Government investigators say there has been a flood of fake news, and claim to have clear evidence that it originated with Beijing’s propaganda machine

Asia Times
Date: September 21, 2018
By: Asia Times Staff

Beijing has mobilized its army of online trolls and demagogues to create fake news and manipulate public views in Taiwan, according to a disclosure by investigators from the island’s Ministry of Justice.

The investigators found “unequivocal evidence” that China was behind a deluge of disinformation and planted fake news that either dug up dirt on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DLP) or targeted President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan newspapers revealed.

In one instance, China’s state broadcaster China Central Television aired footage of military exercises held by the People’s Liberation Army years earlier in a bid to stir up panic in Taiwan. Another piece  claiming that the PLA “will reclaim Taiwan by 2020” also went viral in Taiwan: investigators traced its source to a Beijing-based website operating under the Communist Party’s propaganda department.    [FULL  STORY]

The CCP spying accusations were ludicrous, baseless, and hypocritical. But they could also increase the risk to Taiwan from Chinese students studying here

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/09/21
By: David Spencer, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan News) — A collection of falsehoods, baseless statements, concocted case studies, and Communist Party propaganda. That is about all that can be said about the ludicrous Taiwanese spying story which made headlines in China and around the world over the weekend.

The coordinated effort by numerous state media outlets to promote a TV program on the state-run CCTV channel, along with a series of “special reports” following up on the show in the Global Times immediately raised suspicions that the CCP propaganda machinery was at it again. And so it proved.

What we learned (and did not learn)

So, what exactly did this exclusive news report reveal? Well apparently, the CCP’s comically titled “Thunderbolt 2018 Crackdown” has uncovered more than 100 spies and agents of Taiwan operating in China.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/21
By: Chen Chih-chung, Elizabeth Hsu, Flor Wang and William Yen 

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) A grand ceremony was held at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei Friday, at which eight 2018 Tang Prize laureates received awards honoring their achievements in the fields of sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, sinology and rule of law.

Seven laureates attended the ceremony, including James Edward Hansen and Veerabhadran Ramanathan, who shared the award for Sustainable Development; Yoshinobu Shiba and Stephen Owen the prize for Sinology; and Joseph Raz, the sole winner of the Rule of Law prize.

Tony Hunter, Brian Druker and John Mendelsohn received the award for Biopharmaceutical Science, with Mendelsohn’s son Jeff Mendelsohn accepting the award on his father’s behalf at the Friday ceremony.

This is the first time eight awardees have been honored since the biennial award was launched in 2014 to honor top researchers in the four fields.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 22, 2018
By: Lee Hsin-fang and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Seven search-and-rescue dogs in Taiwan are UN-certified, the National Fire Agency’s

Special Search and Rescue Team said yesterday as it took part in an annual drill held to mark National Disaster Prevention Day.

Taiwan has about 30 search-and-rescue dogs, spread across eight units, dog handler Chou Tsung-chi (周聰吉) said.

Of nine UN-certified search-and-rescue dogs in Asia, seven are in Taiwan and two are in Japan, he said, adding that it means they can be sent on humanitarian missions by the UN.

As the seven dogs have only recently been certified, they have not yet taken part in international rescue missions, Chou said.    [FULL  STORY]

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/09/20
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said Wednesday that he will remain head of Taiwan’s representative

office in Japan despite calls for him to step down to take responsibility for the suicide of the head of the Osaka office.

Speaking in Tokyo, Hsieh said he will not consider stepping down for the time being as he has a lot of work to do, including putting the record straight regarding the death of Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠).

According to Hsieh, Su committed suicide due to the criticism he received for his perceived failure to assist Taiwan nationals after Kansai International Airport was closed due to flooding caused by Typhoon Jebi.

Hsieh said the criticism stemmed from “fake” news reports originating in China that claimed Beijing had sent tour buses to evacuate Chinese nationals from the airport, while netizens had also claimed that staff at the Osaka office were reluctant to assist Taiwan nationals.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/20
By: Chen Wei-ting and William Yen

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) As many as 28,000 households could benefit from the proposed

loosening of regulations governing applications for respite care services when their regular foreign caregivers take time off, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) Thursday.

MOHW Long-term Care Services Division official Chou Tao-chun (周道君) said the rule change, which could be adopted as soon as November, will allow those who qualify to apply for a maximum of 21 days of respite care annually without having to go through a 30 day waiting period without care, which is the current situation.    [FULL  STORY]

NOVEMBER ELECTIONS: Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations chairperson Chen Hsiu-hui said women bring the values of social welfare to the community

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 21, 2018
By: Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff writer, with CNA

Women’s groups yesterday said they hope that more women would be elected as

borough and village wardens at the nine-in-one local elections on Nov. 24.

Women hold about 14 percent of the nation’s 7,000 borough and village warden positions, the National Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations told a news conference in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋).

This is despite the nation having already elected its first female president, while about 38 percent of legislators and one-quarter of city and county councilors are women, alliance chairperson Chen Hsiu-hui (陳秀惠) said.

Although the majority of community service and volunteer work is performed by women, they are often hesitant to vie for leadership roles, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]