Page Three

A year in, government has not enacted promised judicial reforms, groups say

LACK OF EMPATHY: A judge in a sexual assault case asked a migrant worker why she had not bitten the perpetrator’s genitals, showing the need for education, the groups said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 14, 2018
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

A coalition of civic groups yesterday criticized the government’s judicial reform as ineffective, saying that many changes proposed by the National Congress on Judicial Reform a year ago have barely been implemented.

Since the congress was convened on the orders of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in August last year, the government has begun working on a number of draft bills and amendments based on its suggestions, yet measures that do not require any new laws remain far from being implemented, Judicial Reform Foundation (JRF) chairman Lin Yung-sung (林永頌) told a news conference in Taipei.

The inefficiency of the reform is due to opposition from within the judicial system, Lin said.

“Apparently, most people within the system are against reform and the heads of agencies have decided to side with the bureaucrats, rather than the people,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s port of Kaohsiung installs X-ray scanner to track illegal drugs

Machine is first of its kind in Taiwan

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/08/11
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Kaohsiung port on Saturday inaugurated the first example

Premier William Lai (second from left) at the launch of the new X-ray scanner in Kaohsiung. (By Central News Agency)

in Taiwan of a sophisticated new X-ray container scanner to detect illegal drugs, marking another step in the government’s war on drugs.

Premier William Lai (賴清德), who was present at the ceremony, said the drugs supply needed to be cut off completely, and demanded the relevant authorities share information to “wage war together,” the Central News Agency reported.

He reminded his audience of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) message that the war on drugs was a national security issue, as the problem not only affected individuals and families, but also national development.

The government was investing NT$10 billion (US$325 million) over four years to back up the effort, CNA quoted Lai as saying.    [FULL  STORY]

Claw machine craze sparks calls for animal protection law review

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/11
By: Wen Kuei-hsiang and Ko Lin

Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) A legislative report is calling for a review of the Animal

CNA file photo

Protection Act amid the booming popularity of claw crane machines and the growing practice of offering live animals as prizes, which has sparked accusations of animal cruelty.

A report by the Legislative Yuan’s Organic Law and Statute Bureau published on Aug. 3 noted reports by local media that some outlets using claw crane machines were operating on the edge of the law.

They are accused of offering live animals such as lobsters and mud crabs as prizes and putting up signs to tell customers that “clawing invertebrates is not against the law.”

Technically, they are not wrong because invertebrates are not covered by the Animal Protection Act, but the report said caging live animals and hurting them by grabbing and dropping them shows no respect for living things or animal protection.    [FULL  STORY]

KMT defends ‘chicken man’ contest design

OPEN TO INTERPRETATION: The mascot idea, which some have said implies that the KMT is a parasite, had yesterday gained more than 16,000 likes on Facebook

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 12, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday defended one of the contenders in

A controversial design that has reached the top 10 in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) mascot selection competition is shown in an undated image.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)

the party’s mascot selection competition, whose design has received wide publicity due to its resemblance to a rubber chicken toy and incorporation of elements perceived to be sarcastic toward the KMT, saying that the designer did not mean to troll the party with her work.

The mascot in question, designed by an 18-year-old named Wu Ching-ping (吳婧萍), looks like a yellow chicken man with what appears to be a blue worm with the face of a baby on its chest and the KMT’s party emblem on its rump.

It was one of 10 designs chosen by two judges, who were on Aug. 3 invited by the KMT Youth Department to evaluate the competition’s 108 valid entries.

The department is to choose the top three designs next month based on the results of Facebook and street polls.

The “chicken” mascot design received attention from the moment the department launched the Facebook poll on Monday. As of press time last night, it had received more than 16,000 likes and been shared 3,200 times, compared with only hundreds of likes and dozens of shares for the other designs.
[FULL  STORY]

Gifts unveiled for Tsai’s Paraguay and Belize visits

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-10

When President Tsai Ing-wen visits Paraguay and Belize, two of Taiwan’s allies in Latin America, on Sunday, she will bring some souvenirs for the leaders of the countries. On Wednesday, the Presidential Office introduced the gifts to the public; each has been carefully chosen for the recipient.

A gift for President Horacio Cartes of Paraguay is a white porcelain piece in the shape of a rooster – after Cartes’ nickname. The work by Taiwanese artist Heinrich Wang is called Take the Lead.

