Page Three

E-scooters get ready for takeoff in Taiwan

Taiwan Today
Date: February 02, 2018

In the early morning of Aug. 6, 2017, more than 500 Gogoro riders from Hsinchu,

(Courtesy of Gogoro)

Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taoyuan cities gathered in Sanchong District of New Taipei City in northern Taiwan to stage a “quiet” revolution. Together, they traveled in style across Taipei Bridge, a major access point to Taipei City that is often crowded with legions of boisterous motorcycles spewing clouds of exhaust.

Further south in Dongpu Village of Taoyuan City, Chiang Ching-shang began the day by riding his E-moving scooter to meetings, carrying out his duties as the village head.

More than ever before, an increasing number of people are choosing e-scooters over traditional motorcycles.    [FULL  STORY]

Think tanks ink MOU for wind power risks

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-02

Six government-affiliated think tanks have signed a memorandum of understanding with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) on setting up a third-party certification mechanism. The move is particularly aimed at the financing of offshore wind power projects.

Having visited some 30-odd banks over the past few months, the CIP said the local banking industry has trouble on risk analysis since it has no experience in financing offshore wind farms. But the MOU will give local banks the confidence in funding wind farm projects and ease their concerns over uncertainties.    [FULL  STORY]

U.S. to sell Stinger missiles to Taiwan following M503 dispute

Delivery could come within months: Washington Times

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The United States is preparing to sell 250 Stinger surface-to-air

A Stinger being fired during military drills in Romania. (By Associated Press)

missiles to Taiwan following its dispute with China about the M503 flight route, reports said Friday.

In early January, Beijing unilaterally declared that northbound flights would follow a route close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, with three feeder routes for flights traveling from three cities along the coast. Taiwan has condemned the move, as it says the new routes threaten its national security and flight safety in general.

As a result of the dispute, the Pentagon was considering delivering the Stingers to Taiwan in the coming months, the Washington Times reported. The deal was reportedly part of a US$92 million (NT$2.69 billion) contract with Raytheon Company which also included arms sales to Poland.

The FIM-92 Stinger has been described as a portable air defense system operating as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile. The weapon can be fired from the shoulder, and also from ground vehicles and helicopters.    [FULL  STORY]

First section of improved Suhua Highway to open Feb. 5

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) The first section of the Suhua Highway improvement project, a road that cuts through the mountains along Taiwan’s east coast, will open Feb. 5, in time for surging travel demand around the Lunar New Year holiday, the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) said Friday.

After passing a three-stage inspection, the 9.7-kilometer stretch from Su’ao to Dong’ao in Yilan County will open at 4 p.m. Feb. 5, the DGH said.

The new road includes the Su’ao Tunnel, the Baimi Bridge, the Yongle Bridge, the Dong’ao Tunnel and the Dongyue Tunnel, after which it rejoins the original highway.

The first section will be a safer and faster route than the existing road, taking 10 minutes instead of 30, the DGH said, but added that commercial vehicles are not allowed to enter at the current stage.    [FULL  STORY]

Council expands, finalizes draft bill on political data

DECLASSIFIED: The draft proposes that all pseudonyms and concealed names be made available, except for information that might infringe on a person’s privacy

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 03, 2018
By: Chen Mei-ying  /  Staff reporter

The National Development Council has finalized a draft bill for a political data act (政治檔案條例), proposing the disclosure of the identities of people involved in historical events and the declassification of all political files dating back 30 years or more, provided they do not compromise national security.

Whether the Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法) should be enforced has been a source of contention in discussions about the proposed political data act, with veteran political activist Shih Ming-te (施明德) saying that perpetrators of political events have largely been shielded by the nation’s current policy on declassifying political files.

National Archives Administration officials have reached a consensus on maximizing transparency by allowing the declassification of political files to bypass the Personal Information Protection Act if parties directly concerned with a historical event request that files be made public, administration deputy director-general Chen Hai-hsiung (陳海雄) said.

