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Swim across Taiwan’s Sun Moon Lake to proceed as planned despite Typhoon Mangkhut

Sun Moon Lake Weather Station chief says Nantou County will not be greatly affected by the typhoon

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/09/13
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

SONY DSC

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—The 4th Open Water swimming championship and the 36th Sun Moon Lake International Swimming Carnival will take place on Sep. 15 and Sep 16, respectively, despite the fact that the weather in Taiwan is expected to be affected by Typhoon Mangkhut.

The decision to proceed with the events was made by Nantou County Government Secretary General Hung Jui-chi after he was briefed on the weather conditions by a  meteorologist, according to a Central News Agency report.

Recently many people registered for the swimming events have been calling the Nantou County Government to ask if the events would be pushed back to a later date. Therefore, the county government held an emergency meeting on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 13, with the event organizer Puli Four-season Swimming Association, the local fire station, local lifeguard associations, and the local weather station were invited  to attend.

Sun Moon Lake Weather Station chief Cang Yung-cheng (張永政) gave a briefing on the possible effects of Typhoon Mangkhut, saying that according to the station’s report, Nantou County will not be greatly affected, as the county is far away from the typhoon and the Central Mountains will block the outer ring of the storm.     [FULL  STORY]

Cabinet approves bills against money laundering, terrorism financing

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/13
By: Ku Chuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) The Cabinet on Thursday approved draft amendments to the Money Laundering Control Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention Act, which aim to tighten supervision of financial and other institutions.

The amended Money Laundering Control Act introduces new fines for financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses or professions that violate the relevant regulations.

It stipulates that such institutions, businesses and professions must implement internal control and audit to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.

Under the amendments, the institutions will also be required to prepare regular risk assessment reports on money laundering and terrorist financing.    [FULL  STORY]

Vatican-China ‘purely about religious affairs’

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 14, 2018
By:Staff reporter, with CNA

The government is closely monitoring a deal between China and the Holy See that could reportedly be sealed soon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

The ministry is well aware of ongoing dialogue between the Vatican and Beijing, and would continue to closely monitor developments, spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said, declining to comment on whether the two sides have made a breakthrough.

The Vatican has reportedly made concessions to Beijing on the appointment of bishops in China — which would represent a significant breakthrough in relations between the two sides.

However, the Holy See has repeatedly reassured Taipei that an agreement would be purely about religious affairs and would not affect bilateral ties, if they reach any, Lee said.    [FULL  STORY]

Transitional Justice Commission must have public trust: Tsai

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-09-12

President Tsai Ing-wen said Wednesday that the Transitional Justice Commission must have the public’s confidence to be fit for purpose. The remarks come after a recording was leaked of the commission’s deputy chair, Chang Tien-chin, making a partisan attack on the opposition Kuomintang’s candidate for mayor of New Taipei. Chang has since offered his resignation.

Premier William Lai said the Cabinet rejected Chang’s remarks, which he said harmed public trust in the commission and created social conflict. He said the commission was established as an independent body.    [FULL  STORY]

OPINION: US Diplomatic Recalls Should Not Inspire Taiwanese Confidence

The US recalled diplomats from countries that dropped recognition of Taiwan, but it’s anyone’s guess who is calling the shots in Washington.

Credit: Reuters/TPG

The News Lens
Date: 2018/09/12
By: Brian Hioe, 破土 New Bloom

Do recent American actions indicate stronger support of Taiwan? Namely, American actions as of late have been unusual, with America taking the high-level step of recalling diplomatic representatives to three countries which recently broke ties with the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) in favor of acknowledging the People’s Republic of China (PRC, China): the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Panama.

When Taiwan lost other diplomatic allies under the Tsai administration over the past two years, America did not issue condemnations on this level. Previously, China refrained from poaching Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies in the eight years of the Ma administration as a gesture of goodwill towards the pro-China Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration, but its behavior has resumed under the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). Five allies have severed ties under the Tsai administration to date.

At least on the surface, recalling representatives would appear to be a rather strong gesture by America. This is a known move of America’s diplomatic repertoire and it seems to be quite an emphatic one. But despite that America will sometimes quietly reinstates its diplomatic representatives several months later, it still proves surprising that America would go so far as to recall diplomatic representatives over Taiwan losing allies.    [FULL  STORY]

2018 Taroko Music Festival advertises in Times Square in New York for the first time

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/09/12
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(photo courtesy of Taroko National Park Headquarters)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—An ad of Taroko Music Festival appeared on the large screen on the exterior of the NASDAQ building in Times Square in New York City the other day, marking the first time the event was advertised at this world famous site, according to a Taroko National Park Headquarters (TNPH) news release on Tuesday (Sep. 11).

