The News Lens
Date: 2018/05/14
By Chen Hurng-Yu

The ROC was the first to draw the maritime claim, but has since stayed strategically silent on the issue.

When Vietnam and Malaysia submitted a joint claim for the outer limits of their continental shelves in the South China Sea to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in 2009, China objected.

In response, it submitted a nine-dashed, or U-shaped, line map of its claim in the South China Sea to the United Nations. The Chinese statement and the U-shaped line provoked official objections, including notes to the United Nations from Vietnam and Indonesia.

The U-shaped line has since become a target for international criticism, with many scholars questioning its legal basis and Beijing’s activities within it, including its habit of driving away foreign ships exploiting oil and gas resources within the U-shaped line and its annual summer fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea since 1999.

Due to their disagreements with China, many foreign governments and scholars have asked for the Taiwanese government’s explanation of the original meaning behind the U-shaped line (which was first officially introduced by the Republic of China in 1947).
[FULL  STORY]

The flamegold rain tree is a famous sight throughout Taiwan 

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/05/14
By: Alicia Nguyen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – One of the few yellow-flowered trees that bloom early in summer,

the flame-gold rain tree, has begun to bloom in regions across Taiwan.

The flamegold rain tree is a broad-spreading evergreen species that can reach heights of 35 to 45 feet.  It usually enters the blooming season at the beginning of May and the bright clusters or panicles of yellow flowers usually last till the end of June.

(Image from alishan.cyc)

The tree is widely cultivated as a decorative tree in private gardens, public parks, and on the streets of several cities in Taiwan including Toucheng, Miaoli, Taichung, Tainan, and Pingtung.

According to Liberty Times, the large, branched and yellow-flowered clusters can be easily spotted on the campus of Pingtung University of Science and Technology and in downtown Pingtung City.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/05/14
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Ko Lin

Taipei, May 14 (CNA) The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) gave the go-ahead to restart one

of the reactors at the Third Nuclear Power Plant in southern Taiwan on Monday, after final review of an application to resume the reactor’s operations.

The number one reactor at the third power plant in Pingtung County was shut down to undergo an overhaul on April 3.

On May 7, state-run Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) applied to the AEC for permission to restart the reactor as maintenance and repair work were complete.

On-site inspections have been carried out to check maintenance and related improvement measures, which were confirmed to have been completed on May 1, the atomic council said Monday.    [FULL  STORY]

MEETING OF THE MINDS: There is a need for the two sides to advance their two-way communication, but the truth must be explored based on facts, the president said

Taipei Times
Date: May 15, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday called for a rebuilding of basic mutual trust with

China, and reiterated that she would like to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), as long as such a meeting is based on reciprocity, with no political conditions.

“The two sides should rebuild basic mutual trust and sit down and talk given the overall international situation,” Tsai told political commentator Clara Chou (周玉蔻) during an interview on Hit FM radio. “Now that South and North Koreas have done so, I think Taiwan and mainland China should also engage in detailed communication.”

“Although there have been cross-strait exchanges in the private sector, I think there is a need for the two sides to advance and deepen two-way communication,” she said.

Asked in the radio interview why she is unwilling to back the so-called “1992 consensus” while acknowledging that a cross-strait meeting took place in 1992, Tsai said: “We must explore the truth based on facts.”    [FULL  STORY]

The trip was tiring and risky, but “our heart was filled with satisfaction and joy,” India-Taipei Association Director-General Sridharan Madhusudhanan said of his experience of hiking to the summit of Yushan (Mount Jade)

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/05/13
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—The trip was tiring and risky, but “our heart was filled with

satisfaction and joy,” India-Taipei Association Director-General Sridharan Madhusudhanan said of his experience of hiking to the summit of Yushan (Mount Jade), Taiwan’s highest mountain.

Madhusudhanan shared several photos of his recent hiking trip to the top of Yushan Main Peak on his Facebook page on May 4 and 5, and told a Central News Agency report he went with a group of Taiwanese friends and that he was the only foreigner in the group.

Madhusudhanan, who had participated in the nine-day Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage from the beginning to the end, said climbing Yushan is a totally different experience from the pilgrimage.

“The route is risky at many stretches. Even though it is a comparatively easy hike, the risk is real. Unless the hikers are careful, danger awaits at quite a few places,” Madhusudhanan said on Facebook. “On the way, there was an alert notice: ‘Beware of falling rocks. Please pass quickly.’ My mind voice: ‘Yes, I know. Believe me, I want to pass as quickly as possible. But I need to walk through this ribbonlike strip with my fatigued legs. Meanwhile, could you please ask the falling rocks to slow down a bit? Thanks.’”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/05/13
By: Liao Yu-yang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) With the weather forecast to be sunny and stable over the next week, the government and state-run power utility are on high alert over possible water and electricity shortages in the scorching summer days ahead.

Temperatures in densely populated western Taiwan were recorded at over 30 degrees Celsius Sunday noon, and the Central Weather Bureau was predicting sunny and stable weather all over Taiwan in the coming week.

The mercury will rise to as high as 35 degrees or higher on Thursday and Friday, the bureau forecast.

The increasingly warm weather is expected to put pressure on water and electricity supplies, prompting the Water Resources Agency (WRA) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the state-run Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) to go on alert to the possibility of shortages.    [FULL  STORY]