Zhang paid NT$200,000 for bail

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/27
By: Juvina Lai, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A renowned plastic surgeon named Chang Yao-yuan (張耀元)

was arrested and taken to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on Thursday night after he was accused of sexual assault, but was later released on bail after paying NT$200,000 on Friday.

40-year old Chang is a well known plastic surgeon in Taipei and conducts surgeries through his clinic that goes by the name of Yes Clinic. He has appeared in numerous talk shows and has widely spoken about the benefits of getting plastic surgery done.

According to a recent report by the Liberty Times, Chang was on a date with a woman earlier this week. She reported him to the authorities following their date and accused him of raping her.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/27
By: Wang Shu-fen and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) The A350-1000, the newest member of Airbus’ wide-body aircraft

family, will arrive in Taiwan next week on a demonstration tour around the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, the European aircraft conglomerate said Saturday.

Industry sources told CNA that China Airlines, one of Taiwan’s two major international carriers, and StarLux, a carrier being planned by former EVA Airways Chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), are the potential buyers of the new aircraft.

According to Airbus, Taipei is one of the 12 stops on the A350-1000’s three-week demonstration tour, which began Friday. The aircraft is scheduled to touch down at Taoyuan International Airport on Jan. 31 after a stop in Seoul.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 28, 2018
By: Lin Hsin-han and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

A memorial park commemorating the approximately 1,500 people who died in 1949

when the steamer Taiping sank while crossing the Taiwan Strait from China opened yesterday, becoming the first public memorial for the incident.

The park, established by the Keelung City Government and the Ministry of National Defense, is the first memorial to the deceased passengers outside of ministry property, officials said.

A memorial was in 1951 erected on the beach next to Keelung Harbor, but after the waters nearby were filled in, the memorial fell within military property. Taiwanese were required to apply for permission to visit and Chinese were prohibited from entering.

Families of the deceased 10 years ago began calling on the government to move the memorial outside of military property.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-26

The Fisheries Agency says it has confidence in Taiwan being removed from the

European Union’s “yellow card” watch list in March.

The EU gave Taiwan a yellow card in October 2015 over Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. A ban on Taiwan’s seafood could follow if the country fails to curb illegal fishing and is identified as a “non-cooperating country” by the EU.

To comply with the EU’s demands, the government has revised its deep sea fishing law and introduced heavier penalties for violations. Since the revision became effective a year ago, the fisheries authorities have also meted out more than 60 punishments. Violators were fined at least NT$500,000 (US$16,000) with many cases doubling that amount.    [FULL  STORY]

A senate spokesperson addressed the removal of Taiwan’s flag from US websites, kind of

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/26
By: Renée Salmonsen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Yesterday the U.S. State Department’s spokesperson Heather

Nauert responded to recent resurgence of questioning about the unannounced removal of the Taiwan flag from U.S. government websites last year.

Nauert gave this statement:

“I can tell you our policy regarding Taiwan has not changed. The United States remains committed to our One China policy based on Three Joint Communiqués and the Taiwan Relations Act. We consider Taiwan to be a vital partner, a democratic success story, and a force for good in the world. Taiwan shares our values, has earned our respect, and continues to merit our strong support.”

Nauert’s response however did not directly address why the flag was removed in the first place and instead essentially repeated what Bureau for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Spokesperson Grace Choi said to UDN in an email on Jan. 23.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/26
By: Rita Cheng and Kuan-lin Liu

Washington, Jan. 25 (CNA) As the U.S. rebuilds in the wake of the devastation of

Hurricane Maria, Taiwan is lending a helping hand to disaster relief efforts with a US$20,000 donation each to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

According to a press statement from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami, Director General Philip T.Y. Wang (王贊禹) visited St. Croix, the largest of the islands that make up the Virgin Islands from Jan. 10-11.

During his visit, he met with Osbert Potter, lieutenant-governor of the Virgin Islands, and donated US$20,000 to disaster relief efforts that will be used by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands to rebuild after the hurricane in September.

Wang made a similar trip to Puerto Rico from Jan. 16-18, where he presented Governor Ricardo Rossello with the US$20,000 donation the governor said would be put to good use.    [FULL  STORY]

Channel News Asia
Date: 25 Jan 2018

BEIJING: China is willing to show utmost goodwill towards self-ruled Taiwan but won’t

allow its separation from China, the country’s defence ministry said on Thursday (Jan 25) after Taiwan’s president said she does not rule out the possibility of a Chinese attack.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said this week she does not exclude the possibility of China attacking them, amid heightened tensions between the two sides including an increasing number of Chinese military drills near Taiwan.

Beijing has taken an increasingly hostile stance towards Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province, since the election two years ago of Tsai of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

China suspects Tsai wants to push for formal independence, a red line for Communist Party leaders in Beijing, though she has said she wants to maintain the status quo and is committed to ensuring peace.    [FULL  STORY]