The free annual musical event organized by Taroko National Park Headquarters will take place at Taroko Terrace (太魯閣台地) on Oct. 20 this year.

The TNPH said that with the assistance of the event’s co-organizer, the event successfully advertised on one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world. In addition to promoting the breathtaking landscapes of Taroko National Park overseas, the ad would also help Taroko Music Festival gain international exposure and attract more international visitors to participate in the event, the agency said.    [FULL  STORY]

Former Tsing Hua University president dies aged 86

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/12
By: Kuan Rui-ping, Lee Shu-hua and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) Shen Chun-shan (沈君山), a former president of National Tsing

Shen Chun-shan (沈君山) / photo courtesy of National Tsing Hua University

Hua University in Hsinchu City, northern Taiwan, passed away Wednesday at the age of 86 at Mackay Memorial Hospital’s Hsinchu branch, the university said in a statement.

The retired academic was admitted to the hospital Sept. 5 suffering from fever and a swollen belly. After a colonoscopy, doctors found a twisted and necrotic section in Shen’s intestine, the statement said.

After treatment, Shen showed signs of recovery, but a few days later doctors found that his intestines had ruptured.

Shen’s son Shen Hsiao-chin (沈曉津), a physician, decided along with his mother that they would not consent to a suggested invasive surgical procedure so that the patient, who had already been bedridden for many years, could die in peace, the statement said.
[FULL  STORY]

Commission researcher admits to leaking recording

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 13, 2018
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

Transitional Justice Commission associate researcher Wu Pei-jung (吳佩蓉) yesterday said she was the one who leaked a recording of former commission deputy chairman Chang Tien-chin (張天欽) commenting about manipulating the media.

In a statement on Facebook, Wu said that Chang’s conduct proved he was unqualified to be deputy chairman and she did not regret exposing him, the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Mediareported yesterday.

In another story published yesterday, the magazine reported that Chang, in an Aug. 24 commission meeting, said that former New Taipei City deputy mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) was a “despicable” case in the pursuit of transitional justice and that it would be a “shame” if Hou’s work in the authoritarian era was not capitalized upon.

“While using Hou to promote a lustration law makes sense to a certain extent, does having a high-ranking official with considerable influence and administrative resources manipulate the issue, using it to unjustly attack Hou, really strengthen our democracy?” Wu asked.    [FULL  STORY]

‘Democracy exemplar’ Hu Fu dies aged 86

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-09-11

Hu Fu, an academic who taught and inspired a generation of politicians in Taiwan, has

The late academic Hu Fu.

died.

Hu Fu, who passed away on Monday aged 86, has been called an “exemplar of democratic politics” in Taiwan. A member of Academia Sinica, he opposed authoritarianism and became a force pushing Taiwan towards political reform in the pre-democracy era. Many of his students would also rise to political office.

One of them, lawmaker Hsu Yung-ming of the New Power Party, remembers Hu as having a cheery disposition and relishing discussion and debate.    [FULL  STORY]

ANALYSIS: A Brief Overview of China’s Blackmail Strategy Towards Taiwan

From El Salvador to last week’s typhoon in Japan, China is engaged in a blackmail campaign to remove Taiwan from the international stage.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/09/11
By: By Jason Lim

Credit: Wikipedia Commons CC0

Last month, El Salvador announced it will establish diplomatic relations with China. Under the “one China” policy, this meant El Salvador had to break official diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The end of the 47-year relationship marks a disturbing trend with the excuse countries have used to break ties – it amounts to political blackmail.

El Salvador reportedly asked Taiwan for about US$20 billion to fund a port project, as well as additional money for political campaign contributions. Taiwan rejected the call for political contributions as an inappropriate interference with El Salvador’s domestic affairs, while Taiwanese engineers insisted that the port was not economically viable.

Credit: Reuters / TPGSalvadoran Roberto Romero waits to visit the Taiwan embassy a day after El Salvador broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China.
Countries with diplomatic ties to Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) are blackmailing Taipei before ditching ties in favor of diplomatic relations with Beijng. In December 2016, Sao Tome and Principe ended its 19-year relationship with Taipei the same way El Salvador did. It had allegedly asked for US$200 million for financial aid that the Taiwanese government thought was exorbitant – Taiwan’s foreign minister called it “astronomical”. Sao Tome responded by ditching diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]