Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/26
By: Hsiao Po-yang and CNA intern Lauren Hung

Taipei, April. 26 (CNA) An elderly man fell to his death from the seventh floor of a building in

Nantou County Tuesday, hitting and killing a woman, according to the county’s fire department.

The man and the woman were taken to Tsenghanchi General Hospital and Yumin Hospital, respectively, by fire fighters who rushed to the scene, where both were pronounced dead.

The man, 66, fell when trying to cross a fence to a neighboring building. The woman, 74, was a vegetable vendor.      [SOURCE]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 27, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

Minister without portfolio-designate Chang Ching-sen (張景森), who was president-elect Tsai

Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy office executive director, stirred up controversy with comments on Facebook calling activists “pathetic” for having sided with a family who resisted an urban renewal project that demolished their residence, but are now reportedly receiving five apartments in the completed apartment complex.

The post, criticized by activists and politicians alike and deleted soon after it was posted, also prompted a response from premier-designate Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday.
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Lin said he wished to remind Cabinet members that “with the change of our positions, every slip of the tongue can cause social distress and lead all our efforts in preparation for future reforms to go up in smoke.”

“Urban renewal has to be done, but it should not be the means for corporations to speculate and rake in profits. The Wenlin Yuan case was so controversial because then-Taipei City Government had become the demolition team of the construction company, which had advertised the project before the dispute was resolved,” Lin told a news conference yesterday. “The procedure was indeed flawed.”

He said that Chang’s remarks “blurred why the project was contentious” since “people’s rights, their emotional attachment to their home, democratic procedure and public interest” are things that cannot be measured in terms of money, “and this is what we should always remember.”     [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2016/04/25
Translated by Olivia Yang

Changhua is probably not an unfamiliar place for most people. Even if you have never been there, you have surely heard of the place, which is known for its agriculture industry. But did you know that Changhua is actually one of the first cities to have been developed in Taiwan?

The first attraction most people visit when arriving in Changhua is the Lukang (鹿港) in the traditional saying, “First Tainan, second Lukang, third Bangka” (「一府二鹿三艋舺」). The most unique architecture landscape of Lukang is the temples. Are you curious why such a small town like Lugang houses so many temples with historic value? Let’s hop on a pedicab and discover the culture of Lukang in the old streets of the town.

Take a historical look into Lugang on a pedicab

We can’t actually look at Lukang from a modern perspective. During the Qing Dynasty, the town was the trading location in southern Taiwan due to its geographic location and natural coastal terrain. It was where goods from both the north and south were gathered and distributed. No one would have called Lukang a “small town” (otherwise all the other places in Taiwan would be called, “nano towns”). Lukang traded frequently with other coastal towns and temples like Lukang Mazu Temple (鹿港天后宮) and Longshan Temple (龍山寺) were built for the fishermen and merchants to pray for safety on the waters. Even to this day, people still visit the Mazu Temple frequently, and paying a visit to the temple is like seeing the fishermen gathering in the space and praying to Mazu (媽祖) piously.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-25
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Last month, the U.S. and the Philippines began conducting joint naval patrols in the South China Sea. The two nations signed a 10-year military agreement in January known as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which allows the U.S. to build military facilities and give the nation wide access to Philippines military bases.

United States Pacific Command on Friday issued a statement saying that the Air Contingent had completed a flying mission from its Clark Air Base in the Philippines, involving four A-10C Thunderbolt II and two HH-60G Pave Hawks aircraft, on April 19 near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

Amid growing tensions between China and the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal, also known as Huangyan Island in China, the statement stressed that the mission was conducted through international airspace in the vicinity of the disputed reef and was in accordance with international law.

Last month, the U.S. and the Philippines began conducting joint naval patrols in the South China Sea. The two nations have signed a 10-year military agreement in January known as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which allows the U.S. to build military facilities in the Philippines and access the Asian country’s military bases.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/25
By: Tyson Lu, Yeh Tzu-kang and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) A National Yunlin University of Science and Technology student who had been reported missing since Feb. 23 was found Sunday night sleeping on a street in Taitung’s Guanshan Township.

Liu Wai Siong, a 35-year-old from Malaysia, had nothing on him except two cellphones and a flash memory but the memory cards in his cellphones were gone too, said Liu Cheng-kuang, Guanshan police chief who found the missing student the previous night.

Social workers had to ask two young men on alternative military service who were able to speak English to help get information from Liu Wai Siong, who was not able to speak but was able to tell his story by writing down that he did not remember anything except that he had “flown to Taitung from afar” and had been “hit hard” and “it hurts.”

His university said he left his dormitory in western Taiwan in the early hours of Feb. 23 on motorcycle and has not been heard of since — until now.

Guanshan police said when they took him in, he was dressed properly, an indication he has been fed well and has washed himself often over the past two months. His motorcycle was not with him any more.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-24
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The 2016 Hakka Tung Blossom Festival, taking place through May 22, features landscape art as a new approach to promote the event.

The 15-year-old festival decided to invite landscape artists to make Tung-blossom thematic art – an unprecedented approach, the organizer, the Hakka Affairs Council (HAC), said. The organizer said it hopes to introduce the Hakka spirit, such as living in harmony with nature and cherishing and passing down traditions, to more people through Tung blossom-inspired art, and hopefully gives a new perspective.

Members of the public are invited to appreciate the actual artworks and watch arts performances at the Miaoli Hakka Culture Park, located in Jiuhu Village, Tongluo Towhship, Miaoli County (2:00 p.m. April 24, May 14 & 15), Sanwan Elementary School in Sanwan Village, Sanwan Township, Miaoli County (2:00 p.m. April 30 & May 1) and Wenshui Old Street at Huashu Park, Zhumu Village, Shitan Township, Miaoli County (2:00 p.m. May 7 & 8), according to the organizer.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-23
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

In 1995, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated all over the world on April 23.

The UNESCO decided to celebrate this day in order to promote reading and writing habits while increasing the awareness of copyright.

Why is April 23 designated as World Book and Copyright Day?

First, the date was set for April 23 because it was the anniversary of both the birth and the death of William Shakespeare, the world’s most renowned playwright.

Second, besides William Shakespeare, April 23 was also the anniversary of the death of other literary giants, such as Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the author of Don Quixote, and the well-known Chinese philosopher from the Song dynasty, Zhu Xi, just to name a few.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/23
By: Chen Ja-fo and Kay Liu

Kaohsiung, April 23 (CNA) A man was arrested Friday for taking a stroll on the

streets in a dinosaur costume a day earlier, during an air defense exercise in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

Police arrested the man, identified only by his surname Kao, after images of what appeared to be a small dinosaur roaming the streets in Kaohsiung were posted on a website known for exposés.

The authorities traced the man to the store where he worked thanks to surveillance cameras installed at intersections.

According to the Gushan Precinct of the Kaohsiung City Police Department, Kao took a stroll on Mingcheng 3rd Road in a dinosaur costume when traffic ban was imposed in the city and other parts of southern Taiwan for the annual Wan An air defense exercise.

The exercise has been taking place since March in different parts of Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]