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Bus Driver Shows Reckless Disregard for Public Safety

Taiwan English News
Date: January 29, 2018
By: Phillip Charlier

A bus driver in Taichung City was recorded crossing double yellow lines and charging through a red light to make a left turn, January 27.

At around 9:00 pm, the day before yesterday, the bus owned by Geya Bus Transportation Company overtook cars by traveling down the wrong side of the road for a distance of about 100 meters before charging through a light that had just turned red. The bus driver was identified as Mr Chen in an Apple Daily report.

Apple Daily said that the general manager of the Geya Bus company did not answer the phone. The Taichung City Public Transport Department urged the company to strengthen driver training and safety education.    [SOURCE]

Taiwan to make stronger push to participate in this year’s WHA

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-29

Taiwan is making a renewed effort to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year. That’s after it was shut out of the annual World Health Organization (WHO) meeting last year, due to pressure from China, which claims to provide for Taiwan’s health needs.

Several countries spoke out on behalf of Taiwan at a meeting of the WHO’s executive board last week. Those countries were the United States and several of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, including Swaziland, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Haiti. The upcoming World Health Assembly will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from May 21-26.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung responded on Monday to calls for a more forceful push to participate this year.    [FULL  STORY]

Google Doodle commemorates Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng

Google Doodle celebrates late Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng’s 65th birthday today

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/29
By: Alicia Nguyen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwanese Diva, Teresa Teng (鄧麗君) is being commemorated

(Photo courtesy of Google)

by Google Doodle today (Jan. 29) for her music and talent which helped her gain immense popularity in Taiwan and much of East Asia.

Today is what would be the late singer’s 65th birthday. In order to celebrate her birthday, Google Doodle paid tribute to one of Teng’s most famous songs in the Chinese speaking world, “The Moon Represents My Heart.”

On the Google homepage, a doodle featuring an illustration of Miss Teng in a white elegant dress, holding a microphone and singing passionately under the bright moonlight was released in several countries including Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Sweden, and Australia. Though she also has a huge following in China, the image will not be accessible there as Google is blocked by the Great Firewall of China.
[FULL  STORY]

Organic Composting in Sanzhi (2018/01/28)

Formosa News
Jan 28, 2018

Immigrants from all over the world come to Taiwan, where they strive to start a new life in a different culture. In the latest part of our ongoing series, let’s take a look at Pierre Loisel from Canada, who has pioneered organic composting in New Taipei’s Sanzhi District, where he grows delicious vegetables from kitchen scraps.

French Canadian Pierre Loisel is one of Taiwan’s organic farming pioneers. When he first came to Taiwan, he was drawn to the beautiful scenery of New Taipei City’s Sanzhi District, where he settled, and threw himself into farming. Later on he realized the area was becoming a rubbish dump because of a shortage of landfill space. He tried to burn the litter – but that only created a new problem.

Pierre Loisel
Canadian Immigrant
When I burnt the rubbish, I would find a “cake” of kitchen leftovers that couldn’t be burned. Kitchen scraps don’t burn. So this “cake” became bigger and bigger. I decided incineration was not a solution.

Loisel found there was no good way to dispose of most kitchen scraps, so he decided to convert them into compost. Thus began his new his life as an organic composter.
[FULL  STORY]

Premier approves 10 officials for New Southbound Policy task force

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-28

Premier William Lai has approved ten officials to head up a task force that will promote the government’s New Southbound Policy. That was the word on Sunday from Cabinet Minister John Deng, who heads the task force.

The New Southbound Policy aims to improve trade and cultural ties with countries in South and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

President Tsai Ing-wen had originally set up a New Southbound Policy Office soon after becoming president in May, 2016. But that office never began operations. The new task force, under the Cabinet’s Office of Trade Negotiations, will assume some of the duties, alongside the National Security Council’s New Southbound Policy panel.
[FULL  STORY]

Woman dies after sudden heart failure at Taipei plastic surgery clinic

A 70 year old woman was preparing to undergo a minimally invasive hemorrhoid  treatment procedure

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/28
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Another death was reported last week involving a plastic

(Image from Unsplash user Piron Guillaume)

surgery clinic in Taipei, this week. On Jan. 25 reports emerged about a 70 year old woman who suffered what appeared to be a cardiac shock before being administered anesthesia for a standard hemorrhoid surgery.

