Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-03
The tourism bureau held a launch ceremony for the upcoming 9th Asian Bird Fair, which will take place in November in the southern county of Chiayi.
The Tourism Bureau and Chunghwa Post have unveiled a new series of stamps to celebrate the upcoming Asian Bird Fair. The event will be held on November 17-18 in Budai Village in Chiayi County. [FULL STORY]
Why is it that, in 2018, typhoons have always seemed to veer away from Taiwan at the last minute?
The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/03
By: If Lin
So far in 2018, a total of 24 typhoons have formed over the Asia-Pacific region. In every case, when those typhoons approached Taiwan, they either changed course or just passed by the island, never making landfall.
The pattern is repeating itself: Super Typhoon Kong-Rey, currently lurking east of Taiwan, is unlikely to impact the island directly, weeks after Typhoons Trami and Mangkhut veered towards Japan and the Philippines, respectively. In July, Typhoon Maria threatened to hit the island before weakening and charting a relatively harmless path to the north of Taiwan.
It’s almost as if Taiwan has deployed a force field around its borders, making the island impenetrable to typhoons. The only incident to occur this year when a typhoon has technically passed through Taiwan was when Typhoon Kemi was still only a tropical depression. [FULL STORY]
There will be six sessions every night from Oct. 5 to 10
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/03
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
A screenshot of the light show clip (Image/FB 總統府發言人)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A projection mapping show will illuminate the Presidential Office Building of Taiwan and Ketagalan Boulevard as part of the National Day celebrations, the Office of the President announced Oct. 2.
The light spectacle is scheduled at 7 pm, 7:30 pm, 8 pm, 8:30 pm, 9 pm, and 9:30 pm from Oct. 5 through 10.
Building on the success of a similar event last year, the display this year will highlight projections of images exhibiting Taiwan’s local traits, biodiversity, and stellar athletic performance in the 2018 Asian Games, according to the General Association of Chinese Culture (中華文化總會)
What are featured include species that call Taiwan home, such as Lanyu’s elegant scops-owls (蘭嶼角鴞), the Magellan birdwing butterflies (珠光鳳蝶), black-faced spoonbills (黑面琵鷺), leopard cats (石虎), green sea turtles (綠蠵龜), and more, said art director of the show Agi Chen (陳怡潔). [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/03
By: Chen Wei-ting and Flor Wang
Image taken from Central Weather Bureau website
Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) Several Taiwan-based airlines have canceled or postponed their flights to and from Japan’s Okinawa over the next two days due to the approach of Typhoon Kong-Rey.
China Airlines (CAL), Taiwan’s largest carrier, announced Wednesday on its website that its round-trip flights CI120/121 and 122/123 between Taipei and Okinawa on Thursday will be canceled.
In addition, CAL said, its round-trip flights CI132/133 between Kaohsiung and Okinawa and AE282/283 between Taichung and Okinawa on Thursday will also be canceled.
EVA Air, one of Taiwan’s leading airlines, said all its flights scheduled for Thursday between Taipei and Okinawa will be canceled, while it will operate its bigger 777-300ER aircraft instead of the A321-200s on its round-trip flights BR112/BR113 and BR186/BR185 on Friday. [FULL STORY]
Taipei Times
Date: Oct 04, 2018
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) yesterday said the ministry
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung answers lawmakers’ questions at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee yesterday. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
would require doctors and hospitals to register all overseas organ transplants before the end of the year.
Political pundit Wu Hsiang-hui (吳祥輝) last month cited passages from a 2014 book titled The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to its Dissident Problemand accused Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of being involved, reigniting the controversy that surrounded the 2014 Taipei mayoral election.
Ethan Gutmann, the author of the book, told a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday that Ko was a “middleman” for Taiwanese patients wanting an organ transplant in China.
Ko yesterday rejected the accusation and asked for an apology.
At a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said that, according to Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center data, 3,128 people between April 2005 and August this year had organ transplants overseas.
[FULL STORY]
Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-02
A Taiwanese university recently proved that massive growth of algae along the country’s southernmost coast is due to human factors.
The beautiful coastline of the Kenting resort area in southern Taiwan used to boast of rich ecology and large areas of coral reef. However, in recent years, scientists have discovered unusually fast growth of algae along the coasts that is hurting the local ecology. [FULL STORY]
Despite the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s obligatory objection to new arms sales, the United States needs to sustain the diplomatic commitments maintained by the last nine presidents.
The National Interest
Date: October 2, 2018
By: Dean Cheng
The United States on Sept. 24 announced a new set of arms sales to Taiwan. Valued at $330 million, this sale comprises mainly spare parts and equipment to support Taiwan’s air force, including its F-16s and C-130s.
This marks the second major arms sale to Taiwan by the Trump administration, following a $1.4 billion sale in June 2017 that included long-range missiles and heavy torpedoes.
Not surprisingly, Beijing promptly denounced the sale. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman declared that “the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan severely violates the international law [and] the basic norms governing international relations.”
[FULL STORY]
Taiwanese citizenship application process streamlined for 90 foreigners who hold a ‘Plum Blossom’ APRC
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/02
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The process to apply for Taiwanese citizenship for the 90
Indian American Terence Rodrigues receives Plum Blossom card. (NIA)
foreigners who hold “Plum Blossom” (梅花卡) Alien Permanent Resident Certificates (APRC) has been simplified as of this month, reported CNA.
In order to attract foreign professionals to stay in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun (花敬群) at a press conference on Sept. 26 announced that the process to apply for Taiwanese citizenship will be simplified for senior professionals who have obtained a Plum Blossom APRC. Starting this month, the 90 Plum Blossom APRC holders who have yet to apply for citizenship, will no longer be required to obtain a recommendation from the agency managing the industry, instead a letter from their employer sent to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) will suffice.
Hua pointed out that if an applicant with the Plum Blossom card had received approval, the naturalization process can begin without the need for an additional review.
[FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/02
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Romulo Huang
Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) In light of blossoming bilateral trade and economic exchanges,
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) / CNA file photo
Taiwan is one of the United Kingom’s ‘best trade partners,’ President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Tuesday, citing the opening of the Taiwanese market to British pork earlier this year as evidence.
Speaking at a meeting with members of a British parliamentary delegation at the Presidential Office, Tsai said Taiwan and the U.K. held discussions on potential bilateral cooperation in energy and agriculture for the first time in June.
Taiwan decided to open its market to British pork for the first time in August, a move that not only benefited British pig farmers but also provided Taiwanese consumers with new options, the president added. [FULL STORY]
ORGAN HARVESTING: At a news conference in the capital, Ethan Gutmann answered ‘yes’ when asked whether he thought Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je was a liar
Taipei Times
Date: Oct 03, 2018
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) election campaign office yesterday said baseless
Ethan Gutmann, author of the 2014 book The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem, calls Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je a liar at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
accusations should not be made for electoral gains and asked US author Ethan Gutmann to explain why he changed his attitude about accusations that Ko was involved in organ harvesting in China.
The office made the remarks after a news conference in Taipei yesterday, when Gutmann answered questions about his 2014 book The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem in which Ko was one of the interviewees.
Wu Hsiang-hui (吳祥輝), a political pundit and owner of Butterfly Orchid Cultural Creativity who plans to publish a Chinese-language version of the book, on Sept. 3 took out a full-page ad in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) featuring excerpts from the book and claimed that Ko knew that many organs transplanted in China came from Falun Gong members.
Ko the same day said that Gutmann had already clarified in a written statement in 2014 that Ko was not acting as an “organ broker” or was in any way involved with purchasing organs. [FULL STORY]
