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Taiwanese students win world championship of software competition

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/29
By: Sunrise Huang and Shih Hsiu-chuan

Photo courtesy of Banqiao Senior High School

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Three Taiwanese students have won the world championship at the 2018 International Schools’ Software Competition (ISSC) held Sept. 27-29 in Brisbane, Australia, New Taipei Municipal Banqiao Senior High School announced in a statement Saturday.

Tsai Min-yen (蔡旻諺) and Lin Pai-wei (林〈木百〉瑋) of Banqiao Senior High School, and Kaohsiung Senior High School’s Cheng Tien-chun (鄭天鈞) won the national championship of a software competition as a group in August and represented Taiwan at the ISSC.

The trio are all in their third year of senior high and had received training since August in preparation for the annual competition, which is aimed at fostering the development of computer competence among young people in the region, according to the statement.    [FULL  STORY]

Cabinet approves bill to boost fines for illegal Chinese investment

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/27
By: Ku Chuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Sept. 27 (CNA) The Cabinet passed a draft bill Thursday to increase fines for Chinese individuals or institutions that invest in Taiwan illegally.

The draft amendments to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area will now be sent to the Legislature for ratification.

Under the new amendments, any Chinese investor or investing enterprise that invests in Taiwan without getting permission from the relevant authorities could be subject to a fine of NT$50,000-NT$25 million (US$1,636-US$817,789), a revision from the original fine of NT$120,000-NT$600,000, plus rectification.    [FULL  STORY]

Court drops case against vandals of Chiang statue

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 28, 2018 
By Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The Shilin District Court yesterday dropped a case against two

A vandalized statue of former president Chiang Kai-shek stands beheaded and daubed in red paint at Yangmingshan National Park on April 22 last year.  Photo: Huang Chien-hao, Taipei Times

independence advocates for their attempt in June last year to behead a bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山公園).

Kuo Chih-kang (郭志剛), 67, and Lin Ting-ying (林廷穎), 23, were acquitted of all charges on account of a legal technicality.

The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office indicted the two defendants on charges of damaging public property, among others, they tried to remove Chiang’s head by using an arc torch cutter on the statue’s neck.

However, the court said that the statue was not public property as it was not officially managed by a government agency.

The statue was donated by local chapters of Lions Clubs International in 1979, but was never registered as public property by any government agency, the court said.
[FULL  STORY]

Experts warn of kidney damage from too much protein

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-09-26

For people who work out to build muscle, consuming protein powder may form a major part of their bodybuilding regimen. Others choose to take protein powder as a dietary supplement. But experts warn that too much protein is bad for the body, placing a dangerous strain on the kidneys.

Lu Kuo-cheng, head of the Taiwan Society of Nephrology, says excessive amounts of protein puts pressure on the renal arteries, which can enlarge and harden, leading to damaged kidney function over time.

Dr Lu says consuming protein powder is generally unnecessary, as plenty of foods contain the protein the body needs. On average, a person can consume 1 to 1.2 grams of protein for every kilo of body weight per day. More than that and you could be placing your kidneys at risk.
[FULL  STORY]

A Homage to Chinese Communism Is Destroyed in Taiwan Image

Wei Ming-jen, a Taiwan native hired to build an addition to the century-old Biyung Temple, fixing a flagpole in April. Part of the temple was demolished Wednesday.CreditCreditBilly H.C. Kwok for The New York Times

The New York Times
Date: Sept. 26, 2018
By: Amy Qin and Karoline Kan

HONG KONG — For the last two years, tensions have been brewing in a sleepy Taiwan village after a contractor hired to expand the local Buddhist temple wound up taking over the site, evicting the nuns and converting it into a shrine to the Chinese Communist Party, the historic rivals of the Taiwan government.

This week, those tensions came to a head after county officials moved ahead with plans to raze part of the historic temple. The decision was made after The New York Times reported last week on the temple’s fate, stirring outrage among people in Taiwan who were upset that such a bold display of support for the mainland government could be allowed on the island.

Videos taken from Biyun Temple on Wednesday morning showed three large bulldozers tearing down the exterior of the large temple addition where, for the last two years, the contractor, a man named Wei Ming-jen, had presided over a daily ceremony in which the flags of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party were hoisted high above the Taiwan countryside.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan authorities clamp down on money laundering

Taiwan police instructed to sweep illegal money exchanges in preparation for international audit

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/09/26
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – In preparation for a field assessment by the Asia

Taiwan police patrol car (By Wikimedia Commons)

Pacific Group on Money Laundering, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office instructed the National Police Agency to dissolve money laundering operations across Taiwan on Sept. 26.

According to the Liberty Times, a joint investigation between Taiwanese authorities will lead to prosecutions in relation to six syndicates which are breaking anti-money laundering laws.

Police mobilized hundreds of officers, interviewing dozens of suspects and associates across Taiwan, reported China Times.

Taiwan will have its third field assessment by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering in November, where Taiwan will hope to maintain its “low risk” grade from the regional body.    [FULL  STORY]

Four new dengue fever cases reported in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/26
By: Romulo Huang

Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) Four new indigenous cases of dengue fever were

Photo courtesy of Centers for Disease Control

reported Wednesday in Taiwan, bringing the total number so far this year to 134, according the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Two of the new infections were in Taichung, the most severely hit area in the country with a total of 72 indigenous dengue fever cases so far this year, the CDC said in a statement.

The other two new cases were in New Taipei and Kaohsiung, it said.
[FULL  STORY]

Allies speak up for Taiwan at UN

PARTICIPATION: Taiwanese deserve equal treatment and the UN should resolve the serious issue of their exclusion from the UN system, Marshallese President Hilda Heine said

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 27, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Leaders from diplomatic allies Paraguay and the Marshall Islands on Tuesday spoke in support of Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN at the General Debate of the world body’s General Assembly in New York City, arguing that Taiwanese deserve equal treatment.

The presidents of the two nation delivered speeches on the first day of the assembly, which opened on Tuesday and continues through Monday next week.

Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez and Marshallese President Hilda Heine spoke up for Taiwan’s bid to be included in the UN.

“My country supports Taiwan’s legitimate request to be included in the UN system and believes that this country can contribute a great deal to its work,” Abdo Benitez said in his remarks.    [FULL  STORY]

Most water in Taiwan contains microplastics: EPA

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-09-25

Most water sources across Taiwan contain microplastics. That’s according to the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Tuesday.

Microplastics are plastic particles measured at less than 5 millimeters across. Research conducted in the United States and the UK says microplastics are more harmful than larger plastic debris. That’s because the particles can be ingested by small animals and insects and cause damage across the entire food chain.    [FULL  STORY]

INTERVIEW: Taiwanese Fashion Designer Sami Chen Charms New York Fashion Week

The concert pianist turned fashion designer introduces us to her new collection, and Miffy the adorable bunny.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/09/25
By: Jennifer Yang

Credit: Via Sami Chen

Three years ago, Taiwanese fashion designer Sami Chen (陳婕妤) spent most of her life behind the keys as a practicing concert pianist

It wasn’t until she received her international piano teaching license, and her mother’s encouragement to try a new career, that she embarked on the path to becoming a fashion designer.

Fast forward a few years and Chen, now 21, is going from strength to strength, marking her third visit to New York Fashion Week by debuting her latest collection, Happy Fish in Wonderland.

Infusing blue for bravery, red for passion and white for purity of heart as her core palette — appropriately enough given that she had just become engaged to her boyfriend — Chen’s fresh collection bubbles with youthful energy and draws inspiration from Alice’s tumble down the Wonderland rabbit hole.    [FULL  STORY]