Lin made his fortune in Saudi Arabia and built a Middle Eastern palace on the Yilan coast

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Businessman Lin Shao-wen (林昭文), known as Taiwan’s “Arabian King” due to a palatial mansion in Middle Eastern style he built on the island’s northeast coast, died at the age of 83, reports said Thursday (May 2).

As a young man, he made his fortune in Saudi Arabia before returning to Taiwan and founding the Yoai Department Store in Yilan City in 1997, the Central News Agency reported.

The store would eventually close down in 2016, but by that time Lin had gained prominence due to the building of a grandiose white palace in Arabic style along the coast in Waiao, a neighborhood of Toucheng, also in Yilan County.

While closed to the public, the structure was clearly visible from the nearby coastal road and railway line, and became a popular spot for wedding photos. From the beach behind the palace, visitors could also view Turtle Island (龜山島), one of the region’s main landmarks.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/02
By: Liu Kuan-ting, Wen Kuei-hsiang and Emerson Lim

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) tendered

his resignation as presidential advisor Thursday, citing rifts with the Presidential Office over his alleged support for China’s “one country, two systems” proposed framework for unification with Taiwan.

Soong, who recently returned from a trip to China, was quoted by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency earlier this week as saying he agreed with the “two systems” proposal put forth by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as a solution to the Taiwan issue.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Soong said he never mentioned the term “one country, two systems” in any interview during his visit to China, which began on April 15.

Furthermore, he did not suggest using the Hong Kong model to handle cross-Taiwan Strait relations, Soong said, adding that the purpose of his trip was to talk about economic issues, not politics.    [FULL  STORY]

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

President Tsai Ing-wen has reviewed the government’s progress in reforming labor laws over the past year.

On Wednesday, Tsai marked Labor Day, meeting with model workers at the Presidential Office.

Tsai said that the past year has seen the minimum monthly wage rise to NT$23,100 (US$750). Meanwhile, the hourly minimum wage for part-time workers has risen to NT$150 (US$5).

Tsai also pointed to improvements in workers’ rights over the past year. She said a revision to the Labor Standards Act that cleared the Legislature in April protects the rights of dispatch workers. Another law passed last year improves the process through which workers can sue their employers.    [FULL  STORY]

The arrival on the political scene of a brash China-friendly billionaire has alarmed pro-independence supporters and put foreign governments on notice.

Financial Review
Date: May 1, 2019
By: Michael Smith, China Correspondent

Taipei |Taiwanese billionaire Terry Gou made a bizarre debut to the island state’s

presidential election race. Taiwan’s richest man,  who made a fortune manufacturing iPhones from his factories in China, declared a Chinese sea goddess came to him in a dream and told him to run for the nation’s highest office.

The arrival on Taiwan’s political scene of the brash founder of manufacturing giant Foxconn alarmed pro-independence supporters, who fear it is a sign that economics will triumph over democracy in an election crucial to determining Taiwan’s future.

It also comes as tensions between Washington and China over Taiwan escalate. Two US naval vessels were sent through the Taiwan Strait over the weekend in what was seen as a strategic challenge to China by the Trump administration.

Foxconn chief Terry Gou is worth an estimated $US4.3 billion. His candidacy is further evidence that economics will play a big role in the January elections. Bloomberg
Gou, who is often compared to the flamboyant US President, has extensive business interests in China where many of his company’s factories are located.
[FULL  STORY]

Passersby frightened off by the haunting face that appears to loom out of the rear window

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/01
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A “ghost face sticker” in the back window of a car has been scaring passersby in Taiwan.

The blue automobile in a parking lot at Miaoli District Prosecutors Office has been spooking people, Central News Agency reported on Wednesday (May 1). Looking in the car’s rear window they can see what appears to be a sinister female ghost – though it’s really a sticker.

