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Doctor apologizes for self-defense in hospital violence

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/10
By: Huang Kuo-fang and Lee Mei-yu

Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) The president of the Puzi Hospital, Tsai Chung-jun (蔡宗龍), apologized Tuesday for an act of self-defense against a drunken patient who tried to attack health care workers.

The incident occurred when the drunken man showed up at the emergency room of the hospital in Chiayi County seeking treatment.

The patient suddenly lost his temper when he was asked about his condition and then initiated a brawl with health workers and the police, said Tsai.

Tsai said he tried to stop the alleged attacker by knocking him down and medical staff quickly reported the incident to the police. The patient was later given treatment and left with friends, according to Tsai. [FULL STORY]

Rumored tobacco plan criticized

SMOKING COSTS:John Tung Foundation’s Lin Ching-li said it opposes a surcharge hike because there is no monitoring mechanism for how funds are allocated

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 11, 2015
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

The nation’s premier anti-smoking lobby, the John Tung Foundation, yesterday said that it is against a rumored Ministry of Health and Welfare policy to increase a surcharge on tobacco products.

The Chinese-language China Times reported that the ministry is mulling a proposal to increase the Health and Welfare Surcharge on Tobacco Products from NT$20 to NT$40 because the Executive Yuan adjusted its distribution of the funds, with the National Health Insurance (NHI) to have NT$6 billion to NT$7 billion (US$182.6 million to US$213.1 million) cut from its budget annually.

The report said the NHI estimated that medical expenses for treating diseases caused by smoking accounts for between 6 and 15 percent of the nation’s total medical expense — about NT$50 billion per year, while the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) estimated an increase in income from NT$30 billion to NT$54 billion if the surcharge is doubled, with smoking rates predicted to drop.

Lin Ching-li (林清麗), head of the foundation’s tobacco control division, said the foundation is against the policy because there is no mechanism to monitor how the ministry allocates the funds it collects. [FULL STORY]

DPP slams MAC, Ma over Xi’s missile remark

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-09
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers again slammed President Ma Ying-jeou for not

DPP slams MAC, Ma over PLA missiles. Central News Agency

expressing his strong opposition to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bland response regarding the mainland’s arsenal of missiles just across the 160-kilometer Taiwan Strait, reports said Monday.

During a question-and-answer session at the legislature in Taipei, DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang slammed Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Andrew Hsia for not paying attention to China’s missile deployment, and Ma’s inaptitude towards such threat.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, there are currently over 1,700 ballistic warheads pointed at Taiwan, of which 1,500 are short-range missiles capable of hitting nowhere else but Taiwan and its surrounding offshore islands.

“If they are not meant for Taiwan, where else can they hit aside from us?” Tuan asked. [FULL STORY]

Taiwan High Speed Rail’s three new stations

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/09
By: Wang Shu-fen and Kay Liu

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp., operator of the bullet train services on the high-speed

Changhua Station. (CNA photo)

railway, recently opened three new stations, which are set to enter service Dec. 1, for public preview.

Miaoli Station. (CNA photo)

The Miaoli Station, which is located in the county’s Houlong Township, uses a metal framework to reflect the culture of persistence and preservation of local Hakka people, the company said.
The petal-shaped columns in the Changhua Station and the gardens around it are designed to show the county’s role as Taiwan’s main flower-producing area. [FULL STORY]

Exhibit showcases Taiwan’s world-renowned craft artists

Taiwan Today
Date: November 9, 2015

An eclectic exhibition is underway at the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development

“Straw Clay Branches” by Li Tsung-ju is one of the highlights at the “Pearls on the Crown—Exhibition of Taiwan Talents in International Craft Competitions” running through May 1, 2016 in Nantou County. (Courtesy of MOC)

Institute in Nantou County, showcasing diverse craftworks by young Taiwanese artists who have shined in global competitions.

Backed by the Ministry of Culture, “Pearls on the Crown— Exhibition of Taiwan Talents in International Craft Competitions” features 200-plus pieces by 56 talents born after 1970. Art forms on display include fiber art, glass, jewelry, lacquer, metalcraft and pottery, as well as stone and wood carvings.

NTCRDI Director Hsu Keng-hsiu said at the Nov. 5 opening ceremony that the artists helped shape Taiwan’s craft art scene through their international achievements. “They set perfect examples for the talents of tomorrow to build upon, further strengthening the development of local artistic circles.”

