Page Three

Film industry fund panned as ‘snack’: lawmaker

ENOUGH FUNDING? Lawmakers questioned whether government subsidies to cultural production industries are enough to keep up with China and South Korea

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 20, 2018
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

Lawmakers at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee yesterday questioned the government’s plan to invest NT$10 billion (US$342.45 million) in the nation’s film and television industries to counter 31 incentives China announced last month, which target Taiwanese businesses, civic groups, cultural workers and artists, saying that the fund would merely be a “snack” rather than a “nutritional supplement.”

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) said the incentive program would lift the limits imposed on the number of Taiwanese working on TV programs, TV series and films in China.

It would also remove the cap on the number of Taiwanese produced films and TV series that Chinese film studios, radio stations, television stations, Internet service providers and cable television networks were allowed to import, he said.

China previously imposed various limits on films and television series jointly produced by Taiwan and China, including ratios for Taiwanese to Chinese staff and Taiwanese to Chinese funding, Yen said, adding that it also stipulated how much of the storyline should involve China.    [FULL  STORY]

Coast guard team saves fishermen from capsizing boat

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-18

A coast guard team has saved six fishermen from a capsizing boat.

At around to 2 a.m. on Sunday, the coast guard received a distress signal from a boat 9.2 nautical miles off southwestern Chiayi County. The boat had taken on water and was listing to one side.

A coast guard team reached the boat 30 minutes after receiving the signal despite rough conditions at sea. Rescuers gave the fishermen life vests and pumped some of the water out of the boat. The team was eventually able to bring the boat and the fishermen safely back to shore.     [SOURCE]

Japanese couple first to get married in Taiwan aboriginal wedding

Japan Times
Date: Mar 18, 2018

Japanese couple Toshiaki Yoshida (right) and Natsumi Ueno ﷯wed via ﷯a traditional aboriginal wedding ceremony in Taiwan on Saturday. | KYODO

PINGTUNG, TAIWAN – A Japanese couple has tied the knot in a traditional aboriginal wedding ceremony in southern Taiwan, becoming the first foreign couple to do so since this particular ceremony began 14 years ago.

Toshiaki Yoshida, 36, and Natsumi Ueno, 35, wed in an aboriginal village in Sandimen Township, Pingtung County, on Saturday.

Chien Ching-fa, director of the Maolin National Scenic Area Administration, said of the outdoor ceremony that his agency has been co-organizing the annual event since 2005 to preserve aboriginal culture and promote tourism to the area.

Ten couples — six aboriginal, three ethnic Chinese from Taiwan and the Japanese — all dressed in traditional costumes for the mass wedding ceremony, which was originally developed for nobles from the Paiwan tribe.

The ceremony began with an inspection of the groom’s dowry, followed by the bride being carried in a palanquin to the ceremony venue where the couple danced and drank aboriginal wines.    [FULL  STORY]

Mayor Ke wishes Baby, Taiwan’s favorite gorilla, bon voyage

Taipei Zoo’s 350lb gorilla, Baby, is leaving on a jet plane tomorrow to the Netherlands

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/03/18
By: Renée Salmonsen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) bid Taipei’s favorite gorilla,

Mayor Ko waves goodbye to Baby. (By Central News Agency)

Baby (寶寶), a safe trip this afternoon before Baby’s flight to the Netherlands tomorrow morning.

Baby is relocating to the Apenheul Primate Park in Apeldoorn, Amsterdam. He will replace a male silverback gorilla and then learn how to lead a pack of female gorillas as well as establish a family of his own, reported CNA.

The 33-year-old gorilla came to Taiwan when he was two years old, accordingto Apple Daily.

Baby (寶寶) (CNA Image)

The Taipei Zoo held a farewell party for Baby today in the style of a traditional Taiwanese wedding ceremony. This included wedding sweets (喜糖), double happiness cakes (喜餅), organic dried guava (有機芭樂乾), sackcloth bag (麻布袋), dumbbell (啞鈴), and a backpack (寶寶浪跡天涯小背包).    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese scholars working on films to promote science literacy

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/18
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, March 18 (CNA) A series of eight documentary films that delve into the role of

Yang Chun-ying (楊春英, second left front row) and former RCA workers attend the premiere of a film about their legal battle against the company. Tu Wen-ling (杜文苓, second row second left) and a group of scholars initiate the film project to promote science literacy.

science and technology in several high-profile societal events in Taiwan have recently been released, thanks to an approach by scholars aimed at promoting science literacy.

