Nurse aboard a S-70A helicopter which crashed during an EMS mission in February 2018

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/02/11
By George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – In response to public anger arising from media reports that the government has refused to make pecuniary compensation to the family of a public health nurse who died in a helicopter crash while on duty in February 2018, Taiwan’s Ministry of Civil Service (MCS) said in a news release on Monday that it is still in the process of determining the degree of duty performance surrounding the fatal helicopter EMS mission.

Media reports indicated that the MCS had used the pretext of the case lacking complete evidence to deny the compensation that should be made to the family of Tsai Yi-min (蔡邑敏), the nurse who was aboard the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter which crashed during the EMS mission.

The ministry said that there are six degrees surrounding compensation in case of the death of a civil servant during duty performance, and amount of compensation for each degree varies. The ministry added that it is still in the process of determining to which degree the helicopter EMS mission belongs to based on all the documents the ministry had received.

On Feb. 5, 2018, the S-70A helicopter left Taitung City for Orchid Island in order to provide local residents with medical aid and evacuate those in need of assistance, and communications with the helicopter were lost while the aircraft was returning to Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/11
By: Yang Su-min and Flor Wang

Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) Nearly 600 hog farms that feed their animals pigswill made from

leftovers have failed to make upgrades, shut down their operations or transition to crop-based feed, in line with a government order to prevent African swine fever (ASF) from reaching Taiwan, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Monday.

“The central government has instructed local authorities to thoroughly investigate the 582 pig farms that have failed to abide by the government order,” COA Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城), who also serves as deputy chief of the Emergency Operation Center for African swine fever, told a press conference.

Out of a total of 1,930 hog farms across Taiwan that feed their animals pigswill made from leftovers, as of 9:00 a.m. Monday 736 had gained permission to continue doing so after improving or installing heating equipment, while 612 have shifted to crop-based pigswill, COA tallies showed.

Such equipment allows them to heat leftovers to 90 degrees Celsius for at least an hour to kill the ASF virus before using it as pig feed, as stipulated by the government.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 11, 2019
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan  /  CNA staff reporter

Located in the heart of Taipei’s historic Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area, the Xia Hai City God

Temple (霞海城隍廟) has become a must-see attraction thanks to the manager’s decades-long effort to preserve the temple and revitalize the community.

“When I travel abroad to promote tourism to the temple, I always invite people running businesses in the neighborhood to come along,” said 69-year-old Tracy Chen (陳文文), who has served as temple manager for 26 years.

When hosting travel shows abroad to introduce the temple to potential tourists, Chen takes the opportunity to showcase local delicacies, such as pastries, cakes and tea, she said.

Some people believe that the temple’s city god helps their businesses flourish, she said, adding: “However, it is ancestral workmanship that has left a rich cultural milieu and makes the temple an attractive destination.”    [FULL  STORY]

Independent politician will have to reassure US officials about his cross-strait intentions to secure American backing, observers say

Date: 10 February, 2019
By: Lawrence Chung

Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je is expected to go to the United States in mid-March, joining a wave of political hopefuls planning trips to the US in their quest for Washington’s support in the island’s 2020 presidential race.

Ko, an independent whose pro-Beijing views have raised concerns in the US, will visit Washington, New York, Boston and Atlanta on a nine-day trip from March 16, according to his office.

Analysts said the popular politician was expected to brief US officials on his cross-strait policy and how it would affect American interests, an essential step for any presidential aspirant from Taiwan.

At a closely watched cross-strait meeting in December, Ko underlined his policy of engagement with mainland China, saying that “relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are like those of a family”.    [FULL  STORY]

A Chinese cyclist found himself in a tight spot on Sunday after starting his round-the-island cycling trip the wrong way

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/10
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Chinese cyclist who found himself in a tight spot on Sunday (Feb. 10) after starting his round-the-island cycling trip the wrong way by getting on National Highway 1 was driven to safety by Taiwanese police, according to a Central News Agency report.

The report cited police as saying that the Chinese cyclist surnamed Chen, 31, boarded a passenger ship from China’s Fujian Province and arrived at Keelung port on Sunday morning. Chen started his cycling trip soon after he disembarked at the port.

However, as he was not familiar with Taiwan’s highway system, he rode his bike onto National Highway 1, on which bicycles and motorcycles are prohibited, and after going about 2.4 kilometers, he realized that he was on a wrong highway where cars whizzed past him and no bicycles and motorcycles were in sight, according to the report. While he was wondering what he should do, a sedan driver guided him to a passing bay where he parked his bicycle, police said.

The national highway police received a report about the cyclist around nine in the morning, and then dispatched a patrol car to the scene and found Chen and his bicycle on the southbound lane near Badu, CNA reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/10
By Elaine Hou and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) Taiwan and the United States will jointly hold a regional dialogue of civil societies on religious freedom March 11-12, which will be attended by U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The event, which is aimed at promoting religious freedom, human rights and democracy in the Indo-Pacific region, is being organized by the Taipei-based non-profit Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD), commissioned by MOFA, the ministry said.

American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesperson Amanda Mansour told CNA that the U.S. views religious freedom as an important issue and looks forward to jointly hosting the event.

AIT represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic links between Taipei and Washington.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese blogger divorces wife/cousin after her affair with Mexican pastry chef

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/09
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Less than a year after Taiwanese blogger Andy Tsai (無敵小恩恩) posted steamy photos of his nude wife and revealed that she was his first cousin, he announced that the couple has divorced after she allegedly had an affair with a Mexican pastry chef.

In May of last year, Tsai shocked his followers by posting two photos of his voluptuous wife, Annie, seated in a bath fully nude, before revealing that she is his first cousin. Friday (Feb. 8), Tsai shocked his Facebook followers again by uploading a post titled “Divorce Day 1” in which he announced that he has divorced his wife after she allegedly “fell in love” with a pastry chef she works with.

In the post, Tsai said that the couple had weathered many storms together and had chosen to take the children and move to the U.S. to start a new life. He said that his ex-wife had the dream of becoming a “world-class” pastry chef and he helped her achieve this dream by staying at home to care for their children.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/09
By: Matt Yu and Chung Yu-chen

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) The Ministry of Education (MOE) aims to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) courses in its basic education curriculum next year, part of a push to increase the country’s leverage in the AI domain, the Executive Yuan announced in a statement released Saturday.

The Executive Yuan also rolled out an online learning platform called “Taiwan Artificial Intelligence Action Plan,” which accommodates AI learning materials.    [FULL  STORY]