CNA said prosecutors and judges felt uncomfortable walking by the car. Reports added that some visiting business people were so stupefied on seeing the terrifying visage that one called out, “My heart just stopped beating!”

The prosecutors office said the car has been parked in the same position for more than two months. Miaoli police said they could not issue a parking ticket because it is in a parking lot belonging to a government institution.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/01
By: Chen Wei-ting and Emerson Lim

Taipei, May 1 (CNA) An Indonesian migrant worker in central Taiwan has been diagnosed

with Chikungunya fever, the first case in Taiwan this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Wednesday.

The woman developed a fever and runny nose on April 26, during a six-week visit to her home country with her husband, also an Indonesian working in Taiwan, CDC deputy director-general Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) told reporters.

The couple was stopped by airport inspectors upon her return to Taiwan on April 28, he noted.

Follow-up tests confirmed that the woman was infected with Chikungunya virus, Chuang said, adding that she most likely contracted the disease in Indonesia because the virus has an incubation period of 3-7 days.    [FULL  STORY]

SHARING ECONOMY? The Tourism Bureau has proposed raising the fine for illegal hotel and B&B operators, many of whom advertise on online platforms such as Airbnb

Taipei Times
Date: May 02, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

Lawmakers yesterday urged the Tourism Bureau to step up its crackdown on operators of

illegal daily room rentals, including those posted on the popular online platform Airbnb.

The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday reviewed amendments to the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例) proposed by the bureau and lawmakers.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) and Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) focused their questions on the bureau’s proposed amendments to Article 55 to Article 55-1 of the act, which would impose harsher penalties on illegal hotel and bed and breakfast operators.

These include a fine of up to NT$2 million (US$64,714) and repeated fines if the illegal act persists.    [FULL  STORY]

NATIONWIDE: Plum rain fronts usually arrive in northern Taiwan before reaching south, but this year, the first front is to affect the entire nation in the first half of this month

Taipei Times
Date: May 01, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

This year’s plum rain season is to be warmer than usual, while rainfall amounts are likely

to be within the normal range, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.

The plum rain season generally occurs in May and June, and is named after its coincidence with the ripening of plums in southern China, the bureau said.

Heavy rains during the season are caused by stationary fronts that hover above southern China, Taiwan and Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, it added.

A typical plum rain front is formed when the atmosphere is influenced by the southwest monsoon, Weather Forecast Center Director Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) said.  [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 30 April, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

A Taiwanese army captain has just become the first member of Taiwan’s armed forces to finish all six of the world’s major international marathons.

From Boston to Tokyo, he has been chasing his dream of finishing each of the “big six”, and holding up Taiwan’s flag at the finish line. Now, with the London Marathon, his mission is complete.

27-year-old Captain Ge Peng-hsin knows a thing or two about endurance. As an army captain and former member of Taiwan’s combat frogmen, he has been through his share of brutal training.

On Sunday, his physical strength and mental toughness paid off as he achieved a major goal- finishing the Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo, and London marathons.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: April 30, 2019

Taipei and Belmopan established sister city relations April 29 to boost cultural, environmental, trade and tourism ties between the capitals of Taiwan and Central American diplomatic ally Belize.

The agreement was concluded by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and Belmopan Mayor Khalid Belisle at a ceremony in the northern Taiwan metropolis. According to Taipei City Government, the pair agreed to seal the partnership while attending the 33rd International Mayors Conference Feb. 24-28 in Israel.

Speaking at the signing, Ko expressed thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for helping build bridges between TCG and municipal authorities in Belmopan. With this year marking the 30th anniversary of Taiwan-Belize diplomatic relations, this accord will help further expand people-to-people exchanges between the two sides, he added.

According to Ko, Taipei boasts a cutting-edge information and communication technology sector and is committed to sharing its know-how in fostering related industrial development with Belmopan. New tie-ups in this field will help bolster Taipei’s profile overseas and strengthen the living environments for the people of both cities, he said.
[FULL  STORY]