Page Three

President meets Tang Prize winners

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-24
By: Central News Agency

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has met with winners of this year’s Tang Prize — known as the Asian Nobel Prize — and their representatives over the past two days to exchange experiences ahead of this weekend’s awards ceremony, the Tang Prize Foundation said Saturday.

This year’s laureates are Arthur H. Rosenfeld, former commissioner of the California Energy Commission, who won the prize for sustainable development; Jennifer A. Doudna and Feng Zhang (張鋒) of the United States, and Emmanuelle Charpentier of France, who shared the prize for biopharmaceutical science; American scholar William Theodore de Bary, who won the prize for Sinology; and Louise Arbour, a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who won the prize for rule of law.

All the winners are currently in Taiwan for the awards ceremony scheduled to be held on Sunday, except for 90-year-old Rosenfeld and 97-year-old de Bary, who decided not to travel to Taiwan because of their age.

Rosenfeld is being represented by his protege Ashok Gadgil, a senior scientist at the Energy and Environmental Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.     [FULL  STORY]

Ex-U.N. rights head slams Duterte’s anti-drug war as ‘inhumane’

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/24
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Louise Arbour, the Tang Prize winner for the rule of law, blasted Philippine 201609240020t0001President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug tactics as “inhumane” and “ineffective” on Saturday and urged the president to reverse his policy.

When asked her opinion of Duterte’s war on drugs at a press conference in Taipei, Arbour, who is in Taiwan to receive the award, noted that she co-signed a public letter to the Philippine president earlier this month.

The letter called on the president “to reverse his current policy, which is not only inhumane, but has been proven completely ineffective in all places where this kind of repression has been put in place,” said Arbour, a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

A former prosecutor, Duterte has been widely criticized by international human rights groups for his heavy-handed tactics in dealing with drugs and other crimes.     [FULL  STORY]

US urges Taiwan and China to engage with dignity

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 25, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Washington encourages the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to engage each other on the basis of dignity and respect, a senior US Department of State official said on Friday, after Taiwan was not invited to attend an upcoming International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assembly, apparently due to China’s objections.

The US has an abiding interest in cross-strait dialogue, stability and peace and in supporting Taiwan as it seeks to expand its contributions to addressing global challenges, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Daniel Russel said.

“Where there are steps by either side to reduce tensions and to foster constructive dialogue and engagement, we welcome it, and we encourage the two sides to engage on the basis of dignity and respect,” Russel said during a briefing at the New York Foreign Press Center, in response to a question on Taiwan’s failed ICAO bid.

He said Washington supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the ICAO and in international organizations where statehood is not a prerequisite for membership.      [FULL  STORY]

Penghu light show

The China Post
Date: September 25, 2016
By: CNA

p12bA light show is superimposed on a temple in the outlying island of Penghu, Saturday. Autumn tourism festivities kicked off to great fanfare, with visitors finding the lighting effects employed rivaling or surpassing those used in similar shows around Taipei 101 and Taipei Main Station. The island group has thematic months for tourism, including gourmet foods in September, sports in October and a romance-theme in November.     [SOURCE]

Taiwan Organic Soap Brand in Hot Water over Factory Permits

The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/23
By: ZiQing Low

A well-known Taiwanese organic soap brand, which is exported around Asia, has allegedly been

Photo Credit:stefano peppucci@Flickr CC BY ND 2.0

Photo Credit:stefano peppucci@Flickr CC BY ND 2.0

making products in factories without permits.

The maker of a popular Taiwanese organic soap has been accused of making products in factories that did not have permits.

The New Taipei City Department of Health and the Investigation Bureau inspected three properties owned by Yuan Soap Workshop Co (阿原肥皂) in Tamsui District on Sept. 21 after it received a tip-off from employees of the company.

The authorities impounded more than 40 tonnes of organic soap after the inspection, the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported.

The city’s Department of Health is currently investigating. If the allegations are found to be true, the owners of Yuan Soap face up to a year in jail and their products would be destroyed in accordance with the Statute for Control of Cosmetic Hygiene, the Department of Health told Apple Daily.     [FULL  STORY]

CAA will still travel to ICAO meet

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-23
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Even though Taiwan did not receive an invitation to attend the Triennial

MOTC Vice Minister Huang Kwo-tsai.

MOTC Vice Minister Huang Kwo-tsai.

Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Canada next week, the Civil Aeronautics Administration would nevertheless still send a delegation to Montreal, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Friday.

President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister David Lee separately expressed their dismay and discontent Friday with the fact that no letter of invitation had arrived for the September 27 to October 7 event. Chinese pressure against Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party government team has widely been blamed for the letter not coming.

