Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/29
By: Wu Chia-hao, Chiu Chun-chin, Yu Hsiao-han and Shih Hsiu-chuan 

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) The fatal blaze at a printed circuit board (PCB) factory in Taoyuan on Saturday night originated on the fifth floor of a building where solder mask was produced, Chin Poon Industrial said Sunday, denying that the fire was caused by 2,400 liters of stored diesel in the facility.

The fire alarm went off at 9:15 p.m. Saturday in an area where solder masks, thin lacquer-like layers of polymer that are usually applied to the copper traces of a printed circuit board, were being made on the fifth floor of a facility named P3, Chin Poon spokesman Hsiao Kung-yen (蕭公彥) said at a press conference Sunday.

The blaze spread rapidly through the ventilation system to other floors and the fire alarm for the entire P3 facility went off at 9:17 p.m., he said.   [FULL  STORY]

LAST WORDS: The mother of deceased fire captain Lee Han-lin said that he had prepared dinner for her before heading for work, telling her to heat it up as he left home

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 30, 2018
By: Chen Yun, Wei Chin-yun and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer and CNA

An inferno ripped through a printed circuit board factory in Taoyuan on Saturday night,

killing five firefighters and two Thai workers, and injuring seven firefighters, the Taoyuan Fire Department said yesterday.

Fire Department Chief Hu Ying-ta (胡英達) said the department received a call at 9:26pm about a fire at the Chin Poon Industrial Co (敬鵬工業) factory.

The department sent 189 firefighters, including 55 volunteers, and 67 fire trucks, as well as ambulances, Hu said.

An initial investigation showed that the fire started on the fifth floor of the third factory building, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Pacific Standard
April 28, 2018

Lion dancers perform at Jenn Lann Temple during festivities marking the end of the nine-day Mazu Pilgrimage, on April 22nd, 2018, in Dajia near Taichung, Taiwan. The annual Mazu Pilgrimage begins at Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung and sees around 200,000 pilgrims walk up to 12 hours each day for nine days carrying a statue of Chinese sea goddess Mazu in a sedan chair. The journey covers around 350 kilometers, much of it through mountainous and rugged terrain, and visits more than 100 temples before returning to Taichung.    [SOURCE]

 

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/28
By: Yeh Su-ping, Chen Chi-fong and Kuan-lin Liu 

Kaohsiung, April 28 (CNA) Taiwan inaugurated a new central government agency, the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), on Saturday, with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) outlining its three main responsibilities as protecting the marine environment, promoting the maritime industry and strengthening ocean research.

After some 14 years of preparation, the OAC has been launched to consolidate the work of what used to be 22 different agencies, Tsai said at the inauguration ceremony.

Under the new Cabinet-level OAC, there will be three entities — the Coast Guard Administration, the National Ocean Research Institute, and Ocean Conservation Administration, with the latter focusing on implementing Taiwan’s marine environment and anti-pollution laws, Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]

FORTY DRAFTS: While a consensus has formed on plans for the EPA, the Water Resources Agency and the Mainland Affairs Council, six proposed plans have yet to be completed

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 29, 2018
By: Lee Hsin-fang  /  Staff reporter

More than 40 draft bills regarding government restructuring plans at the Cabinet level are

expected to be approved by the Executive Yuan on Thursday, a source with close knowledge of the matter said yesterday.

Conclusions have been reached on the proposed upgrade of the Environmental Protection Administration, but contrary to proposals made during previous discussions, only part of the Water Resources Agency’s responsibilities would be transferred to the proposed ministry, the source said, adding that officials at the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration have decided to divest the agency of about half of its tasks.

Tasks pertaining to economic growth — such as the appropriation of water for industrial use and river remediation projects — would remain under the agency’s jurisdiction, while tasks associated with conserving water resources would be moved under the purview of the proposed ministry of environmental resources, the source said.    [FULL  STORY]

Selling the US$100 million dollar jet to Taiwan may be more complicated than it seems.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/04/27
By: David An, Taiwan Insight

In a recent letter to President Donald Trump, dated March 26, Senators John Cornyn and James Inhofe advocated the sale of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to Taiwan.

“Taiwan has a legitimate requirement to field a modern fighter fleet to address a myriad of defense contingencies.”

The reasoning within the senators’ letter was simple and clear:    [FULL  STORY]