Page Three

Green iguanas culled in Kaohsiung to keep ecological balance

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/16
By: C.F. Chen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Kaohsiung City has captured some 238 green iguanas so far this year,

Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung Agriculture Bureau

Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung Agriculture Bureau

under a culling program that it began in 2013 to maintain an ecological balance, a city official said Thursday.

In 2013, it was found that the city’s Niaosong District (鳥松) was a major habitat for wild green iguanas, the official said, citing a field study done by National Pingtung University of Science and Technology.

Kaohsiung’s Agriculture Bureau later that year commissioned the university to cull the non-native reptiles to help avert ecological and environmental problems, the official said.

The iguana population in Kaohsiung has grown as a result of owners abandoning or releasing the reptiles into the wild, the official said.     [FULL  STORY]

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre to hold free outdoor shows

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-16
By:CNA

Taiwan’s renowned Cloud Gate Dance Theatre will give three free outdoor performances of its

A Cloud Gate Dance Theatre promotional poster. (Photo courtesy of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre)

A Cloud Gate Dance Theatre promotional poster. (Photo courtesy of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre)

production Rice in Taiwanese cities beginning July 18.

The performances will take place July 18 in the main plaza of the National Theater Concert Hall in Taipei; July 25 in the outdoor plaza of the Kaohsiung Cultural Center in southern Taiwan; and Aug. 1 at the Meilun athletics field in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County.

All three performances will begin at 7:30 pm.

Created to mark Cloud Gate’s 40th anniversary, Rice, which premiered in 2013, presents the life cycle of rice as a metaphor for the ups and downs of a person’s life.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei preschool subsidies set for expansion: officials

INCENTIVES:To encourage parents to send children to school earlier, four-year-old children attending private kindergartens are to receive NT$2,543 every semester

Taipei Times
Date:  Jul 17, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Kindergarten subsidies are to be expanded as part of broader moves to shake up the structure of Taipei’s social welfare benefits, the Department of Education said yesterday.

The age limit for children receiving city subsidies to attend private kindergartens is to be lowered to four, Department of Education Chief Secretary Chen Shun-ho (陳順和) said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan-born novelist wins Japan’s popular literature award

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-16
By: Central News Agency

Tokyo, July 16 (CNA) Akira Higashiyama, a Taiwan-born migrant writer in Japan, won the semi-annual Naoki Prize, a Japanese literary award for popular literature.

He was honored at the award presentation ceremony Thursday evening in Tokyo. The 47-year-old author, who is also known as Wang Chen-hsu  in Chinese, in his award-winning novel depicted a family saga based on the tragic stories of his grandfather during the years of hostile confrontation between the nationalist Chinese government and the Chinese communists.

He said that he chose Akira as last name for his pen name, because it is close to the origin of his family, Shandong (??) on the Chinese mainland. As to the forename Higashiyama, it is close to the name of the Taiwanese city of Changhua (??) where he lived during his early childhood.     [FULL  STORY]

Myanmar girl with abnormally swollen tongue gains new life in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/16
By: By Sunrise Huang, Lung Pei-ning and S.C. Chang

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Taiwanese doctors have successfully operated on a Myanmar girl

Pu (R) smiles with Dr. Lee.

Pu (R) smiles with Dr. Lee.

suffering from extensive hemangioimas of the tongue who had been turned down by nine hospitals in three countries before coming to Taiwan.

Doctors and Pu Shuang-ting’s (濮雙婷) family gave a press conference at Taipei’s Tri-Service General Hospital Thursday to report on the girl’s gradual return to normal life after two months’ treatment here.

Dr. Lee Hsiao-ping said the medical team first shrank the five-year-old’s vascular tumor from 10 cm to 8 cm before removing it.     [FULL  STORY]

Botulism case confirmed in Lianjiang County, Taiwan

Outbreak News Today
Date: July 15, 2015
By: Robert Herriman

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the case is a 57-year-old male who resides in

Taiwan health officials have confirmed a botulism case in a man from Lianjiang County and are currently investigating the source of the intoxication. Taiwan map/CIA

Taiwan health officials have confirmed a botulism case in a man from Lianjiang County and are currently investigating the source of the intoxication.
Taiwan map/CIA

Lianjiang County.

On July 4, 2015, he developed difficulty in swallowing. On the following day, when his symptom persisted, he sought medical attention. He was then transferred to a hospital in northern Taiwan and hospitalized for treatment.

