A columbarium space is worth NT$20,000 (about US$650), and half price means volunteers can save up to NT$10,000 when they need it

Taiwan News   
Date: 2019/03/21 
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A township in Taiwan’s eastern county of Taitung is offering a bizarre and ghastly way to reward its citizens who volunteer their time and services in the township: public columbarium spaces for their burial at half-price, Central News Agency (CNA ) reported on Wednesday.

Chihshang Township Council (池上鄉) on Wednesday passed an ordinance to offer rewards to citizens who volunteer to help with public services in the township. The ordinance is designed not only to reward volunteers, but also to encourage citizens, especially retirees, to participate in volunteering, CNA reported.

The ordinance provides that volunteers with 1,000 accumulated hours of service will be given a “Chihshang honorable volunteer card,” with which they are eligible to receive 50% discounts on commodities sold by the township office, including public columbarium spaces, as well as township-organized activities.

Township council chairman Jiang Xin-gui (江鑫貴) said that the township really needs volunteers to help with assisting government agencies, cleaning the environment, helping run activities, participating in rescue efforts, and assisting in traffic control, to make the township administration more efficient.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/21
By: Flor Wang, Rita Cheng and Liang Pei-chi

Washington, March 20 (CNA) Visiting Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation Wednesday in which he shared his views on how Taiwan should deal with its relations with China.

Stressing that Taiwan must deal with China wisely at a time when cross-Taiwan Strait communication has been stalled, Ko said that “for cross-strait relations, my idea is to deal with the small countries, you should be kind. To deal with the big countries, you should be wise.”

However, the biggest problem between Taiwan and China now is the lack of mutual trust between the two sides, Ko contended.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has insisted on dealing with China based on the so-called “1992 consensus,” which it defines as both sides recognizing there is only one China but having the freedom to interpret what “one China” means, he said.
[FULL  STORY]

WORKING HOLIDAYS: Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chairman Chiou I-jen said that the program enhances cultural understanding between the two nations

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 22, 2019
By: Peng Wan-hsin and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The annual quota for young people joining the Taiwan-Japan working holiday program is

to be doubled from next month, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association said yesterday.

The association, which represents Japanese interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, made the remarks at a news conference in Taipei to mark the 10th anniversary of the program.

Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chairman Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) said that Taiwan is grateful for the Japanese government and the Japanese association’s decision to boost the quota to 10,000 for each side.

The program enhances genuine cultural understanding between the two nations by giving young Taiwanese first-hand experience of living and working in Japan, Chiou said.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 20 March, 2019
By: Paula Chao

The chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Cho Jung-tai, says the party

might need more time to choose a presidential candidate. Cho was speaking Wednesday during a radio interview.

The party has unexpectedly found itself with two strong contenders for presidential nominee. President Tsai Ing-wen announced plans to run for reelection in February. Then on Monday, former Premier William Lai registered for the party’s primary, a move thought to be a challenge to Tsai’s incumbency.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: March 21, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier

A great white shark measuring over 4 meters long was delivered and sold at a fish market in Su’ao Township, Yilan County today, March 20, after being caught as bycatch off the northeast coast of Taiwan.

The shark weighed in at 1170 kilograms and was sold by auction at a price of NT$50 (US$1.62) per kilogram for a total of NT$58,500 (US$1,898.90).

The buyer, named as “Taiwan Ocean Art Museum” in various reports, appears to be a company engaged in marine taxidermy.

A researcher from Academia Sinica’s Biodiversity Research Center, Dr Jeng Ming-shiousaid it is the biggest specimen of great white that he has ever seen.
[FULL  STORY]

The 15 km bikeway runs along the left embankment of the Annong River

Taiwan News   
Date: 2019/03/20 
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – “Sansing” (三星鄉) — the mentioning of the name immediately evokes the images of green scallion and fried pork (卜肉), a delicious local delicacy, with which the name of the township in Taiwan’s northeastern county of Yilan has come to be associated.

However, for people who like outdoor activities, what do they come here for besides eating crispy scallion pancakes and fried pork? The answer could lie in the Annong River Bikeway (安農溪自行車道).

The 15 km bikeway runs along the left embankment of the Annong River between the upstream Lanyang Power Plant (蘭陽電廠) in Sanxiang and the downstream Waizaiwai Bridge in Luodong Township.

While riding along the bikeway, cyclists can enjoy idyllic scenery surrounding the bikeway that is dominated by paddy fields, scallion fields, and luxury cottages, as well as verdant mountain ranges in the distance.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/20
By: Chen Chi-fong, Stanley Cheung and Chung Yu-chen

Kaohsiung, March 20 (CNA) Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said Wednesday that the primary purpose of his upcoming trip to China is to boost Taiwan’s economy, and he will not talk about politics during the seven-day visit.

According to an itinerary provided by the Kaohsiung City government, Han will visit Hong Kong on March 22, Macao on March 23, Shenzhen on March 24-25, and Xiamen on March 26, before returning to Kaohsiung on March 28.

Asked about the trip, the mayor, a member of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), said he will not breach the line drawn by the Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan’s top China policy-making body.

On the question of who he will meet during his visit to China, Han said he will respect China’s arrangements.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Times
Date: Mar 21, 2019
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Two suspects were detained after raids in New Taipei City late last month led to the

seizure of 76 bricks of heroin, based on surveillance by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) of a Thailand-based smuggling ring, Criminal Investigation Bureau officials announced yesterday.

Raids of sites in Wugu District (五股) led to the confiscation of 29kg of heroin with an estimated street value of NT$150 million (US$4.86 million) and NT$2.42 million in cash, said Chen Tso-lin (陳佐霖), deputy chief of a squad at the bureau’s Drug Enforcement Center, at a news conference at the CGA’s headquarters in Taipei.

One of the suspects is a 56-year-old Taiwanese man, surnamed Kao (高), whose import-export business in Thailand had fallen on hard times, while the second is a 38-year-old Thai national known as Sreenak, who entered Taiwan on a tourist visa in October last year, Chen said.

Kao’s company was heavily in debt and a local drug syndicate, interested in establishing more contacts in Taiwan, had reportedly recruited him with the promise of a big payday upon a successful smuggling run, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 19 March, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Taiwan and the United States have jointly set up a new forum called the Indo-Pacific

Democratic Governance Consultations.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and American Institute in Taiwan director William Brent Christensen announced the launch of the forum at a joint press conference Tuesday. The American Institute in Taiwan is the de facto US embassy in Taiwan.

Wu said the forum underscores the partnership between the two sides, and will help maintain freedom and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The two sides will forge closer and more direct cooperation to push for shared core values such as human rights, democracy, and good governance in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Wu.     [FULL  STORY]

• Senior Washington official will take part in discussions in September, according to US ‘ambassador’
• Announcement follows heightened pressure from mainland China

 

Date: 19 Mar, 2019
By: Associated Press

Taiwan and the US will hold talks later this year as part of upgraded efforts to counter Beijing’s growing pressure on the island for unification.

The talks planned for September in Taipei will include a senior official from Washington, William Brent Christensen, the de facto US ambassador to Taipei, said on Tuesday.
Christensen did not say whether the consultations were meant to provoke mainland China or push it to make changes. The US has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing but maintains strong ties with Taipei though the American Institute in Taiwan, its de facto embassy, which has recently undergone a major upgrade in facilities.

“We believe it’s possible to have a good relationship with Taiwan and a good relationship with China at the same time,” Christensen said at a news conference. “Things we do with Taiwan should not be regarded as things that we are doing because we are seeking to provoke China or vice versa.”    [FULL  STORY]