Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-26

The second Taiwan Expo in Malaysia kicked off on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. The expo,

hosted by the Taiwan External Development Council (TAITRA), features products and services that reflect Taiwan’s lifestyle.

The second Taiwan Expo in Malaysia kicked off on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. The expo, hosted by the Taiwan External Development Council (TAITRA), features products and services that reflect Taiwan’s lifestyle.

TAITRA head James Huang opened the expo by riding a bicycle onto the stage. Cycling is among the main features of the expo, others include the halal industry, smart cities, green technology, and health care.

Datuk Bahria bin Tamil, senior director of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Malaysia, said there are over 1,700 Taiwanese companies currently investing in Malaysia. He said he hopes the Taiwan Expo will help further promote economic cooperation between Taiwan and Malaysia.

The Taiwan Expo in Malaysia will end on Sunday.    [SOURCE]

Pro-independence protesters in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, on Saturday. There is a movement to change the island’s formal name from Republic of China to Taiwan.

The New York Times
Date: Oct. 26, 2018
By: Chris Horton

TAIPEI, Taiwan — With greater frequency, China is using its growing air and sea power to try to intimidate Taiwan, the self-ruled island that it hopes to annex. China has also weaponized its economic prowess to induce foreign companies and even governments to erase Taiwan’s international presence.

But in Taiwan itself, there has been increasing blowback.

A vocal segment of Taiwan’s population of 23 million is trying to push back against Beijing with a potent weapon that China’s arsenal of influence lacks: democracy and the power of popular referendums.

China’s pressure campaign appears to have hardened Taiwanese resolve against the Chinese Communist Party, while fueling resentment toward the awkward Cold War labels Taiwan operates under in the international sphere. As a result, many Taiwanese are hoping to take control of their identity, and their fate, through the ballot box, despite the threat of attack from China that hangs over such moves.    [FULL  STORY]

Both China and Taiwan have imposed restriction on food imports from Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 Fukushima meltdown

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/26
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is currently in the midst of

his sojourn to China, which began yesterday, Oct. 25.

Abe is the first Japanese prime minister to visit China for 11 years. Reports suggest the leader intends to sign a large number of deals with Beijing during his visit, one of which could be to lift China’s ban on “nuclear food.”

China currently restricts the import of foods produced in 10 Japanese prefectures due to concerns about nuclear radiation after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which was initiated by the devastating tsunami that hit the country in 2011.

Taiwan also placed a restriction on food imports from five Japanese prefectures under Ma Ying-jeou in 2011.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 27, 2018
By: Chen Kuan-pei and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Supreme Administrative Court on Thursday upheld the heritage status of an old

movie theater in Changhua County, ending a three-year legal battle between the county’s Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Peitou Township Office, which had sought to build on the site.

“Although Peitou (北斗) is a historied township, the town’s former class 3 heritage site, the Tienan Temple, was demolished. If the old theater was also demolished, the culture, history and shared memory of Peitou residents would utterly vanish,” the court said in its ruling.

The Far Eastern Theater is 65 years old and was built on land that was once the private gardens of a clan of local gentry surnamed Hsu (許).

Hsu Tsung-lung (許從龍) built the township’s private academy, the Magpie House (鵲館), in the ancestral garden after passing Qing imperial exams as a xiucai (秀才) civil servant. It played an important role in educating local elites.    [FULL  STORY]

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/24
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) 

The Yilan District Court said the driver of the Puyuma Express that derailed Sunday in Yilan had turned off the automatic train protection (ATP) system and was operating the train manually prior to the accident.

According to the court, the driver, Yu Chen-chung (尤振仲), shut off the system near Daxi Station because he was having problems accelerating and that was the reason the train took a curve too fast and derailed.

The court said Yu told prosecutors the speedometer was not showing the correct speed and he believed the train was traveling at 82 kilometers per hour when the train entered the curve at Xinma Station.

Prosecutors have determined the train was traveling at 140 kilometers per hour and said the driver should have been aware of the speed and taken precautions, which indicates possible professional negligence.    [FULL  STORY]

The fun-packed event highlights parades, marketplace, and performances

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/24
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A carnival featuring parades, marketplace, and cultural performances will take place this Saturday (Oct. 26) in Taipei’s Gundu (關渡) area, celebrating the unique artistic vibes of the local community.

Themed “My River, My Home,” this year the event centers around the intertwined relationship between Tamsui River and the development of Guandu, seeking to raise environmental awareness while providing a platform to strengthen the emotional bond among locals, said the organizer Taipei National University of the Arts.

Launched in 2015, the event has been expanded to incorporate the participation of 50 groups from local boroughs, corporations, and private organizations. The festival helps market Taipei through activities introducing the riverbank culture of Guandu, at the same time showcasing the hospitality of locals to those traveling to the city, noted Commissioner Chen Su-yu (陳思宇) of Department of Information and Tourism.

Much of the excitement will take place on water, with hand-crafted canoes setting sail from Keelung River to Tamsui River. A parade spotlighting creative motifs that surround the ocean, mermaids, and waterfowls will also inject thrill into the carnival.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/24
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) Taiwan will continue to work with democracies in the fight against

misinformation and disinformation campaigns intended to undermine people’s trust in government institutions and values, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Wednesday.

Tsai reiterated that sentiment when she received a delegation led by William Schneider, a senior fellow from the Washington-based Hudson Institute, at the Presidential Office.

Welcoming Schneider, whose last visit to Taiwan was more than a decade ago, Tsai said she hoped the visitors would see for themselves the resilience Taiwanese people have shown in confronting the challenges facing Taiwan’s democracy.

The president also took the opportunity to once again thank United States President Donald Trump’s administration for its staunch support for democratic Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]