Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-19

The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) says it wishes to communicate with Chinese

aviation authorities on controversial new flight paths.

Earlier this month, China announced four new flight paths in the Taiwan Strait without consultation with Taiwan. Some 20 flights have since used the new flight paths each day. The CAA has said the move affects flight safety in the region. It has asked airlines not to fly in the paths and has suspended the approval of 176 additional flights over Lunar New Year for two Chinese airlines.

CAA deputy director Ho Shu-ping said Friday that they will take into consideration opinions from different departments and companies before making a final call on the suspension. Ho also said she hopes the two sides can communicate on the issue and try to minimize safety concerns.    [FULL  STORY]

Over 1,000 people gather to write Spring Couplets at Nantou County elementary school 

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/01/19
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Over 1,000 people participated in commemorating Caotun

Elementary School’s 120th anniversary Friday in Nantou County by writing Spring Couplets, reported Liberty Times Net.

Alumni and present students alike gathered outside the elementary school today to create Lunar New Year-style couplets.

This is the fourth year of the mass calligraphy celebration, reported Liberty Times Net.

The 20 best artists were then asked to create three Spring Couplets to be sold in a charity auction for NT$200 (US$7) each. All proceeds will go to the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/19
By: Chen Chi-fong and Kuan-lin Liu 

Kaohsiung, Jan. 19 (CNA) A Taiwanese businessman denied selling oil to North Korea after surviving an apparent suicide attempt earlier on Friday morning.

As Chen Shih-hsien (陳世憲) was wheeled out of the hospital following his discharge, he told reporters he wanted to prove his innocence by taking his own life.

News broke at the end of last year that a Taiwanese man chartered a Hong Kong-registered vessel through the Billions Bunker Group to secretly transfer oil to North Korea, an action the latest United Nations sanctions prohibited.

As head of the company Chen was later identified as the suspect and the many overseas companies he controls were put on a sanctions list by Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice-led Terrorism Financing Prevention Review Committee.    [FULL  STORY]

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE: At a forum overshadowed by KMT protesters, foundation chairman Rainer Eppelmann said letting people tell their stories is as crucial as justice

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 20, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Leaders of a German government-funded foundation tasked with assessing the legacy

of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) yesterday stressed the importance of dialogue, education and preservation of memories when dealing with a country’s authoritarian past, after the legislature last month passed the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例).

Federal Foundation for the Study of Communist Dictatorship in East Germany chairman Rainer Eppelmann and foundation deputy director Robert Gruenbaum discussed their country’s experience of handling the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and its illegally obtained assets at a public forum in Taipei at the invitation of the Executive Yuan’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee.

The foundation was established in 1998 by the Bundestag to clarify historical truths and promote human rights education.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: January 18, 2018

The 2018 edition of Time for Celebration—Taiwan Tourism Events promotion was launched Jan. 16 by the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, spotlighting the country’s 95 best activities and festivals for the coming year.

Comprising 47 international- and 48 national-level entries themed eat, love, marvel, nature, shop and two wheels, the multilingual promotion offers overseas visitors a unique snapshot of cultural, religious, sporting and other events rich in local artistry and innovation. It is expected to strengthen Taiwan’s brand in the international travel market and stimulate economic activity and development in tourism-related industries.

Of the 47 international events, eight are new additions for 2018. These include the Hakka Tung Blossom Festival at 14 cities and counties nationwide; the Asian Art Festival at National Palace Museum’s Southern Branch in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan; and Taichung World Flora Exposition in central Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

But some of them are in trouble

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/18
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan is a butterfly lover’s paradise. In the past,

lepidopterists (people who study moths and butterflies) has recorded 373 different species of butterflies on the island.

Now however, after several typhoons and shifting climate patters, that number has recently increased to over 420 different butterfly species.

Compare that to Japan; which possesses nearly 10 times the land mass of Taiwan, but has only recorded about 230 species of butterflies.

Taiwan’s great number of butterfly species may sound amazing, but it is actually somewhat worrying, as the habitats that many of them need to survive are being threatened by both humans, and natural disasters like typhoons.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/18
By: Hsiao Po-wen and Flor Wang

Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) A Taiwanese national who fled to Canada was escorted back to

Taiwan Thursday to face charges of cross-border drug trafficking and money laundering, the Investigation Bureau said that day.

The man, identified as Chang Ching-yu (張敬瑜), was turned over to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for further investigation upon arrival, the bureau said in a press release.

Chang, who is accused of smuggling 470 grams of marijuana into Taiwan in 2016 via the postal service that was then claimed by his accomplices, was arrested in Vancouver Jan. 10, thanks to a joint operation between Taiwanese and Canadian investigators following a tipoff received in Taiwan late last year, the bureau said.   [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 19, 2018
By: Nadia Tsao and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter in WASHINGTON, with staff writer

China’s activation of the northbound flight path on the M503 route and other routes

without consultation with Taiwan is dangerous to air safety and is an issue that requires the international community to take action, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) China analyst Bonnie Glaser said on Wednesday.

Glaser, director of CSIS’ China Power Project, made the comments at a question-and-answer session following a Global Taiwan Institute conference on Taiwan’s role in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The new paths put travelers of all nationalities at risk and world governments should have protested Beijing’s actions, she said.

It was likely that China’s actions in launching the routes on Jan. 4 were in breach of some portion of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s charter, she said.
[FULL  STORY]