Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/16
By: Elaine Hou and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Dec. 16 (CNA) A former congresswoman of the United States who voted nearly 40

years ago in favor of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) has said that the act works “pretty well” for the country, as it has continued to thrive on all fronts nearly four decades later.

Former U.S. congresswoman Pat Schroeder, who in 1973 became the first female U.S. representative elected in Colorado and blazed a trail for a new generation of women on Capitol Hill, told CNA during an interview on Dec. 11 that she thinks the act works well for Taiwan.

“I am very surprised that 40 years later, it (the TRA) has worked so well. At the time it was drafted, we had never done anything like that before. And I think it’s worked pretty well,” she said.

“There were a lot of things we were involved in that we had to change them after, the world has changed. But I haven’t seen they said that about Taiwan,” she added.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 17, 2018
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

A Formosan black bear cub found alone in Hualien County in July has been sent to a

forest area for skills training, bringing it a step closer to its release into its natural habitat next year, the Council of Agriculture’s Forestry Bureau said yesterday.

The cub was on July 10 found walking alone near Nanan Waterfall (南安瀑布) in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) when it was about three or fourth months old, the bureau said.

As the cub’s mother did not show up and it was found to be undernourished, the bureau in August sent the cub to the council’s Endemic Species Research Institute in Nantou County.

On Dec. 6, institute veterinarians examined the cub and found that it was 112cm tall and 27.5kg, up from 102cm and 21.3kg on Oct. 23.    [FULL  STORY]

Baker-gate scandal highlights the risks all Taiwanese businesspeople take when investing in Communist China

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/15
By: David Spencer, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

Taiwanese politics has been rocked by a huge scandal this week.

It is not the scurrilous attempts by the former KMT candidate for Mayor of Taipei, Ting

Shou-chung (丁守中), to undermine the election of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je to a second term in office.

Instead, the whole country is debating ‘baker-gate.’ This term may not have actually been used yet to describe the political scandal that has engulfed popular Taiwanese baker Wu Pao-chun (吳寶春), but all big political scandals need a ‘-gate’ suffix and ‘baker-gate’ seems the most appropriate one here.

The first thing to say about Wu Pao-chun is that he bakes really good bread. Anyone who has queued up outside his bakery on Sihwei Road in Kaohsiung, or its branches in Taipei or Taichung will attest to the fact that, in a country with no shortage of bakeries at the moment, his products are a cut above the rest.

Until earlier this week, the closest Wu had got to being involved in politics was an off-the-cuff comment back in 2016 that he had no plans to invest in China because, while there are 1.3 billion people in the Chinese market, the rest of the world’s market is more than 5.7 billion.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/15
By: Yeh Tze-kung and Ko Lin

Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) An annual festival featuring a series of activities ranging from parades to music opened in Chiayi Saturday, including a band from the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force performing for the first time at the event.

The 2018 Chiayi City International Band Festival has expanded its scope for the first outside of the city, with performances to be held in four other cities and counties, including Kaohsiung, Changhua, Tainan and Taichung, Chiayi Bureau of Cultural Affairs Director Lin Ching-ping (林青萍) said.

The Royal St. Lucia Police Band, which celebrated its 70th anniversary last year, is among the many highlights of this year’s event.

Other activities, including Taiwanese puppetry, parades and diabolo performances will also be held during the festival, Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Fashion Week dialed up the excitement with four days of runway shows and the hope is, this is the start of something big.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/14
By: Jules Quartly

Taiwan fashion was the debutante at its own ball last week. The coming-out party featured more than 40 of the country’s brightest and best designer talents, backed by the Ministry of Culture.

The inaugural Taipei Fashion Week at the prepossessing Taiwan Traditional Theater Center (臺灣戲曲中心) was a triumph of form over function. Since the goal was to be seen and heard, rather than sell clothes, this could be counted as a win.

Fashion lovers, dressed almost uniformly in black, congregated in droves for the shows, which ran for four days from Dec. 6-9. Their images filled the evening news cycles and there was decent coverage in the local press. Inevitably, there was a lot of big talk about a brand-new era for Taiwan design.

Yet the shows, full of vim and invention, lacked a certain substance. The focus on being “culturally kinetic” and Taiwan-centric was kind of dated, a bit like constructivism in the desire to package local art and design for social and commercial purposes. Laudable enough, but more lipstick on the same pig if you’ve seen it all before.
[FULL  STORY]

 

Taiwan News has created a list of restaurants and hotels in Taipei, Taiwan where Christmas dinners are available in 2018

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/14
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — For those who long to enjoy a Christmas dinner this year in Taipei, Taiwan News has created a list of restaurants, bars and hotels that offer either dine in opportunities or turkey hampers for carry out.

Many places require reservations in advance, so one should move quickly before all the spots are gobbled up as Christmas Day nears.

Prices for such meals vary greatly from one establishment to another, in the list of venues below the approximate cost for a Christmas dinner will be indicated by the number of dollar signs in parenthesis: ($) NT$490-$799; ($$) NT$800-$999; ($$$) NT$1,000-$2,000 ($$$$) NT$2,001+    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/14
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Flor Wang

Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) Quarantine inspections at Taiwan’s airports have been stepped up to prevent African swine fever (ASF) entering the country, as newly increased fines for those found smuggling meat products come into force, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) said Friday.

In line with amended Article 45-1 of the Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease, fines on individuals caught smuggling meat products from ASF-affected countries and areas has been increased effective from Friday, with NT$50,000 (US$1,620) for first-time offenders, NT$500,000 for second-time offenders and NT$1 million for repeat offenders.

Sniffer dogs are also being employed at airports, targeting mainly flights from China, where ASF has reached 21 provinces, cities and areas since the first reported outbreak in early August.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 15, 2018
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

National Chiao Tung University professor Wu I-chen (吳毅成) presented an intelligent

“Life-Learning System for Go” training and grading system for go players at the Future Tech Expo in Taipei yesterday.

The system is the result of a years-long endeavor he hopes could help players make faster progress.

The three-day expo, which ends today at Taipei World Trade Center Hall 3, showcases techniques related to artificial intelligence (AI) applications, biotechnology, medical devices, chemical engineering and materials science.

In the AI section, Wu introduced a smart learning system for go players that offers nearly 40 difficulty levels, from beginner to professional and above.    [FULL  STORY]