Page Three

Free flu vaccination program to start Thursday

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/30
By: Chen Wei-ting and Lee Mei-yu

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) A free influenza vaccination program will be launched Thursday for 201509300029t0001children, the elderly and other people in high risk groups, in a preparation for the flu season, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Wednesday.

The government has purchased approximately 3.16 million doses of flu vaccine, which will be made available free of cost to people over the age of 65, children six months to the six-grade school student, patients aged 50-64 with high-risk chronic illnesses, the CDC said.

People aged 50-64 who work on animal farms or in animal disease prevention will also be eligible for the free flu shot, the CDC added.

The trivalent flu vaccines purchased by the government were recommended by the World Health Organization and provide protection against the influenza A (H3N2), A (H1N1), and B viruses, according to CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥).     [FULL  STORY]

Like a prayer answered: Madonna adds second Taipei date

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-30
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Madonna has added a second concert in Taipei in February next year, local promoter Live

Madonna in concert. (Photo/China Times)

Madonna in concert. (Photo/China Times)

Nation Taiwan announced Tuesday.

All of the around 10,000 tickets to Madonna’s Feb. 4 concert were snatched up within 15 minutes after going on sale on Sept. 26.

The additional concert will take place Feb. 6 at Taipei Arena, the promoter said — the same venue as the Feb. 4 show.
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Tickets will go on sale at 11am on Oct. 10 at bit.ly/REBELTW or at the electronic ibon kiosks at 7-Eleven convenience stores.     [FULL  STORY]

COA creates new Siam tulip species

WILTING INDUSTRY:The new species is expected to revive interest in the local tulip industry, which has declined over the past few decades due to extreme weather and diseases

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 01, 2015
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday said it has bred a new species of Siam tulip in

A new species of Siam tulip developed by the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station bloom in a greenhouse in Pingtung County on Thursday last week. Photo: Supplied by the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station

A new species of Siam tulip developed by the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station bloom in a greenhouse in Pingtung County on Thursday last week.
Photo: Supplied by the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station

the hopes of reinvigorating the local flower industry and developed a paper test kit for detecting orchid viruses.

Native to Thailand and introduced to Taiwan in the late 1970s, the Siam tulip, or Curcuma alismatifolia, is not related to the tulip, but to various ginger species, such as turmeric, the council said, adding that the Siam tulip gets its name from its tulip-like flowering pattern and is one of the most ornamental flowers of the various ginger species; commonly sold as a cut flower that can last for more than 10 days.

The Siam tulip industry in Taiwan bloomed following the introduction of a pink-flowering variety in the late 1970s, but the industry has declined and the flower’s planting areas have reduced to about 5 hectares, the council said.

The decline has been linked to extreme weather and serious plant diseases, which have reduced the flower’s quality and farmers’ revenue, the council said, adding that the species available on the market have gradually lost their popularity and are generally only used as religious offerings.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan confident of continued solid ties with Vatican

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-29
By: Tang Pei-chun and Lilian Wu, Central News Agency

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) The Taiwan government understands the Vatican’s desire for dialogue with China and thinks that it will consider the feelings of the Taiwanese people as it works to develop relations with China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday.

The Republic of China (Taiwan) has long-term diplomatic relations with the Vatican, which remain solid and are proceeding normally, said MOFA spokeswoman Eleanor Wang. President Ma Ying-jeou, Vice President Wu Den-yih and Foreign Affairs Minister David Lin have all visited the Vatican at its invitation, she said.

Vatican commissions and Catholic charities frequently hold activities in Taiwan, which is evidence of the close exchanges and solid friendship between the two sides, Wang said.
Her comments came in the wake of foreign media reports that Pope Francis is eying a visit of China, having concluded his trip to the U.S. “I’d really love to go to China,” the Catholic leader told reporters on a flight from the U.S. back to Rome on Monday, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.     [FULL  STORY]

European Parliament to pass resolution on president’s peace initiative

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/29
By: Jeffrey Wu and Bear Lee

Brussels, Sept. 29 (CNA) The European Parliament is expected to pass a resolution next 201509290030t0001month in support of the South China Sea peace initiative advocated by President Ma Ying-jeou, Werner Langen, chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group, said Tuesday.

