The China Post
Date: July 1, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI–More than 30 shark pups rescued earlier this month from two separate dead

pregnant female tiger sharks found off the coast of Taitung County are growing well, and 20 of them were released into the sea Thursday. Two of the tiger sharks were given microsatellite markers to record their movement patterns, according to a marine biology expert.

Fishermen operating out of Chenggong fishing port in Taitung County brought in two dead pregnant female tiger sharks on June 13 and June 14, from which 75 live baby sharks were rescued and later sent to the Fisheries Research Institute’s East Coast Marine Biology Center in Taitung for observation.

When they were pulled from their dead mothers, the first litter of 38 shark pups averaged about 80 centimeters in length, while the second litter of 37 averaged 60 centimeters in length. Eventually, 35 were able to survive, according to the marine biology center’s director, Ho Yuan-hsing.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/06/29
By: Chen Wei-ting and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Wednesday that tuberculosis is the most deadly notifiable disease in Taiwan, killing some 600 people per year.

On average, 11,000 people in Taiwan are diagnosed each year with tuberculosis and 600 of those cases result in death, the CDC said at international seminar in Taipei on multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.

CDC officials said the number of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis cases in Taiwan had fallen from 440 in 2007 to 184 in 2015, thanks to a program to halve the number in the period 2005-2015.

The program had a 77 success rate, as evidenced by the fact that only 0.8 percent of new tuberculosis patients last year were found to be drug-resistant, according to CDC data.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: June 29, 2016

President Tsai Ing-wen addressed the Paraguayan congress June 28 in the capital Asuncion,

highlighting her administration’s down-to-earth diplomacy and reciprocity between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and its South American diplomatic ally.

“Taiwan and Paraguay enjoy more than ordinary diplomatic relations, and this two-way collaboration extends beyond business investment,” Tsai said. “Our friendship is firmly grounded on such shared universal values as democracy, freedom and respect for human rights.”

According to the president, Taiwan and Paraguay are working on a raft of collaborative projects promoting housing justice and narrowing the digital divide, among many social issues. She cited the Digital Opportunity Center initiative proposed by Taiwan in 2003 under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation as a prime example of efforts by the ROC government in ensuring social equality.

“A number of Taiwan high-tech firms, including Acer Inc. and AsusTek Computer Inc., have pledged to provide hardware and cloud learning software to support the youth of Paraguay in joining the digital world,” Tsai said.     [FULL  STORY]

A ‘breakthrough’ video game takes players into the horrors of Taiwan’s White Terror period and decades of martial law.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/06/28
By: Yuan-ling Liang

Taiwanese video game developers are launching a new horror game based on Taiwan’s 38 years

of martial law and traditional Taiwanese ghost stories.

“Detention,” the first game developed by Taiwanese company Red Candle Games (赤燭遊戲), is set in Taiwan’s White Terror period, which lasted from 1948 to 1987 and saw thousands of people killed, imprisoned and disppeared.

The game’s plot follows two high school students trying to escape from a school. Among the game’s visual references to martial law are a hanging noose, government-related signs on the school’s bulletin board, and a teacher who is removed after encouraging students to read “improper” books.

During the 38-year martial law period under Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and the Kuomintang (KMT), people who promoted liberal ideas were detained or even killed by the government. While exact figures are not known, an estimated 4,500 people were executed and 140,000 imprisoned. Signs that encouraged people to report other citizens to authorities could be seen across the country, including in schools.     [FULL  STORY]

NO RED CARD:The Fisheries Agency said the allegations of shark-finning by the ‘Jing Man No. 666’ would not prompt the EU to apply sanctions on the nation’s aquatic products

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 29, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu and Chen Wei-han / Staff reporters

A Taiwanese fishing boat has been confiscated by the Solomon Islands authorities for alleged

shark finning and the case is being investigated by that nation’s judicial authorities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

At a routine news conference in Taipei yesterday morning, ministry spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said that the Jing Man No. 666 was seized by Solomon Islands authorities after it entered the South Pacific nation’s Noro Port on April 1 to pick up supplies.

“The Jing Man No. 666 has been held by Solomon Islands customs since April 3, when officials allegedly discovered illegally harvested shark fins on the vessel. The case has been referred by the Solomon Islands fisheries agency to its attorney general’s office,” Wang said.

Wang made the remarks a day after the Chinese-language China Times published a report claiming that two Taiwanese fishing vessels had been confiscated by Solomon Islands authorities on Monday over alleged illegal shark-finning.     [FULL  STORY]