Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/07
By: Chao Li-yen, Chiang Chun-liang, Yang Ssu-jui and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) “Yes! Thank you!” Huang Guang-wei (黃洸偉), 20, shouted when he was freed Sunday from the rubble of the 16-story Weiguan Jinlong building in Tainan to cheers from emergency teams and his family.

Huang had been trapped for some 30 hours since around 4 a.m. Saturday, when the residential complex toppled in a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that left 29 people dead as of Sunday afternoon.

Rescue workers had to cut though steel bars to get to Huang, who was eventually pulled out and taken to a hospital. He had several bruises but appeared to be in good condition otherwise.     [FULL  STORY]

COMPENSATION:Tainan said it is to provide of NT$2 million to the families of each of the deceased victims, while those seriously injured are to be offered NT$500,000

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 07, 2016
By: Staff Writer, with CNA

Donations to help those in need poured in yesterday, after a

magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan at 3:57am. At least 15 people were killed and more than 400 injured as of press time last night.

Among private donors, the Lin Rung San Foundation of Culture and Social Welfare (財團法人林榮三文化公益基金會) led the way, pledging NT$100 million (US$2.98 million) to the victims of the disaster. Mr Lin Rung San (林榮三) founded the Taipei Times and its sister paper the Liberty Times. He passed away on Nov. 28 last year.

Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑企業) pledged NT$50 million to help with emergency rescue efforts while Yulon Group (裕隆集團) pledged NT$10 million for the same purpose.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/03
By: Emerson Lim and Kay Liu

Manila, Feb. 3 (CNA) Travelers to the Philippines should be

aware of robbers who drug their targets, after a Taiwanese woman recently fell victim, according to Taiwan’s representative office in the Southeast Asian country.

The office said Wednesday that it was contacted on Feb. 1 by a Taiwanese man, who arrived in Manila on Jan. 31 but was unable to get in touch with his wife, who had arrived in the Philippines on Jan. 26.

Shortly following the man’s report, the office was notified that the woman, surnamed Chiang, was found in a hospital.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 07, 2016
By: Staff Writer, with CNA

Taipei 101 displayed messages on its facade yesterday

evening to express solidarity with people affected by a deadly earthquake that struck southern Taiwan in the early hours of the morning.

The display on the top of the building read “Go Tainan” and “Bless Taiwan,” and ran from 6pm to 10pm.

Taipei 101 said that the messages were displayed in tribute to those killed or injured in the earthquake and to boost the morale of the rescuers.

In November last year, Taipei 101 was lit in red, white and blue, the colors of the French flag, to commemorate the victims of a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/05
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) With more and more local consumers keen to

use credit cards, spending through the system in Taiwan hit a record high in 2015, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Friday.

Citing statistics, the FSC, the top financial supervisor in Taiwan, said that consumers in Taiwan spent a total of NT$2.2 trillion (US$65.67 billion) using credit cards in 2015, up 7.9 percent from a year earlier.

It was the sixth consecutive year in which Taiwanese credit card purchases hit a record high, the FSC said. However, the year-on-year growth in credit card spending for 2015 was lower than in 2013 and 2014, when the increase surpassed 8 percent, the commission said.     [FULL  STORY][

Taiwan Today
Date: February 5, 2016

Taiwan’s orchid sector is set for a major boost following a Feb. 4

announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture clearing the way for exports of locally cultivated Oncidium orchids potted in growing media.

The ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs welcomed the breakthrough, attributing it to ongoing discussions since 2007 under bilateral communication platforms such as the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.

After the U.S. began accepting exports of Taiwan produced Phalaenopsis orchids in growing medium in 2004, the government started seeking the same treatment for Oncidium orchids. “The issue was also a key item on the agenda of the ninth rounds of TIFA discussions held in Taipei City last October,” an MOEA official said.     [FULL  STORY]