Lai said the president is being evasive about respecting the result of the DPP’s primary election, adding public opinion matters most

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/06/08
By:  Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held its first

and only televised policy presentation for the party’s two presidential primary contenders, on Saturday (June 8).

The incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former Premier William Lai (賴清德) both expressed their views on how they will lead Taiwan if they are elected as president. They each answered questions from experts after giving a speech.

In a press conference after the event, Lai said he was disappointed that Tsai refused to promise she would accept the outcome of the primary if he wins. He also challenged the “one plus one equals more than two” formula proposed by Tsai, when she called for joint efforts and unity among party members.

“If she is the first ‘one’ in the formula, who is the second ‘one’?” asked Lai.

When asked whether she would support Lai in the 2020 presidential election if she loses the primary, Tsai replied, “As a member of the DPP, I must follow the party’s decisions. Is my answer not clear enough?”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/08
By: Stacy Hsu

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) called for party unity in the

Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) primary debate Saturday, while her sole challenger, former Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德), said winning is the most important thing for the DPP in the 2020 election and that he believes he is the best person to lead the party to victory.

The debate, which took place in the Chinese Television System building in Taipei 2:00-3:30 p.m., attracted heavy media attention because it was the first time in the DPP’s history that an incumbent president seeking re-election had faced a challenge from within their own party.

Some DPP supporters were worried that the primary, regardless of who prevails in the end, could split the party and further reduce its chance of winning the 2020 presidential and legislative elections.

“Today, I would like to again say to brother Ching-te with sincerity that our enemies and opponents are not on this stage, nor are they DPP supporters who have chosen opposite sides in the party primary,” Tsai said in her closing remarks.    [FULL  STORY]

Saturday June 8 TV presentation is only one ahead of June 10-14 opinion polls

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/08
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The two rivals for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP)

presidential nomination, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and ex-Premier William Lai (賴清德), presented their views and responded to questions from experts Saturday (June 8).

The 90-minute event, broadcast live on CTS but also streamed online, is the only opportunity the two rivals will have before opinion polls to be conducted from June 10 through 14 will determine the final candidate for the January 2020 election.

After an opening speech by DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) calling for solidarity once the choice had been made, Tsai and Lai gave a short presentation.
Lai insisted Taiwan was already a democracy where the people decided who ruled the country.

At this most difficult moment, when Taiwan and the DPP faced tough times, he could just not sit idly by and watch the party lose power and Taiwanese democracy lose its sovereignty, the former premier emphasized.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/08
By: Lee Shien-feng and Chung Yu-chen

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) Tens of thousands of people crowded Hualien City in eastern Taiwan Saturday to support Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo- yu’s (韓國瑜) 2020 presidential bid.

Despite temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, Han, a strong presidential candidate from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), attracted supporters from across the nation.

Hualien Magistrate Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) took the stage to root for Han.

According to the rally organizer, more than 150,000 people gathered, mostly dressed in red and waving Republic of China flags.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 09, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Obtaining a rapid HIV self-testing kit has become more convenient, with online orders now

available for collection at local convenience stores, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Friday.

There are two types of rapid testing kits, one that tests saliva and the other blood, and people can purchase them at designated locations or have them sent to the convenience store of their choice, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.

Previously, the blood testing kit could only be bought at 408 designated locations nationwide, leaving the saliva kit as the only one available to be ordered online and collected at a convenience store, he said.

The rapid self-testing kit costs NT$200, but there is an additional NT$45 charge for delivery to convenience store chains Family Mart, OK Mart or Hi Life, the centers said.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 07 June, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

For five couples in Yunlin County, this is a big day. Decades after they got married, they are finally getting the chance to put on suits and wedding gowns and have some photos taken. All of these people are now in their 80’s and missed the chance to have a wedding photo shoot when they were first married.

A group of vocational students majoring in fashion has helped make it all possible. These students have made up the brides. For some of the old ladies, it was their very first time ever putting on makeup. The students also prepared bouquets of handmade roses for the occasion.

At the end, a photographer took pictures of the grooms kissing the brides on the cheeks with the red Meilin Suspension Bridge in the background. All were married long ago, but the wait for these wedding photos was worth it.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: June 6, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier  

The 75-year-old wife of a deputy director of a hospital in Kaohsiung City was beaten up by a thug last Friday, but the incident was not related to a hospital board election she was about to attend, a suspect told police after his arrest, Tuesday, June 4.

At around 8:00am, Friday, May 31, Kaohsiung City police received a report from eyewitnesses that an elderly woman had been beaten up by a man dressed in black in a carpark in Lingya District.

According to reports including China Times, the man approached the woman and asked, “Are you Mrs Ruan (阮)?”

After Mrs Ruan replied, “yes,” the man then assailed her with a weapon described as “a wooden stick”, by China Times, and “an iron bar,” by Apple Daily.    [FULL  STORY]

A three-day flight and accommodation package starts at US$308

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/07
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Department of Information and Tourism of Taipei City is taking part in the Hana Tour International Travel Show at KINTEX in Gyeonggi Province of South Korea between June 7 and 9 to promote “Undiscovered Taipei.”

A brochure containing information about travel in the capital of Taiwan as well as coupons valid until the end of December are being given away to visitors at the trade show. It is part of the city’s effort to boost its tourist appeal and lure people from the fourth largest inbound visitation market for Taiwan.

The Undiscovered Taipei campaign recommends five areas of Taipei worth a visit, which are Beitou hot springs, Dadaocheng, the northern corridor, Wanhua District, and the National Taiwan University neighborhood. These areas boast volcano landscapes, hot spring baths, boutiques, bookstores, rejuvenated historic blocks, and renovated old house attractions.

As an incentive, Taipei has also joined hands with China Airlines to offer a three-day flight and accommodation package starting at KRW338,300 (US$308). The first 200 individuals to book a ticket will receive presents including a Taipei Sightseeing Bus pass, a 48-hour MRT pass, and other vouchers.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/07
By: Wang Shu-fen and Emerson Lim 

Taipei, June 7 (CNA) Holiday exodus resulted in traffic congestion on the southbound lane of national freeways beginning Friday morning, as the nation welcomed the long Dragon Boat Festival weekend, according to the Freeway Bureau.

The Nangang-Toucheng section of National Freeway No. 5 was congested with traffic as early as 6 a.m. Friday, with the average vehicle speed limited to 40km per hour, the Freeway Bureau said.

The average speed was the same in the Shiding-Toucheng section as of 5:30 p.m., beyond the expected congested period of up to 4 p.m., the Freeway Bureau said.

Other national freeways also saw vehicles accumulated in the morning, among them National Freeway No. 1 and No. 3. However, the situation gradually improved in the afternoon.    [FULL  STORY]