Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/17
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

Defense Minister Yen De-fa (嚴德發) downplayed the significance of the arrival of a U.S. Navy research vessel in Kaohsiung and said it’s unrelated to any current or pending military activity.

The statement comes after the Thomas G. Thompson arrived at the port for refueling and changes to crew arrangements.

Taiwan International Ports Corporations (TIPC, 台灣港務) said the vessel is slated to leave for Australia tomorrow and the ship has visited the port four times already this year, solely for refueling purposes.    [FULL  STORY]

Four 13-year-old girls lured into a sex party at a Taipei hotel with the promise of free ketamine cigarettes

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/17
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei police recently busted a sex party in which four 13-year-old female minors had been lured into participating in after allegedly being promised free ketamine cigarettes by a 17-year-old male they met online, reported Apple Daily.

Police were notified of a suspected drug abuser in a hotel in Taipei and when they arrived on the scene the occupants refused to open the door. After a 10-minute standoff, police finally entered the room, where no drugs were found and the occupants were fully dressed, but two used condoms were spotted in the trashcan.

Inside the room, police encountered two 20-year-old adult males, one 17-year-old male and four 13-year-old females. After taking the seven in for questioning, police found that the four young women were middle school students.

One of the female minors, identified by the nickname Xiao Wen (小雯), had recently met a 17-year-old male surnamed Wang (王) through an online dating platform. Wang, who works in catering, hinted that he could provide her with free ketamine cigarettes if she would join in his sex party.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/17
By: Wu Jui-chi and William Yen

Taipei, Oct. 17 (CNA) Five foreign suspects involved with a cross-border human

trafficking syndicate have been arrested by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) while attempting to board flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Oct. 11, according to the agency Wednesday.

After being informed by airline ground staff, the NIA’s Border Affairs Corps (BAC) raised suspicions that a woman planning to travel to Paris might have carried an altered Albanian passport.

When the woman’s passport was later confirmed by immigration officials to have undergone alteration, searches were expanded and two other Albanian passport holders, preparing to fly to Frankfurt and Vienna were also found to have altered passports.

The three Albanian passport holders claimed that they don’t know each other but in order to reunite with their families in Europe and for a chance to earn higher wages, they each spent 4,000 Euros (US$4,612) to pay for the services of the same human trafficking syndicate, the BAC said.    [FULL  STORY]

CHINESE WARNING: China’s Taiwan Affairs Office reiterated that Beijing opposes any form of official interaction and military contact between the US and Taiwan

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 18, 2018
By: Lu Yi-hsuan and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The presence of the US research vessel Thomas G. Thompson in Kaohsiung is unrelated

to Taiwan-US military cooperation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning.

Asked by reporters if he is afraid that increased cooperation between the US and Taiwan would anger China, Wu said he is not worried about China’s reaction because the Thomas G. Thompson is a research vessel, and this is not the first time it has visited Taiwan.

The ship conducts research on the Earth’s atmosphere, he added.

The presence of the US ship, which the Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) said dropped anchor in the Port of Kaohsiung on Monday morning, fueled speculation about increased Taiwan-US military partnership after the US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2018 opened up the possibility of mutual visits between Taiwanese and US vessels, and rumors of a US naval exercise in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea next month emerged.    [FULL  STORY]

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/16
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

Economics Minister Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said Monday that the government will revoke an environmental impact assessment (EIA) that gave the go-ahead for Taiwan Power Co. to re-open and expand the Shenao coal-fired power plant.

The move comes after lawmakers from across party lines called on the Cabinet to terminate the project by revoking all administrative approvals granted since 2006.

Environmental groups are backing the move.

According to the economics minister, approval to terminate the EIA should be completed within two months after the Cabinet receives a formal application by Taipower to stop the project.    [FULL  STYORY]

Derek Mitchell calls upon the US to reaffirm its support of Taiwan in international organizations

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/16
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Tsai Administration’s New Southbound Policy allows Taiwan

to secure a place in the international community while serving to protect democracy, said former U.S. ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell.

The former American diplomat, who is the current president of the non-profit National Democratic Institute, made the remarks in a Oct. 15 seminar on methods to help safeguard democracy in Taiwan in Washington, reported Central News Agency.

Mitchell believes the New Southbound Policy, involving initiatives from aspects of culture, society, economy, technology, and education, provides opportunities for Taiwan to contribute to the world and increase its international profile. With China increasingly ramping up pressure on Taiwan, engaging economically with foreign countries also serves as a way to strengthen the country’s democracy, he reckoned.

American political scientist and former national security advisor Harry Harding also urged the U.S. to play a more active role in supporting Taiwan’s international participation, for example with entry to WHA and ICAO, noting that countries in the Indo-Pacific region will be more willing to engage with Taiwan with the encouragement from the U.S, CNA quoted him.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/16
By: Cheng Chi-feng and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) All 98 passengers aboard a China Airlines (CAL) flight from Manila

were reported safe Tuesday after the plane blew a tire during landing at Kaohsiung International Airport, forcing the airport to close until 5 p.m., CAL and transport officials said.

Flight CI712 took off from Manila at 10:01 a.m. and landed in Kaohsiung at 11:36 a.m., blowing out a tire as it set down on the ground, according to the airport.

All passengers got off the Boeing 737-800 safely at 12:20 p.m., CAL said, and aviation authorities are investigating the cause of the incident.

The airport was originally to be closed until 2 p.m., but that was later extended by three hours until 5 p.m. as airport authorities had trouble clearing the plane from the runway.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-15

Taiwan opened the National Biotechnology Research Park on Monday in Taipei. Many top

officials attended and President Tsai Ing-wen spoke at the opening.

The president said, “We are confident there will be a cluster effect as all core agencies in the biotech industry will meet here and lead the innovative development of the entire industry.”

Academia Sinica President James Liao said that the government worked with environmental groups who had concerns about the project. As a result, the park’s area was decreased to three hectares. It also will include four hectares of ecological pools and other green areas. The park is located in Taipei’s Nankang District.
[FULL  STORY]