The China Post
Date: October 14, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

The PHILATAIPEI 2016 World Stamp Championship Exhibition is slated to take place from Oct. 21-

26 at Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1.

After successfully hosting five Asian International Stamp Exhibitions, Chunghwa Post Co. won hosting rights for this year’s world stamp exhibition.

Eighty membership countries and regions under the Federation Internationale de Philatelie (FIP) were also invited to participate in the six-day festivities. A total of 130 booths will be set up at the event, including showcases of exclusive international and domestic stamp collections.

This year’s World Stamp Championship Exhibition theme is “Legacy and Innovation,” symbolizing a nod to the past and embrace of the new. Exhibits will showcase postage stamp history, tradition and its evolution throughout the years.

Visitors can view notable postage stamp designs from all over the world at “World Stamp,” the international-focused exhibit area. At the “Discover Taiwan” exhibit area, domestic and international viewers can immerse themselves in an understanding of political, cultural and economic development in Taiwan since the 16th century, as well as Taiwanese cuisine and natural ecology.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-13
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The 2016 Hot Spring Season of Taipei will take place from Oct. 20 to Oct. 24 at the square in front

of Xinbeitou MRT Station, Qixing Park, and Beitou Park, with food stands, prize-drawing, performances and lots of perks up for grabs from “Hot Spring Witch Go!” app.

Each year, Hot Spring Season of Taipei is held in Fall to celebrate the Beitou area’s unique hot spring culture and natural endowments.

The year of 2016 marks the 15th anniversary of this event, and a highlight of this year’s five-day festival will be the special “Children’s Deity Palanquin Parade.” Other activities include bathing garment and accessory DIY, painted Japanese fans, performances of the Ming Hwa Yuan Opera Troupe, food stands with Taiwan local foods, and a great many perks and discounts local hot spring hotel operators have to offer, such as “buy-one-and-get-one-free” hotel stay.

The Taipei Hot Springs Association said this year’s festival throws in a touch of technology by inviting the smart robot, Pepper, to station the venues and by launching the special “Hot Spring Witch GO!” app, which combines the technology of Beacon and Augmented Reality (AR) to give visitors a guided tour of Beitou hot spring culture and give them access to perks and discounts offered by stores and hot spring operators in Beitou.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 14, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and anti-gambling activists on

Thursday urged young voters registered in Penghu to tick the “no” box in a Saturday referendum over whether casinos should be permitted in the outlying county.

The party’s youth development director, Huang Shou-ta, reiterated the DPP’s message that gambling was not the only way to boost Penghu’s tourism industry, which he said should be based on the islands’ unique geography and abundant cultural and natural resources.

DPP Legislator Chen Man-li accused “yes” campaigners of making empty promises, such as pledges of money and welfare benefits for Penghu residents.

“I hope those Penghu residents with voting rights will vote ‘no,’ because even if the referendum goes to the ‘yes’ campaign, the central government will not accept the results,” she said.

Ruling party lawmakers also accused the county’s election committee of misleading voters by using the phrase “special tourism zone” on the ballot, with no mention of casino legalization.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: October 12, 2016

European parliamentary friendship groups and EU lawmakers recently joined the growing

chorus of support around the world for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization and Interpol.

Klaus-Peter Willsch, chair of the Germany-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, said Oct. 6 in a news release that Taiwan plays an essential role in the global aviation safety and there is no reason to exclude it from ICAO—a U.N. specialized agency overseeing information exchanges in aviation safety, navigation and environmental protection.

“Without Taiwan’s participation, the international flight network is no longer complete as it is an important traffic hub in East Asia.”

In the same vein, Denis Jacquat, vice president of the France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, said Oct. 6 in a statement that shutting Taiwan out of ICAO is regrettable. He praised the country for its contributions to international aviation safety and reaffirmed the group’s steadfast support for Taiwan to take part in international organizations.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-12
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News

As part of the event of Tua-Tiu-Tiann International Festival of Arts (TTTIFA), the 1920s Costume Parade is going to take place in the afternoon of Oct. 15, featuring the vintage style of 1920s.

The 1920s costume parade takes place every year on the weekend of Oct. 17, leading everyone into the once prosperous alleys and streets of the historical neighborhood. Participants are encouraged to dress up like their favorite 1920s figures (not exclusively Taiwanese), time traveling back a century to the streets of 1920s Dadaocheng.

The costume parade will have north and south routes, each with its respective meeting points, both finishing at Yongle Market Plaza, where a series of street performances will bring the oeriod atmosphere to life.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/12
By: Wang Yang-yu and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA) The Taipei District Court held the first hearing on a high-profile heist from

a local bank’s automatic teller machines (ATMs) on Wednesday.

A multi-national crime ring was involved in the theft of more than NT$83 million (US$2.6 million) from First Bank’s ATMs in July.

Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted three East European suspects – Latvian Andrejs Peregudovs, Romanian Mihail Colibaba and Moldovan Niklae Penkov – on charges of fraud, obstruction of computer as well as others last month. The prosecution demanded a prison term of 12 years for each of the defendants.

Peregudovs was questioned in court on Wednesday, but denied the 12 charges leveled against him.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 13, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The government faced criticism Wednesday for insufficiently investigating

charges that French firm Alstom bribed government officials to win business in Taiwan.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said at a press conference that government agencies had continued to allow Alstom to work on large-scale domestic construction projects, even when the French firm admitted to bribing companies and agencies in Taiwan in 2014, including state-owned Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) and Taipei City’s Department of Rapid Transit System.

Large-scale domestic construction projects awarded to the company included Kaohsiung’s Light Rail lines, New Taipei City’s Ankeng Light Rail project, Taipower’s maintenance project for its Dalin factory in Chiayi County and a 2017 renovation of former Taipower factories, Lin said.

In response to Lin’s allegations, Ministry of Justice Agency Against Corruption Chief Secretary Lin Che-hui said that the case is still under investigation.

Lin charged that the case had been allowed to drag on for nearly two years without results. Investigation agencies should immediately list Alstom as a tainted witness in the case and should investigate government officials who accepted bribes from the firm, he said.     [FULL  STORY]