Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/12
By: Liu Lee-jung and Yu-Chen Chung

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) A Russian tour group praised Taiwan as a country well worth visiting after 11 days of exploration, some even saying they plan to return.

Taiwan’s government has sought to strengthen ties with Russia and introduced a 14-day visa waiver for Russian nationals on Sept. 6, 2018, which runs until July 31, 2019.

Following the arrival of four groups of Russian tourists in September and October last year, the current tour group arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 31, and kicked off an 11-day round-the-island tour with the New Year’s Day fireworks at Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan.

According to tour guide Lu Po-chi (陸伯琦), the group started in Taipei and then headed to Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) in Nantou, Alishan mountains (阿里山) in Chiayi, Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery (佛光山) in Kaohsiung, Kenting (墾丁) in Pingtung.    [FULL  STORY]

LUNAR NEW YEAR: Blood transfusions increased by 35,700 last year, leading to a critical shortage this month, and the holidays could see stocks fall to a minimum

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 13, 2019
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Blood stocks in greater Taipei yesterday equaled only about a six-day supply, the Taipei

Blood Center said, adding that stocks usually drop during the Lunar New Year holiday and it encourages people to donate blood before then.

The Taiwan Blood Services Foundation on Jan. 3 reported a critical shortage of blood in Taipei, saying that stocks of three blood groups had plummeted to less than a three-day supply, the lowest reserves in two decades.

It yesterday said that the level has increased to about six days.

The center and the Rotary Club of Taipei at a blood donation event at Warner Village Cinema in the city’s Xinyi District (信義) encouraged people to “roll up their sleeves” to help others.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: January 11, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier

A Taiwanese woman was intercepted entering the country from China via Kinmen today with 24 live gerbils wrapped in stockings and taped to her lower legs.

Customs and Quarantine, along with Coast Guard officers, are currently vigorously inspecting people entering Taiwan via the “three links” in Kinmen County, in an attempt to prevent African Swine Flu spreading from China to Taiwan.

Officers at the Shuitou Customs Clearance Center spotted a middle-aged woman with an unusual body-shape, acting suspiciously, and walking with a strange gait this morning. Upon inspection it was found that the woman had 24 gerbils taped to her lower legs.

Despite the high-profile and well-publicized inspections, the 61-year-old Taoyuan resident, Ms Wu, had been hired to smuggle the animals into Taiwan with a promise of RMB60 (NT$273) per animal, according to Wu’s testimony.    [FULL  STORY]

Let’s check out the top five news this week

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/11
By: Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) –Top news this week includes 84% of Taiwanese do not accept ‘1992 consensus’; Taiwanese earning less than NT$30,000 per month exempt from tax in May; Taiwan among top 10 travel destinations for 2019; 44 international scholars release open letter to democratic Taiwan; Taiwan extends relaxed punishment for foreigners who overstay visa.

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/11
By: Lee Hsin-Yin, You Kai-hsiang and Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) Nauru President Baron Divavesi Waqa on Friday voiced support for

Taiwan and said he opposes the “one China, two systems” formula devised by China to bring Taiwan under its control.

During a press conference in Taipei, Waqa, who is on a five-day state visit to Taiwan, said his island country in Micronesia has been a loyal friend and family of Taiwan, and “you fight for family.”

“And that is what Nauru will do and will continue to do, and especially in my term as president,” Waqa said.

Waqa was responding to a reporter’s question about what he thinks of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) rejection of Beijing’s proposal to adopt the “one China, two systems” model in Taiwan, and whether Nauru will stick by its ally Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 12, 2019
By: Chien Hui-ju  /  Staff reporter

More than 500 hog farmers who planned to stage a protest against the Council of

Agriculture’s (COA) policy regarding the use of leftovers in feed have dropped their plan, after they came to an agreement with council officials on Thursday.

The Young Hog Farmers Alliance earlier this month said it would stage a protest in Taipei on Thursday next week to push the council to ban the use of leftovers in pig feed to prevent the transmission of African swine fever.

COA Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城) previously said that the council was hesitant to impose such a ban, because it was concerned that the disposal of leftovers would become another problem, and its priority was to ensure that farmers disinfected leftovers as required.

