Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/02
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Y.F. Low

Taipei, March 2 (CNA) The Cabinet plans to amend the existing law governing cross-Taiwan Strait ties to ban political appointees and senior military officers from traveling to China for a minimum of three years after retiring, a spokesman said on Thursday.

The decision to revise the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area was made at a meeting between Premier Lin Chuan (林全) and legislators from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, according to spokesperson Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇).

The proposed ban would apply to political appointees; military officers at the rank of lieutenant-general and higher in the Army and Air Force, and vice admiral and higher in the Navy; officials involved in highly confidential work and intelligence officers, Hsu said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 03, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

A rise in drug-related crime has led the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to mull legal changes

that would require hospitality, service and entertainment businesses to report any illegal substance abuse on their premises, Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) told lawmakers yesterday.

Chiu told a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee that he hoped a bill to amend the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) could be submitted and passed by the legislature next month, with new measures to combat drug abuse implemented by the end of the year.

Under the mooted amendment, “designated business sectors” would be required to place notices at their entrances warning against illegal drugs, post security staff at entrances, provide a list of staff on duty, and allocate responsibility for reporting drug use or other illegal activities to the police, Chiu said.    [FULL  STORY]

Dongsha Island will open for three environmental education group tours

Taiwan News
dATE: 2017/03/01
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Dongsha Island, an island national park in the South China Sea, will open for three environmental education group tours for college students between June and August.

Students interested in visiting the island should apply through their school and sign up for an interview to join one of the tours before March 22.

The park is located on Dongsha Island in the South China Sea and includes the atolls and surrounding sea areas, covering a total of 3,537 square kilometers. Featuring a large atoll landscape, Dongsha is known for its rich coral reef ecosystem, also known as a “marine rainforest,” which nurtures abundant species of marine life.

The national park was officially founded in 2007, and has since been off-limits to the general public in order to preserve and protect the unique marine ecological resources of the atoll.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/01
By: Sophia Yeh, S.C. Chang and Romulo Huang

Taipei, March 1 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday named former

Presidential Office Secretary General Chen Shih-meng (陳師 孟) and 10 others to fill vacancies in the Control Yuan, according to her spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺).

Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) is expected to introduce the 11 nominees and their various backgrounds to the public on Thursday, Huang said.

Some of the nominees have worked in areas such as gender equality, labor, the environment, public health, judicial reform, aboriginal rights, and care of the underprivileged, Huang said.

With their rich experience in their respective fields, it is hoped that they will offer concrete proposals and valid criticisms to the executive branch, he said.[FULL  STORY]

FISHING ON THE MENU:Japanese officials said that the meeting was being held ahead of the fishing season to determine if existing rules need to be adjusted

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 02, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The sixth meeting of a fishing commission established by Taiwan and Japan yesterday

opened in Tokyo to discuss fishing in waters near the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and other issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

During the three-day meeting, the two sides are to address unresolved issues related to fishing rules and guidelines in the waters around the disputed islands in the East China Sea that were covered by a bilateral agreement signed in 2013, the ministry said in a statement.

Association of East Asian Relations Secretary-General Peter Tsai (蔡明耀) is leading Taiwan’s delegation, which includes officials from other government agencies and fishermen, it said.

The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association also issued a statement saying that the meeting is being held ahead of the fishing season so that the two sides can exchange views on whether the existing rules need to be adjusted.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: March 2, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s new mass rapid transit (MRT) line between Taipei and Taoyuan,

serving the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, will officially begin commercial operations Thursday, following a one-month trial run period.

A ceremony to officially launch the commercial operations will be held at the A1 (Taipei) Station on the line that day, Taoyuan Metro Corp. said.

The line will provide services from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day, and passengers will be offered a 50 percent discount on all trips on the line during the first month, it said.

Meanwhile, a preferential program will be offered for group purchases of commuter tickets. Under the program, commuter tickets purchased in quantities of 300 or more will enjoy a 50 percent discount, with the tickets valid for 100 days.   [FULL  STORY]

The night market was soon flooded with Hugh Jackman’s fans

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/28
By: Maggie Huang,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Hugh Jackman, who plays the role of Wolverine in the X-Men movie series, was spotted by netizens at Raohe Street Night Market Monday night after he attended the premiere of his new movie “Logan” at Taipei 101.

Jackman had a good conversation at the premiere with the event’s host, who introduced him to several types of Taiwanese street food, such as pig’s blood cake and stinky tofu.

After learning about the stinky tofu, Jackman joked that the snack might just smell like the room of his 16-year-old boy.

The Australian actor went to the night market late on Monday and posted a video on his Facebook page, telling his fans that he was in Taipei’s night market and was about to have his first taste of the famous local street food–stinky tofu.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/28
By: Huang Ya-chuan, Chang Jung-hsiang, Hsiao Po-yang and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) Four new cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N2 virus were confirmed across Taiwan on Tuesday, bringing to 57 the total number of poultry farms to have been infected this year, according to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

The bureau under the Council of Agriculture (COA) said a total of 439,346 birds have been culled in order to contain the spread of the deadly avian flu viruses, including H5N6, which has infected 11 farms and resulted in the extermination of 26,000 birds.

In Changhua County, quarantine officials said 888 ducks were culled at a poultry farm in Dacheng Township after it was confirmed on Tuesday as having been infected with the H5N2 subtype virus.    [FULL  STORY]