The pair, already granted refugee status, fled Thailand and have been stuck in Taiwan where there are no refugee laws

Asia Times
Date: January 21, 2019
By Asia Times Staff

Chinese dissidents Liu Xinglian and Yan Kefen now find themselves in a unique legal limbo, as they have spent more than three months in a restricted transit area after touching down at Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport in late September.

Liu marked his 64th birthday last Wednesday, with no one but another mainlander who has also filed for asylum status with Taiwanese authorities.

Their case has parallels with that of Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, the Saudi teen who was given sanctuary in Canada, after she stirred up a social media storm to shame Thai authorities against forcibly returning her to a possibly dangerous fate in Arabia, warning that her family would kill her.

Liu and his friend Yan, 44, have applied for asylum in Canada and posted updates on social media from the airport about their plight and helplessness.    [FULL  STORY]

The teenage envoys will be arranged to visit schools and administrative units in these two countries

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/01/21
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Twelve teen diplomatic envoys from three high schools will leave Taiwan for a 12-day, people-to-people, diplomatic mission in Vietnam and the Philippines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a news release on Monday.

MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said Taiwan has close ties with Vietnam and the Philippines, and that he hoped these teen diplomats will further diplomatic exchanges with these two countries during their visit.

The teen diplomatic envoy project co-organized by the MOFA and the Ministry of Education has entered its 17th year this year.

This year, more than 100 schools participated in the competition for representing Taiwan in the diplomatic task, and 17 schools advanced to the finals. In the end, only the teams from three schools were selected.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/21
By: Chen Wei-ting and Flor Wang

Taipei, Jan. 21 (CNA) Three more cases of imported measles have been confirmed in Taiwan, bringing the number of such cases to five since the beginning of the year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Monday.

The figure represents a five-year high during the same period, CDC Deputy Director General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said, warning against travel to Southeast Asian countries, which have seen several outbreaks of the highly contagious disease.

According to Lo, the three women most recently reported to have the measles, aged between 20 and 30, traveled to the Philippines or Vietnam recently.

They developed initial symptoms between Jan. 13 and 15 before red and flat rashes started to spread all over their bodies the following two days.    [FULL  STORY]

The new proposal will push for the release of sixty-six F-16V Block 70 fighters, with an additional six aircraft to replace crashed F-16A/B Block 20s (seventy-two total aircraft).

The National Interest
Date: January 20, 2019
By: by Wendell Minnick

Key point: There are also suspicions in Taiwan that opposition to the sale of a fifth-generation fighter would be raised in Washington over secrecy issues, as mainland Chinese espionage on the island is rampant.

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s air force will cease campaigning for the F-35 Lightning stealth fighter aircraft and will, instead, reissue a request to the U.S. government for F-16 fighters.

The new proposal will push for the release of sixty-six F-16V Block 70 fighters, with an additional six aircraft to replace crashed F-16A/B Block 20s (seventy-two total aircraft).

This is, in part, a resurrection of an abandoned effort to procure sixty-six F-16C/D Block 50/52s killed by the Obama administration due to Chinese pressure. Beijing had dubbed the sale of new F-16s to Taiwan a “red line” and has repeatedly threatened to invade the self-ruled island.

The new campaign will also request co-production and performance-based logistics (PBL) as part of the overall package. PBL would improve combat effectiveness by 80 percent, say Taiwan defense industry sources.    [FULL  STORY]

The district office said the Aowanda park will be decorated by cherry blossoms and colorful spring flowers during the LNY holiday

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/20
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – For those who haven’t decided where to go during the 9-day Lunar New Year holiday, Forestry Bureau’s Nantou Forest District Office recommends National Aowanda Forest Recreation Area, where cherry blossoms are expected to reach their peak bloom during the upcoming long holiday.

The district office said that, during the LNY holiday, the Aowanda park will be decorated by cherry blossoms and colorful spring flowers and filled with vitality displayed by playful birds, squirrels, and butterflies basking in warm sunshine.

Visitors to the forest recreation area will take delight in hiking a trail, sitting on a meadow, breathing deep fresh air in front of a waterfall, or taking in the beautiful mountain scenery from the Aowanda Suspension Bridge, the agency said.

The park will be open during the LNY holiday, except the LNY Eve on Feb. 4, when it will be closed for a cleanup. On Feb. 3, no lodging services will be provided even though the park will remain open.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/20
By: Wu Hsin-yun and William Yen

Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) A Chinese passenger who arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA) from Shanghai has been fined NT$200,000 (US$6,477) for attempting to bring sausages into the country, Taipei Customs officials said Sunday.

The Chinese national, surnamed Zheng, failed to declare the 0.529 kilograms of sausages through customs, the officials said.

To prevent African swine fever (ASF) from reaching Taiwan, the government on Dec. 18, 2018 increased the fines for bringing in pork products from countries with ASF outbreaks, with first offenders liable to a fine of NT$200,000 and repeat offenders fined NT$1 million.

Since then, 63 people had been fined NT$200,000 as of Jan. 19 for attempting to violate the ban, according to data from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ).    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 21, 2019
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

There might be as many as 1 million adults who occasionally binge drink in Taiwan, the

Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said in a survey yesterday, adding that alcohol should be avoided generally.

People should not be misled by claims that drinking in moderation does no harm to the body or that drinking wine in moderation is good for the heart, it said.

While many people still believe that wine in moderation is beneficial for cardiovascular health, newer studies, including one published in The Lancet in August last year, suggested that alcohol use was the seventh-leading risk factor for deaths and disability-adjusted life-years in 2016, and that the overall risk of drinking alcohol outweighs any known benefits, the HPA said.

The WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health published last year showed that more than 3 million people died as a result of harmful use of alcohol in 2016, the HPA said.   [FULL  STORY]