The gift for Paraguay’s vice president, Alicia Pucheta, is a three-strand carnelian necklace. The semi-precious red gemstone stands for protection – a reference to her former career as a judge.     [FULL  STORY]

How will China conquer Taiwan?

ANI
Date: Aug 10, 2018 06:21

China, Taiwan

Hong Kong (China), August 10 (ANI): Many are concerned at China’s more assertive military posture – whether it be outrageous territorial claims in the South China Sea, or incessant “salami slicing” of Indian territory along the Himalayan border – but there is one country above all others most at risk of Chinese military adventurism.

That country is Taiwan, even though Beijing would furiously reject the appellation of “country” being given to what it terms a”renegade province” of the People’s Republic of China. China has two options – either to give up on reunifying Taiwan, or to make even more concrete plans to invade and conquer it. The brand of nationalism espoused by Xi makes the former virtually impossible.

In 1995-96, China launched missiles into waters off Taiwanese harbors in a mark of its displeasure, but there is a growing chance things will go much further next time. China officially spends twelve times more on its military than does Taiwan. Thisbalance of military power, which continues to tilt more heavily in Beijing’s favor, is enough to make military action even more viable in Beijing’s eyes.

Rapprochement with Taiwan under Ma Ying-jeou’sadministration (2008-16) went as far as it could. At that point the 23 million populace voted for the opposition party of Tsai Ing-wen, and that led to an immediate reversal of cordial relations. Nevertheless, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has declared, “We will not succumb to pressure from China…Taiwan is a sovereign, independent country.”
[FULL  STORY]

Students go on sea patrol at Orchid Island, Taiwan

Students learn about marine ecology, culture and the coast guard during 3 day study camp

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/08/10
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (海洋委員會海巡署)

Camp participants in canoe. (By Central News Agency)

took a group of 15 university students on a three day camp, to teach them about the coast guard on Orchid Island (蘭嶼), Taitung County, reported CNA on August 10.

The students were taught about marine ecology and conservation, and local culture, as well as taking a 100-ton patrol boat out to sea.

The students participated in a study camp to help provide the youth with a better understanding of what coast guard officers do in practice, and to gain first-hand experience of marine policy in practice, said head of the Secretarial Office for the Eastern Division of the Coast Guard Administration, Sung Yuan-hsian (宋源祥).

Sung said the camp included a tour of a coast guard check point, an audit of a sea patrol exercise, and a range of other projects that focused on conservation and culture.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan voices concern over color scheme of Taiwan, China on map

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/10
By: Elaine Hou and Ko Lin

Image taken from U.S. Department of State’s website

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expressed concern Friday over a map reference on the U.S. Department of State’s website in which Taiwan and China have been grouped under the same color scheme.

The Foreign Ministry has asked its representative office in the U.S. to reach out to the State Department for clarification, MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) told CNA.

Lee’s remarks responded to media reports pointing out that the profile page for China on the U.S. Department of State’s website was recently changed to include Taiwan under the same light color assigned to China, in contrast to the beige used for surrounding countries.

The implication is that Taiwan is part of China, something the vast majority of Taiwanese reject.    [FULL  STORY]

Border agents apologize for letting intruder slip

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 11, 2018 
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The National Immigration Agency (NIA) yesterday apologized for allowing a Chinese passenger to slip through immigration at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport last month and enter the country illegally.

The NIA Border Affairs Corps said in a statement that the mishap was the result of human error and measures have been taken to prevent it from happening ever again.

The intruder, identified only by his family name, Ke (柯), apparently jumped the gate of an unattended immigration counter on July 19 after arriving at Terminal 2 on a flight from Xiamen in China’s Fujian Province, border authorities said.

An investigation found that Ke, who has residency in the US, flew from Los Angeles to Qingdao in China’s Shandong Province and then to Xiamen before arriving in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Premier calls for all efforts to prevent swine fever from entering Taiwan

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-09

An African swine fever epidemic has broken out in China. Premier William Lai said Thursday that the possibility of death is 100% if infected. He said the virus will directly hit Taiwan’s meat market if it enters Taiwan. Lai is calling for the finance ministry, the Ocean Affairs Council and the interior ministry to work with the agriculture council to prevent the disease from entering Taiwan.

Lai said the virus cannot be passed on to humans, however there is also currently no cure for the disease. The premier has called for the agriculture council to provide timely information to pig farmers and consumers and strengthen publicity on the situation.    [FULL  STORY]