He warns that if a pro-unification party wins the election, Asia’s stability and balance of power will be affected

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/11
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Premier William Lai (賴清德) met with three of Japan’s former prime ministers on Friday (May 10) – Yoshihiko Noda(野田佳彥), Yoshirō Mori (森喜朗) and Toshiki Kaifu (海部俊樹) – during his trip to the country.

Lai’s office put out a press release on Saturday (May 11) stating that Noda and Lai talked about Taiwan-Japan and cross-strait relations. Lai told Noda that if a pro-unification party wins the election next year, Taiwan will tilt toward China and offset the balance and security of Asia.

Lai also asked for Noda’s support for Taiwan to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

When meeting with Kaifu, Lai thanked him for his past efforts to strengthen Taiwan-Japan relations. Kaifu visited Taiwan and met with then-President Chiang Ching-kuo back in the days. Though no longer working in any political post, Kaifu still pays attention to Taiwan affairs and encourages parliamentary exchanges between the two countries.
[FULL  STORY]

Current dispute between the candidates focuses on the use of cellphones in the phone polls

Taiwan News  
Date: 2019/05/11
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The latest controversy to hit the Democratic Progressive Party’s

(DPP) selection process of a presidential candidate is the dispute over whether or not to include cellphones in the opinion polls likely to determine the nomination.

According to Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF) Chairman Ying-lung You (游盈隆), the DPP should honestly research the possibility of adopting a more efficient primary system later on, but not force through a hurried and immediate change of the rules while the procedure to find a nominee has already started.

The image of the ruling party will suffer more harm if it decides to change the rules, You said.

The two contenders differ on the issue of cellphones being included in the opinion polls. President Tsai Ing-wen　(蔡英文) said the polls should stand as close to the public as possible in order to reflect public opinion and find a candidate who is competitive.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/11
By: Elaine Hou and Ko Lin

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) Lawmakers from the Czech Republic and Peru have expressed

their support for Taiwan to participate in the upcoming annual World Health Assembly (WHA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Saturday.

In a letter addressed to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Czech lawmakers asked that Taiwan not to be excluded from the world health body, saying it was unfair to deny Taiwan’s 23 million people access to the global disease prevention system.

“As health issues know no national borders, a concerted global effort is the only way to effectively ensure the health and welfare of people around the world,” they wrote.

Led by Marek Benda of the Czech Republic’s Civic Democratic Party, the letter was jointly signed by 54 other legislators.    [FULL  STORY]

DISCONCERTING FINDINGS: Scans on nine dead pygmy killer whales showed abnormal shadows in their middle ears, and they all had blackened livers

Taipei Times
Date: May 12, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Medical examinations of several whales found that damaged hearing might be the reason

they became stranded, the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) said on Friday, adding that it would set up guidelines for training marine mammal observers to help mitigate the effects of offshore development projects.

The agency late last month received successive reports that whales were stranded on beaches near Kaohsiung and Tainan.

Rescued whales were taken to pools at National Cheng Kung University’s Marine Biology and Cetacean Research Center.

Nine dead pygmy killer whales were sent for a computed tomography scan, or CT scan, OCA Marine Conservation Division senior specialist Ko Yung-chuan (柯勇全) said.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 10 May, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Rising water levels at the Shihmen Reservoir mean the local water supply looks to be secure though the end of June.

On March 7, the water level at northern Taiwan’s Shihmen Reservoir dropped to its lowest point this year: 227.9 meters, or only 40% of capacity.

But fears of a water shortage have since been averted. Since the first plum rain front arrived on May 1, a string of rainy days has increased water levels. Plum rain fronts such as this one are seasonal weather patterns that affect Taiwan and the surrounding region from late spring to early summer.    [FULL  STORY]

The Hill
Date: 05/10/19
By: Stanley Kao 

In February, an American student Kevin Bozeat shared on his Facebook page his amazing medical experience while studying in Taiwan. Kevin had no health insurance there but still received high-quality and affordable medical care. His story attracted debate in the U.S. media regarding what he had experienced and what the U.S. can learn from Taiwan. Providing quality health care at an affordable cost is an area Taiwan excels in. And Taiwan is eager to share its extraordinary advances in health care around the world. Regrettably, this wish is stymied by China’s irrational obstruction against Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).

