TAIPEI PROSECUTORS:CMMT  vice chairperson Yeh Mei-li and four others have been named as suspects, while nine more have been questioned as witnesses in the case

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 18, 2019
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) officials and police yesterday raided six

locations in the greater Taipei area as part of an investigation into suspected fraud and money laundering by a top executive of Cheng Mei Materials Technology (CMMT).

CMMT, which manufactures polarizers and other optoelectronics components, is a subsidiary of Chi Mei Group.

Taipei prosecutors coordinated the raids with the bureau and police and served summons to 13 people, including CMMT vice chairperson Yeh Mei-li (葉美麗), for questioning regarding the alleged transfer of about NT$260 million (US$8.43 million at the current exchange rate) into private hands.

Yeh’s residence and the offices of companies that she controls were among the sites searched.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 16 April, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

A budding young lion dancer performs for the sea goddess, Mazu.
The sea goddess Mazu inspires great reverence in Taiwan. When temples carry her statue in religious processions, the result is often an outpouring devotion, prayer, and generosity.

Such was the case when one Mazu procession recently wound its way through central Taiwan.

During the annual Baishatun Mazu procession, the sea goddess Mazu is in charge. The palanquin-bearers who carry her statue believe she guides them, directing their path and controlling when they stop and go.

As she moved through the central county of Yunlin not long ago, she took notice of one of her youngest devotees. This two-year-old lion dancer stood before her palanquin, and she stopped for two minutes to watch the performance.    [FULL  STORY]

Chinese military aircraft flew over the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait on April 15 as part of a military exercise.

The Diplomat
Date: April 16, 2019
By: Franz-Stefan Gady

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) conducted a long-range military drill involving Xian H-6K bombers, a Shaanxi KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AWAC) aircraft, a Shaanxi Y-9JB (GX-8) electronic warfare and surveillance plane, as well as Su-30 and J-11 fighter jets near Taiwan and Japan on April 15.

The PLAAF aircraft reportedly passed through the Bashi Channel, a strategically pivotal waterway between the Philippines and the Taiwanese island of Orchid connecting the South China Sea with the western Pacific Ocean. Some also flew through the Miyako Strait, situated between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako in the East China Sea.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD), four PLAAF H-6K bombers and one Y-9JB (GX-8) returned to their base in southern China via the Miyako Strait. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) scrambled fighter jets to intercept the PLANAF aircraft in response; Japanese airspace was reportedly not violated.

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[FULL  STORY]

MND announces emergency public alert systems to be tested May 27-30, coinciding with Han Kuang exercises

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/16
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) will be conducting

air raid drills at the end of May, a spokesperson for the ministry has announced.

From May 27 to May 30, all regions of Taiwan are instructed to be on alert for the 42nd Wan An Exercises (萬安四十二號), which include tests of the country’s air raid alert system. The regions include the North, Central, South and East regions of the main island, along with outlying islands of Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu.

Over the four day period, the MND will be testing the country’s “Airspace Threat Alert System” (空中威脅告警系統) to simulate advance warning of incoming missile attacks. The “Disaster Prevention Warning System” will also be tested.

As part of the exercise to ensure national preparedness, the public will be notified by the alert system through their mobile phones.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/16
By: Miao Zong-han and Ko Lin 

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Chinese or any other foreign nationals who intend to visit Taiwan to engage in pro-Beijing propaganda or activities that undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty will not be welcome in the country, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) warned Tuesday.

The statement came following recent media reports that certain groups of people from China and abroad plan to visit the country in late April to advocate unifying Taiwan with China by means of force and engaging in activities of a political nature.

In order to safeguard national security and social stability, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has instructed all relevant government agencies to pay close attention to the issue and if necessary, ban such people from entering the country, the MAC said.

The government does not welcome Chinese nationals who totally disregard Taiwan’s opinion on cross-Taiwan Strait issues while touting Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “five principles” for managing cross-strait relations and his “one country, two systems” formula for Taiwan, it added.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 15 April, 2019
By: Paula Chao

EPA to ban supply of plastic straws in July at drinks stores (CNA photo)
Starting July, disposable plastics straws will no longer be available at drinks stores island-wide. That’s part of the government’s plan to protect the environment.

Starting on July 1st, you will no longer find plastic straws at schools, department stores, shopping centers, government agencies and fast food chains in Taiwan. It’s part of an Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) policy to help cut down on plastic use.

One fast food chain — McDonalds – has acted quickly; starting on April 22, Earth Day, its 75 stores in Taipei will stop providing plastic straws.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s upcoming military exercises put Air Force and Navy to test in simulation of Chinese attacks

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/04/15
By: Iris Hsu,Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Air Force and Navy are set to carry out the annual Han Kuang military exercises from May 27 to May 31 in the country’s eastern territorial waters and airspace, simulating a Chinese invasion by aircrafts and warships.

An unnamed official from the Ministry of Defense told Liberty Times that due to the scope of the restricted areas, the Ministry has informed the United States, Japan, and other allies about the exercises through existing channels.

The five-day drills will include two public exercises, an emergency landing/takeoff exercise on the highway based air-strip in Huatan Township in Changhua on May 28, and a life-fire anti-landing exercise in Pingtung on May 31.

The joint exercise is designed to counter China’s growing aggression towards Taiwan. The official pointed out that China has been flying military aircraft close to the eastern seaboard, even entering Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), threatening Taiwan’s combat readiness.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/15
By: Chen Wei-ting and Chi Jo-yao

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) Taiwan’s testing process for acute human immunodeficiency virus

(HIV) infection has been streamlined as 12 hospitals across the country began on Monday to offer final HIV diagnoses within an hour, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The new “one-stop” anonymous rapid HIV testing service, which detects HIV antibodies in the blood, gives a preliminary result in 20 minutes.

Patients who test positive for the virus then receive a second test immediately that gives a final result within 30 minutes, meaning the process is completed inside an hour, Huang Yen-fang (黃彥芳), chief of the CDC’s division of chronic contagious diseases, said Monday.

Treatment for HIV-positive patients can begin the same day, Huang said at a press conference promoting the new process that 12 hospitals in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung have started to provide.    [FULL  STORY]