Despite that fact, the CAA would still send a representative to Montreal, where she could interact with delegations outside the meeting hall, said MOTC Vice Minister Wang Kwo-tsai. CAA Deputy Director General Ho Shu-ping would travel to Canada for the event, he added.     [FULL  STORY]

TLC host Ian Wright fascinated by street food in Taiwan, Hong Kong

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/23
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) The great variety of street eats and the laid-back atmosphere are Ian Wright’s 201609230031t0001top pleasures when eating out in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Travel & Living Channel (TLC) presenter said Friday ahead of a TLC picnic party in Taipei on Saturday.

“I don’t feel comfortable going somewhere that’s really posh,” said Wright, adding that the vibe on the streets always impresses him in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where he just completed the filming of a mini-series “A Taste of Hong Kong.”

Reviewing his favorite street food in Hong Kong and Taiwan, such as clams with spicy sauce and sweet sausage, respectively, Wright said the two places both have their “heavenly cuisine,” which makes it difficult to judge which one is better.

For instance, Taiwan has the best small steamed dumplings and spicy hot pots, while Hong Kong’s chashao, ribs and crab broth are superior, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

US expresses its support for Taiwan’s ICAO bid

GLOBAL IMPORTANCE:The US remains committed to supporting Taiwan as it seeks to expand its significant contributions to global challenges, a US official said

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 24, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The US Department of State on Thursday expressed its support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN specialized agency, as Taiwan seeks to take part at the ICAO assembly for a second time.

The triennial ICAO assembly is to be held from Tuesday to Oct. 7 at its headquarters in Montreal, Canada, but Taiwan so far has not received an invitation.

“The United States remains committed to supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in ICAO,” US East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau spokeswoman Grace Choi said when asked to comment on the issue.

“In keeping with our ‘one China’ policy, we support Taiwan’s membership of international organizations that do not require statehood,” Choi said. “In organizations that require statehood for membership [such as the ICAO], the United States supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation.”     [FULL  STORY]

XPEC headquarters raided, individual directors summoned

The China Post
Date: September 24, 2016
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Police raided the headquarters of scandal-hit Taiwanese game developer XPEC

Former Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜), left, and former Taipei City Deputy Mayor Lee Yong-ping (李永萍) are seen in this photo taken in New Taipei City on Friday, Sept. 23. (CNA)

Former Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜), left, and former Taipei City Deputy Mayor Lee Yong-ping (李永萍) are seen in this photo taken in New Taipei City on Friday, Sept. 23. (CNA)

Entertainment Inc. for the first time on Friday, as prosecutors summoned its three individual directors as witnesses.

Former Economics Minister Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), media celebrity and former Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜) and former Taipei City Deputy Mayor Lee Yong-ping (李永萍) were summoned to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday, along with 50 other personnel, officials said.

According to the Justice Ministry’s Investigation Bureau, police officers also raided the home of XPEC Chief Executive Officer Aaron Hsu (許金龍) and Bai Chi Gan Tou Digital Entertainment Co.’s Taipei office.

In a move that was unprecedented in Taiwan’s game development sector, Bai Chi Gan Tou withdrew from a NT$4.86 billion acquisition deal with XPEC on Aug. 30 — a day before its payment deadline.

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) filed charges against Bai Chi Gan Tou earlier this month.     [FULL  STORY]

Realtors wary of bill requiring safety check before house sales

The China Post
Date: September 23, 2016
By: Christine Chou

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The government announced plans to amend the Building Act (建築法) so residential

Interior Minister Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) delivers a report at the Legislative Yuan on Thursday, Sept. 22. Yeh told reporters that plans to require owners of property over 30 years old to undergo pre-sale safety tests would not affect property transactions, and that such plans have yet to be drafted into an amendment proposal. (CNA)

Interior Minister Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) delivers a report at the Legislative Yuan on Thursday, Sept. 22. Yeh told reporters that plans to require owners of property over 30 years old to undergo pre-sale safety tests would not affect property transactions, and that such plans have yet to be drafted into an amendment proposal. (CNA)

property 30 years and older must undergo a safety assessment before they can be sold.

The proposal was met with mixed reactions, with some saying the policy would help accelerate urban renewal plans and to improve home safety. It drew a backlash from the real estate brokerage industry, which claimed it would drive down property transactions.

Wednesday marked the 17th year since the deadly 921 Earthquake shook Taiwan. The magnitude 7.3 earthquake caused severe damage and spurred the passage of stricter construction laws.

Deputy Interior Minister Hua Ching-chun (花敬群), while attending a conference on disaster prevention and urban renewal Wednesday, said the Ministry of the Interior (內政部) would propose amendments requiring that residential property 30 years and older be certified as safe before they can be sold.     [FULL  STORY]