An extended comparison of pedestrian crossings at junctions in Taiwan and the UK shows that Taiwan’s design and standards are clearly not good enough.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/13
By: Songshan Charles

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1 here.

In Part 1, we explored why zebra crossings – which don’t actually resemble zebras – are the main contributors to reductions in road accidents.

Part 1 primarily introduces the regulations and categories of crossings in the UK, as well as detailing the logic they provide for the drawing of markings. Markings and facilities associated with crossings in the UK are said to be the most complex and complete in the world.

However, at the end of the previous article, I mentioned I would respond to the question about an American neuroscience professor who was fatally struck by a bus on Ren’ai Road. I will illustrate two methods of easing pedestrian crossings: pedestrian refuge islands and two-staged crossings.    [FULL  STORY]

Military intelligence data were found copied to his computer at home

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/12
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Investigators raided military installations and private homes Friday looking for evidence about a Navy officer suspected of leaking confidential military information.

The officer, surnamed Hung (洪), had initially been a suspect for a completely different case, but the investigation took a different turn when military secrets were found on his computer, the Liberty Times reported.

The man served from January 7, 2011 until July 30 this year on the French-made Chengde frigate, where he was in charge of information system maintenance.

During a search of his Kaohsiung home last January, investigators found a hard drive which contained numerous confidential military data apparently copied from computers on board the frigate, according to prosecutors.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/12
By: Huang Ya-hsih and Ko Lin

The Vatican, Oct. 12 (CNA) Taiwan continues to maintain steady and positive relations

with the Holy See, Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) affirmed Friday amid concerns over a recent agreement between the Vatican and Beijing.

Diplomatic relations between the two sides have been in place for 76 years, and this solid foundation is not easily shaken, Chen said.

The vice president, who arrived at the Vatican to attend the canonization of Pope Paul VI, was responding to the landmark agreement the Vatican signed with Beijing last month on the appointment of bishops in China, which signaled a warming of their once-frigid relations.

The agreement is based purely on religious matters and will not affect bilateral ties, Chen said, adding that the Vatican is hoping such a deal would help with religious affairs in China and thus open up a new page for Catholics there.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 13, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A reporter from the Chinese-language United Daily News said in a report that she was

refused entry to UN headquarters after presenting her Republic of China (ROC) passport.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would lodge a protest with the UN over reports that Taiwanese visitors were denied entry into UN headquarters in New York.

The United Daily News reporter said that she was denied entry to UN headquarters after presenting her passport.

She then showed her Taiwan Compatriot Travel Document — a permit issued to Taiwanese by Chinese authorities for travel to China — but was still turned away by UN guards, who cited new UN regulations, the reporter said.    [FULL  STORY]

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/11
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

In a nationally broadcast address, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Wednesday her administration will continue to seek to maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait and urged China to be a responsible stakeholder that plays a positive role in the world rather than a trigger for conflict.

In the Double Ten Day speech titled “Democratic Taiwan Lights Up the World,” Tsai lauded the island’s democracy, saying that its democratic transition remains a “beacon in the night for those who long for democracy.”

Tsai also reiterated her administration’s determination to protect Taiwan’s free and democratic way of life, to defend sustainable development, and to maintain cross-strait peace and regional stability.

According to Tsai, China’s unilateral diplomatic offensive and military coercion have harmed cross-strait relations and seriously challenged the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
[FULL  STORY]

Something rotten afoot: Popular beef noodle shop in western Taiwan caught making employees stomp with their shoes on pickled cabbage

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/11
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung’s Office of Food and Safety is fining a beef noodle shop in the western Taiwanese city for having its employees stomp with their shoes on its suan cai (酸菜, pickled cabbage), among other infractions.

The management of Hsiao Waisheng Noodles (小外省麵食館), which boasts three generations of tradition and specializes in cuisine that hearkens to Taiwan’s old military dependents’ villages, has been exposed by a whistleblower as placing suan cai in plastic baskets, covering them with plastic wrap and then having their employees stomp on them with their shoes on to drain out excess liquid, reported Apple Daily. In addition, health inspectors found dougan (豆乾, dried tofu) covered in mold and black dougan covered in slime.

After being used for washing, the manager was said to have asked staff to use the waste water to make brine for the suan cai. Inspectors also found the kitchen to be filthy and containing many expired ingredients.

The whistleblower also said that the owner of the shop had the employees delay the time when they clocked in to avoid having to pay them overtime. When the owner did pay overtime, it was only NT$95  (US$3) per hour, a clear violation of the Labor Standards Act (勞基法).     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/11
By: Hsio Po-wen and Flor Wang

Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) The Investigation Bureau has warned of a sharp rise in the

consumption of illegal drugs in Taiwan, urging relevant agencies to tackle the problem and proposing law enforcement cooperation with other countries to combat increased cross-border drug trafficking.

The bureau made the call in its annual work report released on Wednesday, in which it detailed its anti-drug prevention efforts in 2017 and analyzed the new trends in the drug market.

According to the report, the amount of illegal drugs, such as the first-grade drug heroine and the second-grade drug marijuana, seized by all levels of authorities across Taiwan grew markedly last year.

For instance, it said, 499.1 kilograms of marijuana were seized throughout the country in 2017 — 22 times higher than the 22.6 kilograms confiscated in 2016. This indicates a sharp rise in demand for marijuana in Taiwan, the report pointed out.    [FULL  STORY]

STRIKING A BALANCE: Incumbent and former AIT officials said President Tsai Ing-wen’s National Day speech shows her commitment to a pragmatic cross-strait policy

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 12, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The US Department of State on Wednesday urged Taiwan and China to engage in

constructive dialogue and seek a peaceful resolution to their differences.

A spokesperson at the State Department made the statement in response to the Double Ten National Day address by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), in which she identified China’s diplomatic offensive and military coercion as a serious challenge to cross-strait peace and stability.

The US has a deep and abiding interest in cross-strait peace and stability and it is important that both sides of the Taiwan Strait understand the significance of related benefits and work to establish a basis for continued peace and stability, the spokesperson said.

“We encourage authorities in Beijing and Taipei to engage in constructive dialogue that seeks a peaceful resolution of differences acceptable to the people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” the spokesperson said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-10

President Tsai Ing-wen has said Taiwan will not allow foreign actors to undermine the

country’s democratic freedoms. The president was speaking in her National Day address on Wednesday.

Tsai said diplomacy and defense are two key aspects of maintaining national security. But she said a third aspect is preventing infiltration from outside, whether this takes the form of cyber warfare or outside actors spreading fake news to undermine society.

Tsai said, “We are determined to defend the values of Taiwan’s diverse democracy. But if another country takes advantage of our society’s freedom to infiltrate society and create chaos, we absolutely will not sit by idly, and will take any and all preventive measures necessary.”    [FULL  STORY]