The China Post
Date: April 29, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The first televised political platform presentation for the Kuomintang (KMT) chairmanship election is set to begin this afternoon, with all six candidates facing off one another.

Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu chose to not schedule any public events ahead of this afternoon’s presentation. Sources say Hung had been discussing key talking points with aides for the past three days.

Prepping by former Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s camp was also reported to be in full swing. According to his office’s statement, Hau will discuss topics such as KMT democratization and youth participation in politics.

Former Vice President Wu Den-yih, largely regarded as the most eloquent speaker of the field, continued to attend public events Saturday. His aides told the Central News Agency that the former vice president was banking on his abundant political experience and did not require his aides to help prepare for the televised event.
[FULL  STORY]

Increasing use of smartphones will cause deteriorating eyesight

Taiwan Today
Date: 2017/04/28
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Eye specialist will be the profession of the next decade due

to the excessive use of devices like smartphones and computers, said Wealth Magazine Chairman Hsieh Chin-ho (謝金河).

According to a recent survey by an insurance company, 54 percent of Taiwanese respondents were most worried about cancer, 41 percent about heart of blood vessel problems, and 33 percent about deteriorating eyesight.

A Google study published last August found that 96 percent of Taiwanese went online each day, the second-highest rate in the Asia Pacific. Within the past two years, the usage rate of mobile devices rose by 15 percent to a new high of 82 percent, according to the report quoted by the Chinese-language China Times.
[FULL STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/28
By: Cheng Chung-shen and Ko Lin

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) Taiwan’s global press freedom ranking improved this year,

moving up six notches from 2016 to 39th place, the sixth best performance by any Asian country, according to an annual report released on Friday by Freedom House.

In Asia, Taiwan was only outranked by Palau, the freest nation in the region, followed by Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Micronesia, and Australia.

Taiwan scored 1 out of 7 for both political rights and civil liberties, achieving a “freedom rating” of 1, the highest score, according to the “Freedom in the World” report published by Freedom House, a Washington-based human rights advocacy group.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 29, 2017
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday occupied the legislative

speaker’s podium to protest against the review of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program bill, which was claimed to have been passed amid chaos on Wednesday, despite the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agreeing to hold a second review next week.

KMT legislators disrupted a general assembly meeting early yesterday morning by occupying the speaker’s podium, shouting slogans and putting up placards criticizing the passing of the bill on Wednesday, and calling for the retraction and redrafting of the bill by the Executive Yuan.

“NT$800 billion plan was rammed through in a minute,” “Stop pork barreling, return and redraft,” “The joint committee review failed to follow due procedure” were some of the slogans displayed.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: April 29, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

Israel’s de facto embassy in Taiwan is planning to send local educators to the

country to learn more history behind the Holocaust after a high school parade by swastika-clad students snowballed into an international incident.

A group of local high school students had been found dressing in Nazi uniforms and brandishing banners decorated with swastikas in a school-sanctioned parade.

Asher Yarden, Israel’s top envoy to Taiwan, told local media that his office was working closely with the Ministry of Education on a soon-to-be-launched program to send selected educators to his country to gain a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany to pass the knowledge on to their students.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-27

Premier Lin Chuan is calling for lawmakers to put aside preconceptions and give

reasonable consideration to the government’s infrastructure development plan. Lin was speaking Thursday at a Cabinet meeting.

Cabinet spokesperson Hsu Kuo-yung addressed a number of common concerns about the plan.

“The infrastructure development plan cannot possibly include many items. Therefore, the government has highlighted the most important and significant. These include railways and water management,” said Hsu. “At the same time, there is policy on manufacturing development which we believe to be vital for national development. It is also an area where we believe society needs to come together for the benefit of the nation. Therefore, we sincerely ask for all parties to put aside preconceived ideas and to view the project in a practical and reasonable manner. Meanwhile, we hope that the Legislature can conduct related discussions in a reasonable manner.”

Premier Lin said that no part of the plan will be implemented without environmental impact assessments, nor will there be any relocation of population or requisition of land.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/27
By: Kuo Chu-chen and Romulo Huang

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) Two Indonesian fishermen working on a Kaohsiung-registered

fishing boat were arrested and referred to Pingtung District Prosecutors Office for allegedly murdering their North Korean crew mate on Thursday, police said.

The two Indonesian suspects assaulted the North Korean victim, identified only by his surname Chol, with wooden bats in the early hours of the morning when he was lying on the deck of the boat inebriated, the police said, adding that the boat was docked in Donggang fishing port, southern Pingtung County, on a supply run.

Chol, 32, was severely injured in the attack and died before reaching a local hospital due to excessive blood loss, the police said, citing a preliminary investigation.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 28, 2017
By: Chiu Yen-ling / Staff reporter, with CNA

The Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program draft bill review should be

held again, the legislature’s Economics Committee convenor said yesterday, adding that there were flaws in her chairing of Wednesday’s review, which passed the bill amid chaos.

The convenor, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), said she would reschedule the review for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday next week to allow for detailed, clause-by-clause deliberation.

“I am willing to take responsibility and rearrange the review. Can lawmakers of the opposition party give up hatred, restart conversations, keep their promise to not disrupt the procedure and make efforts to improve the nation’s infrastructure?” Chiu asked, calling on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) not to boycott the draft bill.

She said the DPP did not boycott a four-year NT$500 billion (US$16.6 billion) economic stimulus project proposed by then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in 2008, which allowed the project to be approved within a month.   [FULL  STORY]