Page Three

Torrential rain warning issued for Nantou, Pingtung and Yilan

The China Post
Date: June 23, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Central Weather Bureau issued an extremely heavy rain warning Friday for the central county of Nantou and mountainous areas of Pingtung County in southern Taiwan and Yilan County in eastern Taiwan, due to a strong convective system.

Residents in northern Taiwan’s New Taipei, Hualien County in eastern Taiwan, and Yunlin, Chiayi counties and Kaohsiung City in the south were also warned of heavy rain, lighting, gusting wind and swollen rivers, the bureau said.

As of 5:50 p.m., Pingtung’s Sandimen Township had recorded accumulated rainfall of 96.5 millimeters, and Nantou’s Guoxing Township had reported accumulated rainfall of 92.5 millimeters, with accumulated rainfall of 96 millimeters in Yilan’s Jiaosi Township, according to bureau data.    [SOURCE

 

China never stopped suppressing Taiwan: Foreign ministry

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-22

The foreign ministry says China has never stopped its suppression of Taiwan’s international space. That’s the word from foreign ministry spokesperson Eleanor Wang on Thursday. Wang was responding to the charge that Taiwan had broken its “diplomatic truce” with China as suggested by Panama’s president, Juan Carlos Varela. Panama officially broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan last week. Wang said President Tsai Ing-wen has tried to maintain the cross-strait status quo since she took office last year. However,

Wang said, Beijing has continually suppressed Taiwan using various means. These means include blocking Taiwan’s participation in international organizations such as the World Health Assembly and the International Civil Aviation Organization. She said such actions damage peace and stability and are not beneficial to interaction between the two sides.

Meanwhile, Panama’s President Varela maintains that he had told President Tsai last year that Panama would break ties with Taiwan if cross-strait diplomacy failed. The foreign ministry has strongly denied that such a conversation took place. The ministry said Panama should not become China’s tool.
[FULL  STORY]

Film ‘The Receptionist’ to premier across Taiwan June 23Film ‘The Receptionist’ to premier across Taiwan June 23

Joint Taiwan-UK film ‘The Receptionist’ about dark underworld of illegal massage parlors in London premiers June 23  Taiwan News

Date: 2017/06/22
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — London-based Taiwanese director Jenny Lu’s (盧謹明) debut feature film “The

Scene from the film “The Receptionist.”

Receptionist” will officially premier Friday, June 23 in 11 theaters in six cities across Taiwan.

“The Receptionist” is a film based on a true story and portrays the dark underworld of illegal massage parlors in London. The movie tells the story through the eyes of a Taiwanese college graduate who has had to resort to working as receptionist at a massage parlor after failing to find a respectable job during the 2008 economic crisis.

A joint venture between Taiwanese and British movie production companies, the film shows the lives of Asian migrant women who had come to London to seek opportunities, but find themselves being forced to work in the illegal sex trade to survive and face its harsh realities.     [FULL  STORY]

Devoted Italian nun realizes dream of becoming Taiwanese

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/22
By: Lu Kang-chun and Elaine Hou

Taipei, June 22 (CNA) Italian nun Sister Maristella Piergianni, who has cared for the underprivileged in

Sister Maristella Piergianni (center, photo courtesy of Hsinchu City government)

Taiwan for more than 50 years, was recently granted Taiwanese citizenship and a Taiwanese ID card, fulfilling her dream of becoming a naturalized citizen.

“I’ve always wanted to be Taiwanese,” said the 74-year-old, who was excited to receive the Taiwanese ID card and pledged that she will continue her efforts to help those in need.

Piergianni, who works at St. Joseph Social Welfare Foundation, a Catholic charity in Hsinchu City, received the Taiwanese ID on June 19, after the city made every effort to support her application for citizenship, in recognition of her long service.
[FULL  STORY]

Adoption case not illegal

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 23, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Yunlin County prosecutors this week completed their probe into the adoption of 17 Vietnamese children by families in central Taiwan, saying the suspects were not engaged in human trafficking and charging them only with document forgery.

“We found that all of the 17 Vietnamese children were relatives of the Vietnamese women who had acquired [Taiwanese] citizenship by marriage,” Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office chief prosecutor Huang Yi-hua (黃怡華) said on Wednesday.

These are not cases of child smuggling or international human trafficking, Huang added.

