The News Lens
Date: 2018/06/21
By: By Brian Hioe, 破土 New Bloom

Taiwanese society’s reaction to the murder and dismemberment of a female archery student by her instructor are misdirected.

The conservatism of Taiwanese social morality can be observed in reactions to a recent murder case that occurred in the 120 Grassroots Self-Autonomous Zone, involving the dismemberment of a 30-year-old woman surnamed Gao by a 37-year-old archery teacher surnamed Chen. What is visible through such reactions are attempts to displace blame onto a small group of young people while avoiding addressing deep-rooted problems of toxic masculinity in Taiwanese society. Much reaction has centered on the internet, particularly through the forum PTT, including doxxing of Grassroots organizers by way of the “human flesh search engine”.

Gao disappeared two weeks ago after an event at the 120 Grassroots Self-Autonomous Zone, a temporary arts space that has occupied a grass field in the Shandao Temple area after a group of artists and young people known as the Unregulated Masses applied for use of the space from the city government, forming something like an artists’ commune. Chen was the last person to see her. Gao’s body was discovered on Monday after police, who remained suspicious of Chen, secured a confession from him.

Gao had been strangled by Chen at the 120 Grassroots Self-Autonomous Zone after refusing Chen’s alleged sexual assaults. Chen, who offered archery classes at the 120 Grassroots Self-Autonomous Zone, stored the body for three days before moving the body to Yangming Mountain, where the remains were later found. In particular, Chen dismembered the body into seven pieces, making this the latest in a long series of dismemberment cases that have taken place in the past two months in Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/06/21
By:  Central News Agency

TAIPEI (CNA) – Former President Lee Teng-hui will travel to Japan on Friday to attend

the unveiling of a monument to Taiwanese soldiers who died in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa.

At the invitation of the Japan-Taiwan Peace Foundation in Naha City, Lee will spend four days in Japan, where he will be the guest of honor Saturday at a dinner hosted jointly by the foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-Hui Association in Japan, his office said.

On Sunday, Lee will attend the unveiling of a war memorial dedicated to the memory of Taiwanese soldiers who died in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II, the office said. Later that day, he will meet with members of the Association of Overseas Taiwanese in Okinawa at a dinner, the office said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/21
By: Wang Chao-yu and Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, June 21 (CNA) Police on Wednesday raided three brothels in Keelung City,

northern Taiwan and arrested 31 people involved in the sex trade, including 20 female sex workers — three Taiwanese and 17 from Thailand, who mostly entered Taiwan on tourist visas, the police said Thursday.

According to the police, the raids were conducted after a tip-off was received one month ago that a group of Thai women were working as prostitutes.

The police raided the premises simultaneously at around 9 p.m. Wednesday, after surveilling them for the past month.

Of the 31 people arrested, two ran the brothels and a third was working as a lookout, 20 were sex workers and the rest customers, according to the police.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 22, 2018
By: Jonathan Chin  /  Staff writer, with CNA

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is to challenge the constitutionality of the

government’s military pension reform act at the Council of Grand Justices, party chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday.

The Legislative Yuan on Wednesday night passed amendments to the Act of Military Service for Officers and Noncommissioned Officers of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍軍官士官服役條例) in a vote split along partisan lines.

The act is expected to take effect on July 1, alongside changes to the pension schemes for civil servants and public-school teachers.

Wu issued a statement to blast Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers for passing the amendments “roughly and in the dead of night.”    [FULL  STORY]

Campaigners are struggling to hold anyone accountable two years after the devastating toxic spill.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/06/20
By the Global Voices Chinese Lingua team

In 2016, toxic waste from the Taiwanese-owned Formosa Plastics Group’s steel plant caused a massive marine life disaster in Vietnam. Two years later with activists in prison and local livelihoods destroyed, the fight for justice is far from over and has seen significant collaboration between Taiwanese and Vietnamese.

The extent of the environmental damage remains unclear. The Vietnamese government has not released its official investigation report or environmental data to the public.

Authorities claim that almost all affected residents have been compensated; however, many of them say they have not received it or only received part of it, as the BBC reports.

While fish have started to return, their numbers are fewer than before the disaster. Fishermen have been left jobless, and people are worried whether it is safe to eat the caught fish.   [FULL  STORY]

Existing U.S. measures unlikely to affect Taiwanese businesses: NSC

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/06/20
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) called a meeting of the

National Security Council (NSC) and of top government officials Wednesday morning to discuss the potential impact of a widening trade war between the United States and China, two of the island’s major trading partners.

She heard an NSC address about the possible changes in relations between Taiwan, the U.S. and China as well as about the changing roles of Taiwanese businesses at home and in China, the Central News Agency reported.

Since trade tensions started to surface last March, the NSC set up a special taskforce to closely monitor developments, while six meetings up until Tuesday discussed the potential impact, with the final report being presented to the president on Wednesday, a spokesman said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/20
By: Sabine Cheng and Hsu Hsiao-ling

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) A collection of Japanese textbooks is now on display in Taipei,

showing how practical knowledge can be conveyed to the public, according to the organizers.

The exhibition, titled “The most beautiful textbooks in the world,” presents more than 150 books that contain practical information about issues such as disaster prevention and can serve as model for a revision of Taiwan textbooks, according to Chou Yu-ju (周育如), the founder of the exhibition’s organizer City Yeast.

“After organizing numerous activities for more than a decade, we have found that the best way to change the aesthetics of a place is to begin with education,” she said.
[FULL  STORY]