Page Three

Civic groups to take gay marriage rights issue to the streets

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/07
By: T.W. Hsu and Lillian Lin

Taipei, July 7 (CNA) The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights called on the public Tuesday to join other civic groups

CNA file photo

CNA file photo

in a July 11 parade to express their support for speedy legislation of a marriage equality bill.

Encouraged by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in late June that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples with the right to marry, the alliance of groups advocating equality of gender and sexual orientation decided to take to the streets to demand that legislators of both the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pass the amendment into the Civil Code.

A spokesman for the alliance said that a draft bill of the amendment was sent to the Legislature in 2013 and passed its first reading last year. Having been shelved since then, the draft bill needs to be included on the agenda of the next legislative session.     [FULL  STORY]

Young American summer camp visitor dies from fall in Taipei

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

A 17-year-old US citizen of Chinese descent fell to his death from a building at the Chientan Overseas Youth Activity Center in

Medical staff transport the patient at the Chientan Overseas Youth Activity Center in Taipei, July 6. (Photo/CNA)

Medical staff transport the patient at the Chientan Overseas Youth Activity Center in Taipei, July 6. (Photo/CNA)

Taipei, the center’s owner, China Youth Corps, confirmed Monday.

After the fall, rescue workers rushed the young man to Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in Shihlin, Taipei, but no signs of life were detected. His name was not released, the city’s Fire Department reported earlier that day.

The high school student came to Taiwan July 1 with his sister to take part in a summer camp and was scheduled to stay in Taiwan for 21 days but seemed to have had difficulty adapting to the environment and on July 4 took to hiding in a clothes closet, said Wang Chun-yuan, an inspector from China Youth Corps, which organizes the summer camp.

The corps then decided to send the young man to Hong Kong to rendezvous with his family on Tuesday after communicating with his parents, according to Wang.     [FULL  STORY]

‘Apache helicopter scandal’ officers to be impeached

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 08, 2015
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

The Control Yuan has voted to impeach 601st Air Cavalry Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Lao Nai-cheng (勞乃成) and two other officers over security breaches and rule violations in what came to be known as the “Apache helicopter scandal” earlier this year.

A nine-member Control Yuan committee yesterday said that it had voted unanimously to impeach Lao, a pilot-instructor for the US-made AH-64E Apache attack helicopter.

Brigade commander Major General Chien Tsung-yuan (簡聰淵) was impeached after a unanimous vote, while brigade personnel section head Lieutenant Colonel Tao Kuo-chen (陶國禎) was impeached after an 8-1 vote.     [FULL  STORY]

Model Lin Chi-ling visits burn victim to give encouragement

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/07
By: Hau Hsueh-ching and Christie Chen

Taipei, July 7 (CNA) Taiwanese model and actress Lin Chi-ling (林志玲) visited a victim of the June 27 dust explosion Tuesday and

model and actress Lin Chi-ling (with mask)

model and actress Lin Chi-ling (with mask)

said she hopes to give strength to the victim, who is one of her fans.

“I believe there is nothing I can do to ease Wan-hsuan’s pain, but I hope to give her all the strength I can,” Lin said after visiting 18-year-old Chen Wan-hsuan (陳宛萱), who is hospitalized at the China Medical University Hospital.

The top model said she had wanted to visit Chen a day earlier, but doctors advised her to wait until Chen’s condition was more stable.

Chen’s father had expressed hope that the model would give words of encouragement to his daughter. He said Chen, who herself studied modeling, appeared to have given up on life.

Chen suffered burns to 70 percent of her body.     [FULL  STORY]

Academia Historica to hold seminar on Second Sino-Japanese War

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/06
By: Wang Cheng-chung and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) Academia Historica (國史館) will hold an international seminar 201507060027t0001beginning Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Japan in the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and Taiwan’s retrocession, Academia Historica Director Lu Fang-shang (呂芳上) said Monday.

