Radio Taiwan International;
Date: 11 September, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

Taiwan celebrates the birthday of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius as Teachers’ Day. The holiday is observed on September 28 every year. The Taipei Confucius Temple always holds a grand ceremony to mark the occasion. But this year’s ceremony will have a special significance for the temple.

September 28 is a big day at the Taipei Confucius Temple. There, old rites and solemn rituals honor the official birthday of the ancient sage Confucius.

A group of young students spend an entire year mastering refined dances in preparation for the ceremony. The students have been coming to the temple with their parents since they were little to pray for good grades in school. Now, it’s their turn to give something back.    [FULL  STORY]

South China Morning Post
Date: 12 Sep, 2019
By: Derek Grossman  

• President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders need only look at the contrast between Hong Kong and Macau to see why ‘one country, two systems’ won’t work in Taiwan
• The current, albeit ambiguous, cross-strait status quo is the best-case scenario for Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech on January 2 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the “message to compatriots in Taiwan”. In it, he doubled down on Beijing’s plan to integrate Taiwan under the “one country, two systems” framework.First devised by Deng Xiaoping, “one country, two systems” would allow Taiwan to keep its distinct political and economic systems in exchange for recognising the existence of only “one China”. However, both Taiwanese political parties – the pro-China Kuomintang and Taiwan-centric Democratic Progressive Party – have already rejected “one country, two systems”.Beijing may believe that, eventually, Taiwanese politics will turn in its favour – especially if the opposition KMT candidate, 

Han Kuo-yu, who is quite pro-China, is able to defeat President Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP at the polls next January. But, perhaps unbeknownst to Chinese leaders, fixing the politics in their favour would only take them so far with Taiwan.They should also consider experiences from the other two territories currently living under the formula – Hong Kong and Macau – to better understand why “one country, two systems” will never work in Taiwan, regardless of politics.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei parents saddened by impending closure of Baby Boss

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/11
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Many parents are saddened by the news that Baby Boss, a simulated city in which children could role-play various jobs, will be clocking out for good on Nov. 30.

Wednesday morning (Sept. 11) at 12 a.m., Baby Boss announced on its Facebook page that it will shut its doors for good on at the end of November. In response, Taiwanese netizens left over 1,300 comments expressing their sadness about a place where they enjoyed happy childhood memories or regret that their own children would not be able to visit it.

Based in the Living Mall in Taipei's Songshan District, the role-playing amusement center offers children aged 3 to 12 the opportunity to experience duties of various occupations. In its farewell message, Baby Boss wrote the following:

"Dear citizens large and small, I regret to announce that the lease with the Living Mall is due to expire on Nov. 30, 2019. As the first children's career experience city, we are very grateful for your support and affirmation of Baby Boss over the past 12 years. Thank you again for your support. Once again, we thank you for your support. Goodbye until next time!"   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/11
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan and Evelyn Kao

Honiara, Sept. 11 (CNA) Taiwan has been an exceptional partner to the Solomon Islands, and the

United States supports the continuation of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the American ambassador to the Solomon Islands said Wednesday.

In an interview with CNA, Catherine Ebert-Gray, the U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, talked about the issue of the Solomon Islands' considering a shift in diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China.

Ebert-Gray said that in meeting with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Tuesday, she expressed the view that there would be challenges ahead if his country switched diplomatic recognition.

"And of course we enforce our support for the good relationship with Taiwan," Ebert-Gray said she told Sogavare during the meeting.    [FULL  STORY]

‘NAUSICAA’ TECHNIQUE: The uterine compression suture developed by the hospital is an alternative to hysterectomy for treating postpartum hemorrhage

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 12, 2019
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

National Taiwan University Hospital’s (NTUH) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology yesterday

introduced the “Nausicaa” uterine compression suture, a simple and effective alternative to a hysterectomy for women suffering from major postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).

Citing WHO statistics, department director Chen Shee-uan (陳思原) said that on average, one woman dies from giving birth every minute, or one dies of PPH every four minutes.

As more advanced drugs for stimulating uterine muscle contraction to help control PPH are being developed, the number of deaths from PPH caused by poor uterus contraction following childbirth has dropped, he said.

However, the increasing rate of Caesarean sections might also be causing PPH and other complications, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Bloomberg News
Date: Sep 10, 2019
By: Cindy Wang and Miaojung Lin, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) — Heading into 2019, Tsai Ing-wen looked at risk of becoming Taiwan’s first one-term president. Then came the unrest in Hong Kong.

Tsai had clawed back some ground in opinion polls before protesters started taking to the streets of Hong Kong in the hundreds of thousands in June. But the mass demonstrations there against China’s deepening encroachment have given her a noticeable boost ahead of Taiwan’s presidential elections in January.

As Taiwanese watch with concern the events in Hong Kong, particularly crackdowns on demonstrators, with scenes of police beating protesters huddled in balls on the floors of Hong Kong’s subways, Tsai’s firm stance on China has become her biggest selling point.

What happens in Hong Kong, including the way Beijing responds to protracted unrest, matters for democratically run Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory. The island’s leaders have often faced challenges in dealing with China, which is much bigger geographically, economically and militarily. There are risks at home from being seen as either too hard or too soft. And it was indeed her China policy that tripped Tsai up in the second half of last year.    [FULL  STORY]

‘Taichung Our City’ gives viewers a bird’s eye view of its scenic spots and recent improvements

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/10
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Still from the video 'Taichung Our City' (Taichung City Government photo)[/caption] TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taichung Tourism and Travel Bureau posted the latest video promoting the city on the Taichung Travel Net website on Monday (Sept. 9).

According to the introduction, Taichung City Government worked with the late director Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), who directed the award-winning documentary, “Beyond Beauty – Taiwan From Above," to produce the video, “Taichung – The Heart of Taiwan,” in 2014. The video is full of beautiful Taichung scenery.

Four years later, the city government has once again cooperated with the aerial photography and filming company Above Taiwan Cinema for the production of “Taichung Our City.” This gives viewers a bird’s eye view of recent developments in the city, according to the introduction.

The video features Gaomei Wetland, rivers, and valleys; night views of the downtown area; and recent developments in the city such as the Taichung Metro Green Line and National Taichung Theater.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/10
By: Kuo Chih-hsuan and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Tuesday announced that the government has decided to extend the high-speed rail line to Pingtung County in response to long standing calls from local lawmakers wanting to boost travel to Taiwan's southernmost county.

Su made the announcement during an inspection tour in Pingtung, saying the High Speed Rail (HSR) will go beyond its current terminus of Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to serve Pingtung.

For years, Pingtung-elected lawmakers had urged the government to extend the HSR to their county to boost travel and business.

However, scholars have questioned the business logic of such an extension due to relatively low demand in Pingtung.    [FULL  STORY]

JOHN TUNG WARNING: A foundation official said that long-term intake of caffeine, which is common in the products, can affect children’s intellectual development

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 10, 2019
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Children and adolescents should rest or drink water instead of energy drinks when they are tired, as

long-term or excessive intake of energy drinks can have negative effects on intellectual development, the John Tung Foundation said yesterday.

The foundation published a survey conducted last month on energy drink consumption by those aged 13 to 22 that showed that about 60 percent of respondents have tried energy drinks, but 65 percent of them did not check their ingredients.

Common reasons for consuming energy drinks included for refreshment, to ease fatigue, for the taste, to replenish energy during or after exercise and to improve sports performance, the survey showed.

The foundation conducted another survey in July and last month that examined the ingredients of 24 energy drinks sold at convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets.    [FULL  STORY]