Page Three

CyberMedia celebrates the best in modding at Computex 2017

The China Post
Date: June 5, 2017
By: Kuan-lin Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Winners of CyberMedia’s CyberMods 24hrs challenge were finally

Photo by Kuan-lin Liu, The China Post

revealed Friday after an exhilarating week of watching our 12 modders work on and tinker with their builds.

Team Thailand’s Peerakij Rungthongkhamkul and Chaipoj Khaowasut took home the title and its US$3,000 prize for their build, which was inspired by the video game “Horizon Zero Dawn.”

The team’s cyborg animal has a silver and black foundation highlighted with RGB LED lighting and water-cooling tubes. According to the team members, they spent a whole month prepping for the 24-hour competition.

In their acceptance speech, Team Thailand expressed their joy at winning first place and thanked the organizers of CyberMods 24hrs.    [FULL  STORY]

Moving the National Palace Museum in new directions

In an interview with reporters from the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times), National Palace Museum Director Lin Jeng-yi discussed how the museum hopes to become more integrated with Taiwanese society, achieve more professional management and maintain its international prestige

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 05, 2017

Liberty Times (LT): From your experience, is the National Palace Museum tradition-

National Palace Museum Director Lin Jeng-yi speaks at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee in Taipei on May 10.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times

heavy and resistant to change as an institution?

Lin Jeng-yi (林正儀): The museum is in a unique situation where it has ingrained traditions, but also a plethora of different views generated by its staff or other individuals. The museum often finds it impossible to implement policies through direct administrative orders.

The museum’s management has to find ways to convey how such policies have come to be, in a positive manner, to these staffers. We also have to, if possible, endeavor to avoid sensitive issues such as political ideologies.
Due to such difficulties, personnel costs and day-to-day administrative work account for 80 percent of the museum’s annual budget.
[FULL  STORY]

Districts of Kaohsiung and Nantou announce closures due to rain

Mountain areas in Kaohsiung City and Nantou County cancel classes and work on Monday

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/05
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—As the rain front that battered the island decreases in

Taoyuan District in Kaohsiung City witnessed 500 millimeter of rainfall within 24 hours over the last three days.(By Central News Agency)

intensity, Taipei finally saw sunny skies on Monday, but certain districts in mountainous areas in Kaohsiung City and Nantou County have canceled classes or work on the same day, due to heavy rain.

Kaohsiung City officials announced Sunday, cancelation of classes and work in certain districts including Namaxia District, Zhangshan Elementary School in Taoyuan District, and Baoshan Elementary School on Monday.

In Nantou County Ren’ai Township announced the cancelation of classes but not work, and classes were canceled in three schools, including Lixing Elementary School, Juntou Junior High School in Puli District, Longhua Elementary School in Xinyi Township, and Tonglin Elementary School.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei June 4 vigil calls for release of detained Taiwan activist

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/04
By: Lu Hsin-hui and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Civilian groups commemorating the 28th anniversary of China’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square said Sunday that in addition to showing concerns for China’s human rights record, they were also expressing their support for detained Taiwan activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲).

Secretary General Chiu E-ling (邱伊翎) of Taiwan Association for Human Rights, one of the organizers of the Taipei gathering, said Lee will not be the last Taiwanese to be detained on dubious charges and she regrets that both President Tsai Ing-wen and former President Ma Ying-jeou have just issued bland statements calling on China to free Lee as soon as possible.

If the Chinese government keeps ignoring the agreements it signed with Taiwan and refusing to answer Taiwan government’s calls for supplying information on Lee’s situation, “should Taiwan just acquiesce or stand up and look for effective ways to force it to respond?” she asked.    [FULL  STORY]

Efforts to penalize retired top brass for acts in China stall

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 05, 2017
By: Tseng Wei-chen / Staff reporter

Legislative efforts to deter retired military officials from engaging in activities in China that hurt the nation’s international standing have been stymied as lawmakers wait for the Executive Yuan to submit a proposed amendment to the Legislative Yuan.

The first such incident to gain widespread coverage involved former Veterans Affairs Council deputy minister Hsu Li-nung (許歷農) and 22 other veterans who visited China in April 2010, followed closely by a delegation of 57 retired generals led by former deputy minister of national defense Wang Wen-hsieh (王文燮), which visited a temple dedicated to the Yellow Emperor.

