‘I FELT DEAD’: One of his accusers said that he abused her and other 12 or 13-year-old schoolgirls after luring them into his hotel room while on competition tours

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 12, 2018
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Kaohsiung prosecutors yesterday summoned a school teacher, Liang Mei-tsung (梁梅宗), for questioning in connection with a probe into allegations of raping underage girls. After questioning, he was released after posting NT$300,000 bail.

A woman, surnamed Yeh (葉), recently wrote to the Kaohsiung Bureau of Education, accusing Liang, a trainer specializing in gymnastics, of raping her and other schoolgirls over a 10-year period, from 1996 to 2006.

Yeh said Liang ran the gymnastics teams of several schools in Kaohsiung and forced the girls under his charge to have sex with him.

According to reports, there could be up to eight alleged victims, and most of them were only12 or 13 at the time. All of them are adults now, and one has presented documents that show she filed a sexual assault report against Liang in 2003.    [FULL  STORY]

Formosa News
Date: Mar 10, 2018

A number of local Facebook users have had their accounts locked for posting what the platform deemed “hate speech” concerning China. The language used includes an archaic term for China, as well as the number 426, which in Taiwanese sounds similar to “wretched mainlanders.” Both are considered offensive by Chinese citizens. Some are now calling for users to switch to other social media platforms as a gesture of defiance.

Taiwanese citizens frequently take to the internet to express their disdain for China’s authoritarian government. But some Facebook users have found their accounts locked after they posted anti-China sentiment on the social media behemoth. The explanation? Facebook deemed the posts “hate speech”.

Tim Wei
Electronics Expert
Here in Taiwan we come under the control of Facebook’s Greater China section, so that means we have to follow their algorithms. There are quite a lot of social media platforms. Just quit Facebook and use Instagram or Twitter.

Facebook users have also discovered that posting anti-China and anti-Taiwan content gets quite a different reaction from the site. Screenshots of these two equivalent posts show that only the anti-China post gets its user’s account frozen. Taiwanese netizens are unimpressed.

Member of the Public
This is free speech. If Facebook wants to pledge its allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party, then let’s stop using Facebook.

Some say that a company from the supposed “land of the free” – the United States – should not be restricting its users’ free speech to ingratiate itself with China. Some are even calling for a boycott as an attempt to win more respect from the company.
[SOURCE]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-10

On February 28th, the US Senate passed the Taiwan Travel Act, paving the way for exchange visits between senior Taiwanese and US government officials. The move, which came on the heels of the unanimous passage of the bill by the House of Representatives in January, will become law once President Donald Trump signs it.

Under the Taiwan Travel Act, introduced by Republican Representative Steve Chabot, US officials at all levels will be allowed to travel to Taiwan to meet with their counterparts. The bill also permits senior Taiwanese officials to enter the US “under respectful conditions” and to meet with US officials, including from the State Department and the Pentagon. Finally, the bill encourages the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) and any other agencies established by Taiwan to conduct business in the US. The office in Washington, DC is Taiwan’s de facto embassy.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-10

The foreign ministry has thanked Japan for its response to the deadly earthquake that struck Hualien in February. The earthquake left 17 dead and 291 injured.

On Friday, the ministry expressed gratitude for condolences from officials including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It also expressed thanks for a search and rescue team from Japan that traveled to Hualien after the earthquake. The ministry says that Taiwan received over 279 million Yen (US$2.5 million) in donations from Japan’s people.
[SOURCE]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-09

Vice President Chen Chien-jen says Taiwan will not stop pushing for the right to take part in international organizations. The vice president was speaking on Friday while meeting a visiting delegation of parliamentarians from Belgium.

Chen expressed thanks for the Belgian parliament’s resolutions in support of Taiwan in recent years. This included a resolution in 2015 that affirmed Taiwan’s efforts to maintain regional peace and stability. It backed the signing of a bilateral investment pact between Taiwan and the European Union. It also said Taiwan should have meaningful participation in international organizations.    [FULL  STORY]