SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN: Chao An-na had to ask the National History Museum and the Presidential Office for the information needed to have her father inducted

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 28, 2018
By: Aaron Tu and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Army Commander General Wang Shin-lung (王信龍) yesterday presided over a ceremony

at the Martyrs’ Shrine in Taipei to add the names of five people to the list of those who gave their lives in service of the nation.

According to information provided by the Ministry of National Defense, the highest-ranked officer added to the list was major general Chao Chung-jung (趙仲容), who was born in Shanxi Province in 1905 and fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.

In 1949, Chao was ordered to investigate whether general Fu Zuoyi (傅作義), then commander of the army’s anti-communist group in northern China, was planning to defect to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Chao was arrested in Beijing on June 7, 1949. He was charged with destabilizing the mass movement for refusing to surrender and executed in 1951 at age 46, ministry archives showed.   [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-26

The National Institute of Health is working on clinical trials for a new drug to treat lung

cancer. About 85% of those diagnosed with lung cancer have Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), and of these, 60% have EGFR gene mutation. EGFR is a protein on the surface of cells that helps them grow and divide. As some lung cancer cells have excessive EGFR, they grow at an uncontrollable rate.

There are many drugs that can treat EGFR but there is nothing that effectively treats those with EGFR exon20 insertions. Taiwan’s National Institute of Health has been researching and developing a new drug that can do so. This offers hope to the over 10,000 new lung cancer patients in Taiwan every year.

Researcher Hsu Chu-an says that DBPR112 is effective in suppressing EGFR and HER2’s exon20 insertions.  Hsu said there are some mutations that no drug has been able to treat. But that’s what makes DBPR112 special. It is geared towards patients with exon20 insertions, which accounts for about 5% of lung cancer patients. There are currently no other drugs that can be used so we are focusing on this drug and will go forward with trials.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/26
By: Wang Hung-kuo and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 26 (CNA) One of the ring leaders behind the heist of more than NT$83

million (US$2.85 million) from Taiwan’s First Bank ATMs nearly two years ago has been arrested in Spain, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said in a statement Monday.

The complex investigation, which lasted nearly 20 months, was jointly conducted by local authorities and the Spanish National Police, with support from Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and private cyber security companies, according to the CIB.

Identified only by his name Denys, the Russian native is one of the leaders of the cybercrime syndicate “Cobalt,” which has been targeting banks, e-payment systems and financial institutions around the world using a malware it designed, known as Cobalt Strike, since 2016, the bureau said.

The group has so far infiltrated over 100 financial institutions in 40 countries, and stolen nearly 1 billion euros.    [FULL STORY]

‘PEOPLE’S WISDOM’: The citizen judge system is ‘fake reform,’ an advocate said, adding that in simulated court sessions the judge berated citizen judges

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 27, 2018
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Members of the Taiwan Jury Association, along with members of judicial reform advocacy

groups, yesterday gathered in front of the Judicial Yuan building, urging the public to join a march on May 5 to demand the implementation of the jury system in Taiwan.

The National Congress on Judicial Reform between November 2016 and August last year gathered experts to discuss whether a jury system or lay assessor system would be more suitable as a civic participation system for Taiwan, but they did not reach a consensus.

The government later decided to establish a citizen judge system and proposed a draft act in November last year.    [FULL  STORY]

The Peninsula
Date: 26 Mar 2018

DOHA: Supported by the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) and in association with

Al Sawari Holding, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) organized a Green Energy Solution Day Seminar in Doha.

Those present at the event included Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatari Businessmen Association and Al Faisal Holding; Sheikh Turki bin Faisal, Chairman Al Sawari Holding; Mohammed Shafiek, Managing Director of Al Sawari Holding; and Dr. Suo-Hang Chuang, Vice Chairman Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).

Sheikh Faisal opened the event by welcoming and thanking all those present. Addressing the event, he highlighted that Qatar’s relationship with Taiwan goes back to the 1970s, as both countries have a consistent economic policy for trade and investment cooperation.

More specific to the sustainable energy he commented “Discussing green energy is extremely important both in the business perspective as the environmental one. Our government is actively working towards a more energy-efficient future for Qatar and private business also need to take action.”    [FULL  STORY]

Pork products from Italy, including the renowned Parma ham, are now allowed on the Taiwanese market.

Pig Progress
Date: Mar 25, 2018
By: Vincent ter Beek

This was the result of joint work by the European Commission and the Italian authorities.

The opening of the market is expected to generate sales of Italian pork products of around € 2 million.

According to a press release by the European Commission, the approval for fresh meat is effective immediately, but it will take several months until hams will be available for sale as they have to complete their maturation process before being placed on the market. The opening of the Taiwanese market is the result of several years’ work engaging with the Taiwanese government, academia and the wider public in a dialogue to explain the EU’s comprehensive, multi-layered control systems, recognised worldwide to meet highest sanitary standards.

Breakthrough for Taiwanese market
In the press release, agriculture and rural development commissioner Phil Hogan welcomed the Taiwanese decision: “This important breakthrough is further vindication of the high standards of EU food production. Europe is the best address for high-quality food in the world and we will build on this opening to the Taiwanese market to pursue further market opportunities in Asia.”

The press release also stated that the European Commission will continue to work closely with the Taiwanese government and member states to expand bilateral trade of food products with Taiwan.    [SOURCE]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/03/25
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Golden Pin Design Award 2018 call for entries is now open. For the first time, the annual competition is open to companies from anywhere in the world, with deadline for entries on June 28. Early bird entrants can benefit from a discounted registration fee before April 30.

This is the 38th year of the Golden Pin Design Award. Over the past 37 years, the award has built a reputation as the authority on design in the Chinese-speaking world, only opening to international entrants in 2014. The award specializes in huaren design — design for and within the Chinese-speaking community.

The global huaren community is the world’s largest diaspora and has around 1.2 billion people, who account for 16 percent of the world’s population and speak Chinese as their first language, according to Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2012. The Golden Pin Design Award offers a chance for international companies to share their great designs with the huaren community, both in the Greater China region and worldwide.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/25
By: Wang Shu-fen and William Yen

Kaohsiung, March 25 (CNA) Kaohsiung’s traffic lights are staying red longer at over 180 intersections to allow its aging population more time to cross city streets, a Kaohsiung Bureau of Transportation (BOT) official said Sunday.

BOT Intelligent Transportation Center head Wang Chih-kang (王志綱) told CNA that in the past, the time allotted for pedestrians to cross a street was calculated at a speed of one meter per second but the formula has now been adjusted to 80 centimeters per second.

The initiative, which began at the end of last year and has been carried out at 188 intersections, gives people 50 seconds to get across a 40-meter road crossing, compared to 40 seconds in the past, Wang said.

He said the number of seconds it takes to cross streets is regularly reviewed and extended due to the needs of the growing elderly population, and this latest move should provide seniors with a more friendly environment for getting around the city on foot.
[FULL  STORY]