The following month, retired admiral Huang Hsin-chiang (黃幸強) and 26 former top brass took part in a golf event with Chinese officials.

While then-president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration repeatedly urged senior retirees not to visit China, former National Defense University president Hsia Ying-chou (夏瀛洲) was quoted as saying “the Republic of China [ROC]} Army and the People’s Liberation Army are both staffed for the reunification of the Zhonghua minzu [Chinese ethnic group, 中華民族].”    [FULL  STORY]

Agricultural losses from torrential rain reach NT$40 million

The China Post
Date: June 4, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Agricultural losses from torrential rain brought by a stationery front

(CNA)

hovering above Taiwan over the weekend had reached an estimated NT$40 million (US$1.36 million) as of Sunday, according to an initial estimate released by the Council of Agriculture (COA).

As of 11 a.m., agricultural losses as a result of the damage were heaviest in Yunlin County at NT$21.69 million, or 54 percent of the national total, the COA said. The county government’s estimate was NT$24 million.

Farmers in New Taipei suffered NT$9.36 million in losses, or 23 percent of the total, according to the COA figures.    [FULL  STORY]

Starting salaries for new graduates at second highest in five years

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-03

A survey by job hunting website 1111 Job Bank has found that starting salaries being offered to new graduates in Taiwan are at their second highest in five years.

The survey found that the average starting monthly salary employers are willing to offer is currently NT$28,000 (US$930). That’s an increase of NT$750 (US$25) over what it was last year.

The survey found that 60.1% of companies are looking for young employees, a year-on-year increase of 3.5 percentage points. Among the sectors hiring fresh graduates are the service sector, the medical sector, and the agricultural sector.
[FULL  STORY]

U.S. Defense Secretary mentions Taiwan at Asia Security Summit

First mention of Taiwan at event since 2002

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – United States Defense Secretary James Mattis told the Asia

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gives a speech about “The United States and Asia-Pacific Security” at the first plenary session at the 2017 International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-la Dialogue, an annual defense and security forum in Asia, Saturday, June 3, 2017 in Singapore. (AP Photo/Joseph Nair)

Security Summit in Singapore that Washington would abide by its commitment to Taiwan, reportedly angering Chinese delegates at the event, reports said Saturday.

In his speech at the first plenary session of the event, which is also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Trump Administration official included Taiwan in its regional strategic partnership with countries in the Asian region for the first time since the summit was launched in 2002.

“The Department of Defense remains steadfastly committed to working with Taiwan and with its democratic government to provide it the defense articles necessary, consistent with the obligations set out in the Taiwan Relations Act, because we stand for the peaceful resolution of any issues in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Mattis was quoted by Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post as saying.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan suffers new setback in trying to attend ILO conference

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/03
By: Scarlett Chai and Lilian Wu

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Taiwan’s bid to participate in this year’s conference of the

From the ILO website

International Labour Organization (ILO) was rejected, marking another setback it is facing in participating in international gatherings, after it was excluded from the World Health Assembly last month, an official of the New Power Party (NPP) said Saturday.

The 106th session of the International Labour Conference, a high-level annual event of the ILO, will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from June 5-17.

But NPP Secretary-General Chen Hui-ming (陳惠敏) said the party was recently informed that several Taiwan trade unions under the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the Taipei-based Chinese National Federation of Industries are excluded from this year’s conference.    [FULL  STORY]

MAC premieres short movie on Chinese spouses

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 04, 2017
By: Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday premiered The Most Beautiful Sight

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang speaks at the premiere of a short film on the issue of cross-strait marriage yesterday at Taipei’s Songshan Cultural Creative Park. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

(最美的風景), a short film on the issue of Chinese spouses in Taiwan, in a bid to encourage them to further identify with their adopted nation.

Each cross-strait marriage has its own unique characteristics and should be cherished, MAC Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said at the premiere, held at a bookstore in Taipei’s Songshan Cultural Creative Park — where the film was shot.

“On behalf of Taiwanese, we would like to thank those who have come to Taiwan to get married for their contributions,” she said, adding that the government would continue to offer assistance to the families of Chinese spouses.    [FULL  STORY]