FATAL PASSAGE: The board is to release a draft of the final investigative report in September next year after an earlier probe failed to meet the public’s expectations

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 18, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board yesterday said it would publish information decoded from

the Compact Flash (CF) memory cards retrieved from a Puyuma Express train that derailed in Yilan County on Oct. 21 last year, killing 18 passengers and injuring 212 other people.

The draft of a final investigative report is to be completed in September next year, which would include analysis of data collected from the accident, potential causes and the board’s recommendations for the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) to improve safety, it said.

An Executive Yuan probe into the cause of the accident and its conclusions have failed to satisfy families of the victims and the public.

The board, which was established on Aug. 1, passed a resolution on Sept. 6 to provide supplementary information about the accident.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 16 December, 2019
By: Paula Chao

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has shared Taiwan’s experiences with climate change with the international community. That was on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), which concluded in Spain on Sunday.

Although Taiwan was barred from participating in the global event due to pressure from China, the government was able to share Taiwan’s experience on the sidelines.    [FULL  STORY]

2019 Golden Horse Awards

The News Lens
Date: 2019/12/16
By: Daphne K. Lee

Could all wounds be healed by the passage of time?

Adapted from Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng’s award-winning novel, The Garden of Evening Mists brings to life a poetic love story against the backdrop of a war-ridden British Malaya both during and after the Japanese occupation.

At a cozy dinner, Magnus Gemmell (John Hannah), an expat who has settled in Malaya’s Cameron Highlands, gushes over his love for Chopin’s first piano concerto, a record that never leaves his record player. He refers to the piece as “the impression of someone gently looking at a spot that brings to mind a thousand happy memories,” describing Chopin’s loving gaze at the soprano Konstancja Gładkowska.

The Garden is the embodiment of such a fond impression, intertwined with the trauma of loss and wartime atrocities. Throughout the film, Taiwanese director Tom Lin Shu-yu (林書宇) indulges us with the ethereal sights of the Japanese garden and the beauty of Cameron Highlands but also forces us to confront excruciating flashbacks where the women in captivity were raped and tortured by Japanese soldiers.    [FULL  STORY]

Artificial snow will fall at 'light forest' in Taichung's Wenxin Forest Park from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, 2020

Taiwan News
Date: .2019/12/16
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The lantern pieces at the Taiwan Lantern Festival’s Wenxin Forest Park subsidiary display area will be lit on Saturday (Dec. 21), according to a press release published on Taichung Travel Net.

“Taichung is ready!” Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) announced on Monday (Dec. 16) at a promotional event for the 2020 Taiwan Lantern Festival, noting that it will be the longest in the festival’s history, beginning Saturday at the Wenxin Forest Park subsidiary display area and running until Feb. 23, 2020. She added that it will also be the most entertaining and “worth watching."

The mayor went on to say that the display will last through Christmas, New Year, Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, and Valentine’s Day and that it will be the first Taiwan Lantern Festival to be "fragrant and snowy."

Taichung Tourism and Travel Bureau Director Lin Hsiao-chi (林筱淇) said that the festival will be focused around the theme of “fun for children” and that there will be performances, including concerts, at the venue every weekend.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/16
By: Matt Yu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 16 (CNA) Taiwan's state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) and U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. are to sign a strategic partnership agreement Tuesday to promote the establishment of an F-16 fighter jet maintenance center in Taiwan, according to AIDC.

Taiwan is in the process of procuring 66 F-16 C/D Block 70 fighter jets, known as the F-16Vs, from the United States, which, in addition to a NT$110 billion program to have the Air Force's existing fleet of 142 F-16 A/B fighters upgraded to the same specifications as the F-16V, is expected to bring the country's F-16 fleet to over 200, which will make Taiwan the largest F-16 user in the Asia- Pacific.

AIDC is therefore seeking to collaborate with the U.S. defense contractor to build a regional F-16 maintenance repair and overhaul center in Taiwan, AIDC said.