As Taiwan’s Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung stated in a recent interview: “Taiwan’s expertise in disease control and universal health coverage can strengthen global medical development, and the nation is willing and able to share its experiences.”  What better place to achieve this goal than at the upcoming 72nd WHA in Geneva from May 20 to 28 ?  However, due to China’s political meddling in what should be a basic human right – access to affordable health care for all the world’s citizens – Taiwan and its input and expertise have been excluded from the annual WHA gathering since 2017.
[FULL STORY]

An investigative report exposes unsanitary practices by hospitals that put patients at risk of cross infection

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/10
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Single-patient-use medical devices are being recycled and reused on patients at hospitals in Taiwan, reported United Evening News.

In a series of investigative reports, reporters Li Shu-jen (李樹人), Chien Hao-cheng (簡浩正), and Chen Jie-ling (陳婕翎) have exposed a common practice among hospitals in Taiwan to recycle and reuse more costly medical products that are intended for single-patient-use only.

The price of a brand-new laparoscopic sealer/divider attached to an electrosurgical unit, an essential medical instrument in most surgical operations, is about NT$ 30,000 (US$1,000). The item is not covered by the universal medical insurance, which means patients have to cover the cost out of pocket.

To cut down the cost for patients, many hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital, would inform patients that there are lower-priced options available, “re-sterilized instruments.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/10
By: Stacy Hsu

Taipei, May 10 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday reassured the public that

Taiwan’s economic fundamentals are strong enough to withstand the impact of a planned increase in U.S. tariffs on certain Chinese products, but called on overseas Taiwanese firms to return home amid a renewed trade war between the U.S. and China.

Tsai made the remarks at a press conference at the Presidential Office following a high-level national security meeting held Friday morning to discuss countermeasures as Washington and Beijing enter a new round of tariffs.

“Starting today, the U.S. is to increase tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent, which could have a tremendous impact on the world economy,” Tsai said.

Fortunately, its impact on Taiwan remains limited, she added, given that the goods covered by current punitive U.S. tariffs do not include Taiwan’s main export products.
[FULL  STORY]

BIRDS AFFECTED: CPC has begun work on a terminal, which has affected the habitat of little terns, although it has not yet affected the reefs, environmentalists said

Taipei Times
Date: May 11, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Algal reefs on the coast in Taoyuan’s Datan Borough (大潭) have been designated a

“hope spot” by Mission Blue, environmentalists told a news conference in Taipei yesterday, urging the government to curb construction on a nearby CPC Corp, Taiwan gas terminal.

The utility plans to build the nation’s third liquefied natural gas terminal at Guantang Industrial Park (觀塘工業區), but environmentalists warn that the project might affect species in intertidal zones.

The algal reef is the first coastal site in East Asia identified by Mission Blue, an international organization that promotes public awareness of protected marine areas, as being “critical to the Earth’s health,” Academia Sinica Biodiversity Research Center research fellow Allen Chen (陳昭倫) said.

He and other collaborators in February submitted an application to Mission Blue, whose approval in March after a careful review by acclaimed scientists proves the landscape’s value, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 09 May, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. In Taiwan, a lot of people treat their mothers to a fancy meal on this day. But Taiwanese mothers these days care less about the meal itself and more about whether their children spend the meal on their phones.

Put your phones away! That’s the message from Taiwanese mothers this Mother’s Day. Mothers say they want their children to pay attention as they enjoy a Mother’s Day meal together, and that all they want is a good chat with their kids.

It sounds like a simple enough request, but for many, it may be a tall order. A survey found that the cellphone addition rate in Taiwan surged to almost 90% last year, up from 36% in 2011. The survey found that 75% of people use their phones at meals, 70% do so while watching TV, and 57% do so at work or in class.

Mother’s hoping for a break from phones may want to book ahead at one restaurant that’s become known for its cellphone-free philosophy. The wait staff there encourage customers to put their phones away and enjoy the food in front of them.
[FULL  STORY]