Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-09-05
Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je had plenty on his plate on Wednesday – at the city’s annual beef noodle soup competition.
Just as beef noodle soup is a staple of Taiwanese cuisine, the annual Taipei beef noodle festival has become a staple of the city’s culinary calendar. [FULL STORY]
The legislation would authorise the State Department to downgrade US relations with any government that shifts away from Taiwan, and to suspend or alter US assistance
South China Morning Post
Date: 06 September, 2018
By: Zhenhua Lu, US correspondent
A bipartisan group of US senators on Wednesday announced that they had introduced 
legislation to discourage Taiwan’s few remaining allies from switching their diplomatic recognition to Beijing, after El Salvador became the third country this year to make the shift.
The legislation, titled the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act, was introduced on Monday by Republican Senators Cory Gardner and Marco Rubio, and Democrats Ed Markey and Bob Menendez, according to a press release published on Wednesday on Gardner’s official website.
“This legislation is intended to strengthen Taiwan’s standing around the world and comes in response to several nations breaking official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, due to Chinese pressure and bullying tactics,” the press release said.
The latest legislation effort by US lawmakers came as Central American country El Salvador cut its formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan last month, leaving it with only 17 remaining diplomatic allies. China regards Taiwan as a wayward province to be brought to its rule by force if necessary. The US maintains unofficial relations with the island and considers it a staunch ally, although Washington switched its formal diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979. [FULL STORY]
Check out free online maps to plan your cycling tour or simply join guided bike tours at affordable prices.
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/09/05
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter
TAITUNG (Taiwan News) – Don’t know where to start your cycling tour in eastern Taiwan’s Taitung to explore its beautiful coastline this fall? Check out the online maps designed by the local government, or simply join the guided bicycle tours.
Taitung has been promoting bike tours or eco tours in recent years, while the eastern Taiwan county is in fact no stranger to international backpackers and bike tour lovers, as the bike trails encompass a wide range of scenic landscapes in just a few hours of cycling, from the coastline facing the Pacific Ocean, golden or green rice fields, to spectacular Wulu Gorge.
A travel agency partnering with the Government of Taitung has recently launched one- to three-day cycling tour packages in which participants can take a hot spring bath, taste traditional aboriginal foods, take a picture with giant art installations made of natural materials, visit several cultural and artist parks, and pray at temples.
The packages allow participants to thread through different parts of Taitung with ease by providing seamless shuttle bus service. The trips are divided into one-day tours, two-day tours, and three-day tours for participants to choose from according to their schedule.
[FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/05
By: Lee Hsin-Yin
Photo courtesy of Kyodo News
Taipei, Sept. 5 (CNA) Taiwanese carriers announced Wednesday that all their flights to Osaka will be canceled the following day as the airport there remained closed due to massive flooding caused by Typhoon Jebi.
China Airlines (CAL), EVA Airways and Tigerair Taiwan, which had all canceled their flights to Kansai International Airport on Wednesday, said they will not resume flights there on Thursday.
Furthermore, CAL said, it has canceled all its flights to Kansai airport through Sept. 11 and instead will use larger aircraft on the route between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Takamatsu Airport, the closest operational hub to Kansai.
CAL said it will also operate a bigger jet between Taoyuan and Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya, which is also near Kansai. [FULL STORY]
Taipei Times
Date: Sep 06, 2018
By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) was yesterday
Then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Lee Ching-hua speaks at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on April 22, 2009. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
indicted on corruption charges for allegedly embezzling NT$5.23 million (US$169,772 at the current exchange rate) in government funds.
Evidence collected in an investigation pointed to Lee having pocketed government money earmarked for his office assistants’ salaries while he served as a lawmaker from 2007 to 2016, the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Lee was charged with contravening provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), as well as obtaining property by fraud through abuse of a public functionary’s authority and making false entries in a public document under the Criminal Code.
Lee first served as a KMT lawmaker from 1992 until 1996, when he joined the New Party. He later switched to the People First Party (PFP), before returning to the KMT in 2005. He then served as a KMT legislator until he failed to secure a seat in the 2016 legislative elections. [FULL STORY]
Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-09-04
The islands of Penghu in the Taiwan Strait are known for their temples and seafood – as well as famously windy weather. But this year, visitors to Penghu have been delighted by some unexpected guests.
