CONSPICUOUS ABSENTEE:Hung Hsiu-chu said that she would not attend the forum because the KMT will host two televised debates before the May 20 election

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 11, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Five of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson candidates put on a united

front yesterday, attending a two-hour policy presentation forum in Taipei organized by the party’s legislative caucus.

The only contender to miss the event was KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who on Sunday officially announced she would seek re-election.

Hung had previously said yesterday’s forum was unnecessary, given that the party’s headquarters had planned two televised policy presentations ahead of the May 20 election.

Against the backdrop of the patriotic Chinese song Unity is Strength (團結就是力量), former KMT vice chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢), KMT Vice Chairman and former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), former KMT lawmaker Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) and former Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co general manager Han Kuo-yo (韓國瑜) were each given time to present their views and policy plans before taking questions from a panel of six KMT lawmakers and then giving closing statements.

The China Post
Date: April 11, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

Around 1,000 rifles built with Taiwanese-made T91 assault rifle upper receivers sold out

fast after being released to the U.S. market, local media reported on Monday.

Defense Ministry’s Armaments Bureau has signed a contract with U.S. arms importer Wolf Performance Ammunition last year for Taiwanese-made T91 upper receivers, or “uppers,” and other parts for the assault rifle to be sold in the U.S, the Chinese-language United Evening News said.

The Type 91 is the standard-issue service rifle of the R.O.C. Army.

Because local and U.S. laws made it difficult for Taiwan to import the entire T-91 assault rifle to America, Wolf Performance Ammunition ultimately decided to import T-91 uppers and to complete them with U.S.-made barrels.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-08

Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun says that Taiwan has a responsibility to protect local

languages and linguistic diversity.

Cheng was speaking Saturday during a public hearing about a proposed national language development act hosted by the culture ministry. She said that a long period of promoting Mandarin Chinese has limited the natural development of many Taiwanese groups’ native languages. She said that this has created a crisis where these languages are no longer passed on.

Cheng said the loss of local languages is still ongoing, and that UNESCO has included indigenous Taiwanese languages on its list of languages facing extinction. She said that UNESCO’s concern for Taiwan’s indigenous languages shows that Taiwan has a responsibility to revitalize these languages, both to itself and to the world.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shopping mall honors 17-year-old gift certificates

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/08
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Taiwanese grandpa came across dozens of gift certificates

issued in 2000 when cleaning out his warehouse recently. His grandson made a call to the issuer, one of the country’s most popular department stores, and got an affirmative answer of “yes” to use the 17-year-old gift certificates.

A total of 50 gift certificates, each to the value of NT$100 (US$3.25), were found by the family and will be honored by the issuer Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, according to a post by a netizen surnamed Ho.

Ho said a stamp on the certificate shows that the date of issue is October 5, 2000 but does not contain an expiration date.

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi said the company started to issue gift certificates as early as 25 years ago, with two types of certificates being distributed: one is a gift certificate and the other is a gift voucher, on which the expiration date is printed.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/08
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and Lilian Wu

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) Taiwan’s nine national parks and one national natural park

received over 22 million visitors last year, of which Kenting National Park was the most popular, attracting 25 percent of the total number of visitors.

The nine national parks are Kenting, Yushan, Yangmingshan, Taroko, Shei-Pa, Kinmen, Dongsha Atoll, Taijiang and South Penghu Marine parks, as well as Shoushan National Natural Park.

The Ministry of the Interior, which administers the parks, said that 22.91 million people visited the parks in 2016, down 5.8 million from the previous year, mainly because of a declining number of Chinese visitors and two strong typhoons — Nepartak and Meranti — which battered Taiwan in July and September, respectively, wrecking havoc on many areas of the parks.
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: April 9, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Animal protection activists on Saturday lodged a protest at the McDonald’s headquarters in Taipei over its use of eggs from battery-caged hens.

Activists urged the leading fast-food chain to use eggs from free-range chickens or else face continued protests.

The Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan issued the call at a press conference, with over 20 protesters — dressed like egg-laying hens crowded into battery cages — expressing strong opposition to McDonald’s.

There are around 30 million egg-laying hens raised in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-07

Premier Lin Chuan said Friday that the government hopes for stability in each axis of

the relationship between the United States, China and Taiwan. That’s as presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Florida and as Taiwan continues to hope for an invitation to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA).

This year’s meeting of the World Health Organization’s convening body will take place in Geneva from May 22nd to 31st. Taiwan has attended the meeting as an observer for the past eight years. But this year China’s boycott of the Tsai Ing-wen administration may mean Taiwan is not invited.

Premier Lin said Friday that Taiwan’s participation in global health issues is both a right and a responsibility.    [FULL  STORY]

Major contentious issues that Trump and Xi will mostly likely discuss during their ‘very difficult’ summit tomorrow

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/07
By: David Spencer, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US President Donald Trump is currently meeting the President

of China, Xi Jinping for the first face-to-face talks between the leaders of the world’s two big super-powers.

After dining together last night at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, they will meet again today and have a working lunch before the summit concludes.

One issue we know is definitely off the agenda is golf. While Trump is a keen fan of the sport and has previously enjoyed a round with other world leaders, including Japanese President Shinzō Abe, China’s attempt to clamp down on corruption among Communist Party officials has seen them banned from playing.

But there are a number of other issues which are expected to come up at what Trump has said he expects to be “a very difficult” summit. These are five key issues expected to arise:    [FULL  STORY]