Page Three

Oil spill recovery likely to take two years: CPC

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-07-23

Taiwan’s state run oil company, CPC Corporation, Taiwan says it could take two years for the soil to recover following an oil spill of over 60,000 liters in Penghu.

The spill, which took place last June, has only recently come to light. Company executives say they were not notified of the spill until a year after it took place. Seven employees are facing punishment for their role in the incident.

The affected area is more than 0.8 hectares plot of land in Huxi Township, on the offshore islands of Penghu.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s most beautiful places

Beautiful Taiwan: This 36,193-square-kilometer island has a staggeringly diverse wealth of stunning scenery, from cityscapes to natural views.

CNN
Date: 22nd July 2018
By: Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN

(CNN) — “The most beautiful scenery of Taiwan is its people.”
While this famous saying is often cited by travelers as a reason to love Taiwan, this 36,193-square-kilometer island also happens to have a staggeringly diverse wealth of stunning scenery and destinations, from cityscapes to natural wonders.
“Taiwan has the highest density of high mountains in the world, leaving us adventurers with endless places to hike, camp, river trace and more,” says Ryan Hevern, co-founder of Taiwan Adventure Outings.
Taiwan’s natural beauty

Hevern, after living in Malaysian Borneo as a jungle guide, moved to Taiwan and started an eco-friendly outdoor tour company with co-founder Dustin Craft two years ago.

“We aren’t city people, so we spend our free time in Taiwan’s outdoors,” says Hevern.

“In November 2016, we decided to deal with the weekly grind of living in a city by starting an outdoor adventure group. Each weekend we explored new hikes, new mountains, new rivers and so on.”    [FULL  STORY]

Traffic control planned for Tainan Summer Music Festival in Jiangjun on July 28

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/07/23
By George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(photo courtesy of Tourism Bureau of Tainan City Government) (By Central News Agency)

TAIPE (Taiwan News)—Traffic control will be put in place from noon on July 28 around Jiangjun Fishing Port, where annual Tainan Summer Music Festival will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to a post on the event’s Facebook page on Monday (July 23).

Tainan City Government said in a press release last week that this year’s music festival will feature bands and had invited last year’s band competition champion The Bad King Five, runner-up The Arc, southern rock band Mixer, indigenous Latin rap band Boxing, and Funk band Cosmospeople to perform in the concert.

The city government said it welcomes all music fans to come to Jiangjun Fishing Port to listen to the music, enjoy local seafood specialties, and stroll around a cultural and creative fair.

According to the Facebook post, a local delicacy fair and food trucks will begin serving foods at the concert site at 3 p.m. on July 28. A local restaurant even offers a deluxe dinner set for 10 people for NT$4,000.    [FULL  STORY]

Young U.S. musicians give flash mob performances in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/23
By: Elaine Hou and Ko Lin 

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Members of a young orchestra group from the United States gave flash mob-style concerts at the Taichung and Nangang high-speed rail stations on Monday as part of a series of events organized by the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC).

The flash mob members were part of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), consisting of 106 young musicians aged 16-19 who are currently in Taiwan until July 24 on their 2018 Asia Tour, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said.

The two performances were conducted by 13 members of the group as part of THSRC’s “First Year of Arts” events that bring arts to non-traditional audiences and venues, the AIT said.

The flash mob’s presence at the Nangang Station was also to celebrate the recent dedication of the AIT’s new office building in nearby Neihu.    [FULL  STORY]

Ex-US defense chief at Taipei security forum

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 24, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Former US secretary of defense Ash Carter yesterday arrived on a visit to Taiwan to speak at a security forum and meet with local officials to exchange views on Taiwan-US relations and regional security issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

At the invitation of the government, Carter, who served as defense secretary from February 2015 to January last year under then-US president Barack Obama, is today to speak at the Ketagalan Forum: 2018 Asia Pacific Security Dialogue, the ministry said in a statement.

Carter is scheduled to leave Taiwan later today.

During Carter’s tenure, the Obama administration announced a US$1.83 billion arms sale package for Taiwan, the ministry said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan fruit farmer raises funds for Japan flood victims

Kapan Times
Date: Jul 22, 2018
By: Ko Shu-Ling

People line up at a dragon fruit stand in a farmer’s market in downtown Taipei on Saturday. Proceeds from fruit sales will be sent to flood and landslide victims in western Japan. | KYODO

TAIPEI – A Taiwanese farmer held a two-day dragon fruit sale in Taipei over the weekend to raise money for victims of the floods and landslide in western Japan.

