On April 26 the Chinese air force announced that a flight drill employing fighter jets and H-6K bombers dispatched from multiple airports had taken place

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/04/26
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Chinese military aircraft reportedly circled Taiwan Thursday April

26, as a part of a campaign of intimidation that has heightened tension since China’s live fire military drills that began on April 18.

On April 26, the Chinese air force confirmed that it conducted an encirclement drill around Taiwan that included fighter jets, early warning aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft and H-6K bombers, dispatched from multiple airports, according to Reuters.

On Wednesday, April 25 a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Ma Xiaoguang, vowed “further actions” to intimidate Taiwan if the country continues to move towards de jure independence.

Ma also explicitly stated that the live-fire drills carried out last week were intended to send clear message to those advocating for “Taiwan Independence.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/26
By: Hsu Chi-wei and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 26 (CNA) Nearly 60 percent of economically disadvantaged families report

having suffered from hunger and poor nutrition, while 50 percent live in old or rundown houses, according to a survey released Thursday by the Child Welfare League Foundation.

In the survey, economically disadvantaged families are defined as those with per capita adult income of NT$11,000 per month, or half the monthly minimum wage of NT$22,000.

The survey, which was conducted from January to March among economically disadvantaged families with children who receive the foundation’s support, collected 1,015 valid samples from the 5,000-plus households serviced by the foundation.

The survey found the average monthly household income of an economically disadvantaged family was NT$26,000, or NT$11,000 per adult. Such families spend more than 70 percent of their monthly household income on housing, food and education, 34.7 percent have had to cut back on essentials and 21.1 percent are burdened by debts.
[FULL  STORY]

Reuters
Date: April 24, 2018
By: Ben Blanchard, Jess Macy Yu

BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) – A series of Chinese drills near Taiwan were designed to send

a clear message to the island and China will take further steps if Taiwan independence forces persist in doing as they please, Beijing said on Wednesday, as Taiwan denounced threats of force.

Over the past year or so, China has ramped up military drills around democratic Taiwan, including flying bombers and other military aircraft around the self-ruled island. Last week China drilled in the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

China claims Taiwan as its sacred territory, and its hostility towards the island has grown since the 2016 election as president of Tsai Ing-wen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

China has been issuing increasingly strident calls for Taiwan to toe the line, even as Tsai has pledged to maintain the status quo and keep the peace.    [FULL  STORY]

TCM doctor based in central Taiwan says consuming cold drinks may cause infertility in both men and women

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/04/25
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A doctor of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) based in

Taichung claims to have helped her patients with infertility problems by having them stop drinking cold beverages, according to a Liberty Times report.

In the report, Wang Ya-hsiu (王雅秀) said that cold drinks from a TCM perspective not only negatively affect fertility in women, because they “cool” the uterus, but can also have a detrimental affect on men. She said that a 35-year-old firefighter, who had a lot of pressure from his job and drank at least two cups of iced coffee a day, had come to her because he and his wife had failed to conceive after a year of marriage.

Wang diagnosed the man has having spleen and stomach deficiency for a long period of time, as well as poor Qi and blood circulation, which resulted in poor sperm quality. She said that his 30-year-old wife also had cold extremities and a “cold body constitution,” meaning that she is deficient in yang energy.

One of the core tenets of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the importance of balancing yin and yang within the body, which in the case of the yang-deficient couple means avoiding cold beverages and foods, which are (yin) in nature, while trying to consume beverages and foods that are more yang (warm) in nature to build it up in the bodies.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/25
By: Liu Kuan-ting, Lu Hsin-hui, Yeh Su-ping and William Yen

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) The government will not bow down to violence and the planned

military pension reform will go ahead, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Wednesday in the wake of a protest that turned violent at the gates of the Legislative Yuan earlier that day.

Tsai made the remarks in a Facebook post, stressing that those who resorted to violence cannot stand for patriotic members of the armed forces who are loyal to the country’s citizens.

The protesters from the veterans group “800 Warriors” who were protesting against a government bill to reform their pension system clashed with police as they tried to tear down the police barricade to enter the Legislature building.

Some protesters threw bottles, plastic chairs, sticks, stones and smoke bombs, which resulted in injury to 32 police officers and 11 reporters, according to the Executive Yuan. Police arrested 63 people.    [FULL  STORY]

Reuters
Date: April 24, 2018
By: Reuters Staff

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan will simulate repelling an invading force, emergency repairs of a major air base and using civilian-operated drones as part of military exercises starting next week, the defense ministry said on Tuesday amid growing tensions with China.

Over the past year or so, China has ramped up military drills around self-ruled and democratic Taiwan, including flying bombers and other military aircraft around the island.

China claims Taiwan as its sacred territory, and its hostility toward the island has grown since the 2016 election as president of Tsai Ing-wen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

China has been issuing increasingly strident calls for Taiwan to toe the line, even as Tsai has pledged to maintain the status quo and keep the peace.    [FULL  STORY]