Page Three

Man arrested trying to sell 1,300 kg of dolphin meat in eastern Taiwan

The meat was found in the man’s freezer in 50 plastic bags

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/06/08
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Yilan County Coast Guard officials arrested a man, surnamed

Bottle nose dolphin

Pan (潘), after finding 1,372 kg of dolphin meat in his freezer in Yilan County on Wednesday, June 6.

Pan allegedly said he planned to sell the meat. Killing dolphins, as well as selling or buying the meat is illegal in Taiwan, with laws and serious punishments being strictly enforced.

The dolphin meat was found after Coast Guard officers began following a suspicious vehicle, which led them to search Pan’s home near the Nanfang-ao (南方澳) Harbor of Yilan’s Su-ao Township (蘇澳鎮).

The contraband had already been butchered and divided into 50 plastic bags.
[FULL  STORY]

President Tsai encourages young Taiwanese to reach out to the world

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/08
By Yeh Su-ping and Shih Hsiu-chaun

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) China’s increasing pressure on Taiwan, to squeeze its international space, hasn’t caused frustration for Taiwanese people who know that the way out of the situation is to have the courage to reach out to the world, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Friday.

Tsai made the remarks when she addressed young people who will join a summer internship program organized by the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC), a Cabinet-level agency with overseas outposts that serve Taiwanese expatriates.

“We did not feel frustrated with China’s recent diplomatic suppression of Taiwan. We will yield nothing to unreasonable demands,” Tsai said.

She encouraged young people in Taiwan to step out of their comfort zone to explore the world with passion and courage.    [FULL  STORY]

Court maintains Kinmen mayor’s guilty conviction

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 09, 2018
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

In a final ruling, the Supreme Court yesterday upheld a conviction against Kinmen’s Chinsha Township (金沙) Mayor Chen Chi-te (陳其德) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for receiving bribes to help a woman flee to China and evade prosecution for fraud.

In the first and second rulings, the court found Chen guilty. He was handed an 11-year prison sentence and was deprived of his civic rights for six years.

The case involved a woman surnamed Wu (吳), who paid Chen NT$280,000 (US$9,390) to arrange a boat for her to travel from Kinmen to China’s Fujian Province in September 2012.

At the time, Chen was a detective and had been working for Kinmen police since 1993. He was later forced to quit for being involved in a separate criminal case.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to guarantee all fishing boats abide by international law

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-06-07

The agriculture council says it will do all it can to abide by international law for the protection of foreign crew members in Taiwan. That was the word from the deputy agriculture minister Chen Chi-chung on Thursday. The law is the Regulations on the Authorization and Management of Overseas Employment of Foreign Crew Members adopted in January last year.

The agriculture council said to date it has inspected 65 fishing boats and 133 crew members. They found that about 30 percent of the cases are out of line with regulations, most in violation of legal working hours.

Chen said his office is calling for all deep sea fishing boats to strictly follow regulations.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan fisheries agency issues report following horrifying death of Indonesian worker

Media reports last month revealed evidence of human rights abuses by Taiwan’s offshore fishing fleets

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/06/07
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Following media reports of abuse and dire working conditions of

(Image credit: Greenpeace)

migrant fishing workers, Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency issued a report on Thursday, June 7, regarding a number of violations and disciplinary actions against non-compliant offshore fisheries operators.

The agency said that it is demanding corrective measures on non-compliant operators and those found involved in criminal cases will be made known to the public in the future.

A large-scale investigation has been conducted on 65 offshore fishing boats and 133 crew members since January, and the agency has successfully helped seven fishing migrant workers retrieve their passports which were illegally held by their employers as well as accrued wages amounting to US$8,340.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration joins ICH: FDA head

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/07
By: Chen Wei-ting and William Yen

Taipei, June 7 (CNA) The International Council for Harmonisation of Technical

Image taken from Pixabay

Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) announced Thursday afternoon that Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been made an official member, the FDA head said the same day.

FDA Director General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) said ICH was established in 1990 by regulatory authorities and pharmaceutical industries in Europe, Japan and the United States.

Through global discussion, it has formulated drug regulatory guidelines that are accepted by countries around the world and recognized as global standards for drug review, Wu added.

Being an official member of the ICH shows that the international community recognizes Taiwan’s strength and hard work; and feels Taiwan can make a valuable contribution, Wu noted.    [FULL  STORY]

Sun now faces US federal firearm charges

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 08, 2018
By: Reuters

Taiwanese exchange student Sun An-tso (孫安佐), who pleaded guilty to making terrorist threats against the Catholic high school he was attending in Pennsylvania has now been hit with federal firearms charges, US federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Sun, 18, was charged in a federal criminal complaint issued on Tuesday with possessing ammunition while in the US on a non-immigrant visa, a spokesman for the US Department of Justice said in a statement.

Sun was earlier this week sentenced to between four and 23 months in jail followed by deportation after pleading guilty in Delaware County District Court to making terrorist threats.

He plead guilty to making threats as part of an open plea agreement with Pennsylvania state prosecutors in exchange for dropping the charge of possessing an instrument of crime in the hope of facilitating his deportation.    [FULL  STORY]

Han Guang live fire drill in Penghu successful

ICRT Radio News
Date: 2018-06-06

Defense officials say live fire drills in Penghu have come to a successful
close.

The exercises are part of the 34th Han Guang military exercise taking place
from June 4th to the 8th.

This year’s drill simulates an attack by Chinese forces, and involve the ROC
Navy being mobilized.

For this morning’s drill in Penghu, the army fired rounds of 81-mm and 120-mm
mortars on command.

Tomorrow, exercises will take place at Qing-quan-gang base in Taichung,
simulating an aerial attack.    [SOURCE]

Photo of the Day: Kid covers ears as jet lands in Taipei 

3-year-old boy covers his ears as a China Airlines jet lands at Taipei’s Songshan Airport

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/06/06
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(Photo by Andy Ip)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In this photo submitted by Andy Ip, a three-year old boy can be seen covering his ears as a China Airlines jet comes alarmingly close for landing at Songshan Airport in Taipei on May 6.

Like Hong Kong’s old, revered Kai Tak Airport, Songshan Airport is in the heart of Taipei City and thus close encounters like this are more common than with faraway Taipei Taoyuan International Airport.  Many prefer the airport as it is much closer than its Taoyuan counterpart and it serves both domestic routes and flights to China, South Korea and Japan.     [FULL  STORY]

King Mswati III of eSwatini visiting Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/06
By: Ku Chuan and William Yen

Taipei, June 6 (CNA) King Mswati III of eSwatini, a kingdom known until recently as

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文, right) and King Mswati III of eSwatini/CNA file photo

Swaziland, arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

During his one-week stay in Taiwan, King Mswati III will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and witness the signing of an economic agreement between the two countries, the ministry said in a press release.

The agreement will be signed by Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) and eSwatini Minister of Commerce & Trade Jabulani Mabuza, MOFA said.

King Mswati III is also scheduled to meet with representatives of Taiwan enterprises to discuss investment in his country and will be the guest of honor at a banquet hosted by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), the ministry said.    [FULL  STORY]