The agreement will be signed at AIDC premises in Taichung's Shalu District, witnessed by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and attended by Lockheed Martin representatives, Taiwanese defense and economics officials, and test pilots from the U.S. company and Taiwan's Air Force, according to AIDC.    [FULL  STORY]

‘OBSTRUCTION’: The university refuses to provide the association with a student roster, which it needs to conduct its elections properly, the group’s president said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 17, 2019
By: Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

The National Taiwan University Students’ Association yesterday accused university officials of

refusing to provide it with the student roster it says it needs to hold its elections.

Elections for the National Taiwan University Student Congress — the association’s legislative branch — are held in May and December each year, association president Tu Chun-ching said.

According to Article 33 of the University Act (大學法), institutes should provide guidance in the formation of a student association or other self-governing organizations elected by the entire student body, Tu said.

However, citing concerns that providing a roster would contravene the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法), the university has “repeatedly refused to provide the student association with the voter roster it needs for its elections,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Ko Wen-je says Taiwan should emphasize world beating medical industry as much as ICT sector

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/15
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Surgeon-turned Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) proposed on Sunday

(Dec. 15) that Taiwan should double down on exporting its medical expertise, rather than just ICT (information and communications technology).

At a forum held by Asia Pacific Chinese Medical Global Union, Ko said healthcare is an area where Taiwan can leverage its international clout, as it struggles to exert diplomatic recognition.

Ko said he had received two requests this month alone from the mayors of Philippine cities who wanted to learn more about the capital’s hospital management, reported UDN. The fact that the requests were channeled directly toward the city government rather than through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed international cooperation was more effective at municipal level, he suggested.

While Taiwan boasts a plethora of outstanding doctors, Ko reckoned the country’s medical systems, pharmaceutical management, and hospital administration are also impressive. Taiwan can become a major player in the field of medical affairs and leverage this expertise to foster closer ties with other countries, he added.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/15
By: Huang Li-yun and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) The Taipei City Animal Protection Office said Sunday that starting in December, it has stepped up patrols in popular parks and public attractions at weekends to enforce the city's animal leash regulations, and will continue to do so indefinitely.

According to the city's Autonomous Regulations for Animal Protection, pet owners are required to keep their pets on a leash, or place them in strollers or carriers in public areas, with the exception of designated dog parks where dogs can run free.

Pet owners who fail to do so can be fined between NT$2,000 to NT$10,000.

Although the regulations have been in place since 2015, some owners have continued to let their pets roam free in public places, which increases the risks of them being hurt and impacts road safety, the office said.    [FULL  STORY]

A FIRST DEBATE: Representatives from eight parties made pitches to voters in a televised debate, with many seeking to separate themselves from the DPP and KMT

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 16, 2019
By: Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Eight political parties presented their platforms yesterday in one of the first debates of the election

season.

The debate, cohosted by legislative watchdog Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) and Formosa TV (FTV), was the first in a series of televised debates for the elections on Jan. 11, said FTV News vice president Anne Hu (胡婉玲), who moderated the debate with CCW executive director Leo Chang (張宏林).

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People First Party (PFP), the New Power Party (NPP), the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, the New Party and the Green Party Taiwan were each represented by two speakers at the event.

During the opening statements, DPP legislator-at-large nominee Tung Chien-hung (董建宏) touted his party’s accomplishments, saying that “over the past four years … we have passed 745 bills.”
[FULL  STORY]

Newsmax
Date: 14 December 2019
By: Jason Devaney

The World Bank entered the political fray between China and Taiwan this year by forcing current and

prospective employees from Taiwan to have identification issued by China.

Axios reported Friday that the global institution, which provides capital to poorer countries, required anyone who is a citizen of Taiwan to also have a Chinese passport if they want to work for the bank.

The website noted that Taiwan does not allow its citizens to hold dual citizenship with China, which meant that World Bank workers and job seekers from Taiwan needed to either become Chinese citizens to keep their job or turn down the request and look for work elsewhere.

However, after Axios inquired with the World Bank about its China-Taiwan policy, the institution backpedaled and revised the requirements.    [FULL  STORY]