The Star
Date: 6 Jul 2018
By: ashley tang

PETALING JAYA: Mohd Nazifuddin Najib, the son of former Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, was spotted with a Taiwanese actress in Taipei, Taiwan News reported.

The Taiwanese online portal said that Mohd Nazifuddin went out with Celia Chang after Najib was released on bail following his arrest on July 3 for his role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

The report which quoted Apple Daily said Mohd Nazifuddin was seen dining at a steakhouse and having a massage at a top luxury shopping district near Taipei 101 on Thursday (July 5).

The couple apparently spent more than three hours at the steak restaurant eating and drinking red wine.      [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-07-06

Taiwan’s beloved giant panda Yuanzai, born at Taipei Zoo, is turning five this year.

To celebrate her 5th birthday, the zoo threw a birthday party for her and invited the public to join the celebrations. The zoo prepared two ice cakes topped with Yuanzai’s favorite food, including steamed corn bread, grapes, cantaloupe, apples and carrots.

Yuanzai had little appetite however because she is still experiencing a phantom pregnancy. But she was curious about the hanging birthday cards and sought to grab them on tiptoes.

Taipei Zoo’s panda expert Wang Yi-ming explained why there are two cakes for Yuanzai this year.    [FULL  STORY]

How fierce fried chicken market in Taiwan has made KFC chicken ‘even better’

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/06
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — For those expats who have tried KFC in Taiwan and wondered

why the fried chicken is crispier, juicier and spicier than its American cousin, a writer at OZY.com gained some insights into some of the localized ingredients and preparations to compete in Taiwan’s fierce fried chicken market.

Fried chicken is king in Taiwan with Taiwanese popcorn chicken and Taiwanese style fried chicken taking first and second place, respectively, on ezTravel’s list of the 10 most popular street foods in Taiwan last year. To compete with local Taiwanese contenders, KFC has had to make extensive adaptations to its offerings in the local market.

In her article titled, “Why KFC is even better in Taiwan,” Leslie Nguyen-Okwu first points out the many menu differences, such as KFC’s breakfast option of congee rice porridge topped with fried chicken, pork floss and sweet corn. She mentions an Elvisesque sandwich that contains smoked bacon, fried chicken and peanut butter; the only thing that Elvis would miss would be the bananas.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/06
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) Hundreds of university faculty members from around Taiwan on Friday

urged the government to respect university autonomy and academic freedom, rights they claimed the government has infringed by refusing to confirm Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) as president of National Taiwan University (NTU).

Representatives from 14 leading universities nationwide attended a press conference in Taipei Friday to announce the establishment of the Taiwan Action Alliance for University Autonomy (TAAUA).

“Gravely concerned about the future of our education system and our rights to university autonomy and academic freedom, …(we) have decided to join forces to defend our rights to university autonomy and academic liberty in Taiwan,” they said in a joint statement.

The TAAUA plans to register with the Ministry of the Interior as a nongovernmental organization to fight for rights they described as being the very basis for preserving the rule of law and democracy. “We strive to stand up against government intervention and political repression in our campuses,” they said in the statement.    [FULL  STORY]

NEXT IN LINE: Outgoing AIT Director Kin Moy praised his successor, Brent Christensen, as ‘absolutely the right person for the job’ — and a better singer than he is

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 07, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Outgoing American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin Moy yesterday said he will always

be the biggest fan of US-Taiwan relations even after his departure from the institute, as he bade a sentimental farewell to Taiwan and its people.

In what is expected to be his last public appearance before his scheduled leave next week, Moy gave a humorous start to his farewell press conference by saying that he was surprised to see his pending departure treated as if he was already “in the grave.”

“Ever since I announced that I’ll be leaving, I feel I have been seeing obituaries about myself or hearing people mourn me even though I am still alive,” Moy said. “I am here to tell all my friends that I am merely heading back to Washington, not into the grave.”

Asked about his next post, Moy said he would go back to the US Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, where he would await his next assignment and would not have a role in Taiwanese affairs.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: July 5, 2018 
By: Phillip Charlier

A woman died this morning after being accidentally shot in the head by her boyfriend while hunting in Miaoli County last night.

Mr Chen, 62, an aboriginal from the Amis ethnic group, accompanied by his 62 year-old girlfriend, Ms Lin, and a male cousin, went to Sanwan mountain district in Miaoli County late last night to hunt using spotlights and two homemade shotguns.

At around 11:00pm, Chen spotted the reflective eyes of an animal around 100 meters away and fired a shot. His cousin called out: “you’ve hit a person: Hurry up and come down.”

Chen rushed down the hill to find Lin unconscious in the back seat of the van with an obvious head injury. The two men rushed Lin to the Wei Gong Memorial Hospital in Toufen Township.    [FULL  STORY]

Channel News Asia
Date: 05 Jul 2018

TAIPEI: A Taiwanese businessman has been indicted over illegal oil sales to North Korea,

prosecutors said Thursday, flouting UN sanctions against the nuclear-armed regime.

Taiwanese authorities launched a probe into Chen Shih-hsien in January after Seoul said it had detained a Hong Kong-registered ship suspected of transferring oil to a North Korean vessel.

Chen has now been charged with forgery for making a false declaration that a ship he had chartered was bound for Hong Kong when it actually sailed to international waters to sell oil, Kaohsiung district prosecutors said in a statement.

“Chen was well aware that the oil he purchased was being shipped to international waters for sale… and made four false declarations in 2017,” the statement added.

Taiwan announced in September it was banning all trade activities with North Korea.
[FULL  STORY]

Lockheed Martin will support Taiwan in indigenous development of aerospace and military grade titanium castings

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/05
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – U.S. aerospace and defense company, Lockheed Martin said they

will support Taiwan’s indigenous development of titanium casting for defense purposes in a statement on July 3.

The technology transfer will allow Taiwan to independently produce aerospace and defense grade titanium castings.

The titanium casting project is part of an industrial cooperation program which is linked to Taiwan receiving Lockheed Martin Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air missiles.

In specific terms, the program will develop Taiwan’s titanium casting proficiency in the areas of “radiographic and penetrate inspection, hot isostatic pressure processing, pyrometry control, weld inspection methods, and certification to aerospace standards” according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Bureau.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/05
By: Yu Hsiao-han and William Yen

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) Average hours worked annually per worker in Taiwan were higher than

all but two Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2017, according to Ministry of Labor (MOL) statistics.

Taiwanese workers worked an average 169.6 hours per month in 2017, which translates into 2,035.2 hours a year, an increase of one hour from the previous year.

According to OECD statistics, available on the organization’s website Thursday, only Mexico and Costa Rica worked longer, with 2,257 hours and 2,179 hours, respectively.

Taiwanese also worked longer hours than South Korea and Japan, with 2,024 hours and 1,710 hours, respectively, the data showed.    [FULL  STORY]