Page Two

Where Stinky Tofu Is at Its Malodorous Best

The New York Times
Date: Nov. 19, 2017
By: Chris Horton

TAIPEI, Taiwan — In a small, unassuming building below the growing skyline of

The Dai Family House of Unique Stink in Taipei, Taiwan, has cultivated a following among aficionados of stinky tofu. Credit: An Rong Xu for The New York Times

Taipei’s Xinyi District, Wu Hsu Pi-ying has built a shrine to stink, attracting the faithful from far and wide.

Since 1989, Dai Family House of Unique Stink has cultivated a following among aficionados of one of Taiwan’s most prevalent, and most pungent, snacks: stinky tofu.

“We’re happy,” Ms. Wu said, sitting on a low stool at her restaurant. “We give people healthy, natural food, and it’s super cheap.” Menu items range from 50 cents to $3. “I don’t need to make a lot of money.”

A fermented bean curd that came via immigrants from mainland China, stinky tofu has long been a staple in Taiwan. A versatile food, it can be fried, steamed or cooked in soup, all of which are on the menu at Dai’s. Ms. Wu also pioneered cold stinky tofu, which is served covered with crispy flakes of seaweed-flavored batter, the edges of the tofu slab a bluish-gray.    [FULL  STORY]

Northeasterly winds bring new low temperatures to Taiwan

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-11-19

Taiwan has seen the arrival of the first bout of cold, wet weather with the arrival of northeasterly winds and a rain system from eastern Taiwan.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) says the wave of cold air will be at its strongest on Sunday with the mercury dropping to 15.9 degrees Celsius in New Taipei’s Danshui District and Taoyuan’s Xinwu district in the early hours of Sunday morning. That was the lowest temperature yet of the autumn season this year.

It was even colder on two of Taiwan’s outlying islands, which lie close to the southern Chinese coastline. The lowest temperatures of 12.7 degrees was recorded on Sunday morning on Matsu, while temperatures dropped to 15 degrees on Kinmen.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Penghu to offer NT$1,110 travel vouchers starting Nov. 21 

Penghu to offer ‘2017 Winter Penghu Tourist Vouchers’ worth up to NT$1,000 starting Nov. 21

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/19
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Penghu Tourism Bureau will begin offering travel

Tourists walking on land bridge at Kueibishan Geopark. (By Central News Agency)

vouchers to all non-residents of the islands valued between NT$1,000 (US$36) and NT$500 beginning on Nov. 21, reported CNA.

Penghu County Magistrate Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) along with Penghu Tourism Bureau Deputy Director Hsieh Wen-ta (謝文達) on Friday (Nov. 17) announced that the ‘2017 Winter Penghu Tourist Vouchers’ promotion will go into effect on Nov. 21 and run until Feb. 10 of next year, with the vouchers remaining valid until Feb. 12.  All visitors who are not residents of Penghu and stay at a legal hotel or hostel for at least two nights are eligible for the vouchers.

Each voucher will be worth NT$100 and there will be a total of 164,000 will be printed. It is estimated that this promotion will draw 20,000 additional visitors to Penghu County.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan should model itself on western welfare states: democracy pioneer

Focus Taipei
Date: 2017/11/19
By: Wu Jui-chi, Fan Cheng-hsiang and Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), the key figure that triggered the “Zhongli Incident” against ballot-rigging in 1977, hopes Taiwan can be a western Europe-style welfare state.

He expressed his sincere hope as he recently marked the 40 anniversary of Taiwan’s first mass demonstration since martial law was imposed in 1949.

Then a rising star in the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), Hsu broke ranks to run for magistrate of then Taoyuan County amid burgeoning opposition to one-party rule.

On the election day on Nov. 19, a large-scale riot broke out in Zhongli of Taoyuan after a voter reported witnessing the KMT rigging the ballot, culminating in the protesters setting fire on the Zhongli police station.    [FULL  STORY]

Lai to lead public pledge against money laundering

SWORD OF DAMOCLES:Officials said Taiwan risks having all of its foreign transactions scrutinized if it fails to pass an evaluation by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 20, 2017
By: Lee Hsin-fang and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Premier William Lai (賴清德) is to lead a public pledge on Wednesday declaring the government’s determination to fight money laundering, increase financial transparency and pass the third round of mutual evaluations by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) in November next year, sources said.

Taiwan joined the APG in 1997 as a founding member under the name “Chinese Taipei.”

In the first round of evaluations in 2007, Taiwan was placed on the regular follow-up list.

However, in the second round of evaluations in 2011, Taiwan was demoted to the enhanced follow-up list, which required a strict follow-up evaluation every four months.

