Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 13 May, 2019
By: Andrew Ryan

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is set to convene in Geneva next week. Participants will include health officials from almost everywhere in the world – everywhere that is, except Taiwan.

Taiwan participated in the annual meetings of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) governing body for many years as an observer. But China has blocked Taiwan’s participation since 2017.

The US, the UK, Japan, Canada and the EU have already voiced support this year for Taiwan’s participation. On Monday, Taiwan’s medical professionals held a press conference to speak out on their own behalf.

“Taiwan should be allowed to join the WHA”. That was the call on Monday from twenty local medical groups, including the Taiwan Medical Association. They’re pushing for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly which begins on May 20 in Geneva.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/13
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) A magnitude 4.9 earthquake jolted northeastern Taiwan at 4:55 p.m. Monday, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the quake was located at sea about 12.1 kilometers east of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 88.2 km, the bureau’s Seismology Center said.

The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in several areas in Yilan, New Taipei, Hsinchu and Taoyuan, where it measured 3 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale.    [FULL  STORY]

Ex-premier William Lai kick-starts Project Soapbox to share political views with general public.

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/05/13
By: Judy Lo, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Presidential hopeful William Lai kick-started his Project Soapbox in front of Keelung Railway Station on Monday afternoon (May 13).

Together with actor and impersonator Kuo Tzu-chien (郭子乾), Lai announced the start of his round-the-island tour in a minivan. Wanli District (萬里) in Keelung City is the starting point.

If you see Lai’s minivan, take a photo, check in on Facebook, and hashtag “William Lai is the only candidate that I would support” (唯一支持賴清德). If you do so, you will get a free cup of coffee.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/13
By: Lung Po-an and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Taiwan’s Lin Li (林立) and his partner Giulia Giacoppo of Italy ranked third in the final of the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) Asian Cup for adult standard in China’s Guizhou Province Sunday, earning them a bronze medal.

The Lin-Giacoppo pair represented Taiwan in the regional dance sport event held in Duyun City, coming in behind two Chinese pairs in the final, according to the results published on the WDSF website.

The duo’s next contest will be the WDSF Gram Slam tournament, scheduled to take place June 1-2 in Taipei, Chinese Taipei DanceSport Federation Secretary-General Peng Yen-ming (彭彥鳴) revealed Monday.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 14, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan’s long-term technological competitiveness could be undermined by a decline in

government funding for basic university research, Minister of Science and Technology (MOST) Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) warned yesterday.

Basic research lays the foundation for technological innovation and industrial transformation, Chen said at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee, adding that he hopes lawmakers would unfreeze some of the ministry’s funds.

The amount in the national budget allocated to technology has grown from NT$94.2 billion (US$3.03 billion) in 2010 to NT$115 billion in this fiscal year, the highest in 10 years, Chen said.

However, the percentage of funds allocated to basic research has fallen from 10.2 percent of the national budget in 2008 to 7.8 percent in 2017, the lowest over the period, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

NEW MEANING: Taiwanese have always felt for victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, but now are also scared for themselves, the TAUP vice president said

Taipei Times
Date:\ May 13, 2019
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

Civic groups from Taiwan, Hong Kong and North America are to hold a series of events

to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre starting from Saturday, the New School For Democracy (NSD) said yesterday.

The events include a three-day academic conference, a photography exhibition and candlelight vigil, concerts, art installations and talks to commemorate the massacre’s victims and celebrate freedom of expression, the NSD said at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

Groups organizing the events with the NSD include the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP); Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, Labour Party and Civic Party; and the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were part of the third wave of global democracy movements that helped shape Taiwan’s democracy, NSD chairman Tseng Chien-yuan (曾建元) said.    [FULL  STORY]

A live performance from the collaborating artists is scheduled for 2 p.m. on May 12

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/12
By: Lyla Liu, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — “Zero Gravity Universe” (無重力星空), a collaboration between British and Taiwanese artists, is the latest exhibition to showcase at Songshan Cultural Park in Taipei.

The new creation is one of a series of “Lab Experiment Plan” (Lab實驗啟動計劃) events recently launched at the park. It aims to explore art in an unlimited space rather than exhibiting artists’ imaginations towards the universe, Songshan Cultural Park explained.

Zero Gravity Universe is a collaboration between the British artist Wolfgang Buttress, the cross discipline team “BE”, which comprises musicians and scientists, and Taiwanese artists Fujui Wang (王福瑞)and Shu-Jian Chen (陳淑強). The team have projected their imagination of the distant universe across the venue using electronic devices and large-scale installations.

Chen’s installation piece Rendezvous Ⅱ (際會2) is the most apparent feature of the project when walking into the venue; an enormous collage of cotton strings and laser light projections. Buttress, BE and Wang will give a musical performance inside the sculpture on Sunday.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/12
By: Luke Sabatier and Emerson Lim

Taipei, May 12 (CNA) In a message the government-controlled Chinese media has played down, a top Beijing official has warned Taiwan that the United States will not be able to preserve Taiwan’s security and that time is on China’s side in cross-Taiwan Strait affairs.

In a brash speech on Friday at the fourth annual gathering of media organizations from China and Taiwan, Wang Yang (汪洋), chairman of the 13th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, boasted of China’s might.

While China is planning 100 years into the future, Wang said, Taiwanese authorities cannot even guarantee what will happen two years from now.

“Therefore, we are confident in saying that both time and momentum are on our side, the side of mainland China,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: May 11, 2019
By: Phillip Charlier

A postman in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township was treated for bite injuries and a sprained ankle, after a pit bull suddenly jumped off the back of a truck and attacked him yesterday, May 10.

The postal worker named Zeng (曾), was approaching an intersection on Cheng-gong Road on his postal motorcycle when a black pit bull bitch, one of two dogs on the back of a truck stopped at a red light, leaped off the tray and attacked.

Video footage of the incident shows the dog barking excitedly as it spots the postman approaching from the rear, then attacking as the motorcycle is beside the truck.

Zeng jumped off his motorcycle and let it fall as he attempted to fight off the attack. At the same time, the driver of the truck quickly came to the postman’s assistance.
[FULL  STORY]

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Ibis has more than 50 hotels in Australia, room rates start from £53 

Daily Mail
Date: 11 May 2019
By: Daily Mail Reporter

Finding planning that perfect holiday a hassle? The Holiday Guru is here to help.

This week Taiwan, budget hotels in Australia and holidays that cater to an interest in Greek mythology are the hot topics.

Q A recent TV programme about Taiwan made me interested in the fascinating island. How can I plan a trip? Mr M. W. Belton, Birkenhead.

Want a cheap trip to Taiwan? Try Regent Holidays or Travel Republic
A selective Asia organises tailor-made holidays. Direct return flights (13 hours, 45 minutes) are from about £700. With three-star hotels, an eight-night circular tour is from £3,000pp, taking in Taipei, the bustling capital (home to the brilliant National Palace Museum), the rugged east coast, Kenting National Park and the remote temples of Alishan (01273 760 001, selectiveasia.com).

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