The goal of the Night of Ideas is to celebrate the stream of ideas between countries, cultures, topics, and generations

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/25
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The 2018 Taipei Night of Ideas (‘La Nuit des idées’), a global event which features discussions around the subject “Power to Imagination,” is slated to take place at Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall Auditorium on Thursday.

The goal of the Night of Ideas is to celebrate the stream of ideas between countries, cultures, topics, and generations. Every year, the Night of Ideas gives the opportunity to discover the latest discoveries in knowledge and arts, to listen to the ones who contribute to bring more ideas to their field, and to take part in the discussion about the main contemporary issues.

This year, the event will focus on the theme: ‘Power to the imagination’.  Guests from diverse backgrounds – intellectuals, researchers, and artists – will gather to discuss the theme all across the five continents.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/25
By Chen Ja-fo and William Yen

Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) A truck driver surnamed Wu (吳) failed to properly secure the buckets of screws he was transporting on Thursday, causing nearly 1,000 to fall onto the road, damaging the tires of multiple cars and motorcycles, according to the Kaohsiung City Police Department Thursday.

Wu Yen-cheng (吳燕成), chief of Alian Police Station, said after receiving a report, police officers were dispatched to the scene to investigate and collected nearly 1,000 screws.

At least 10 people have lodged complaints and demanded compensation for damaged tires, Wu said.

According to police, the tires of vehicles heading in the direction of Lujhu District were damaged by sharp screws spread across the road.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-24

Tourism Bureau director Chou Yung-hui says the success of Taiwan’s tourism industry

last year is due to efforts to tap into new markets. Chou was speaking Tuesday during a Chinese-language interview with RTI.

More than 10.7 million visitors came to Taiwan last year. This makes 2017 the third consecutive year to see over ten million tourist arrivals.

The steady numbers come despite a continued slump in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan. Cross-strait tourism dropped off sharply in 2016 due to friction with Beijing and a fatal bus fire that killed more than 20 Chinese travelers. Chou took up the post of Tourism Bureau chief as tourism industry workers angered by the drop in Chinese visitors took to the streets to demonstrate.    [FULL  STORY]

The meteoric rise of Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes is a breath of fresh air in an industry that often marginalizes women.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/01/24
By: Jennifer Creery

Aristophanes (貍貓) spits rapid-fire Mandarin verses over glitchy, mechanical whirs,

punctuated by the occasional melodic interlude.

While the 27-year-old’s (real name Pan Wei-ju, 潘韋儒) intoxicating delivery is ethereal in its otherworldliness it is, at times, unsettling – filled with hisses and heavy breathing overlaid with irregular, choppy beats, which cut through songs with unstoppable force. And yet this is part of her allure – it is an oddness that sets Aristophanes apart.

“I don’t fit into any genre, I just do whatever I want,” Pan laughs. This impulsiveness has gotten her far. Since the release of her acclaimed album “Humans Become Machines” last year, she has toured the world, collaborating with the likes of Will Butler from the band “Arcade Fire” and renowned producer David Kahne. These projects are a far cry from her home in Taipei, where Aristophanes will perform a concert on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, to celebrate her return.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan was one of the top 5 markets of Google Play in 2017

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/24
By: Alicia Nguyen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan is one of top 5 major markets for Google Play, and ranked second in the Asian region for the percentage of time spent playing mobile games per week, according to the Director of Google Play in the Asia Pacific.

Taiwanese people like playing mobile games. People can be seen in many public places,  like the bus, the MRT, or on the sidewalk, playing on their mobile phones..

In a speech on Jan. 24, the Director of Google Play in the Asia Pacific region, James Sanders, shared his observations on Google Play’s market trends in 2017 as well as his outlook and vision for the Taiwan market in 2018, reported CNA.

Sanders revealed the top 5 markets for Google Play in the last year were Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., and the U.K. He added that the mobile market in Taiwan will continue to develop as 81 percent of Taiwanese citizens own a smartphone and each has an average of 2.7 mobile internet devices.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/24
By: Emerson Lim and Kuan-lin Liu

Manila, Jan. 24 (CNA) Taiwan and the Philippines signed an agreement Monday on

cooperation and exchange in criminal investigations and law enforcement talent development.

Taiwan’s representative to the Philippines Gary Lin (林松煥), who signed the agreement on behalf of Taipei, said the two sides have agreed to exchanges in the fields of law enforcement technology, forensic identification science and cybercrime.

Furthermore, there will also be more visits between law enforcement officials from both countries to boost the Taiwan-Philippine crackdown on cross-border crime.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 25, 2018
By: Lu Yi-hsuan and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Following media reports of the Vatican considering severing ties with Taiwan and

recognizing China, a source close to the government’s diplomatic establishment yesterday said it is premature to discuss the possibility of formal Vatican-Chinese diplomatic relations.

The Vatican reportedly dispatched a delegation to China to offer formal diplomatic ties and was willing to order two bishops it appointed to step aside for Beijing’s appointees.

Another possible scenario reportedly involved the drafting of an agreement between the Vatican and China on a common process for appointing bishops.

However, the group referred to in the reports was the seventh delegation of a routine work group between the Holy See and Beijing, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-23

President Tsai Ing-wen says she does not rule out the possibility that China could attack

Taiwan. Tsai was speaking in a local TV interview that aired Monday evening local time. Cross-strait relations have been in a stalemate since Tsai took office in May 2016, with Beijing boycotting dialogue with her administration.

Tsai said the chance of China attacking Taiwan depends on the mindset of the Chinese Communist party’s leadership. She said, “Nobody can rule out the possibility. It depends on whether the decision maker is rational or not. The issue is not only a cross-strait issue any more. It is a regional issue. From the regional point of view, any rational decision maker must be very cautious in weighing up whether attacking [Taiwan] is a rational option or not.”    [FULL  STORY]