The premiere of the first part of the series — which looks at how scientific fact has been used to establish causation in an ongoing tort litigation against RCA, an American home appliance maker founded in 1919 that had an operation center in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, from 1970-1992, was held Friday at National Chengchi University.

From the lens of science, the series dissects the RCA case and others to reflect on the application of science in understanding socio-technical controversies and its limits in characterizing such problems, Tu Wen-ling (杜文苓), head of the project, said at a pre-premiere press conference.    [FULL  STORY]

Massive English-language Sunflower archive finished

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 19, 2018
By: Su Fang-ho and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Following 15 months of preparation, the Daybreak Project, a 300,000-word English-language online interactive encyclopedia and oral history archive about the 2014 Sunflower movement, is to be officially launched on Friday.

Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of the student-led protests in March and April 2014 against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s handling of a cross-strait service trade agreement.

The protesters occupied the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber in Taipei for almost 23 days and at one point stormed the Executive Yuan building, with thousands of supporters participating in public rallies nationwide in a show of solidarity with those in the chamber.

Compiled by Taiwan Foundation for Democracy fellow Brian Hioe (丘琦欣), the project is to be available to the public for free online and includes more than 50 interviews with key players in the Sunflower movement, including Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), a breakaway group called the “Jianmin Liberation Zone” (賤民解放區) and the Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Fearing isolation, Taiwan cheers US law expanding contacts

The Washington Post 
Date: March 17, 2018 
By Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan on Saturday cheered a new U.S. law that encourages expanded contacts between officials from Washington and the self-governing island democracy that China claims as its own and has increasingly sought to isolate diplomatically.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that following the signing of the Taiwan Travel Act, the island’s government would “continue to uphold the principles of mutual trust and mutual benefit to maintain close contact and communication with the U.S.”

President Donald Trump on Friday signed the law introduced by Ohio Republican Steve Chabot.

“The Foreign Ministry recognizes and expresses gratitude for the goodwill shown by friends in the U.S. Congress and the friendly acts of the Trump Administration,” said the statement posted to the ministry’s website.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News Encyclopedia: The CPTPP

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-17

The CPTPP is a free trade deal between 11 countries around the Pacific Rim. Last Thursday, the trade bloc’s 11 member countries signed an agreement in Santiago, Chile, which is expected to take effect next year.

With a total population of 500 million people, the bloc accounts for 13.5% of the global economy. The 11 countries include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vie    [FULL  STORY]

Happy Birthday! For its 84th birthday, I-Mei Foods is offering a gift to other 84 year olds

I-Mei Foods is inviting seniors born in the same year and month that I-Mei began its business to register for a special birthday gift

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/03/17
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Time sure does fly! After another wonderful year, the

(Image from I-Mei Foods)

internationally recognized I-Mei Foods is fast approaching its 84th birthday on March 30.

Since 2016, I-Mei Foods has held a special birthday celebration to share good cheer with the wider community by inviting seniors born in the same year, and month that  I-Mei began its business, to join in a special promotional event.

I-Mei began its business in a small shop located in Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area. Since then, the business has moved several times, and continued to grow and develop. However, I-Mei has always stayed true to its principles, and its commitment to quality.

I-Mei still believes that diligence lies at the heart of the family, the nation, and should also guide people in their care for the environment. I-Mei strives every year to maintain its commitment to diligence, to caring for the environment, the country, the community, as well as the families of the customers that have helped make I-Mei the successful company that it is.    [FULL  STORY]

Foundation announces top winner of Taiwan history novel awards

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/17
By: Liu Lee-jung and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 17 (CNA) The New Taiwan Peace Foundation announced Saturday its first

From left to right: Koo Kuan-min (辜寬敏), Ko Tsung-ming (柯宗明), Chang Ing-ming (張英珉), and Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君).

top prize recipient of the Taiwan History Novel Awards, an annual event which has been held since 2015.

Ko Tsung-ming (柯宗明), who won the prestigious award for his novel “Tan Ting-pho’s password”(陳澄波密碼) in a ceremony held in Taipei, said Taiwan is not short of novelists, but lacks significantly in books about Taiwanese history.

Held for the third consecutive year, the finalists this year consisted of works by Chan Ming-ju (詹明儒), Ming Yu-ping (明毓屏) and Chang Ing-ming (張英珉), who consequently took the prize for excellence with his novel titled “Ah Hsiang” (阿香).

According to the foundation, no top prize winner for the Taiwan History Novel Awards had been announced in the two previously events due to the lack of quality entries.
[FULL  STORY]