Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/27
By: Yang Su-min and Chung Yu-chen

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Center for African swine

fever (ASF) said Wednesday it will redouble its efforts against the pig disease, which is still at a peak in China.

As part of the efforts, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has directed the Ministry of the Interior and the Ocean Affairs Council to strengthen border inspections, according to Council of Agriculture chief Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲).

The Coast Guard Administration is also now required to inspect each fishing boat entering Taiwan, while the Ministry of Finance will open and inspect containers on speedy customs clearance, the emergency center said.

Furthermore, to help prevent ASF in Taiwan, some 1,400 vehicles that usually transport pigs will be required to install GPS equipment with effect from April, the center said
[FULL  STORY]

SEISMIC CYCLES: Taiwan has many mountains higher than 3,000m, but it is not yet clear how they arose from the Earth’s crust and the study could offer clues

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 28, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Academia Sinica geoscience researchers yesterday unveiled a study that used GPS data

to track the nation’s crustal changes following the 921 Earthquake in 1999, to shed more light on the creation of mountains and seismic cycles.

The magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred on Sept. 21, 1999, in Nantou County’s Jiji Township (集集), leaving 2,456 people dead and destroying thousands of buildings.

Subterranean rocks at a depth of 20km had stabilized one year after the quake, but deeper layers might be still changing very slowly today, Academia Sinica Institute of Earth Sciences researcher Hsu Ya-ju (許雅儒) said.

While GPS data has been used to study fault lines in previous studies, the team developed a new method of using such data to model geographical changes from the Earth’s surface to subterranean layers 50km in depth without having to make a lot of hypotheses, she said.   [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 26 March, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

Taiwanese tourists love traveling high into the island’s mountains for the chance to admire clouds from above. Low, thick layers of clouds that can be viewed from mountainsides this way are called “seas of clouds” in Chinese.

But while “seas of clouds” form on many Taiwanese mountainsides, one mountain here stands above the rest with a multicolored cloud spectacle.

This is the season when northeasterly winds blow around Dalunshan Mountain in central Taiwan. The wind gusts bring with them something magical- a colorful sea of clouds dotted with yellow and purple lights.

The clouds form as humidity moves in, brought by northeasterly winds and a cloud system from southern China. The sea of clouds results when the cloud system meets up with a cold front. Meanwhile, the lights come from buildings and give the clouds colorful hues as they pass on into the night.    [FULL  STORY]

A peek inside Taiwan’s economic performance during the Tsai Ing-wen administration.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/03/26
By: James Grant

Recently, as I limped home from a game of badminton, I resolved to bite the bullet and try out the Taiwanese healthcare system. I browsed Google Maps, found the website of the nearest clinic prominently featuring a diagram of a knee joint, and arrived at their front door after a quick, free, four-minute dash on a local YouBike. 10 minutes later and NT$200 (US$6.50) less wealthy, I had a fist full of anti-inflammatories and a new medical diagnosis.

Taiwan’s healthcare is an amazing system in a country where most things seem rather well run.

What puzzles me is that whenever I think about this, and ask a Taiwanese citizen whether they approve of the presidency of Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) – and I ask this question rather often – the most common response is that, though her plans for Taiwan are well-intentioned, Taiwan’s economy cannot afford the aggressive stance she has taken towards China.

Coming from a country that recently voted to risk financial armageddon in order to leave the European Union, this all seems rather odd. (Subsequent polling has suggested that “protecting the National Health Service” may have been a more important consideration for Brexit enthusiasts.)    [FULL  STORY]

Qingdao official described maps as threat to national security

Taiwan News   
Date: 2019/03/26 
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The city of Qingdao destroyed 29,000 maps at a secret site because they failed to show Taiwan as part of China, the South China Morning Post reported Monday in an article titled “Pulp Friction.”

Surprisingly, considering the communist country’s rigid ideological controls, the maps had been produced inside the country, in the city of Hefei in the province of Anhui. As they had been printed in English, they were destined for export to another country, but customs officials noticed the “problem” and intercepted the 800 boxes filled with “problematic” boxes, according to the South China Morning Post.    ][FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/26
By: Wen Kuei-hsiang and Elizabeth Hsu

Marshall Islands, March 26 (CNA) Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has

underlined the importance of visiting the nation’s overseas allies, even as Beijing uses every available opportunity to poach those same allies from Taipei.

