Page Two

COA to help pet owners complete registration for importing dogs

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/17
By: Yang Shu-min and William Yen

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) When transporting or importing dogs through airports

Image taken from Pixabay

or seaports, people will no longer have to register their pets because the Council of Agriculture (COA) now completes registration for the public, to avoid people having to pay additional fees or fill out too many forms, according to a press release issued by the COA on Friday.

Thousands of dogs and cats enter airports or seaports in Taiwan each year, returning after accompanying their owners for work or study abroad, the COA said.

Under Taiwan’s law, dog owners are required to register their pets and have them vaccinated against rabies.    [FULL  STORY]

Diamond urges ‘wise’ defense spending

COUNTERING WITH COOPERATION: The Hoover Institution fellow said Taiwan should not join any ‘anti-China alliance,’ but instead invest in its own strength and seek partnerships

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 18, 2018
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan should spend its military budget wisely, engage in cooperative partnerships with key players in the Indo-Pacific region and prevent China from penetrating its society, Hoover Institution senior fellow Larry Diamond told a forum in Taipei yesterday.

With a trade war brewing between Washington and Beijing, and China on its way to becoming the largest economy in the world, US policy on Taiwan and China is at a watershed as the US faces an intensified and “ominous” challenge from China — its growing military presence in the South China Sea, Diamond said at a forum held by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁) on Taiwan-US-China relations.

Behind China’s claim over islands in the South China Sea and its defiance of a 2016 ruling by a tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in The Hague is a desire to obtain freedom of navigation and geopolitical hegemony over countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and a mentality that China is the “boss” of the region and can tell other nations to “move out of its way,” which worries US academics and officials, he said.

Another challenge is China’s theft of US technologies and intellectual property through dual-use telecommunications equipment, which has continued for at least two decades, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Year-end elections begin officially: CEC

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-16

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has announced the official start of

CEC Chairperson Chen In-chin made the statement on Thursday. (CNA photo)

the year-end elections, which are slated for November 24th. That’s the word from CEC Chairperson Chen In-chin on Wednesday.

Over 11,000 people will be elected to public office, including city mayors, city councilors, county commissioners, county councilors, town mayors, etc. It is estimated that more than 19 million people are eligible to vote.

Chen said this year’s elections are more complex than before as proposed referendums on various issues could be held on the same day. As the Referendum Act was revised in January to lower the voting age to 18, about 600,000 people will be eligible to vote in a referendum for the first time.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan hotel axes Marriott contract over China naming row image:

Channel News Asia
Date: 16 Aug 2018

TAIPEI: The owner of a Starwood-branded hotel in Taiwan said Thursday

Marriott listed Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as separate countries. (Photo: AFP)

(Aug 16) it will terminate its contract with Marriott International, in protest over the US group caving in to Beijing pressure to list the island as part of China.

Marriott was strongly criticised by Chinese authorities in January for listing Taiwan – along with Tibet and Hong Kong – as separate countries, all regions which Beijing claims under its authority.

After the Chinese government shut down Marriott’s local website for a week, the hotel chain apologised and changed the listing to “Taiwan, China.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan counts almost as many claw machine arcades as convenience stores

Just in a year, the number of claw machine stores rose by 3,302 outlets 

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/08/16
By: Alicia Nguyen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – According to statistics by the Ministry of Finance,

An arcade claw machine (By Wikimedia Commons)

Taiwan now has around 6,678 claw machine outlets across the country, with a density almost as high as convenience stores, reports said on Thursday.

In a map published on Aug. 16 by Richi Technology company, it can be seen that claw machine parlors sprang up like mushrooms after the rain, and could catch up with the overall number of the convenience stores, according to Liberty Times.

Additionally, these arcade claw machines were densely distributed in the cities of New Taipei, Taichung, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung. The highest store is located near the Cingjing Farm in Renai Township of Nantou County, at the altitude of 1,700 – 2,000 meters, reports said.     [FULL  STORY]

Premier OKs 2019 central government budget proposal

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/16
By: Ku Chuan and Flor Wang

Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) approved Thursday the

Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德, left)/CNA file photo

central government budget plan for 2019, which shows expenditure of NT$2.022 trillion (US$65.65 billion), the first time it has topped the level of NT$2 trillion.

