Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/24
By:  Central News Agency

A police dog renowned for its ability to detect even the faintest smell of drugs is retiring at the end of June on Taiwan's outlying island of Penghu and the Penghu County Police Bureau (PCPB) is holding a farewell party on Monday during the island's annual fireworks festival.

Ou-ti (歐弟), a yellow Labrador retriever serving in PCPB's narcotics unit, is retiring on June 30 after seven years of service, according to a press statement released last week.

A farewell party will be held on Monday evening to celebrate Ou-ti's illustrious career, as part of the 2019 Penghu International Fireworks Festival, the PCPB said.

Ou-ti started his career as a drug sniffer dog at the age of one at the K-9 branch of Taiwan's Third Special Police Corps, according to the police corps.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/24
By: Wang Cheng-chung, Yeh Su-ping and Ko Lin

Taipei, June 24 (CNA) The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) announced Monday it will take to the streets next month to protest the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) recent passage of amendments to the Referendum Act that it says will "kill referendums and desert democracy."

The demonstration will take place on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office on July 7 and welcomes all party members, civic groups and individuals unhappy with the amendments to take part, the KMT said in a statement.

The revisions to the Referendum Act pushed through by the DPP-controlled Legislative Yuan on June 17 restrict the holding of national referendums to only once every two years, on the fourth Saturday of August, starting in 2021.

The move came after DPP lawmakers in late 2017 passed an amendment making it easier to initiate referendums, which they said at the time would return power to the people    [FULL  STORY]

PRECAUTION: Full-coverage sunglasses can act as a ‘mask’ to protect the eyes from particulate matter and harmful ultraviolet rays, a China Medical University doctor said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 25, 2019
By: Huang Mei-chu and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Long-term exposure to a combination of PM2.5 — particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers

— and ultraviolet (UV) rays could cause allergies and irregular growths in the eyes, a Hsinchu County ophthalmologist said on Sunday.

PM2.5 makes unprotected eyes more susceptible to chronic inflammation, especially in people with allergic conditions, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital ophthalmology department director Chen Ying-shan (陳瑩山) said.

Similarly, UV rays could lead to vasculitis of the sclera, or inflammation of the blood vessels in the white of the eye, he said.

When a person experiences repeated eye inflammation or red eyes, the tissues in their sclera could thicken and they could develop scleroderma, which is similar to skin hardening with repeated friction, Chen said.

If scleroderma is not properly treated and spreads to the pupil, it could grow into polyps and have irreversible effects on vision, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

The operating hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., and the pools are closed every Monday for pool cleaning

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/23
By:. George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Free outdoor pools at central Taiwan’s Daan Coastal Tourist Information Center (大安濱海旅客服務中心) are open from Saturday, June 22 to Sunday, September 1, Taichung’s Tourism and Travel Bureau said on June 21.

The operating hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., and the pools are closed every Monday for pool cleaning, the bureau said. The sprouting fountain, which is favored by children, is open on weekends, the bureau added.

Bureau chief Lin Hsiao-chi (林筱淇) said that Daan Coastal Tourist Information Center is very accommodating, and that Taichung citizens earnestly look forward to the opening of the free swimming pools and sprouting fountain during summer every year.

The children’s pool is about 80 cm deep on weekdays, while the adults’ pool is about 150 cm deep. The depth of the adults’ pool will be adjusted lower on weekends and holidays to accommodate children and avoid overcrowding in the children’s pool, according to the bureau.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/23
By: Stacy Hsu

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) A legislator and several civic groups called on the government Sunday work harder toward achieving gender equality in schools, at an event to mark the 15th anniversary of a law to raise gender awareness among students and protect the rights of young people regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Speaking at a press conference in Taipei, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) said 2019 is an important year in Taiwan, as it marks the country's legalization of same-sex marriage, the 15th anniversary of its Gender Equity Education Act, and its planned introduction of a new 12-year national education curriculum in August.

Despite those achievements, Yu said, about 7 million Taiwanese voted last November in support of a referendum that called for a ban on homosexual-related education in elementary and junior high schools.

"The passage of that referendum has dealt a major blow to long-time advocates of gender equality education and has subjected children with different gender traits or sexual orientation to more pressure and difficulties," Yu said.    [FULL  STORY]

PUBLIC SAFETY: The CIB’s Chu Tsung-tai said 38 people were detained for alleged weapons offenses, along with six senior gang figures and 29 of their subordinates

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 24, 2019
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Law enforcement officials yesterday announced the results of a crackdown on organized crime and

illegal loan operations, including raids on eight illegal weapons shops and 58 illegal money-lending businesses that saw hundreds of people questioned.

Among those who were detained is a man surnamed Tao (陶), the suspect in a shooting incident on June 14 in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Deputy Commissioner Chu Tsung-tai (朱宗泰) said.

Tao was apprehended on Friday in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) and was in possession of a modified pistol and three rounds of ammunition, Chu said.

The weapon was one of 51 illegal firearms — including rifles smuggled into Taiwan via gang networks, handguns and airsoft guns modified to use firearm ammunition — seized in the week-long operation, Chu said.    [FULL  STORY]

News Gazette
Date: 06/22/2019
By: The Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The chairman of Foxconn, the world's largest contract assembler of consumer

electronics for companies such as Apple, is stepping down amid speculation he could be planning a presidential run in Taiwan next year.

Terry Gou, 68, made the announcement Friday at the company's annual shareholders meeting, where he was surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd while exiting the room.

Foxconn board members elected Young Liu, the head of the Foxconn's semiconductor division, as Gou's successor.

Gou has yet to formally announce his candidacy, and he did not mention it at the meeting.
[FULL  STORY]

Lenticular clouds formed over coastal city Keelung Saturday morning, indicating high chance of rain

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/22
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Shortly after 9:00 a.m. on Saturday (June 22) people around Keelung in northern Taiwan began to notice a spectacular cloud formation in the sky just over the city.

The swirling clouds took on the shape of low swirling orb in the sky, and many speculating some kind of unidentified flying object might be hiding in the clouds.

As Weather Bureau officials recognized, the phenomenon is completely natural, and known as a lenticular cloud. Lenticular clouds form when air fronts of differing temperatures meet creating circular current.

The cloud in Keelung formed when a strong southwestern front passed over an eddie of warmer low-lying air likely formed by Keelung’s rocky coastline.    FULL  STORY]