Echoing Hsu’s remarks, an MOC official said the artworks illustrate these young stars’ innovative ideas. “Combining contemporary art, modern techniques and the use of composite materials, the talents herald a new chapter for creative crafts in Taiwan.” [FULL STORY]

MA-XI MEETING: DPP has failed as watchdog, new alliance says

NEGLECTED DUTIES:Third-force legislative candidates have called on the DPP to step up to their role and impeach President Ma over his controversial meeting with Xi

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 10, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) legislative caucus has failed to play an effective watchdog role in response to Saturday’s meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), a third-force legislative candidate said yesterday.

“While I can understand that the DPP has had a very reserved response because it’s preparing to rule, I think the people expect more than this from a prospective ruling party,” said Green Party-Social Democratic Party Alliance candidate Miao Bo-ya (苗博雅), condemning the DPP for “failing to take constitutionally significant” actions to oppose the meeting.

“Although individual DPP members have issued statements against the talks, they have not used their capacity as national legislators to oppose the talks and create a meaningful precedent,” she said.

Even though the DPP lacks a majority in the Legislative Yuan, there were still several actions the caucus could have taken to oppose the talks, including sponsoring a petition to the Council of Grand Justices to rule on whether the arrangement of the meeting was constitutional, she said, adding that the council would be required to give a ruling if one-third of national legislators signed the petition. [FULL STORY]

Tsai seeks to trounce the KMT in January elections

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-08
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen said she will do her

Tsai seeks to trounce the KMT in Jan. elections. Central News Agency

utmost to lead the party into victory next January, pledging to trounce the ruling Kuomintang in the 2016 elections, reports said Sunday.

Tsai’s comments came during her trip to Taichung in the morning, where she campaigned for the city’s legislative candidates Hsieh Chih-chung, Tsai Chi-chang, Ho Hsin-chun, Huang Kuo-shu, and New Power Party candidate Hung Tzu-yung.

She said the upcoming elections will be a “most important divide” between maintaining Taiwan’s free and democratic way of life and abandoning the democratic mechanism that Taiwan has worked hard for many years to build.

“Only the new opinion as reflected by the results of the elections on January 16 can dictate the future development of Taiwan’s relations with China,” Tsai said, adding that she also aims to lead the DPP into a legislative majority next year. [FULL STORY]

Students’ mobile app wins Red Dot Award in Germany

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/08
By: Ku Lan-ying and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) “BlindNavi,” a mobile navigating app designed and developed by four

(Photo courtesy of Taiwan’s representative office in Germany)

Taiwanese university students for visually impaired users, won the junior prize at the Red Dot Awards in Berlin on Friday.

The app won the junior prize and 10,000 euros (NT$357,700) at the awards ceremony at Konzerthaus Berlin.

The BlindNavi app “helps blind people to reach independence when navigating in unknown environments. The developers have spent much effort on simplifying the interaction both for planning a trip and for traveling autonomously,” the jury said.

“This outstanding work is a commendable showcase project for young designers. We are proud to award the project with the highest honor for a student work at the Red Dot Award: Communication Design-the Red Dot: Junior Prize,” said the jury. [FULL STORY]

MA-XI MEETING: ‘Neither of us is a good drinker,’ Ma says of China’s Xi

IN-DEPTH INSIGHT?Ma said that during dinner with the Chinese leader, they talked about zodiac signs, alcoholic drinks and regional produce

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 09, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he sees Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as a leader who is able to make quick decisions.

Asked about his impressions of the Chinese leader after their meeting and dinner in Singapore on Saturday, Ma told reporters on a flight back to Taiwan that “apparently neither of us is a good drinker.”

The two leaders and half a dozen officials from either side had a closed-door meeting, followed by a dinner in which liquor — kaoliang from Taiwan and maotai from China — as well as rice wine from Matsu were served.

Sitting next to each other at a round table, he and Xi talked about alcoholic drinks, Chinese zodiac signs and special produce from various regions, among other topics, Ma said.

Prior to their meeting, Ma said had learned about Xi only by reading.

Having finally met him, Ma said he found Xi capable of making decisions quickly on some issues, such as the possibility of allowing more Chinese students to come to Taiwan. [FULL STORY]

Taipei, Beijing negotiate ‘one China’ principle

DIFFERENCE OF OPINION:The MAC minister said whether the ‘one China’ principle is to be a point of consensus at the meeting would be made known today

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 07, 2015
By: Tzou Jiing-wen and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Chinese government strongly desires that the “one China” principle be made one of

President Ma Ying-jeou delivers a speech on the anniversary of the death of late president Yen Chia-kan in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Hu Shun-hsiang, Taipei Times

the points of “consensus” to be announced after a historic meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore today.

However, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) officials said that they would prefer the meeting to be based on the so-called “1992 consensus.”

As of press time last night, the two sides were still negotiating the issue.

The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means. [FULL STORY]

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