According to Lai, the projected expenditure next year is up 2.8 percent, or NT$55.1 billion, over the 2018 level. Of the total, NT$492.2 billion will be earmarked for spending on social welfare programs, followed by NT$422.8 billion for education, science and culture, NT$329.5 billion for national defense and NT$248.2 billion for economic development.    [FULL  STORY]

Control Yuan censures NTU, ministry

BOTH AT FAULT: NTU was admonished for electing Kuan, who was deemed to have worked illegally, while the ministry’s regulations and oversight were found lacking

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 17, 2018
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

The Control Yuan yesterday issued corrective measures against the

Control Yuan members Kao Yung-cheng, left, and Peter Chang speak during a news conference at the Control Yuan in Taipei yesterday.  Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

Ministry of Education and National Taiwan University (NTU), saying both were responsible for a number of procedural and regulatory flaws that led to the controversy surrounding the university’s presidential election.

NTU Department of Finance chair professor Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) was on Jan. 5 elected as NTU president and was scheduled to take office on Feb. 1, but a series of allegations of having taken illegal part-time jobs, plagiarism and a conflict of interest delayed the ministry’s approval process and in April, it said it would not approve his election.

The university has refused to hold another election and instead filed for an administrative appeal requesting his appointment on the grounds that academic freedom and university autonomy cannot be compromised.
[FULL  STORY]

New algorithm can help predict virus spread

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-15

A professor from National Taiwan University in Taipei has developed a new algorithm to better predict and analyze the spread of a virus in a given area.

Professor Wen Tzai-hung from the university’s department of geology said Wednesday that his algorithm takes advantage of advanced AI learning ability. He said it can predict the spread of a virus, including how different viral hotspots affect one another.

“For example, dengue fever is spread by virus-carrying mosquitos. Therefore, when we are aware of the beginning of the infection, whether with one person or a group, we can predict where the virus might reach next based on factors such as patterns of mobility and climate patterns. It’s similar to how we predict the movement of typhoons,” said Wen.

Wen said that his algorithm can help the public prevent the possible spreading of virus by warning them ahead of time.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News: Defense Ministry Thanks Trump, Tsai Visits Paraguay

Your daily bulletin of Taiwan news, courtesy of ICRT.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/15
By: International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

The Ministry of National Defense is expressing its thanks to the U.S. after

Photo Credit: Reuters / TPG

President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for 2019, which includes provisions supporting Taiwan’s armed forces.

Ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said the act shows America’s commitment to peace and stability in the region. Defense officials are grateful Washington has offered to enhance arms sales and military exchanges with the island.

Trump signed the defense policy bill into law at Fort Drum in New York.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 includes several Taiwan provisions. Section 1257 requires the U.S. Secretary of Defense to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Taiwan’s military forces and submit the findings to a congressional committee within one year of the act’s enactment.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan rolls out national standards for inflatable play equipment

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/08/15
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(photo courtesy of Bureau of Standards, Metrology & Inspection)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs on Wednesday announced the CNS 20187 national standards for safety and inspection of inflatable play equipment, according to a Liberty Times report.

According to a recent survey conducted by Jing Chuan Child Safety Foundation, 63.9% of parents have taken their children to facilities with inflatable play equipment, and 21.4% of children who have played on the equipment were injured by the equipment, the report said. Therefore, the foundation had urged the government to stipulate national standards for inflatable play equipment, according to the report.

Bureau of Standards, Metrology & Inspection official Wu Kou-lung (吳國龍) said inflatable play equipment, which can be set up easily on a variety of sites, has been a popular tool for entertainment, the Liberty Times report said. He said that after the national standards were announced, manufactures of inflatable play equipment now have a set of standards to follow when details of such equipment are being designed, the report said. He added that the introduction of such national standards will play an important role in reducing numbers of accidents stemming from faulty inflatable play equipment, the report said.    [FULL  STORY]