Tsai, who is on the third and final leg of a visit to the three Pacific allies of Palau, Nauru and the Marshall Islands, was answering questions from Taiwanese reporters about the country’s diplomatic situation.

Tsai was asked how Taiwan can prevent China from poaching its diplomatic allies, which it was noted has happened every time she has returned from an overseas trip.

Since taking office in May 2016, Tsai has made six overseas visits, including the current one to the Pacific region. In that time five allies have switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, leaving Taiwan with just 17 diplomatic allies.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 25 March, 2019
By: Paula Chao

The Pacific island nation of Nauru, has recognized Taiwan’s independent sovereignty. The country’s parliament passed a unanimous resolution to that effect on Monday. The Nauruan parliament also said it does not acknowledge Beijing’s “one China” principle or its “one country, two systems” formula.

The resolution followed a speech in the parliament by President Tsai Ing-wen, who is on the second leg of her trip to the Pacific.

Tsai said the two countries have had remarkable cooperation in the areas of education, agriculture and medical care. She also thanked Nauru for speaking out on behalf of Taiwan in the international community over the past few years.

“These achievements and unwavering support give us great confidence. As an important member of the Pacific region, Taiwan is willing and able to work with Nauru to contribute to regional prosperity and development,” said Tsai.     [FULL  STORY]

Migrant workers gathered at Taipei Main Station on Sunday to protest the third-party brokerage system, sexual harassment of female workers, and the government’s inaction in affirming human rights for Southeast Asian workers.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/03/25
By: Nick Aspinwall

Migrant workers from the Philippines and Indonesia demonstrated on Sunday in Taipei Main Station to protest violence against women and poor work conditions, reprising an event held annually at Taipei’s largest transport hub.

The event, held in solidarity with the global “One Billion Rising” movement to end sexual violence against women, drew attention from passing commuters and diners overlooking from the station’s second floor. The workers portrayed the treatment of a female caregiver in Taiwan, simulating a woman being mistreated by her broker, then beaten and raped by her employer. The demonstrators then danced in unison and repeated slogans of defiance, chanting: “We are workers! We are not slaves!”

Speakers at this year’s event frequently referenced recent controversial remarks made by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who referred to Filipino teachers as “Marias,” a derogatory term used to refer to Southeast Asians. “We are hurt and deeply offended by Han,” said Gilda Banugan, chairperson of Migrante International’s Taiwan chapter. “I hope that this kind of racism will end.”

Lennon Wong Ying-dah (汪英達) of NGO Serve the People Association (SPA) told The News Lens that Han’s comments highlighted a deeper culture of discrimination against Southeast Asians in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Kaohsiung Mayor Han’s visit to Hong Kong Liaison Office ‘1st step in selling out Taiwan’: Sing Pao Daily News

Taiwan News   
Date: 2019/03/25 
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After having unannounced meetings with the top liaison officers

of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for Hong Kong and Macau behind closed doors over the weekend, Hong Kong newspaper Sing Pao Daily News described the gatherings as “private meetings with China to acquiesce to one country two systems,” “Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu sells out Taiwan,” and “Selling out Taiwan is first step in Han Kuo-yu’s reliance on CCP to realize his presidential dream.”

On Sunday (March 24), Sing Pao reported that during Han’s trip to Hong Kong and Macau, he met with the CCP’s Director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office, Wang Zhimin (王志民) and its Director of the Macau Liaison Office, Fu Ziying. The article alleged that in visiting the Hong Kong Liaison office Han was committing a “disguised form of acquiescence” to the “one country, two systems” framework.

Han is on a tour of Hong Kong, Macau, and the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Xiamen, officially to sell farm and fish products from Kaohsiung, but his meetings with Chinese officials have drawn the most flak. Although Han repeatedly argued he was just “struggling for the economy,” “selling fruits,” and making friends, his words and deeds have provoked criticism from many walks of life in Taiwan for “smuggling China and selling Taiwan.”

When asked about the nature of the meeting in the Hong Kong Liaison Office, Han said he and Wang merely talked about, “Past jobs, life’s hardships, and wives and children, as well as the future of Hong Kong and Kaohsiung.” As for his meeting in the Macau Liaison Office with Fu Ziying, Han casually responded that it was “pure emotional communication.”    [FULL  STORY]