Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-26
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation Tuesday launched two measures to ease congestion on Taipei Metro’s Wenhu Line during rush hours, the company said.

The older Matra trains, each of which has a capacity of carrying 456 passengers as opposed to 424 on the newer Bombardiers, are now being used more frequently during rush hours, the TRTC said.

The TRTC said it has increased trains on Wenhu Line during the weekday peak periods since Jan. 18, reducing the time between trains from 85 to 80 seconds.

In addition, the TRTC began on Tuesday a measure of increasing trains between busy stations during rush hours on a trial basis.

An empty train from Liuzhangli Station to Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Station and another from Gangqian Station to Taipei Zoo Station are dispatched respectively during the morning and afternoon rush hours from Monday to Friday, the TRTC said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/26
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) The United Kingdom has included Taiwan in its

Registered Traveler service program, allowing holders of Republic of China (Taiwan) passports who travel frequently to Britain to get through U.K. border controls faster.

The U.K. announced on Monday that Taiwan was one of the new participants in the program, along with South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday.

To be eligible for the program, one must be 18 or older and have a visa to the U.K. that is valid for more than six months or have had visited the U.K. four times or more (including visa-free entries) in the previous 24 months, the ministry said.

Those registered under the program will not need to fill in a landing card upon arrival and will also be exempt from leaving fingerprints or being interviewed by immigration officers, the ministry said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: January 26, 2016

Taiwan’s integrated circuit sector output topped NT$1.17 trillion (US$34.8

billion) in 2015, up 6.2 percent from 12 months before for a record high, according to the ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs Jan. 25.

“Despite challenging conditions at home and abroad in the second half of 2014, Taiwan’s IC sector continued to thrive on its superior process know-how,” an MOEA official said.

The latest MOEA statistics revealed that dedicated IC foundries contributed 85.06 percent, or NT$995.3 billion, of sector output—also a record high and up 9.7 percent from 2014. This is followed by dynamic random-access memory at NT$136.5 billion, down 12.6 percent year on year, and other IC manufacturing at NT$38.3 billion, 0.8 percent lower for the same period.

According to U.S.–based technology research firm Gartner Inc., global contract IC manufacturing service industry revenues totaled US$46.85 billion in 2014, up 16.11 percent from a year earlier.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/25
By: Yu Kai-hsiang and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) Police arrested a man Sunday, nearly 19 years after he

allegedly stabbed to death a woman in Jingmei, Taipei and robbed her of NT$60,000 (US$1,800) before fleeing, police said Monday.

The arrest was based on a single fingerprint of the man, surnamed Rao, left in a pool of blood at the computer store the woman was keeping in the absence of her husband in the evening of April 8, 1997.

Police officers knocked at Rao’s door in his Xinzhuang, New Taipei residence at around 8:00 p.m. Sunday. When Rao answered the door, he was asked, “Have you been sleeping well over the past 19 years?” according to police.

A shocked Rao immediately admitted to the killing, which occurred when he was 16 years old. He was nabbed on suspicion of robbery and homicide and handed over to prosecutors.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: January 25, 2016

A Taipei City Government delegation headed by Mayor Ko Wen-je embarked

Jan. 24 on a seven-day Japan trip promoting the 2107 Summer Universiade and expanding communication channels.

Touring Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, as well as the island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea, the contingent will observe Japanese preparations for the 2020 Summer Olympics. These span the areas of disaster prevention, industry incubation and tourism development.

Ko said the trip represents an opportunity for local government officials to learn more about organizing world-class events. “The operations of large-scale public venues like Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Station are definitely models worth emulating.”

According to Ko, fostering cultural and creative industries in conjunction with sports events is another focus of the trip. The delegation will visit the 3331 Arts Chiyoda center in Tokyo and Koganecho bazaar in Yokohama to see how this sector’s development is boosted through integration with local communities.     [FULL  STORY]

REVERSING THE TREND:To combat an aging population and a decline in childbirth, the president-elect pledged ‘high-quality and affordable childcare’

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 25, 2016
By: Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporter

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday promised that her incoming

administration would set up an “affordable” childcare system to encourage young couples to have children, as the nation faces serious challenges from a declining birthrate.

Tsai was in Taichung as part of a tour of the nation to thank supporters and made the remarks during a speech while meeting gynecologist Lee Mao-sheng (李茂盛), who is one of Tsai’s long-time supporters and the head of the Friends of Tsai Ing-wen organization. Tsai was there to witness the inauguration of his new after-birth care center.

“Taiwan is facing the serious challenges of an aging population and a decline in childbirth, and the government must respond to the challenges through policies,” Tsai said. “I promise that the government will provide kids and young parents with universal, high-quality and affordable childcare.”

“The central and local governments would work together to shoulder the mission and responsibility of taking good care of the next generation,” she said.     [FULL  STORY]