In June, after President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration pushed for an amendment, a revised Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法) took effect, aligning the nation’s efforts to prevent money laundering with those of the international community, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.    [FULL  STORY]

Military close to locating missing fighter jet: Officer

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-11-18

An anonymous air force officer has told Taiwan’s Central News Agency that the military is close to locating a missing fighter jet.

The Mirage 2000 fighter jet disappeared off Taiwan’s northern coast during a regular training exercise on November 7. An extensive search involving more than 100 military aircraft and more than 60 naval vessels has yet to find the missing jet.

However, on Saturday, an anonymous air force officer said that the search area has narrowed, with ships having arrived sometime earlier close to where signals suggest the jet’s black box may be. The officer said that the military is close to confirming the jet’s location.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan temperatures to plunge in upcoming week

Strengthening northeastern seasonal winds expected to turn Taiwan cold and wet

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/18
By: Eric Kao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — According to the Central Weather Bureau(CWB), significant

Strengthening seasonal winds and cold front expected to bring cold and rainy weather. (By Central News Agency)

drops in temperatures and consistent downpours are expected throughout Taiwan as strengthening northeastern seasonal winds and the strongest cold front so far this winter hit the island.

From Nov. 19 to Nov. 27, a cold front is expected to hit Taiwan every two to three days, according to the CWB. As the entire island will be in the realm of the northeastern seasonal winds, lower temperatures and increased rains can be seen throughout the island, the CWB said.

Northern Taiwan will be most affected by the strengthening seasonal winds, with temperatures dropping to an estimated low of 15 to 16 degrees Celsius on Sunday, when the effect of the cold front is expected to be the strongest. Meanwhile, central and eastern Taiwan will have an estimated low of 17 to 19 degrees, with 20 to 21 degrees during the day.    [FULL  STORY]

Fatal railway accident affects more than 5,500 passengers

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/18
By: Wang Shu-fen and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Nov. 18 (CNA) A fatal railway accident caused the suspension of services on the main line east of Taiwan’s railways in Kaohsiung for nearly two hours on Saturday night, affecting more than 5,500 passengers, the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said.

The accident occurred at 8:30 p.m. when a Tzu Chiang express train bound for Kaohsiung from Hualien hit a woman who jumped down from a platform at Dahu Station while the train was passing by and was not scheduled to make a stop, the TRA said, adding that the woman was found dead on site.

The railway traffic returned to normal at about 10:23 p.m. with a total of 15 trains affected. The police is investigating the accident.     [SOURCE]

Taipei to probe censorship of ROC flag

OVERSIGHT? National Geographic Channel pixelated the national flag in a documentary about the Taipei Summer Universiade to comply with Hong Kong and Macao restrictions

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 19, 2017
By: Tsai Ya-hua, Huang Chien-hao and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

The Taipei City Government said it would investigate after users of Chunghwa Telecom’s

A still image from a documentary on Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand service on the Taipei Summer Universiade.  Photo: Tsai Ya-hua, Taipei Times

multimedia-on-demand (MOD) service recently complained that Republic of China (ROC) national flags had been censored in a documentary on the Taipei Summer Universiade shown on the service.

The “behind the scenes” documentary film was commissioned by the city government’s Department of Information and Tourism at a cost of NT$5.88 million (US$195,342) and was shown on the National Geographic Channel through MOD.

Department Commissioner Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) said the version that was broadcast was an edited version intended for the Hong Kong market, adding that she would investigate the issue thoroughly and seek compensation from the producer.
[FULL  STORY]

Matsu temple provides shelter for stray cats

The China Post
Date: November 18, 2017
By: Lee Hsin-Yin, CNA staff reporter

In Taiwan, temples and stray cats are a common sight, but one rarely sees both in the

Unlike most temples where it is unacceptable for animals to be wandering around, Yi Tien Temple (義天宮) provides a cozy refuge for cats. (CNA)

same place, except at Yi Tien Temple (義天宮) in New Taipei, where nine stray cats have made a home.

The temple, built in 1965 in honor of the sea goddess Matsu, has become known not just a place of worship for residents of Sanchong, but also a shelter for cats in the neighborhood.

Unlike most temples where it is unacceptable for animals to be wandering around, Yi Tien Temple provides a cozy refuge for cats.

“It’s not like we’re picking up cats around the clock, it’s just that it’s impossible to sit and watch them die,” Wang Hsiu-ying (王秀英), leader of the temple’s Buddhist chanting group, told CNA.

Wang, who has been serving as a volunteer at the temple since its opening, talks to the cats mostly in whispers.

“You are hungry, aren’t you,” she said, picking up a 10-day old kitten to give it a bottle feed.    [FULL  STORY]