The China Post
Date: August 1, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A couple was married in the mountains of Kaohsiung on Sunday, surrounded by friends and family — and Formosan rock macaques native to the area.

The bride, Lin Mei-yin — who described the macaques as her family — and the groom, Wu Hao-chun, took their wedding vows amid cries of the monkeys in Shoushan, according to the Central News Agency (CNA).

They put on their formal wedding gown and suit respectively, paired with sneakers for easy hiking up the narrow mountain paths so they could show their beloved macaques that they were married, the CNA reported.

The couple said they both love the Taiwan macaques, and chose to wed in the Year of the Monkey in order to set straight the general public’s misunderstanding of the animal.

Shoushan, a mountain in Kaohsiung, has a large population of Formosan rock macaque, but there have been occasional reports of the monkeys attacking visitors there.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-31
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwanese golfers Teresa Lu and Candie Kung, who are tied in the 17th place with a five-under-par aggregate of 211 heading into the final round of the Ricoh Women’s British Open, will be representing Taiwan to participate in the golf event at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Lu and Kung carded 71 and 70 strokes, respectively, in the third round of the open, which got under way on July 28 at the Woburn Golf Club. Lu had three birdies and two bogies in the third round, while Kung had six birdies and four bogies.

The Ricoh Women’s British Open is one of only two women Major’s played outside the US, participated by the world’s best women players.

Past champion Yani Tseng finished the third round in the 27th place with a three-under-par 213. Thai golfer Ariya Jutanugarn carded a third round of six under par 66 to move to the top of the leaderboard at 16 under par 200.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/31
By: Kuo Chu-chen, Chen Cheng-wei and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) A flotilla of fishing boats sailing to Taiping Island, the biggest island in the Spratly (Nansha) Islands in the South China Sea, returned to a Pingtung harbor with water, coconuts and sand from the island on Sunday morning.

The fishermen aboard five boats, who set out to demonstrate Taiping is an island under international law and assert the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) sovereignty over the island and surrounding waters, returned to Pingtung’s Yenpu (鹽埔) Fishing Port at 10 a.m. and were greeted by some 600 people.

After unloading water, coconuts, sea sand and bread from ships onto the dock, Cheng Chun-chung (鄭春忠), the organizer of the trip, thanked the five captains and said he organized and led the trip to express fishermen’s concerns about their country’s territory, in a press conference at the scene.

“Taiping is an island which belongs to Taiwan, why hasn’t the government had asserted this fact?” Cheng asked.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: August 1, 2016
By: Daisy Chuang, Special to The China Post

Rabbit lovers have called for increased attention on animal rights from the government and pet owners, as the population of abandoned rabbits in Taiwan has been rising in recent years.

A member of the Taipei Rabbit Society Association (TRSA, 台北市愛兔協會) told The China Post during a recent interview that the TRSA has found a growing number of abandoned rabbits in recent years due to over-breeding.

In 2010 there were reportedly 420,000 rabbit-owners in Taiwan; however, 67 percent of rabbits died within a year due to a lack of knowledge about caring for the animals.

The statistics also show that approximately 17,000 rabbits are abandoned per year.

According to the TRSA, the association rescued a historic high of 195 rabbits in 2015.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
DATE: July 31, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI — A famous crocodile kept in a private zoo in Tainan City will stop giving

performances due to tightening animal protection rules, its keeper said Saturday, adding that it will be sent to mainland China “for a new career.”

Chu Hsi-ho, dubbed the “King of Crocodiles,” said he has to close his zoo by the end of July because shows using the 5.8-meter-long, 1.25-metric ton-heavy reptile will no longer be allowed under animal protection law.

Animal protection groups had complained that the zoo’s treatment of its animals is inhumane, and that “Hsiaoho,” the crocodile, was kept in a small and dry pond, in which it could barely move.

Although Chu has kept Hsiaoho for more than 30 years, he said it would be impossible for him to keep it anymore.

To allow the public to bid farewell to the beloved crocodile star, admission to the zoo will be free on Sunday, he said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-30
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Former President Lee Teng-hui on Saturday arrived on the Japanese island of Ishigaki, where he is scheduled to hold a speech the following day.
The island lies just 333 kilometers from Taiwan, and the disputed Diaoyutai Islands, known in Japan as Senkaku, resort under its authority.

Lee, 93, has paid several visits to Japan, but mostly to the main islands and cities, and not to smaller relatively out-of-the-way areas.

He is due to address an association of young mayors about the state of Taiwan-Japanese relations. In the past, Lee has fueled controversy in Taiwan for supporting Tokyo’s claims of sovereignty over the Diaoyutai, which both Taiwan and China also claim.    [FULL  STORY]