Farmers are required to heat leftovers at 90°C for at least one hour, the council said.
[FULL  STORY]

Despite the ascendance of Tsai ally Cho Jung-tai to DPP chair, the president still presides over a house divided.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/01/10
By Charlie Lyons Jones

Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost November’s elections in a landslide due to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)’s failure to control her own party. The defeat was followed by questions about who will lead the DPP into the presidential elections in 2020.

After electoral losses and a leadership struggle, disciplining the DPP remains as crucial for Tsai now as it was before November’s elections. Her electoral strategy was based on a reasonably accurate assessment of the fault-lines that have been developing both within Taiwan and the DPP.

While in Australian or British politics the left-wing is “red” and the right-wing is “blue,” the distinction in Taiwan is between the “green” DPP that generally supports Taiwan independence and the “blue” Kuomintang (KMT) that tends to promote unification with China. The DPP has also supported progressive issues such as gay marriage, while the KMT has conversely adopted more conservative policies of late.

Within Taiwan’s “green” DPP, there are three factions that have been hardening under the leadership of Tsai Ing-wen    [FULL  STORY]

During the soft opening from Jan. 18 to Jan. 31, Shen’ao Rail Bike will offer reduced-price tickets to riders

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/10
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Shen’ao Rail Bike, which runs along an abandoned train track on Taiwan’s north coast, will begin soft opening and charging fees on Jan. 18, after a trial operation ends on Jan. 17, according to a news release posted on New Taipei City Travel website on Thursday.

Riding the rail bike along the 1.3km route is free during the trial operation, and thus far a total of 4,000 people have ridden the rail bike, the release said. However, reservations for riding during the remainder of the trial operation period have reached capacity, according to the release.

During the soft opening from Jan. 18 to Jan. 31, Shen’ao Rail Bike will offer reduced-price tickets to riders, with the price for a one-way ticket being NT$100. Riders can choose to start from the Shen’ao station or the Badouzi station.

Six riding sessions are scheduled for each station every day, and riders must make an online booking two days before riding, according to the document.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/10
By: Claudia Liu and Flor Wang

Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) said on

Thursday that it was considering adopting measures to require the disclosure of serious offenses committed by people in the academic sector as part of government efforts to wipe out wrongdoings in academia.

Speaking at a ministry meeting, Minster of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said the ministry was mulling new measures to mandate the disclosure of all wrongdoings by academics unless they are minor infractions.

Chen made the statement after Chen Kuen-feng (陳昆鋒), 49, an attending physician at the Department of Medical Research of National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital, was found by the ministry to have repeatedly used others’ research findings, photos and depictions in 10 of his theses.

Chen said his ministry had actually probed Chen Kuen-feng’s case last year, and parts of its investigation were already made public afterwards. But due to the objections of the screening committee, Chen Kuen-feng’s name was not revealed at that time, he explained.
[FULL  STORY]

TOO LATE: Officials said that more than 2.5 tonnes of creamer past the due date were mixed in with other products and had already been consumed by the time of discovery

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 11, 2019
By: Fang Chih-hsien and Huang Chien-hua  /  Staff reporters

At least 2,513kg of expired creamer made its way into supermarkets and spread to karaoke bars, beverage stores and breakfast stores, the Kaohsiung Department of Health said yesterday.

“Non-dairy creamer SPD20,” which expired on July, 27, 2017, was allegedly relabeled with new expiry dates, after which a Kaohsiung trading company mixed it with other creamer products, repackaged it and sold it to downstream businesses as “AAA-grade creamer,” “Dutch creamer” and “rose-flavored creamer” in 1kg and 25kg packages, the department said.

Acting on a lead from an informant, prosecutors and investigators working with the department on Dec. 26 raided warehouses belonging to Easecom Trading Co (易洲公司) in the city’s Lingya (苓雅) and Ciaotou (橋頭) districts, where they seized 8,441kg of creamer, as well as account ledgers.

Prosecutors Wu Shao-chin (吳韶芹) and Chu Wan-chi (朱婉綺) summoned seven defendants and witnesses for questioning.    [FULL  STORY]