Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/07
By: Huang Li-yun, Pan Chih-yi, Wu Jui-chi and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 7 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) on Monday

denied reports that some of its confidential information may have been leaked to China through the theft of trade secrets from the Taiwan subsidiary of German chemical giant BASF.

TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, acknowledged that it is one of BASF Taiwan’s clients but said their cooperation did not lead to a leak of trade secrets from the semiconductor company to China.

The theft also did not impose any material impact on the company, TSMC said in a statement in response to local media reports that it was affected by the theft of BASF trade secrets.

BASF produces chemical solutions used in semiconductor manufacturing processes and supplies electronic materials to leading semiconductor manufacturers in Taiwan and abroad, including TSMC.    [FULL  STORY]

PLANNING FOR HOLIDAYS: Fluctuating temperatures led to more people falling ill, which affected donations, while demand has been increasing, a donation center said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 08, 2019
By: Su Chin-feng, Liao Hsueh-ju and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Blood donation centers nationwide are boosting their efforts to encourage donations as

Taiwan faces a shortage in blood supplies.

The nation is short on all types of blood, but supplies are especially low for types A and O, Wu Meng-ta (吳孟達), the head of the Taichung Blood Center’s donor recruitment section, said on Saturday.

The shortage was caused by fluctuating temperatures — which led to more people falling ill and being unable to donate — a decline in the number of donors aged 17 to 20 and increased demand, he said, adding that people with sleep deprivation cannot donate blood.

Cold and rainy weather over the past few days has also discouraged donors, Wu said.
[FULL  STORY]

46.53 million passengers transited through Taoyuan airport in 2018

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/06
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Passenger traffic at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport increased by 3.69 percent in 2018 to total 46.53 million passengers, reported CNA.

The airport’s operator, state-owned Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC), said the new passenger record suggests Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy is working.

The rise in passenger traffic is largely attributed to increasing popularity of budget airlines, as well as relaxed visa requirements for citizens of some Southeast Asian nations.

TIAC said that budget airline traffic increased by 12.05 percent last year, and passengers from New Southbound Policy targeted countries increased by 9.84 percent. The corporation added that Chinese passengers also increased by 1.91 percent in 2018.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 07, 2019
By: Wang Jung-hsiang  /  Staff reporter

Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau Director Pan Heng-hsu (潘恆旭) yesterday said the name

for this year’s Kaohsiung Lantern Festival, the Golden Milky Way (金銀河), was inspired by Su Huan-chen (素還真), a character from Pili Budaixi (霹靂布袋戲) — a TV series based on traditional Taiwanese puppet theater — after the name was criticized as “tacky.”

The name is meant to invoke the vibrancy of puppetry, and describes the way the lanterns and the Milky Way reflect in the Love River (愛河), Pan said.

“Golden” is also a reference to fortune, implying that the city would grow more prosperous, he said.

The festival’s name sparked heated debate among netizens, many of whom disapproved of it.    [FULL  STORY]

The Jakarta Post
Date: January 5, 2019
By: Editorial Desk

It was distinctly a double-edged caveat that Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed to Taiwan on the 40th anniversary of the critical cross-strait policy statement.

Wednesday’s message at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People was intrinsically an echo of the official stand that Taiwan’s unification with China is inevitable. This time, however, it has been couched with the stern warning that Beijing reserved the right to use military force to bring Taiwan into the fold. He has, in other words, reserved the right to precipitate matters if unification with the mainland does not materialise.

“Reunification is the historical trend and it is the right path,” Xi said. “Taiwan’s independence is a reversal of history and a dead-end road.” That assertion of authority coupled with the debunking of independence by an omnipotent Head of State is bound to be greeted with a fair measure of trepidation by Taiwan and her people. Aside from the Taiwanese government, President Xi has addressed his appeal directly to the populace — “All people in Taiwan must clearly recognize that Taiwan’s independence would only bring profound disaster to Taiwan,” he said.

Taiwan, which has never been under the Chinese Communist Party’s control, is China’s most sensitive issue and is claimed by Beijing as its sacred territory. It is pretty obvious that Xi has ramped up pressure on the democratically-governed island ever since Tsai Ing-wen, of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, became President in 2016.    [FULL  STORY]

This year’s handheld lanterns were also unveiled on Jan. 3

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/05
By:  Agencies

TAIPEI (Taiwan Today) — The main and handheld lanterns for the 2019 Taiwan Lantern Festival were unveiled by the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Jan. 3 in Taipei City.

Spotlighting the prominence of the fishing industry in the festival’s host county of Pingtung in southern Taiwan, the 16-meter-tall centerpiece depicts a bluefin tuna jumping out of the sea. The main lantern will be the center of a dazzling evening light and sound show staged every 30 minutes throughout the Feb. 19 to March 3 event.

The centerpiece is set to be erected offshore at the main exhibition site in Dapeng Bay. Boat services will allow visitors to get a close-up look at the lantern and view the evening light spectacle from the water.

This year’s handheld lanterns symbolize the upcoming Year of the Pig in the Chinese zodiac and come in blue, red and yellow varieties. About 80,000 of the paper items will be distributed at Dapeng, according to the Tourism Bureau.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/05
By: Fan Cheng-hsiang, Yeh Su-ping, Miu Tsung-han and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) Three opposition parties — the People First Party (PFP), the

Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and the New Power Party (NPP) — voiced support Saturday for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)’s stance against the “one country, two systems” formula devised by China.

The PFP said the “one county, two systems” formula is not acceptable to the people of Taiwan as it will leave no room for Taiwan to maintain the status quo.

In their statements, the TSU and the NPP called for unity among the people of Taiwan against the pressure imposed by China.

The statements by the three parties followed a call by Tsai earlier in the day for all political parties in Taiwan to reject the “one country, two systems” formula and thus send a clear message to China, based on the wishes of the Taiwan people.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 06, 2019
By: Wu Po-hsuan and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

The red pigment prodigiosin could have cosmetic benefits, such as reducing dark spots

and lightening a person’s complexion, Tatung University biological engineering professor Will Chen (陳志成) said this week.

About a decade ago, his research team added prodigiosin to fish feed to enhance the red coloring of a tropical species, Chen said.

About three months later, the doctoral candidates in charge of the fish reported that the experiment had failed, because the fish turned bone-white, he said.

The unexpected result triggered a series of new inquires, eventually leading to the discovery that prodogiosin could potentially counter the effect of melanin on skin tissue, which leads to dark spots and tanning, he said.    [FULL  STORY]