Langen told the media after a video conference between Ma and members of the European Parliament earlier in the day that it was “very good to have dialogue” with Ma. “We hope the peace process initiated by President Ma in the South China Sea case will be successful next month” he went on, referring to the European Parliament’s passing of the resolution in support of Ma’s peace initiative, adding that “it is necessary to strengthen relations between Taiwan and the European Union.”     [FULL  STORY]

Stay safe Taiwan, astronaut tweets as Dujuan approaches

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-29
CNA and Staff Reporter

An American astronaut on the International Space Station tweeted good wishes for the

Kjell Lindgren's Twitter post. (Internet photo)

Kjell Lindgren’s Twitter post. (Internet photo)

safety of people in Taiwan on Sept. 25 as Typhoon Dujuan bore down on the country with powerful winds and heavy rains.

Kjell Lindgren, who was born in Taipei, posted a photo of Dujuan taken from the space station, with the words “Typhoon #Dujuan, east of Taiwan, Stay safe friends!”

Dujuan brought strong winds and heavy rain to the island from Monday afternoon and through the night. Offices and schools were closed on Monday and the announcement was made later on Monday that the suspension would be carried through to the next day for most parts of Taiwan. The storm had cleared by Tuesday morning, however.     [FULL  STORY]

Hung denies threatening Chu

SOLIDARITY:Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng backed up his colleague, saying that if the election result is not good, everyone in the KMT would be upset

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 30, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, right, and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu make a toast at a lunch in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, right, and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu make a toast at a lunch in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

said it would not reflect well on any party member — especially the chairman — if her election campaign ends in a drubbing.

The deputy legislative speaker said on a political talk show on Monday night that if she loses by a landslide in the Jan. 16 election “it would not look good for [KMT Chairman] Eric Chu (朱立倫) either.”

Hung denied that the statement was a threat to the KMT chairman, as some media pundits have interpreted it.

“If I do not fare well in the election, I believe that it would leave many in the party who are strongly committed to this country feeling frustrated. Is it wrong to say that if I lose, all party comrades and supporters would feel bad?” Hung said.     [FULL  STORY]

Political donations from nine-in-one polls under probe

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 29, 2015
By: Lee Hsin-fang and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Dozens of candidates in last year’s nine-in-one elections are suspected of violating the Political Donations Act (政治獻金法), the Control Yuan said.

The historical Nov. 29 elections were the largest local government polls in the nation’s history, so-named because they elected officials and representatives in nine administrative categories, from county commissioners and special municipality mayors to city councilors and borough wardens.

Control Yuan division director Lin Hui-mei (林惠美) said that preliminary audits revealed that many might have violated Article 7 of the Political Donations Act.

Lin said that Article 7 stipulates that candidates are forbidden from taking donations from “profit-seeking businesses in accumulative deficit not made up according to relevant provisions,” “public enterprises or the civil enterprises in which the government holds not less than 20 percent of the capital,” and “manufacturers that have signed a government procurement contract of a large amount or an investment contract of important public construction and are performing the contract.”     [FULL  STORY]

Typhoon Dujuan to bring heavy rainfall, traffic affected

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-28
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The eye of Typhoon Dujuan is expected to make landfall between 9 p.m. to midnight on

Typhoon Dujuan affects rail and flights. Central News Agency

Typhoon Dujuan affects rail and flights. Central News Agency

Monday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said, cautioning the public in northern and eastern Taiwan to be prepared for heavy rain.

As of 8 a.m., the intensifying Dujuan was centered 260 kilometers east-southeast of Hualien, moving at a speed of 21 kilometers per hour in a west-northwesterly direction. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 184 km/h, with gusts reaching 220 km/h, according to the CWB.

The storm is expected to be closest to Taiwan Monday afternoon until Tuesday morning. Residents in Taipei (including Taoyuan and Hsinchu) and eastern Taiwan’s Hualien and Ilan are warned to brace for strong winds, with predicted 900mm of rainfall, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, the governments of Taipei, New Taipei and Keelung urged local residents to take measures to prevent flooding and to store water for future use. The turbidity of the water may rise to untreatable levels due to flooding as Dujuan has picked up strength and is forecast to bring heavy downpours to the cities and counties north of Miaoli.     [FULL  STORY]

Bon Jovi’s second Taipei concert also canceled over typhoon (update)

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/29
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Sept. 28 (CNA) After suffering an emotional roller coaster ride on Monday, fans of 201509290001t0001Bon Jovi were presented with the worst possible news — the rock band’s second concert in Taipei has also been canceled because of Typhoon Dujuan.

On its Facebook page, concert promoter Live Nation Taiwan said it is “with deep regret” that it is announcing the cancellation of the show.

“There are no words to express how sad we are,” it wrote.

The announcement came less than two hours after the Taipei city government said offices and schools will be closed throughout the day on Tuesday. The city government said earlier Monday that offices and schools will only be closed Tuesday morning, giving fans the hope that the Tuesday concert will continue as planned.     [FULL  STORY]