FMT News
Date: August 4, 2019

SIBU: The Sarawak Taiwan Graduates Association has urged the Ministry of Health to clear the air about whether a bachelor’s degree in dentistry from eight Taiwanese institutions of learning is recognised by the federal government.

The association’s adviser, Dr Hu Chang Lek, said a statement by Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye recently had raised confusion.

‘’We want to ask Dr Lee (Boon Chye) why he stated in the newspaper recently that Bachelor degrees in dentistry from the institutions of learning (in question) have never been recognised (by the Malaysian government). Prior to this the government has given its recognition,’’ he told a media conference here today.

He said that the Public Services Department had stated in a letter dated 3 Feb 1996 that it had agreed to recognise the medical and dental qualifications from eight Taiwanese universities.
[FULL  STORY]

Speeding on e-bike can be punishable by a fine ranging from NT$900 (about US$30) to NT$1,800

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/04
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — E-bike riders who like to do over 25 kilometers per hour or who don’t like to wear a helmet are advised to beware of a proposed regulation amendment that could affect their pocketbooks.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) announced that it is planning to amend regulations to make speeding and not wearing a helmet on an e-bike finable, Central News Agency reported on Sunday (Aug. 4).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/04
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Taiwan has issued its highest-level travel advisory in its three-tier system for four Southeast and South Asian countries after a record high number of imported chikungunya fever cases from those countries were reported in Taiwan.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Sunday it has issued the Level 1 travel advisory for chikungunya infection for the first time, warning against all non-essential travel to Myanmar, Maldives, Thailand and India — countries where the virus was imported into Taiwan since July.

A Level 1 travel warning advises that precautions should be taken when visiting the countries listed, including obtaining the relevant vaccines and ensuring protection against mosquito bites.

Taiwan reported in July the first indigenous case of chikungunya fever in the country's history and samples of the chikungunya virus were found to contain sequences of the gene identical to those of the virus strain from Myanmar this year, according to the CDC.   [FULL  STORY]

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

The 2019 Comic Exhibition opened on Thursday and will last through next Monday.

Now in its 20th year, the showcase will feature 1,200 booths from 130 companies. At the venue, some comic book publishers hired models dressed up in cosplay costumes of characters from comic strips to lure customers to their booths. A wide array of merchandise spanning online games and toys are offered at the event. The fair is expected to draw more than 560,000 visitors and rake in US$6.4 million in sales.    [FULL  STORY]

The Daily Mail
Date: 2 August 2019
By: AFP

More than 70 members of Taiwan's presidential security detail have been swept up in a cigarette smuggling scandal, the island's spy agency announced Friday, as its chief took the unusual step of appearing in public to vow a crackdown.

The scandal first erupted last month when the customs administration said that an agent within President Tsai Ing-wen's entourage tried to bring in 9,800 cigarette cartons as he returned from an official trip accompanying the island's leader to the Caribbean.

The agent pre-ordered the cigarettes online in Taiwan, stored them at an airport warehouse, and then planned to smuggle them past customs onto government vehicles as Tsai's motorcade left, authorities said.

It soon emerged that the scam was far from a one-off after China Airlines released figures showing huge amounts of duty-free cigarettes were routinely ordered during presidential visits, both for Tsai and her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou's trips abroad.    [FULL  STORY]

Online streaming platforms deleted the material after it had been reportedTaiwan News
Date: 2019/08/02
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Chinese television series is facing punishment for not including the island of Taiwan in Chinese territory on a map that appeared in its episode, adding to the list of entertainment items being censored by the Chinese authorities.

Netizens reported that the drama, titled “Go Go Squid!,” included an animated map in its 39th episode showing Taiwan in a different color from China.

The map in the series is used to demonstrate a cybersecurity competition held in Shanghai. On the map, different countries and regions are painted in different colors. In addition to Taiwan, Hainan Island and the disputed areas of South Tibet and Aksai Chin were also marked by different colors from China.

China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, an official agency handling cartography and its censorship, said the government would look into the matter and charge those responsible with the suspected violation of laws, reported United Daily News on Thursday (August 1). It is unclear what punishment the production crew may face.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/02
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) Thirty agricultural students and people involved in the business will soon head to Thailand and India as "Young Agricultural Ambassadors" to help Taiwan build closer ties with those countries.

The 30 ambassadors, chosen from 117 candidates, recently completed a three-day training program and were given a send-off ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Friday before departing for Thailand and India in mid-August in separate groups.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), which co-sponsors the program with the Council of Agriculture (COA), would not give their exact dates of departure.

It said participants will tour agricultural establishments and farms and visit academic institutions, industry players and agricultural officials during their trips, but further details of their activities were not available.    [FULL  STORY]

STILL RUNNING: Wang Jin-pyng said that Han Kuo-yu has plenty of potential running mates, while he himself still has a part to play in next year’s election, ‘come what may’

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 03, 2019
By: Wang Jung-hsiang, Huang Hsin-po and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday confirmed that he had

turned down an offer to be Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) running mate in next year’s presidential election.

Wang, who bowed out of the KMT primary prior to Han being named its winner, made the remarks in response to media queries on the sidelines of an event at National Tainan First Senior High School.

“I have said before that I will run in the election come what may; that is still true,” Wang said. “Heaven knows what will happen … but I am a man of my word.”

Han has a large pool to pick from for his running mate and should focus on making a decision that supplements his own campaign, Wang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 01 August, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung says there has been a significant jump in the number of Hong Kongers applying for Taiwanese visas and residency permits this year.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Hsu said numbers have been especially high since the end of March. That’s when the Hong Kong government began considering a bill that would allow extraditions from the territory to China. The bill has sparked massive protests and led some residents to look to the exits amid fears about Hong Kong’s future.

The interior minister said that in April, the number of Hong Kongers applying for visas and residency permits was nearly 54% higher than it was in

April last year. The number of applications fell in May, but was back up again in June, with a volume 55% higher than in June last year.

Meanwhile, Hsu said the visa approval rate for Hong Kongers this year is 57% higher than it was last year.    [FULL  STORY]