A cemetery’s destruction highlights Taiwan’s systemic lack of cultural preservation.

The Diplomat
Date: February 22, 2018
By: James X. Morris 

Taiwan has a problem with preserving its cultural assets. Despite a rich documented history spanning nearly four centuries of European, Ming, Qing, Japanese, and

Republican conquest, each successive administrative government sought to stamp out traces of the previous regime while establishing its own. Understandably many of Taiwan’s cultural assets and heritage sites have been lost due to activities in the past. But today, 30 years after the end of martial law, and 20 years after democratization, in a period where the Taiwanese are free to proudly discuss and display their heritage, there is still a systemic attempt to destroy its ancient, colonial, and cultural artifacts.

Today’s destructive force is development, and the perverse tragedy of modern Taiwan is that in its push to be recognized as a great modern nation, priority is taken away from the cultural assets that give it its identity. The forces of local planning and popular consumption have framed a path that a small but growing voice of preservationists are attempting to pull the island away from, highlighting a split in the debate over Taiwan’s future.

The latest battleground over Taiwan’s future is a cemetery in New Taipei City’s Xindian District. The cemetery was once home to more than 5,000 tombs, many dating to the Qing Dynasty and Japanese colonial period, which, due to terrain constraints, has preserved the traditional worship practices of local families for nearly three centuries. The cemetery is in the process of being demolished to make room to expand Xindian’s industrial cluster, a move that preservationists argue will destroy the district’s anchor to its past. A devastating flood in the early 20th century destroyed much of the district’s buildings from the Qing Dynasty and Japanese colonial period, leaving Xindian First Public Cemetery as one of the area’s oldest remaining sites.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-22

China and the Vatican are reportedly in talks to sign an agreement soon on the

appointment of Catholic bishops in China. That would overcome the biggest hurdle for the two sides in forming official diplomatic ties.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Andrew Lee said that China and the Vatican have not yet discussed political ties.

Lee said, “The foreign ministry and ambassador to the Vatican are watching closely the dialogue between the Holy See and China. The current progress has covered church affairs. The two sides have not begun to discuss political matters.”

Lee said that Taiwan is facing many diplomatic challenges and its diplomats are watching relevant affairs very closely. Taiwan currently has 20 official diplomatic allies. The Holy See is the only ally in Europe.    [SOURCE]

Officials chose to artificially inseminate Yuan Yuan after her partner Tuan Tuan’s best efforts failed to get the job done 

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/22
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The large female panda at the Taipei Zoo, Yuan Yuan, has been

artificially inseminated, it has been reported, after her partner Tuan Tuan, failed to mate with her during the height of her fertility cycle.

Despite his best efforts, and being denied the opportunity for almost an entire year, Tuan Tuan was unable to deliver on the spot. The missed opportunity led officials at the zoo to the decision to go ahead and help in the reproduction process.

The two pandas were given to Taiwan as a gesture of goodwill from China in 2008 at the beginning of the first term of the Ma administration. Yuan Yuan has undergone the artificial insemination procedure before, resulting in the birth of the pair’s cub Yuan Zai on July 6, 2013.

According to the report at the Daily Mail, female pandas are generally only in heat for a 24 to 72 hour window every spring. This year, Feb. 20 was decided as the best window of opportunity for Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan to do things the old fashioned way.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/22
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) Riders of public bicycles in Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan and

Kaohsiung will all enjoy free insurance coverage, starting sometime in the second quarter of the year.

Chairman Chen Tsan-huang (陳燦煌) of the Non-Life Insurance Association of the Republic of China announced Thursday that the respective city governments will invest in insurance for users of their bike sharing services.

According to Chen, the Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan city governments have all decided to purchase third party public liability insurance for Youbike users, so that they will be covered should they get into an accident or cause damage to another individual while riding the public bikes.

The insurance compensation for the death of a third party individual caused by a bike rider will be a maximum of NT$2 million (US$68,361).    [FULL  STORY]

Channel News Asia
Date: 21 Feb 2018

TAIPEI: From halal fried chicken to hot springs hotels with prayer facilities, Taiwan is

adapting its traditional tourist draws to woo Muslim visitors as Chinese arrivals dwindle.

Mainland tourist numbers have slid dramatically as China relations deteriorate, with speculation authorities there are turning off the taps to pressure Taiwan’s Beijing-sceptic government.

Taiwan is now looking to boost relations with 16 south and southeast Asian countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand – what it calls its “southbound policy” – and is seeking more visitors from the region.

That has meant a growing number of tourists from Muslim-majority countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia. Taiwan welcomed 30 per cent more visitors from southeast Asia in 2017.    [FULL  STORY]

Woman inexplicably tattoos ‘miso’ on her leg

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/21
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An image posted on Twitter on Feb. 16 of a Western woman on

an airplane with the Chinese characters for “miso,” as in the Japanese soup, on her leg has quickly gone viral, with 7,500 likes and 2,000 retweets.

Alton Wang, a Chinese-American who is based in Temple City, California and is an Assistant Director at the ‎Center for Social Innovation in Riverside, California, noticed a Western woman sitting next to him on a plane had the Chinese characters for “miso”(味增), which are also the same in Japanese, tattooed on her right lower leg, as she crossed her legs.

He quickly took a photo of the odd body art, but did not ask the woman as to why she had the Japanese dish inscribed on her leg. It could be another example of poorly translated Chinese characters that frequently find their way on Western bodies, or perhaps she is indeed a big fan of miso soup?    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/21
By: Wang Shu-fen and William Yen

Taipei, Feb. 21 (CNA) A stranded Panama-registered vessel “Hang Yu 11,” which ran aground off Zhuwei Fishing Harbor, Taoyuan on Feb. 3, was finally freed Wednesday, according to the Maritime and Port Bureau (MPB).

According to a press release issued by the MPB on the same day, workers made use of the afternoon’s full tide and strong waves to deploy the tug boats “Salvage Champion” and “Salvage Ace” with 10,000hp and 9,000hp, respectively, to free the “Hang Yu 11.”

The vessel, which has a gross tonnage of 2,998 tons, ran aground in strong winds and high waves. The MPB called 11 emergency meetings with related organizations in an attempt to implement necessary rescue and pollution containment measures.

The shipowner was asked to immediately carry out clean-up operations along the shore, remove residual oil and repair the hull.    [FULL  STORY]