Radio Taiwan International
Date: 05 July, 2019
By: Paula Chao

A photo exhibit marking 30 years since the death of democracy activist Nylon Cheng is under way in Taipei.

Cheng committed suicide by setting himself on fire on April 7, 1989. He demanded freedom of speech and called for Taiwan independence under the then-Kuomintang government. He was 41. In memory of Cheng, April 7 was designated as Freedom of Speech Day by the ruling DPP administration in 2016.

The exhibit features 34 black-and-white photographs taken by Pan Hsiao-hsia 30 years ago. The photographer has a strong interest in issues such as human rights, indigenous culture, and social and political movements.

Organizers say they hope the exhibit will encourage people to do soul-searching.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: July 05, 2019 

Artists, fans and officials from Taiwan and overseas take part in the 30th Golden Melody Awards ceremony June 29 at Taipei Arena. (CNA)

A black-and-white short featuring several big name recording artists from Taiwan and abroad expressing a love of music and the Golden Melody Awards opened the 30th edition of Asia’s version of the Grammys June 29 in Taipei City.
 
The clip spotlighted the importance of the annual event in Mandarin-speaking society—a fact further illustrated by the 22,000-plus works vying for 27 GMA honors on offer this year.
 
Taiwan singer-songwriter Jolin Tsai, who won best song for “Womxnly,” was one of the biggest stars of the evening. Local news outlets reported TV viewership of the ceremony peaked when Tsai delivered her acceptance speech.

According to music industry sources, the lyrics of “Womxnly” helped raise awareness of gender equality and LGBTQ issues, and its recognition by GMA confirms the event’s status as a bellwether for societal development in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese come in first in Asia for masturbation experience, frequency

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — More Taiwanese have experience self-pleasuring and report the highest frequency of self-stimulation in Asia, according to a report by Japanese manufacturer of "hygienic sexual wellness items" TENGA.

In its "2019 Self-Pleasure Global Report," 80 percent of Taiwanese surveyed reported having manually stimulated themselves, surpassing South Korea (76 percent), Japan (76 percent), and China (73 percent). The country with the highest percentage of respondents reporting experience with self-stimulation in the world was Spain at 93 percent.

Taiwanese also lead the pack in Asia in terms of frequency of self-pleasuring sessions with an average of 51 percent engaging in the act at least once a week. Japan came in second at 48 percent, followed by China (45 percent), and South Korea (43 percent), while the UK leads the world at 61 percent.

List of countries which masturbate most. (Screenshot from TENGA report)

Respondents in each country reported different kinds of sexual fantasies while self-stimulating. Taiwanese mainly prefer movie stars and TV celebrities, such as Taiwanese actress Lin Chi-ling (林志玲) and American actor Tom Cruise as the objects of their fantasies.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/05
By: Flor Wang and Elaine Hou

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed Friday its efforts to procure M1A2 Abrams tanks and other weapons from the United States and welcomed news that the sale could be announced in the near future.

"We welcome [the news] and hope to get the battle tanks as soon as possible," MND spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said in response to a Liberty Times report that the process to evaluate Taiwan's request to acquire the tank has been completed and Washington is expected to announce approval of the deal soon.

The 108 M1A2 armored vehicles Taiwan wants to buy are meant to replace aging CM-11 Brave Tiger tanks and M60A3 armored vehicles that have served the military for 20 years, and they will be deployed in northern Taiwan, according to the ministry.

In a statement issued June 6, the MND said it had sent requests for letters of offer and acceptance to the U.S. for 108 M1A2 Abrams tanks, 1,240 BGM-71 Tow missiles, 409 FGM-148 Javelin missiles and 250 FIM-92 Stinger missiles, which were being reviewed by the U.S.    [FULL  STORY]

CONFISCATION SANS LAWS? A man told reporters he tried to import Heatsticks, but customs seized them without a clear explanation of what law was breached

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 06, 2019
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should clarify the rules governing imports of heated

tobacco products, so people do not attempt to bring them through customs only to have them confiscated, Democratic Progressive Party legislators Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) and Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said yesterday.

While he does not encourage smoking, the IQOS tobacco heating system is a less harmful alternative to combustible cigarettes, Ho told a news conference in Taipei, citing a review of the product by the US Food and Drug Administration, which found that it produces lower levels of toxins than cigarettes.

Many people who cannot quit tobacco have switched to the new products, which have a much more subtle smell than traditional cigarettes, making them more acceptable for non-smokers, Ho said.

However, some customs officers have confiscated heated tobacco products, even though they were declared, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 04 July, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

The economics ministry has highlighted the economic progress brought about by the Tsai administration's policies.

Taiwan’s economy is in the spotlight after five presidential hopefuls from the opposition KMT prepare to meet for a televised debate Thursday.

As the KMT heavyweights prepare to have their say on economic issues, the economics ministry put out a press release highlighting the economic progress the current DPP administration has achieved.

In the press release, the ministry said that Taiwan’s economic growth rate has gone up since President Tsai Ing-wen came to office in 2016. The growth rate went from 0.81% in 2015 to 3.08% in 2017. The economy has also proved resilient in the face of the US-China trade war, holding up with a 2.63% growth rate last year.

In addition, the ministry said that Taiwan had the second-highest growth rate of the Asian tiger economies during the first quarter of this year.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: July 04, 2019

Taiwan’s passport is the 30th strongest in the world, with holders enjoying visa-free and visa-on-arrival access to 146 countries and territories, according to London-headquartered citizenship and residency advisory firm Hanley and Partners July 2.

In the third quarter update of the Henley Passport Index featuring 199 countries and territories, Taiwan was named one of the “biggest climbers since 2009.” Its plus-24 over the past decade placed it equal second with Albania behind United Arab Emirates in No.1 at plus-41.
 
Japan and Singapore topped the index with visa-free access to 189 destinations, while Finland, Germany and South Korea came in second at 187.
 
Among other Asian countries and territories, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Brunei, Macao and China finished 13th, 19th, 22nd, 36th and 74th respectively    [FULL  STORY]

Donation presented to human rights activist Nadia Murad

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/04
By: Micah McCartney, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI — (Taiwan News) Taiwan has donated US$500,000 to Nadia's Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting communities torn apart by ISIS's reign of terror in northern Iraq.

Taiwan's top representative to the U.S., Stanley Kao (高碩泰), presented the donation on Friday (June 28). Nadia Murad accepted it on behalf of the non-profit at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C., the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

Murad is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and human rights activist who was kidnapped from her Yazidi village in Sinjar, Iraq, by ISIS in 2014. She was held for three months, during which time she was raped and beaten, before managing to escape.

Murad praised the Taiwan government during her keynote speech at the institute. She also presented Kao with a letter of appreciation, expressing her thanks for his country's support.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/04
By: Elaine Hou and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Russian passport holders will be able to stay up to 21 days in Taiwan on visa-free entry, with effect from Aug. 1, under a visa-free program that has been extended for another year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday.

The visa-free stay for Russian visitors has been extended from 14 to 21 days, while the program to allow visa-free entry to citizens of the Philippines, Thailand, and Brunei has also been extended for another year, according to Antonio Chen (陳俊賢), head of MOFA's Bureau of Consular Affairs.

The decision was based on a significant growth in visitor arrivals from those four countries since Taiwan included them in its visa-free entry program on a trial basis last year, Chen told reporters.

He said that in the case of Russia, since its citizens were first granted visa-free entry in September 2018, there have been few reports of visa violations by them in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]