Phoenix Rising project will upgrade all of Taiwan’s 144 F-16A/B aircraft

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The first batch of four upgraded F-16V fighter jets will be commissioned within six months, the Air Force chief said Wednesday.

The “Phoenix Rising” project (鳳展專案), ordered from Lockheed Martin last year, will upgrade Taiwan’s 144 F-16A/B jets to their latest version, named V for “viper,” at a total cost of NT$110 billion (US$3.58 billion), the Central News Agency reported.

The first four to have been upgraded have already completed aerial tests and are now on the ground in Taiwan undergoing further reviews, according to CNA.

Replying to questions at the Legislative Yuan, Air Force chief Lieutenant General Liu Jen-yuan (劉任遠) said the tests had been completed and the planes’ condition was normal, but some slight adaptations needed to be made, which would lead the four aircraft to come into service within six months.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/03
By: Huang Li-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) Now in its third year, the Nuit Blanche all- night arts festival in Taipei will take place from this Saturday evening to Sunday morning, with police imposing traffic controls on the road selected to serve as the event’s venue.

The 2018 Nuit Blanche, organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs, will feature at least 28 exhibitions and art shows, as well as 22 art installations along Zhongshan North Road Sections 1-3, according to the organizer.

The annual carnival-like festival will be held from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, with the main activity spots in the plaza in front of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the Flora Expo Park, Zhongshan North Road Section 3, the Nanxi commercial circle, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Taipei City Police Department said Wednesday.

The traffic controls will be imposed on Zhongshan North Road Section 3 from 4 p.m. Saturday, and on nearby Chang’an West Road starting from 3:30 p.m., the department said, advising motorists to avoid these areas.    [FULL  STORY]

‘DIRTY’ ATTACK: The Taipei mayor gave US author Ethan Gutmann 24 hours to give evidence that Ko was involved in organ harvesting in China or face a lawsuit

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 04, 2018
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday rejected US author Ethan Gutmann’s

accusation on Tuesday that he is a “liar” and that he was involved in live organ harvesting in China, vowing to file a lawsuit against Gutmann if he does not apologize.

Gutmann, interviewed Ko for his 2014 book The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to tts Dissident Problem, and wrote that Ko was aware that many of the organs transplanted in China came from Falun Gong (法輪功) members.

Gutmann on Tuesday told a news conference in Taipei that Ko was a potential broker for Taiwanese patients wanting to receive organ transplants in China, and that Ko, having taught extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) techniques to doctors in China, created a “perverse incentive” for the Chinese doctors to harvest live organs.

“I have lived in the US before, so I know that calling a person a liar in the US is a serious accusation, so I am very upset that Gutmann used the term to describe me in public,” Ko said yesterday morning. “I urge him to apologize or present evidence within 24 hours to explain why he made the accusation.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s religious tolerance, especially towards Islam is, sadly, exceptional.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/02
By: Jules Quartly

Last year in Kaohsiung I was invited to visit the city’s mosque, watched as the mostly migrant workers performed their afternoon prayers and was introduced to the imam. Husein Abu-yasin is an erudite, softly spoken gentleman who smiles a lot and talks about creating understanding and friendship.

It was all business, peace and love on the occasion of the inaugural International Halal Expo, which promotes food and drink permissible according to Islamic law. The event will take place once again this month in Taiwan’s second city, from Oct. 25-28.

Taiwan has rolled out the welcome mat to Muslims and it’s an approach that is winning hearts and minds. The money is rolling in and the Muslim population is steadily growing – but unlike many countries, this is not perceived as an existential threat.

Muslim migrant workers are building the economy, caring for a rapidly graying population and enriching the nation’s cultural tapestry through the introduction of Muslim festivities. The president is courting Muslim countries as part of a major diplomatic initiative; and Muslim tourists are positively encouraged to visit, with the promise of halal-approved restaurants and Islamic prayer rooms in hotels.    [FULL  STORY]

The government-funded seasonal influenza vaccination campaign will kick off on Oct 15

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/10/02
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–The government-funded seasonal influenza vaccination campaign will kick off on Oct 15, according to a news release posted by Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) on its website on Oct 2.

Taiwan CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) attended the “Fighting the Flu Takes Everyone-Let Me Protect You” event on Sep 30 to urge the public to receive the influenza vaccination, the release said.

According to Taiwan CDC, influenza complications are most common among the elderly aged above 65 and adults aged between 50 and 64. The agency said influenza vaccination is still the most effective method for preventing infection, urging everyone to get vaccinated and become protected against influenza.

“Influenza epidemic usually escalates around November in Taiwan, and reaches its peak by the end of the year and around the Lunar New Year,” the agency said. “Influenza infection can lead to the development of severe complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, myocarditis, and even death.”

“Adults aged above 50, at-risk individuals with chronic me    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/02
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a travel alert

for Vietnam after it confirmed a new case of Zika virus infection that was imported from the Southeast Asian country, a CDC official said Tuesday.

The case represents the second confirmed imported case of Zika virus infection this year, involving a Taiwanese man who was infected while working in Vietnam between June 24 and Sept. 23, according to CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Liu Ting-ping (劉定萍).

The man was confirmed positive Sept. 30 for the virus after he returned to Taiwan and sought medical attention.

Since 2016, a total of 19 imported Zika cases have been identified in Taiwan, five of whom were infected in Vietnam, four in Thailand, two each in the Philippines and Malaysia, and one each in Indonesia, Singapore, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the United States and Angola, according to CDC statistics.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date; Oct 03, 2018
By:  Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday confirmed that a referendum to phase

out thermal power plants proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is to be held on Nov. 24 alongside the nine-in-one elections, but added that all forged signatures found in the petitions would be reported to prosecutors so that criminal charges could be brought.

It was “with a heavy heart” that the commission decided to pass the proposal and report the forgeries to prosecutors, commission Vice Chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) told a news conference in Taipei after a meeting to discuss how to handle the forged signatures.

Lu on Aug. 27 submitted to the commission 497,243 signatures backing the proposed referendum.

Local household registration offices found 314,395 to be valid, after removing 182,848 signatures that failed to meet the legal requirements, the commission said, adding that the valid total still passed the legal threshold of 281,745.   [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-01

The main train station in the central city of Taichung has unveiled a new entrance in

response to passenger complaints following a renovation.

When Taichung opened its new train station, featuring elevated tracks, the design did not allow passengers to access the upper floor ticketing area directly.

Prior to the new entrance, passengers would have to enter the old station and make a circuitous walk to get to the new station’s ticketing area. The walk would take about three minutes. Now, however, passengers can go directly up by escalator from the old station’s main plaza.

Asked about the change, one passenger said it was more inconvenient before. Now, it’s more convenient, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/01
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

The Central Weather Bureau says it’s too early too say whether Typhoon Kong-Rey will

directly affect Taiwan.

Kong-Rey developed into a typhoon Sunday afternoon and is the 25th storm of this year’s Pacific typhoon season.

The weather bureau is forecasting the storm to strengthen in the coming days and is warning it could develop into a super typhoon.

Credit: Reuters / TPGTyphoon Kong-Rey: Headed towards Taiwan?
Kong-Rey is located some 2,000 kilometers east-southeast of the island’s southernmost tip and is moving in a west-northwesterly direction at 15 kilometers an hour. The storm is packing sustained wind speeds of 126 kilometers-an-hour, with gusts of up to 162 kilometers-an-hour.    [FULL  STORY]