To aid efforts to establish historical facts, the draft bill proposes that all codes, pseudonyms given to public officers, witnesses and whistle-blowers, as well as all names concealed in files, be made available, with the exception of information that may infringe on their privacy, such as their health, which could be filtered out before they are duplicated for other uses, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

St. Lucia police to benefit from Taiwan cooperation agreement

St. Lucia News Online
Date: February 1, 2018
By: OPM

(PRESS RELEASE) – The Government of Saint Lucia continues to step up the

Security Minister Hermangild Francis (left) with Taiwan Ambassador Douglas Shen.

approach to dealing with crime and strengthening our police force.

Taiwan and Saint Lucia have signed an agreement for police cooperation which will see more exchanges in the area of personnel visits, training, and intelligence between police officers.

The Bilateral Police Cooperation Agreement will also mean law authorities will work hand-in-hand in the prevention and policing of serious transnational crimes.

The official signing was held on January 31st 2018 as part of the official visit to Saint Lucia of Taiwan Foreign Affairs Minister, His Excellency Dr. David Tawei Lee.
[FULL  STORY]

National Women’s League to have assets frozen

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-01

The National Women’s League is to have its assets frozen and be declared a subsidiary organization of the opposition Kuomintang.

The news comes after the organization on Monday voted against signing a contract with the government. The agreement would have seen the Women’s League donate 90% of its assets in exchange for an end to a government probe into its activities.
[FULL  STORY]

‘Protect Sharks Man’ threatens to poison those who eat shark fins in Taiwan

‘Protect Sharks Man’ now in hot water with the law for threatening to poison all people who eat shark fins in Taiwan

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/01
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police are hunting for a man who calls himself “Protect Sharks

Screen capture of Youtube video posted by Shih Po-han.

Man” after he issued a threat on social media that he would poison customers eating shark fin in restaurants across Taiwan.

In a YouTube video posted on Jan. 28 and also uploaded to his Facebook pageon Jan. 29, the 32-year-old, who identifies himself as Shih Po-han (施伯瀚), first announces the “successful’ completion of his first phase, which was to send severed hands representing shark fins to sellers of shark meat to “scare and threaten them.”

Shih then announces that as part of his second phase, he has summoned his 1,300 “Sharkfin Gladiators” to join him in placing a poison inside shark fin soup (魚翅羹), so that all those who eat the dish in all restaurants in Taiwan will ingest the toxin.
[FULL  STORY]

Swedish minister urges Beijing to talk with Taipei on aviation route

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/01
By: Tang Pei-chun and Ko Lin

Brussels, Feb. 1 (CNA) The Swedish foreign minister has called on Beijing to put

Image taken from Pixabay

aviation safety ahead of controversial cross-strait political issues and consult with Taipei over its recent unilateral opening of the northbound M503 flight route, according to a release by the Taipei Mission in Sweden on Thursday.

The response came in the wake of a recent letter by Margareta Cederfelt, Swedish politician and member of the Swedish-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Association (STPA), in which she wrote to the Swedish foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, asking whether the government could urge the authorities in Beijing to talk with Taipei to resolve the issue.

In its release, Taiwan’s representative office in Sweden said Wallstrom on Wednesday called on all sides to work together to help maintain aviation safety and regional security.    [FULL  STORY]

Ko speaks at European Parliament

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 02, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taipei’s acceptance of different cultures and ideas is its defining value, incorporating

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je speaks to members of the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, giving his thoughts on what Taipei’s values are.  Photo: CNA

progressive Western ideals into Chinese society, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said in a speech at the European Parliament on Wednesday.

Addressing a gathering of more than 30 members of the European Parliament, Ko spoke of Taipei’s values, positioning the city in a landscape that is full of what he called “clashes of ideas and values.”

While Taipei might appear to be like any other Chinese society, it is quite different, because “we can accept different cultures,” Ko said.

He pointed to the 50,000 Muslims who gathered in Taipei during last year’s Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic post-Ramadan fast-breaking festival, as an impressive feat, especially as it occurred in a city and nation that are not Muslim.    [FULL  STORY]