The China Post
February 9, 2017

TAIPEI — Temperatures in Taiwan could begin to drop significantly on Thursday when

the first cold wave of the winter arrives, with lows expected to dip to 8 to 9 degrees Celsius in the north, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Wednesday.

The chill could be felt islandwide starting early Thursday, when lows could fall between 12 and 13 degrees in eastern Taiwan and 10 and 11 degrees in central and southern regions, according to forecasters.

While rainy weather is likely in northern and eastern Taiwan, mostly cloudy skies are expected in other areas, bureau data showed.

The weather is expected to turn drier from Friday, with sporadic showers expected only in mountainous areas in northern and eastern Taiwan, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/07
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The fire authority of Tainan, a coastal city in southwestern Taiwan, on Tuesday urged

tourists who plan to come to experience the notoriously dangerous “beehive fireworks” in Yanshui District on Feb. 11, the day of the traditional Lantern Festival, to wrap themselves up to avoid getting injured.

The “Yanshui Beehive Fireworks” is ranked as the third largest folk celebration in the world and is one of the most representative religious events in all of Taiwan, according to a report describing the event on the website of Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau. The event is so named because after an ignition hundreds of thousands of firecrackers all go off at the same time, creating a cacophony like hundreds of thousands of bees streaming out of their hives.

The ear-splitting power of these rockets and the excitement that comes in their wake attract crowds of tourists from both Taiwan and abroad to the event, which is paired with the “Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival” in northern Taiwan, the report states.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/07
By:3 Chao Wei-lan and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) The winning n6umbers for Taiwan’s Grand Lottery 6/49 on Tuesday were 06, 18, 19, 23, 32, 49 plus the special number 21. A sole first prize winner will receive a cash prize of NT$100 million, Taiwan Lottery said.

Meanwhile, the Jin Cai 539 lottery’s winning numbers were 01, 08, 11, 24 and 34. There was no first prize, as no submissions matched all five numbers.
[SOURCE]

The China Post
Date: February 8, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

A test lighting for the Taiwan Lantern Festival drew out a crowd of thousands in Yunlin

County on Tuesday.

In preparation for the annual festival, hosted this year in Yunlin County, the local government put its lantern lights through a power test for the first time on Monday.

Organizers have scheduled three full days of trial runs before the official lighting on Friday.

This year, the Lantern Festival is showcasing a variety of lanterns that fuse traditional art with modern technology in an eco-friendly way, in the two lantern areas of Huwei (虎尾) and Beigang (北港).    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-02-06

Foreign Minister David Lee is set to attend the inauguration of Haiti’s incoming

president – Jovenel Moïse – on February 7. Lee will represent the Republic of China (ROC), which is the official name of Taiwan’s government.

The foreign ministry said on Monday that Lee and his wife are set to meet with both the incoming and outgoing presidents and the foreign minister. They will also attend an inaugural banquet and visit the headquarters of a local charity – Food for the Poor – with which Taiwan is closely involved.

The ROC and Haiti have held official diplomatic relations for more than 60 years. Taiwan’s foreign ministry says that Moïse attaches great importance to bilateral ties and is looking forward to working with Taiwan to promote various cooperative efforts to benefit the people of both countries.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/06
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Lin Te-fu (林德福) said on Monday that he has

found it both funny and annoying when people mistook him for either of two other public figures, who’ve the same name and who’ve frequent appearances on mass media these days.

One of the other two noted persons with the same name has just been appointed to head the Sports Administration, and the other is the spokesman of Taiwan Power Company (Taipower).

Out of a population of 23 million, there are a great many Taiwanese people with same names, but it is rare to have three that have frequent media appearances at the same time.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/06
By: Lu Hsin-hui and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Pension reform and a “forward-looking infrastructure investment

program” are the government’s top priorities for the second half of the year, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Monday.

The president made her remarks during a “coordination meeting” of executive, legislative and ruling party officials, according to Lin Ho-ming, a Presidential Office official who attended the meeting.

She directed the Cabinet, which recently announced changes to the heads of four Cabinet-level agencies, to put forth “detailed plans and budgets” by the end of March to implement the infrastructure investment program and bring key momentum to Taiwan’s economy.    [FULL  STORY]