Tainan chapter of People to People International organization visits Brisbane in Australia to talk about the possibility of hosting 2021 Asia Pacific Cities Summit

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/09
By: Judy Lo, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Tainan chapter of People to People International organization (PPTI) visited Brisbane, Australia to talk about the possibility for Tainan City to host Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum in 2021, reported the Liberty Times on Thursday, May 9.

Led by the head of PPTI Tainan Chapter, Cha Ming-bang (查名邦), the delegation visited Brisbane for seven days. It received a warm welcome from the Taiwanese community, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brisbane, and the Brisbane City Council.

The delegation will brief the Tainan City government about the application process for hosting the Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum in 2021, said Cha.

In his speech at the dinner party, Cha mentioned that overseas compatriots played a key role in economic and diplomatic development for Taiwan. He called on them to continue supporting Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/09
By: Yeh Su-ping, Wen Kui-hsiang, and Ko Lin

Taipei, May 9 (CNA) Former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Thursday attended a book-signing session for his memoir at a fundraising banquet hosted by the Ketagalan Foundation in Taipei, but he declined to shake hands or pose for photographs with his supporters throughout the entire course of the event.

Accompanied by his son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), Chen arrived using a cane at Denwell Hotel, the venue in the city’s Dazhi District, and headed straight to a guest room reserved for VIPs before the start of the day’s event.

The former president, who suffers from neurological problems, has been on medical parole since Jan. 5, 2015. According to parole regulations, Chen has to apply to the Taichung Prison if he wants to leave his residence to attend outside activities.

(Chen Shui-bian, center, and his son Chen Chih-chung, second right)

Chen submitted an application recently to attend the Ketagalan Foundation banquet, and approval was granted by the prison. However, Chen must abide by the parole agreements signed on Jan. 5, 2015 and the “Rules of Control for Inmates for Receiving Out-of-Prison Medical Treatment on Bail.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 10, 2019
By: Chiu Chun-fu and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Criminal Investigation Bureau’s 7th Investigation Corps on Wednesday said it had

arrested a couple suspected of operating a scheme that defrauded people of more than NT$20 million (US$646,078).

Police said that they on Jan. 30 arrested the couple — a man surnamed Liu (劉) and a woman surnamed Peng (彭) — as well as 14 other people linked to the scheme.

The man had been using the nicknames “doctor” and “universe,” and the woman went by the name Anna, they said.

They claimed to be responsible for a company called Pei Tou Information Technology Group, and targeted retired people and housewives over the age of 50, police said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 08 May, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

A new state-of-the-art cultural and music center will be going up soon in Kaohsiung. The project’s backers aim to create the most dazzling building anywhere in the southern port city.

The Maritime Cultural and Popular Music Center in the city of Kaohsiung is slated to be completed by August next year.

Construction of the complex presented builders with big technical challenges. The hexagonal structures specified in the design make this a complicated structure to build.
[FULL  STORY]

The country is slipping back into formal democracy only: Yang

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/07
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan is facing the risk of turning into a democracy in name

only, harking back to practices from Martial Law and from Communist China, columnist Yang Sen-hong (楊憲宏) wrote for Fount Media.

With the help of modern technology, lies and rumors have made a comeback into Taiwan’s democratic election system, the veteran publicist wrote in his opinion piece. Over the past years, the most worthwhile evolution had been the prominence of free and fair election, with vote buying and ballot tampering almost disappeared, however, they now seem to be making a comeback, threatening to influence opinion polls.

Yang mentioned the example of President Chiang Kai-shek telling Hu Shi that “democracy is very good, but it should not interfere with dictatorship,” in other words, voting is acceptable, as long as the winner of the election is.

He added that the situation today was not the same, as critical opinion pieces like his still were allowed to appear in the media, but he nevertheless warned that a gradual move toward formal democracy was possible.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/08
By: Lin Yu-li and Frances Huang/
Huang Hsin-ya (黃心雅, left), director general of MOST’s Department of International Cooperation and Science Education / Photo courtesy of MOST
Berlin, May 8 (CNA) Taiwan and the Czech Republic on Tuesday held their sixth conference to discuss technology exchanges in areas such as artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles, Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) said.

The conference was hosted by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TACR) in Prague and attended by Czech representatives and a Taiwan delegation led by Huang Hsin-ya (黃心雅), director general of MOST’s Department of International Cooperation and Science Education.

During the Czech-Taiwan Technology Days conference, MOST and TACR agreed to launch a joint call for technology development programs, starting from the end of June, while the Taiwan delegation signed an agreement with the Czech Academy of Science on mutual visits, the ministry said.

In addition, the MOST-funded Intelligence Manufacturing Systems Research Center also signed a cooperation agreement with the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics to kick off cooperation in the areas of AI and smart machinery development.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 07 May, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Professional tree-climbing is a coveted job that pays well. Recently the National Taiwan University forest in central Taiwan’s Nantou County has hired professional tree climbers to pick Assam tea leaves and leaf buds.

At National Taiwan University’s forest in Nantou County, there are more than 300 tea bushes that supply leaves for making Assam tea. Each is over 60 years old, and the tallest reaches 10 meters high. They are so high that during harvesting season each year, professional tree climbers have to be called in to pick the tea buds.

Climbing trees for a living is lucrative, but it isn’t easy at all. Professional climbers must hold a cable firmly with both hands, moving upward step by step with all their tools attached to their waist.

One tree climber says a scary part about the job is hanging off the side of trees while picking fresh tea buds. There are no sturdy branches that can be used for support during this process.    [FULL  STORY]