A flock of terns swoop through the sky in Penghu, the island county in the Taiwan Strait. The seabirds make their habitat in the basalt cliffs on the eastern part of the islands, undisturbed by humans. But they are increasingly becoming a tourist attraction in their own right.
This year, a group of special visitors has arrived earlier than expected. Dolphins may sometimes be seen off Penghu from the month of November, as they follow the mackerel they feed on. But here they are at the start of September, swimming and jumping to the delight of onlookers. [FULL STORY]
Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/09/04
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)
A petition calling for a referendum on whether the national team should compete in the
Photo Credit: 進擊的台灣隊-Team Taiwan進擊的台灣隊-Team
2020 Tokyo Olympics under the name “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei” has been submitted to the Central Election Commission.
Organizers of the petition said Monday that they managed to obtain 526,688 signatures in support of the ballot, substantially more than the minimum requirement of 281,745 signatures, or some 1.5 percent of the national electorate that voted in the last presidential election.
Under revisions to Taiwan’s Referendum Law that came into force in January this year, the petition moves the referendum process to the second stage
According to the Team Taiwan group that organized the drive, if the election commission approves the proposal, the referendum will be held alongside the Nov. 24 local elections.
[FULL STORY]
Cellist Chang Cheng-chieh and Yu opera diva Wan Hai-ling will be the leading performers at the festival Nov. 3-4
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/09/05
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2018 Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival in Taiwan to be held Nov. 3-4 (Photo by CNA)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Renowned Taiwanese cellist Chang Cheng-chieh (張正傑) announced that he will join Yu opera (豫劇) diva Wang Hai-Ling (王海玲) to perform at the 2018 Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival, dispelling fears the performance may be scrapped due to a wrist injury he sustained from a cycling incident.
Entering its 10th year, the music fest was first held at the Zhaishan Tunnel (翟山坑道) in 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou (古寧頭戰役) in Kinmen, a group of islands governed by Taiwan.
The tunnel struck the cellist as a perfect “amplifier” during a trip to the tourist attraction, which was when he started floating the idea of holding a concert there to take advantage of the natural sound reinforcement system. The plan finally became a reality thanks to an opportunity presented to him by Kinmen National Park Administration Office to curate an outdoor event, reported CNA.
In a press conference announcing the concert on Sept. 3, Chang played Bach Cello Suite No. 5 Sarabande in a recital, a composition which featured in his first performance at the Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival. He also played Taiwanese folk song “Such a life” (一隻鳥仔哮啾啾), joking that the song reflected his feelings the moment he got hurt falling off his bicycle when traveling in Vienna in July. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/04
By: Lee Hsin-Yin
Satellite imagery taken from Central Weather Bureau’s website
Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) Taiwanese carriers announced Tuesday that all their flights to Osaka will be canceled the following day as Typhoon Jebi continued to batter Japan.
China Airlines, EVA Airways and Tigerair Taiwan said they will not operate any flights to Kansai International Airport on Wednesday due to Jebi, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years.
Tigerair Taiwan also said that its Flight IT217 from Tokyo Haneda to Taoyuan will be postponed to Thursday.
In Osaka, Kansai airport has been closed due to flooding of its runways from storm surges.
According to foreign news wires, at least 700 flights in Japan had been cancelled as of Tuesday evening, and more than 1 million people in the path of the storm were told to evacuate. [SOURCE]
SECRETIVE: The Taiwan United Nations Alliance declined to reveal the date of a planned protest outside the Chinese embassy in the US to avoid countermeasures
Taipei Times
Date: Sep 05, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
Lawmakers and the government yesterday threw their support behind the Taiwan United
Members and supporters of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance wave “UN for Taiwan” flags at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Nations Alliance, which is to send a delegation to the US to advocate Taiwan’s UN membership bid for the 15th consecutive year.
The delegation, which is to visit the US from Friday to Sept. 17, is to comprise of 23 members, 10 of whom are younger than 35.
It is to hold a series of events in Los Angeles, New York and Washington to rally support for Taiwan’s bid to join the UN, alliance president Michael Tsai (蔡明憲), who is to lead the delegation, told a news conference in Taipei.
The events would include a forum with Taiwanese expats in Los Angeles on Saturday and a campaign event at One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the UN headquarters building in New York on Friday next week, Tsai said. [FULL STORY]