Subsequently, he developed difficulty in swallowing, eye muscle disorder, weakness in limbs and difficulty in breathing. As a result, he was reported to the health authority as a suspected botulism case by the hospital.

On July 13, infection with botulinum toxin type A was confirmed in the case by Taiwan CDC. After the patient was given plasma exchange and botulism antitoxin, his condition has improved and he is still receiving treatment in intensive care.

In the course of their investigation, health officials found homemade preserved shellfish and spicy seafood sauce. A sample of the aforementioned foods has been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for laboratory testing to determine the source of the case’s infection.

No family members or coworkers have developed symptoms to date.

Rice University removes Taiwan flag when hosting Chinese officials

The Rice Thresher
Date: July 14, 2015
By: Anita Alem

Rice recently removed the Taiwan banner from its campus when hosting a visit from Chinese

Before and after pictures of the same light pole outside the Rice Memorial Center taken by a Rice postdoctoral scholar and shared online. - Photo Andrew Chang

Before and after pictures of the same light pole outside the Rice Memorial Center taken by a Rice postdoctoral scholar and shared online. – Photo Andrew Chang

officials, according to Senior Director of News & Media Relations BJ Almond. The visit from June 21-22 included university presidents and chancellors from China and the United States, as well as China’s Vice Premier Liu, Minister of Education Yuan Guiren, and Vice Minister of Education Hao Ping.

“Rice was honored to host a visit from a very high-ranking Chinese official and removed two Taiwan banners for a short time for protocol purposes,” Senior Director of News & Media Relations BJ Almond said. “The banners were restored the day after the visit, as originally planned.”

According to Almond, Rice’s light poles are often adorned with themed banners that are rearranged, replaced and removed for a variety of reasons. The current banners feature the flags of countries represented by Rice students and faculty, including Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]

No manipulation in student aid: DPP

NO POWER PLAY:The Democratic Progressive Party does not try to reap political rewards from any of the progressive or reform-minded movements it assists, it said

Taipei Times
Date:  Jul 16, 2015
By: Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweights yesterday responded to accusations from Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) that the party is using a student movement against planned adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines as a tool of political manipulation.

In the wake of reports that the DPP provided financial assistance to high-school students nationwide who are protesting against the Ministry of Education’s planned adjustments to social studies guidelines, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presumptive presidential candidate Hung accused the DPP of politically manipulating the movement and the students on Facebook, urging DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to stop.

However, former premiers Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) said that the DPP has done nothing wrong in helping the student movement.     [FULL  STORY]

Couple to exchange vows under 1,000-year-old sacred tree

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/15
By: Maria Tsai and Huang Kuo-fang

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) A wedding will be held under a 1,000-year- old sacred tree at the

From the Alishan National Scenic Administration website

From the Alishan National Scenic Administration website

Alishan National Scenic Area on October 25, followed by a three-day honeymoon in the area, according to the organizers.

The wedding and honeymoon are part of a special promotional event called “Alishan-Eternal Love Beneath a Thousand Year Old Sacred Tree, “which was first launched by Alishan tourism authorities in 2007.

The wedding this year is being co-hosted by the Alishan National Scenic Administration, the Forestry Bureau’s Chiayi Forest District Office, Chiayi County government, and Southwest Coast National Scenic Administration.     [FULL  STORY]

Elephant ivory seized at Taoyuan airport

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-15
By: CNA

Customs officers at Taiwan’s main airport on Monday confiscated 5.6 kg of undeclared

The captured raw elephant ivory on display at the Taoyuan International Airport, July 14. Photo/CNA)

The captured raw elephant ivory on display at the Taoyuan International Airport, July 14. Photo/CNA)

raw elephant ivory that was brought into the country by a Taiwanese woman returning from Hong Kong.

The woman, who arrived at Taoyuan International Airport on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight, was carrying 120 pieces of raw ivory hidden in peanut candy packages in her checked luggage, Taipei Customs Office said.

Such ivory is usually used to make name stamps, the office said, adding that the 5.6 kg of ivory was confiscated because its importation was in violation of the Wildlife Conservation Act.

Violation of the law carries a penalty of six months to five years in prison and a fine of NT$300,000-$1.5 million (US$9,658-$48,300), the customs office said.

The woman said she was unaware of the law and had been asked by a friend to bring the packages to Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]