“Evidence indicated that the US$3,000 to US$7,000 paid by each of the Vietnamese families was for obtaining forged birth certificates and processing the documents in Vietnam, and was not payment related to human trafficking activities,” she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Postage rates set to be raised Aug. 1

The China Post
Date: June 22, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s postage rates are set to be raised on Aug. 1 for the first time in over two decades, the Chunghua Post Co. said Thursday. Postage for regular mail will be raised from NT$5 to NT$8, while registered mail will be raised to NT$30 from the current NT$25.

Meanwhile, postage stamps in the denominations of NT$2.5 and NT$3.5, currently used for postcards and printed products, respectively, will be phased out, although existing stocks will continue to be honored by the post company.

Chunghwa Post said it will hold a news conference on Monday to announce details of the hikes.  [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s embassies told to evaluate ties with allies

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-20

The foreign ministry has instructed Taiwan’s embassies abroad to evaluate the state of ties with the

Officials hold up a flag brought back from the Taiwanese embassy in Panama in this photo taken Saturday. (CNA)

country’s diplomatic allies. That was the word from foreign ministry spokesperson Eleanor Wang on Tuesday. Wang said embassies have also been told to produce responses to potential problems in ties.

Taiwan maintains formal diplomatic ties with 20 countries. But there is concern that some of these allies could follow the lead of Panama. The Central American country last week cut ties with Taiwan in favor of Beijing. Asked whether Beijing would seek to persuade more allies to break with Taiwan, Wang said the government continues to be confident and will do its utmost.

The break with Panama also raises questions about the future of the bilateral free trade agreement with Taiwan. Diego Chou, the foreign ministry’s head of Latin American affairs, says the government has decided to keep the agreement in force for the moment. Chou said the agreement could continue if Panama also wishes to honor it.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese man disappears in Vietnam before China trip

Vietnamese authorities still looking for missing man

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/20
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Taiwanese man disappeared in Vietnam, apparently shortly after he

Hanoi downtown street life, by Maryam Laura Moazedi. (By Wikimedia Commons)

announced he planned to travel to the nearby Chinese province of Guangxi, reports said Tuesday.

The case reminded some commentators of the disappearance of Lee Ming-che (李明哲), the former Democratic Progressive Party and human rights activist who went missing after he crossed from Macau into China last March 19. Beijing later admitted it had detained him on suspicion of so-called subversive activities.

In the case of a man named Chiu (邱), no such political link was immediately known, reports said.

The Taiwanese citizen arrived in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on June 10 and had been scheduled to return home on June 12, but lost contact with his relatives. He was believed to have wanted to travel to Nanning (南寧) in the Chinese province of Guangxi before heading home, reports said.    [FULL  STORY]

Senior citizens must pass 3 tests to renew driver’s license

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/20
By: Chen Cheng-wei and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) Starting on July 1, motorists aged 75 and older will receive notifications

CNA file photo

informing them they need to pass cognitive and physical coordination tests within three years to have their licenses renewed, the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) said on Tuesday.

The new measure means those born on July 1, 1942 or earlier will receive a notice instructing them to present a physical examination report and pass three tests, no later than their 78th birthday. In the first year, about 70,000 people will be affected.

Those who have violated traffic rules and received “demerits” or whose driver’s license has been revoked must apply for a new one within three months of receiving the notification.

Motorists who receive a notification but do not apply for a new license or return their existing driver’s license before the age of 78, will be fined between NT$1,800 (US$59.10) and NT$3,600.
[FULL  STORY]

Orion squadron to be activated near Double Ten

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 21, 2017
By: Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The air force is to formally activate a squadron of Lockheed P-3C Orion aircraft in October after training

Taiwan’s last operational Grumman S-2 Tracker flies over a heavily forested mountainside in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Air Force Command Headquarters

for ground personnel is completed and the last of the 12 aircraft ordered from the US are delivered next month, a Ministry of National Defense official said yesterday.

All 12 flight crews of the marine patrol squadron have completed operational training, while the squadron’s other elements are to complete training by the end of this month, including ground control personnel, said the official, who requested anonymity.

The official rejected earlier reports citing military sources that said the squadron would be activated soon after the last aircraft’s delivery next month.

It is more likely that the ceremony marking the squadron’s activation would take place near or during the Double Ten National Day festivities, the official said.    [FULL  STORY]