A 70 year old woman, surnamed Jiang (江) was preparing for her operation at the Instyle plastic surgery clinic in Taipei on Zhong Hsiao East rd. on Jan. 15, at approximately 1 p.m. According to reports, she had not yet received the anesthesia for her operation, but was preparing to do so in the operating room, when she suddenly went into cardiac arrest.

Although she was rushed to a hospital and successfully resuscitated once nearly an hour after the emergency began, her condition continued to deteriorate and she was pronounced dead at National Taiwan University Hospital shortly after 8 p.m. that evening, reports Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]

DPP approval rate plunges to near KMT level: survey

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/28
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, Jan. 28 (CNA) Taiwan has seen a “dramatic change” in the political landscape

You Ying-lung (游盈隆)

since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to office in May 2016, with the party’s approval down to 28 percent this month from 49.3 percent when it took power, a poll has found.

The DPP still has the most support of any political party but the gap between the party and the Kuomintang (KMT) has narrowed to just 4 percent, You Ying-lung (游盈隆), chairman of the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, said at a press conference Sunday.

According to the survey, conducted between Jan. 21 to Jan. 23, 28 percent of respondents identified themselves with the DPP, 24 percent with the KMT, and 43.4 percent said they were not affiliated with any political party.    [FULL  STORY]

Bill to regulate drone tests is in the works: MST

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 29, 2018
By: Hsiao Yu-hsin  /  Staff reporter

A draft act on uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) experiments has been sent to the Cabinet, a Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) official said yesterday, expressing the hope that it would enter legislative review in the upcoming session.

UAVs are a crucial technological trend and the most promising application of artificial intelligence, with many technology giants, such as Google and Amazon, investing in their development, Department of Foresight and Innovation Policies Director-General Yang Hsiu-ya (楊琇雅) said.

The Taipei, New Taipei City and Kaohsiung minicipal governments have started working with foreign developers to introduce uncrewed vehicles, she said.

As uncrewed vehicles’ compatibility with real-world environments is key, a major problem for developers is whether transportation laws can be relaxed to allow room for experiments, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Director Shankar launches ‘Indian 2’ in Taiwan

The film is the sequel to ‘Indian’ which saw Kamal playing the role of a vigilante who lashes out against corruption.

The News Minute
Date: January 27, 2018
By: Shankar Shanmugham

The highly anticipated sequel to Kamal Haasan’s Indian, which released over two

Digital Native

decades ago, was officially announced last year.

Director Shankar began Indian2 by letting an air balloon fly high in Taiwan. Shankar shared a video on his Twitter handle in which he is seen launching a helium balloon which has the words ‘Indian 2’, in Taiwan.

Indian 2 was announced at the grand finale of Bigg Boss Tamil. It was then reported that Telugu producer Dil Raju will be bankrolling the venture. However, he backed out of the project and now Lyca Productions has stepped in.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan AI Academy holds ceremony marking start of first semester

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-27

The newly-opened Taiwan AI Academy has held a ceremony marking the start of its first

Academia Sinica President James Liao speaks at a ceremony marking the start of Taiwan AI Academy’s first semester. (Photo by CNA)

semester.

The academy is an artificial intelligence research school launched by Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s top research institute.

During the ceremony, Academia Sinica President James Liao said that Taiwan AI Academy is not about conferring degrees but rather giving the AI industry the experts it needs.

Meanwhile, Technology Minister Chen Liang-gee said that if Taiwan does not get a large enough share of the AI industry soon, it will be unable to catch up once the industry starts rapid growth.    [FULL  STORY]