The Star
April 7th, 2018 
By: Keryn Nelsong

Two years have passed since Hubert Emmanuel was positioned Ambassador of Saint

Lucia to the Republic of China, Taiwan—the first to hold this position. As a former scholarship recipient who underwent schooling in Taiwan while only Kittitian Ambassador, Jasmine Elise Huggins, operated as not only an envoy for students from her country, but also for Saint Lucians and Vincentians, I can vouch for the importance of the position. Being miles from home, anything can happen. I have witnessed Ambassadors step in to diffuse disputes with travel agents with thousands of dollars at stake and threats of arrests made against students; where students’ rights were being trampled in schools and dormitories, and other such scenarios. So, the announcement of a Saint Lucian Embassy and ambassador in 2015 was a relief, if only for the fact that over one hundred Saint Lucians now reside in the Asian country.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-04-06

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed 11 cases of measles since the first

case imported from Thailand was reported last Thursday.

CDC deputy head Chuang Jen-hsiang said on Friday that six of the cases are imported while the remaining five were contracted in Taiwan.

Chuang said more than 3,000 people have had contact with the 11 patients. He advised these people to monitor their condition.

“Our suggestion for those who have had close contact with people diagnosed with measles is they can go to work but should wear a mask. If they experience symptoms such as a high fever and red spots on the skin, they must seek medical treatment. They should wear a mask too and tell doctors how they were exposed to the disease. People who violate self-health monitoring will be fined anywhere between US$100 and US$500. That’s according to Article 36 of the Communicable Disease Control Act,” said Chuang.

Chuang said self-monitoring must last 18 days. He also urged the public to take precautions to prevent another outbreak of measles.    [SOURCE]

Taiwan has resources for those coping with depression but must do more to raise awareness of the importance of mental health.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/04/06
By: Vanessa Wang

Currently, there are about 2 million people suffering from depression in Taiwan, and 97

percent of them don’t reach out for help.

Depression is a transparent illness – patients themselves often don’t even realize that they have depression. Because of a lack of education and resources, most people who suffer from depression know that there is something wrong with them, but can’t quite pinpoint exactly what it is.

“Minor depression becomes major depression because we don’t talk about it; major depression becomes a suicide because we don’t talk about it.”

Personally, it took me six years to figure out that I was depressed. Depression is tricky – it is often stigmatized as “complaining” in upper-middle class women, but the incidence of depression is approximately equal regardless of financial circumstances. It is simply easier for upper-middle class women to detect that they are unhappy when their worlds seem perfect.

Depression is not just a feeling, but an illness – it is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how one functions. The symptoms of depression, as detailed in the book “Undoing Depression” by Richard O’Connor, include:    [FULL  STORY]

 

 ‘Pokémon Go’ ties in with Earth Day initiative efforts to reward players for picking up trash on April 22

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/04/06
By: Jane Lau, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Developer Niantic announced that ‘Pokémon Go’ will be celebrating Earth Day on April 22 by encouraging players to help clean up the environment while playing on-the-go.

Niantic has partnered with local organizations all over the world, helping players gain a purpose while playing the game. There will be 37 different events in 12 various countries being held later this month, in collaboration with Earth Day. In Taipei, Niantic is working alongside a non-profit organization, RE-THINK.

According to the ‘Pokémon Go’ website, the exact location is New Taipei City, Sanzhi District, Tudigongkeng. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Prior registration is required, but there are no more slots left on the website.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/06
By: Yi Chun-chieh and Kuan-lin Liu

New York, April 5 (CNA) A delegation of Taiwanese officials and university presidents is

currently in the U.S. to recruit overseas Taiwanese and foreign talent for local research positions.

Kicking off their visit to the U.S. east coast Thursday following stops in California, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基), Deputy Education Minister Yao Leeh-ter (姚立德) and officials from nine universities explained to students in New York about grants available for research in Taiwan.

According to Chen, there are over 300 positions that the nine universities are looking to fill, which can be coupled with research programs from the Ministry of Science and Technology for five to 10 years with annual funding of between NT$5 million (US$170,777) and NT$10 million.    [FULL  STORY]

EXPECTED: Several unfavorable allegations did not keep former New Taipei City deputy mayor Hou You-yi from winning the KMT primary for the New Taipei City mayoral race

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

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday announced former New Taipei City deputy

mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) is the winner in the party’s three-legged primary for the mayoral election of New Taipei, the only KMT-governed special municipality.

KMT Organizational Development Committee Director Lee Che-hua (李哲華) announced the outcome at a morning news conference at KMT headquarters in Taipei, saying that Hou came in first in the averaged poll results, followed by former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and former New Taipei City councilor Ching Chieh-shou (金介壽).

Contrary to previous practice, Lee did not disclose the actual poll numbers, saying that all three hopefuls agreed to only publish their rankings for the sake of party solidarity and harmony.

“They believe [that the party’s] victory in the mayoral race is all that matters,” Lee said.
[FULL  STORY]

Unlike tensions over trade and North Korea, it involves red lines on both sides

The Economist
Date: Apr 5th 2018
By: Banyan 

IF THE partisanship of American politics unsettles you, take heart from a little piece of legislation that sailed through both houses of Congress with not a single vote opposed to it. And though the Taiwan Travel Act could have passed into law without a presidential signature, last month Donald Trump chose to put his cardiogrammatic scrawl to it. Given the chaos in Washington, the act reveals a remarkable consensus. It urges, though it does not mandate, high-level visits between America and Taiwan of the kind that successive administrations have discouraged, so as not to offend China.

That country’s “one-China principle” decrees that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese motherland. The Chinese government wants all other countries to act as if Taiwan belongs to it. America has never agreed to the formulation since breaking off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 in order to establish them with China. It has made plain that Taiwan is a friend, to which it has long offered military support. But, in deference to China, American policy has never been to call Taiwan a separate country and always to “acknowledge” that both China and Taiwan agree on the principle that there is only one China, even if the two sides disagree over what exactly that means.
[FULL  STORY]

Chen Shu-chu still has not fully recovered from appendicitis surgery

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/04/05
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taitung vegetable seller Chen Shu-chu (陳樹菊), honored by Time

Magazine in 2010 for her philanthropic donations, has decided to retire due to poor health, reports said Thursday.

Chen, 69, has been selling produce in her native region since the age of 13, but from May, she will be succeeded by her nephew, the Central News Agency reported.

Time named her as one of the 100 most influential people of 2010, Reader’s Digest named her Asian of the Year, and Forbes Asia chose her as one of its 48 heroes of philanthropy. Two years later, she also received the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Chen fell ill at the market just before the Lunar New Year and has not fully recovered from surgery for appendicitis since, sparking her decision to retire, CNA reported.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/05
By: Yeh Su-ping and William Yen

Taipei, April 5 (CNA) The European Union, United States, Japan and other countries plan to speak up in favor of Taiwan being invited to attend this year’s World Health Assembly, according to an official from the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan Thursday.

The 71st World Health Assembly is scheduled to be held May 21-26 in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the World Health Organization website.

Foundation Executive Director Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) said since January she has visited a number of foreign missions and organizations in Taiwan including the U.S., Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the EU.   [FULL  STORY]