weapons system," said Gregson, who is in Taipei for an international forum on issues related to regional maritime expansionism.

"Similarly, the new F16s will come with systems that will enable Taiwan to build a network defense against missile attacks, both cruise and ballistic," he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Four CUPP members ordered to compensate school

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 21, 2019
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan High Court yesterday ruled that Lee Cheng-lung (李承龍) and three other China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) members must pay NT$220,000 in damages to the Sun Yat-sen Elementary School for smashing two 100-year-old guardian “lion-dog” statues in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) in May 2017.

Lee had told the court that the quartet’s actions were politically motivated by their antagonism toward Japan’s colonial rule of Taiwan, therefore considered protected actions under the principle of free speech.

The judges rejected his argument.

They found Lee, Chiu Chin-wei (邱晉芛), Wang Chi-pin (王啟鑌) and Lu Cheng-yuan (呂承遠) guilty of destruction of public or private property by using a sledgehammer and other tools to damage the statues in front of the school on Chuanyuan Road.

The vandalism outraged local residents, who consider the statues cultural treasures, and was also criticized by historic societies working to promote tourism in Beitou by protecting the district’s Japanese-era landscape and architecture.    [FULL  STORY]

VIDEO: Family Day event at Cabinet a happy occasion

Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 19 August, 2019
By: Paula Chao

The Cabinet held a Family Day event at the office to highlight the importance of children and to thank civil servants for their dedication to their families.

Premier Su Tseng-chang and his family, including his two granddaughters, all attended the event last Friday. There was a magic performance and treats such as egg-shaped cakes and iced pearl milk tea.

About 200 civil servants and their family members attended a Family Day event at the Cabinet on Friday. The youngest participant was a 10-month old baby. Premier Su, a grandfather himself, enjoyed interacting with his young guests. Su was all smiles, waving and bending down to greet everyone.

 Su asked the children: Are you happy to visit your parents’ or grandparents’ workplace? Do you smell the freshly baked cake? Perhaps the most exciting part was the premier promised to give out a red envelope filled with lucky money for each child.    [FULL  STORY][

Taiwan cherry tree given eradication status in Nelson-Tasman plan

stuff.co.nz
Date: Aug 20 2019
By: Cherie Sivignon

TASMAN DISTRICT COUNCIL/SUPPLIED

The Taiwan cherry is a pest tree that can choke native vegetation.

The pretty but invasive Taiwan cherry tree can no longer be propagated, sold or planted in the Nelson-Tasman region. 

Taiwan cherry, or Prunus campanulata, has been given eradication status in the Tasman Nelson Regional Pest Management Plan 2019-29, which came into force on July 1.

Tasman District Council biosecurity and biodiversity co-ordinator Paul Sheldon said that status meant landowners must report the presence of Taiwan cherry and its cultivars on their land within five working days of spotting it, and must organise its removal.

"Our biosecurity staff will be out and about helping residents stop this pest tree from taking over our landscapes," Sheldon said. "It's been spreading through the Richmond Ranges and other areas of scrubland. It's a pest because it forms dense, long-lived stands that choke out our native vegetation."    [FULL  STORY]

National Taiwan University develops smart agriculture

Apex Agri-Intelligence Lab founded at NTU

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/19
By:  Taiwan News

NTU working to develop smart agriculture (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – National Taiwan University (NTU) has joined hands with the drone industry to establish the Apex Agri-Intelligence Lab on Monday (Aug. 19).

NTU's College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture collaborates with Jingwei Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (經緯航太公司), which develops drones, to introduce advanced technologies into agriculture. With this well-equipped lab, the college will hold training sessions on topics such as drones, remote sensing technology, and image analyzing, reported the Central News Agency.

The person in charge of the lab, Professor Liu Li-yu (劉力瑜) of the Department of Agronomy, said that drones can be of great help in spraying and scanning crops. Drones can carry up to 12 kilograms of insecticides at a given time, and it only takes 15 minutes to scan a two-acre field to check the crops for disease and ascertain their growth, according to the Liberty Times.

Luo Zhengfang (羅正方), the founder and chairman of Jingwei, said he was happy to see the fruitful results of three years of hard work. Drones have already been used to monitor the growth of corn, and they could also be applied to wipe out the fall armyworm infestation.    [FULL  STYORY]

Taiwan concerned, but will not intervene in HK protests: president

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/19
By: Yeh Su-ping and Joseph Yeh

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文, right) and former Australian Defense Minister Christopher Pyne.

Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) Taiwan's government is concerned about the months-long pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong but will not intervene, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Monday.

During a meeting with former Australian Defense Minister Christopher Pyne at the Presidential Office, Tsai said the government is concerned and closely watching the protests in Hong Kong as tension continues to escalate over a now-suspended bill that would allow the extradition of criminal suspects to China for trial.

She reiterated her urging that the Chinese government and Hong Kong's leaders should engage in dialogue with the protesters to resolve their differences.

However, she also stressed that the government will not intervene in the affairs of Hong Kong, despite accusations to the contrary by Beijing.    [FULL  STORY]

Number of invasive green iguanas growing

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 20, 2019
By: Chen Wen-chan and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The number of green iguanas in the wild has been increasing, with more than 2,500 removed from

A green iguana basks on the bank of Fengshan River in Kaohsiung on Sunday.
Photo: Chen Wen-chan, Taipei Times

Kaohsiung and Pingtung County alone this year, an academic has said.

The invasive species has spread across Taiwan, said Chen Tien-hsi (陳添喜), a professor at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s Institute of Wildlife Conservation.

Imported into the nation as pets, the iguanas are small at birth, but can grow into “2m monsters,” the Kaohsiung Agriculture Bureau said on Sunday.

Green iguanas do not have any natural enemies in Taiwan, as no native lizard species can reach their size, the bureau said, adding that adult green iguanas have huge appetites, feeding on insects as well as crops.    [FULL  STORY]

Hong Kong Protests Fueling Taiwan Independence, Says Acclaimed Taiwanese Director

Epoch Times
Date: August 18, 2019
By: Nathan Su

Youth in Taiwan supporting Hong Kong protesters. (Curtesy of Chen Wen-Pin)

Santa Clara, Calif.—The mass protests in Hong Kong, which erupted amid widespread fears that a controversial extradition bill would erode the city’s autonomy from mainland China, are having an impact on Taiwan, said acclaimed film director and former head of Taiwan’s Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau, Chen Wen-pin on Tuesday, August 13.

Chen’s comments were made at a meetup event organized by Northern California Taiwan Forum (NCTF).

Many Hongkongers fear that the proposal, which would allow China to seek extradition of criminal suspects, would enable the Chinese regime to place individuals on trial in the mainland, where rule of law is not observed.

Though the bill has been suspended due to public pressure, Hongkongers are still turning out every weekend to demand that the government fully withdraw the bill; investigate the police’s use of force in dispersing protesters; and enact universal suffrage in the city’s elections.    [FULL  STORY]

All Is Well a starry regional tie-up

The suspense drama features actors from Singapore and Taiwan and parallel plotlines and takes on a multi-platform format

Straits Times
Date: Aug 19, 20190
By: Jan Lee

At the press conference for All Is Well are (from top left, clockwise) Ian Fang, Romeo Tan, Elvin Ng, Chen Hanwei, Blue Lan, Desmond Tan, Liu Kuan-ting, Brandon Wong, Joanne Tseng, Zoe Tay, Pauline Lan and Pets Tseng. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Television A-listers from Singapore and Taiwan showed up last Friday to launch one of Mediacorp's most ambitious projects yet.

Suspense drama All Is Well, a 40-episode series that features Taiwanese stars Blue Lan, Pets Tseng and Joanne Tseng as well as familiar local names such as Elvin Ng and Zoe Tay, is the broadcaster's most extensive collaboration with a Taiwanese team to date.

Aside from using actors from Taiwan and Singapore, executive producers and directors are also from both Mediacorp and Eightgeman – renowned Taiwanese director and screenwriter Wang Hsiao-ti's production company – in a bid to expand regional tie-ups.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan public schools to boost promotion of national identity among students

Ministry of Education to amend internationalization program to emphasize 'fostering national consciousness'

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/18
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(File photo from Taipei City Government)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Ministry of Education on Saturday (Aug. 17) announced that it will amend its program of internationalization of public school curriculum. The amendments are reportedly aimed at bolstering national identity among Taiwanese students.

The original plan was introduced in a White Paper introduced by the MOE in 2011, which aimed to internationalize primary and secondary education in Taiwan over the course of a decade and divided into two five-year stages. While most of the plan’s key goals have been met, MOE officials state that “fostering national consciousness” has unfortunately not been made a priority by many educators.

To address this, the MOE’s amended internationalization plan calls for Taiwan’s schools to be regularly evaluated on their performance in cultivating national identity. The MOE will design new evaluation criteria as an indicator for schools to reference in designing their curricula.
[FULL  STORY]