Page Three

Live-fire drill to simulate repelling Chinese blitzkrieg

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/21
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Ko Lin

Taipei, May 21 (CNA) The live-fire phase of the annual Han Kuang exercises is set

(CNA file photo)

to kick off Monday, combining all branches of the armed forces in repelling a simulated blitzkrieg from China to test the the military’s combat and defense capabilities.

As in previous years, the 33rd Han Kuang drills are divided into two parts: computer-simulated war games and live-fire exercises.

The computer war games began on May 1 and concluded on May 5. The live-fire drills will take place from Monday through Friday and involve all three branches of the military — Army, Navy and Air Force — to test their coordinated response to simulated assaults by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).  [FULL  STORY]

Wu must face KMT factionalism over China relations

Taipei Times
Date: May 22, 2017
By: Shih Hsiao-kuang / Staff reporter

Former vice president Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) win of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson election on Saturday shows that party factionalism centered around cross-strait policies remains unchanged.

Over the next four years, Wu is likely to push the KMT’s so-called “1992 consensus,” or “one China, with each side having its own interpretation” that he and former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) fought to uphold.

The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted that he made up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.

Meanwhile, outgoing Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) “furthering the ‘1992 consensus’ and exploring the possibility of ending cross-strait antagonism with a peace agreement” is to be shelved as she lost her re-election bid.   [FULL  STORY]

These pretty popsicles are designed to make you think, not to eat

The China Post
Date: May 21, 2017
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A trio of students from National Taiwan University of Arts have made popsicles with dirty water to draw public attention to problems with Taiwan’s water sources.

Their video, “Polluted Water Popsicles”(100%純污水製冰所), went viral on social media after it was posted Tuesday, with 1,559,100 views on its Facebook page as of Friday evening.

Over the course of a year, three students majoring in visual communications — Guo Yi-hui (郭怡慧), Hong Yi-chen (洪亦辰) and Cheng Yu-ti (鄭毓迪) — traveled to 100 spots in Taiwan to collect water for their graduation project.

In their project, the 100 popsicles made with the water are ranked in order from dirtiest to cleanest.

The worst-ranked popsicle is made with water from Keelung Harbor. Students said that water from the harbor had coated their water bottle with oil and grease.
[FULL  STORY]

CARTOON: Tough Times Ahead for Tsai in Year Two

President Tsai and the DPP are struggling to shake poor approval ratings despite Taiwan’s strong economic performance.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/20
By: Stellina Chen

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Democratic Progressive Party today mark their first anniversary since taking office in 2016.

As they start their second year in power, broken promises, domestic dissatisfaction and pressure from China are making it difficult for President Tsai and the DPP-led government to enjoy their successes.

The Taiwan economy continues to perform strongly – and better than some expected given increased pressure from Beijing on Taipei’s already-narrow diplomatic space.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Tsai keeps domestic focus amid China’s isolation

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/20
By: Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — After a year in office, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s

(By Associated Press)

administration is shunned by an angry China and facing even greater international isolation.

Yet, the island’s first female president seems focused on policy initiatives at home as well as maintaining robust relations with the United States, Taiwan’s most important source of arms and political support.

Tsai told Chinese media on Friday “this is a new era, because the Taiwanese people say so.” She says she expects Beijing to respect the result of last year’s vote that elected her.    [FULL  STORY]

Winning numbers of Saturday’s Taiwan lotteries

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/20
By: Chang Chun-mao and Romulo Huang

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) The winning numbers for Taiwan’s “Grand Fortune” lottery (大福彩) Saturday were 05, 13, 15, 20, 29, 31, 37 plus the special number 01, Taiwan Lottery Co. said.

Meanwhile, the “Jin Cai 539” (今彩539) lottery’s winning numbers were 10, 17, 20, 22 and 29 and the winning numbers for the “Three Star” (3星彩) and “Four Star” (4星彩) lotteries were 742 and 7634, respectively, it said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan ranked 45th in global health care access and quality index

The China Post
Date: May 20, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan has been ranked 45th among 195 countries and territories for personal health-care access and quality in 2015 in a study published in The Lancet medical journal on Thursday.

The study created a Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index to measure health-care access and quality in the countries and territories surveyed from 1990 to 2015. The index is based on death rates for 32 diseases that can be avoided with effective medical care.

They included tuberculosis and other respiratory infections; diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and measles, all illnesses that can be prevented with vaccines; and treatable cancer and heart disease.

Taiwan was listed 45th, with a score of 77.6, according to the study.

It performed relatively well on diarrheal diseases (95 on a scale of 100), upper respiratory infections (98), diptheria (100), maternal disorders (95), testicular cancer (93), and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (84) but had relatively low scores for the measles (80), hypertensive heart disease (60), and chronic kidney disease (50).
[FULL  STORY]

Relations with Fiji remain unchanged: foreign ministry

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-05-18

Taiwan’s relations with Fiji remain unchanged after the closure of the country’s representative office in Taipei. That’s the word from Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Eleanor Wang on Thursday.

The South Pacific country announced the closure of its Taipei office suddenly on May 10. Fiji says it decided to close the office after considering staffing needs at its other missions and embassies around the world. The country does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Long-existing Wulai outdoor hot spring pools are a thing of the past

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–The long-existing free outdoor hot spring facilities in the

The long-existing free outdoor hot spring facilities in the popular hot spring town of Wulai in northern Taiwan are now a memory of the past for many of the past (By Central News Agency)

popular hot spring town of Wulai in northern Taiwan’s New Taipei City are now a memory of the past for many who had soaked in the hot spring pools by the Nanshi River as the site has been demolished by the city government.

New Taipei City Government said on Thursday that public safety, sanitation and illegality concerns surrounding the Wulai outdoor hot spring pools by the river had long been an issue. The facilities were built by enthusiasts who frequented the outdoor hot spring in Wulai.

The city government gave the builders of the pools and shacks one month from April 13 to demolish their facilities. However, the builders failed to do so as expected, so the city government took upon itself and demolished the pools, shacks and other illegally built attachments according to law, the city government said.

The free Wulai outdoor hot spring facilities, which were open to anybody, were located within the controlled Nanshi River territory, and it is against the law to build any facilities within the area, the city government said.    [FULL  STORY]

Expired ingredients found in Hsia Wei Hsien shrimp snacks

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/18
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) The producer of a shrimp snack popular in Taiwan has been

Photo courtesy of Food and Drug Administration

caught using expired raw materials, including bonito extract powder that is nearly three years past its expiration date.

Based on a tip-off, investigators from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and local health authorities, along with prosecutors, raided the Yu Zong Foods Co. (裕榮食品) in Daliao District of Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan on Wednesday, seizing expired bonito extract powder, anhydrous citric acid and red yeast rice powder.

During the inspection, the company, founded in 1971, was found to have used the expired ingredients in the production of its popular shrimp snacks under the brand name Hsia Wei Hsien (蝦味先), as well as a soybean powder product, according to the FDA.    [FULL  STORY]