The seminar, titled “War in History and Memory: An International Conference on the 70th Anniversary of China’s Victory in the War of Resistance against Japan,” will gather 200 scholars and experts from Taiwan and abroad to discuss the war of resistance against Japan.     [FULL  STORY]

Tseng Yu-chien, Taiwan’s violin prodigy

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07
By: Staff Reporter

Twenty-year-old Taiwanese violinist Tseng Yu-chien is continuing to build on his

Tseng-Yu-chen performs in Taipei, April 14, 2015. (Photo/Wang Chin-ho)

Tseng-Yu-chen performs in Taipei, April 14, 2015. (Photo/Wang Chin-ho)

international reputation as a budding star in the classical music world after taking home the silver medal at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

The prestigious competition, held every four years for pianists, violinists and cellists between the ages of 16 and 30, did not award a first prize in the violin category this time around. Tseng, as the youngest finalist in the contest, performed two pieces in the final, admitting that he was nervous but gaev it his best shot.     [FULL  STORY]

Indonesia, Philippines asked to hold off on salary demands (update)

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/06
By: Christie Chen and Jay Chou

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) The Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Monday asked Indonesia and the 201507060028t0001Philippines to suspend their demand for salary increases for their domestic workers in Taiwan, saying Taiwan had yet to reach a consensus on such hikes with the two governments.

In a press release Monday, the MOL said the Indonesian and Filipino governments have “unilaterally” raised the monthly wage for their domestic workers in Taiwan from NT$15,840 (US$512) to NT$17,500, beginning July 1.     [FULL  STORY]

Foreign doctors cannot directly treat Taiwan park fire patients

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-06
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Foreign doctors cannot be directly involved in treating victims of the horrific fire at a

Deputy minister of health and welfare Lin Tzou-yien, center right, and premier Mao Chi-kuo, center left, talk to the press after visiting burn patients at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, July 5. (Photo/CNA)

Deputy minister of health and welfare Lin Tzou-yien, center right, and premier Mao Chi-kuo, center left, talk to the press after visiting burn patients at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, July 5. (Photo/CNA)

New Taipei water park on June 27, a senior health official said Sunday, citing Taiwan’s law.

Taiwan’s medical centers and hospitals are permitted to invite foreign experts to visit Taiwan to provide consultation on how to treat the patients but the law does not allow them to get directly involved in their treatment, deputy minister of Health and Welfare Lin Tzou-yien said.

Foreign personnel could join local teams to participate in treatment but the services and procedures for patients should be performed and supervised by local attending physicians, Lin said, adding that foreign personnel can only offer low-level medical services.     [FULL  STORY]

Tropical storm to skirt nation’s coast, CWB says

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 06, 2015
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

A sea alert could be issued this morning as Tropical Storm Linfa turns north to enter the Bashi Channel, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.

Bureau statistics show that the storm was 430km south of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) at 2pm yesterday.

The bureau says the storm might head north after passing through the Philippines’ Luzon Island.

The bureau said there is a good chance the storm will only skirt the nation’s east coast on its way northward. However, it does not completely rule out the possibility that it might make landfall in Taiwan if the storm’s progress north slows or it turns at a smaller angle than expected.

According to the bureau the high-pressure system in the Pacific Ocean and Typhoon Chan Hom — which is about 2,700km from Taiwan — could alter Linfa’s course.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan troubled by who has priority to use limited cadaver skin

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/05
By: Chen Ching-fang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) With more than 200 dust explosion victims suffering burns to at

93 kg of cadaver skin imported to Taiwan Saturday

93 kg of cadaver skin imported to Taiwan Saturday

least 40 percent of the body, Taiwan’s medical sector has been unable to decide how to fairly distribute the limited cadaver skin the country has available among the patients.

After hours of discussions in a meeting hosted by Deputy Health Minister Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) Sunday, 10 experts in plastic surgery and burn wounds could still not reach a consensus on how to resolve the distribution problem of which patients should have the priority to use the available cadaver skin – those with a high survival rate or those with a high probability of dying?

The talks also focused on how to use cadaver skin efficiently, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) officials, who were present in the meeting.     [FULL  STORY]