Lin Ting-tsai, 65, said he harvested 1,380 kg of red dragon fruit at his farm in Yilan County in eastern Taiwan and decided to sell some of it for a good cause.

He said he would donate the money collected from the sale of 900 kg of the crop, the first of his four annual harvests, to the flood victims in Japan in light of the news reports on the disaster.

Lin said he estimated that the two-day sale could bring in between 100,000 and 120,000 new Taiwan dollars (¥364,000 to ¥439,000). The sale ended Sunday.
[FULL  STORY]

For the first time in modern Taiwanese history, KMT assets won’t be used for election campaigning

ICRT Radio News
Date: 2018/07/22

President Tsai has declared that this year’s local elections slated for November will have historic significance. It will be the first time that the assets the KMT has amassed since relocating to Taiwan will not be used for electioneering. The opposition is not permitted to dip into its assets – worth NT$18.9 billion — as they have been frozen by a government committee.

There is a special aspect to the 2018 local elections. For the first time in post-World War II Taiwan, the KMT’s party assets will not be heavily involved in an election.

During a conference with NGOs, President Tsai Ing-wen pointed to an investigation of the KMT’s party assets. According to a Control Yuan report outlining the KMT’s declared party assets for the year 2017, the KMT has NT$380 million in cash and bank deposits and real estate worth NT$910 million. In addition, it has NT$1.33 billion in restricted assets, as well as assets in trust to the tune of NT$720 million. The KMT’s asset holding companies Hsinyuntai and the Central Investment Corporation collectively are worth NT$15.6 billion. Overall, the KMT’s assets amount to NT$18.9 billion. However, all this wealth has been frozen by the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee. The KMT needs to make an application with the committee if it ever wants to use it.   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan finishes in top spot at International Biology Olympiad

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/07/22
By:  Central News Agency

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) All four Taiwanese students taking part in the 2018

Photo courtesy of Ministry of Education (By Central News Agency)

International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Iran have won gold medals, putting their team in first place alongside China, the Ministry of Education said Sunday.

In the individual category, Chen Yun-chen of National Tainan First Senior High School finished in third place globally, which was the best performance by a Taiwanese student.

Cheng Yu-chi of Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School finished fifth, while Lu Chen-yu of Kaohsiung Municipal Senior High School ranked seventh.

The four Taiwanese students who represented Taiwan at the 2018 IBO were selected and trained by 20 teachers from National Sun Yat-Sen University, the ministry said a statement.    [FULL  STORY]

President Tsai touts Taitung tourism, indigenous culture

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/22
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) visited Taitung on Sunday,

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文, front)

saying that she wanted to help promote the eastern county’s tourism and get a firsthand look at whether the needs of its sizeable indigenous population were being met.

Her first stop on her two-day tour of Taitung was at the site of an old sugar factory that is now a cultural park.

Trailed by reporters, Tsai explored the cluster of curio shops at the site and bought, among other things, a handmade backpack that she jokingly said will be used to carry “documents, including state secrets.”

During her two-day tour, she said, she planned to not only promote the county’s tourist attractions, but also meet with farmers to talk about marketing of their agricultural produce and to visit indigenous communities, which make up about one-third of Taitung’s total population.    [FULL  STORY]

INTERVIEW: Lack of FTA no bar to cooperation, Thai representative says

It is unlikely that Thailand will offer reciprocal visa-free treatment to Taiwanese, but the Thailand Trade and Economic Office will provide a more convenient, outsourced visa application service starting in September, office Executive Director Thongchai Chasawath said in an interview with ‘Taipei Times’ reporter

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 23, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu and ‘Liberty Times’ reporter Lu Yi-hsuan

Taiwan’s lack of free-trade agreements (FTA) with several Southeast Asian

Thailand Trade and Economic Office Executive Director Thongchai Chasawath gestures during an interview on Wednesday.  Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times

countries, including Thailand, has been seen as a challenge for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) New Southbound Policy. What do you think could be done to facilitate the signing of an FTA between Taiwan and Thailand?

Thongchai Chasawath: This matter concerns many political factors, so it is a bit tricky for us to sign an FTA with Taiwan. That does not only go for Thailand; you also face a similar problem with many other countries.

So what should we do? There are actually many other things that we can do. We should not limit our ideas to a fixed framework or box.    [FULL  STORY]