Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-09-12

The United States has expressed its support for a Taiwanese plan directed at the UN.

That’s according to Christine Hsueh, the foreign ministry official in charge of North American affairs.

The UN action plan is being timed to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. It calls on the UN to accept Taiwanese participation in UN-affiliated organizations and stop blocking Taiwanese nationals from entering their meetings. It also calls for a stop to discriminatory treatment of Taiwanese nationals seeking to take tours of the UN. In addition, it calls for the acceptance of Taiwanese participation in meetings and events connected with the UN sustainable development goals.

Hsueh says the US has voiced approval for the plan. She said she thinks the US will support Taiwan’s decision to focus on its efforts to achieve sustainable development goals. She also said the US welcomes the visit of the head of the Environment Protection Administration, Lee Ying-yuan, which also coincides with the UN assembly meeting.

The Saichia paragliding park located in Sandimen Township, Pingtung County, on Tuesday signed an agreement with the local indigenous community to allot 40% of its profits to the community

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/12
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—The Saichia paragliding park located in Sandimen Township,

Pingtung County, on Tuesday signed an agreement with the local indigenous community to allot 40% of its profits to the community, becoming the first case of compliance with Article 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law in Taiwan.

Article 21 of the law stipulates that the government or a private sector engaging in land development, resource utilization, or research on lands of indigenous people should acquire consent or participation from the people, who are entitled to profit sharing.

The Saichia paragliding park is considered as one of Asia’s best paragliding venues in winter, and has attracted many paragliding enthusiasts from Japan and Korea during the season. However, the operator had not been able to get a permit for a long time due to land ownership and legal issues until March this year, when Pingtung County Government issued the first legal non motorized airfield permit to the operator.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/12
By: Lee Hsin-Yin, staff reporter

While most airplanes carry passengers, the aircraft of Swiss pilot and adventurer Bertrand Piccard carries a message.

Piccard came up with and piloted the Solar Impulse project, in which he and compatriot André Borschberg took turns flying a solar-powered aircraft around the world in 2016. The intention was to promote clean energy, he says, emphasizing that innovation is possible even under the most extreme circumstances.

“The (project’s) first goal was not to have an airplane transporting people, it was to have a demonstration, a proof, that clean technologies, efficient technologies and renewable energies, can be used in the most incredible situation,” Piccard said during the World Congress on Information Technology in Taipei from Sept. 10-13.
[FULL  STORY]

CRANE INCIDENT:The Navy Command said that the missile’s warhead and tailfin were damaged, but that repairs could be made to the air-defense weapon

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 13, 2017
By: Liu Yu-chin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Sailors dropped a missile on the deck of a Republic of China Navy frigate from a

considerable height while unloading the ship’s magazine at Magong Port (馬公港) in Penghu County on Monday afternoon, the Navy Command said yesterday.

The incident occurred while sailors were operating a crane to remove ordnance from the Cheng Kung-class frigate Tzuyi, a warship of the 146th Fleet, the Navy Command said.

A RIM-66A Standard Missile 1 became unhitched in mid-lift and fell to the deck, it said.

The missile was worth US$402,500, it said.

While the missile’s warhead and tailfin showed signs of damage from the impact, technicians said it could be repaired after replacing a few of its components, the command said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 12, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI – The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) issued the sea warning on 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday as Typhoon Talim approaches Taiwan.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Talim was 810 km east-southeast of Taiwan, moving 21km/h in a west-northwesterly direction, according to the CWB, which forecast the typhoon’s speed to slow down to 18km/h. The typhoon packed maximum 162-km-per-hour gusts and sustained winds of 126 km/h. The CWB is expected to issue a land warning early Wednesday.

The outer edge of Talim was expected bring 64 to 87-km-per-hour winds to open coastal areas in northern, eastern Taiwan as well as in Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu starting Tuesday night.

While the CWB forecast Talim to veer further north away from Taiwan, the bureau reminded the public to stay vigilant as the storm maintains the strength of a moderate typhoon and could be upgraded to a severe typhoon by the time it approaches Taiwan.    [SOURCE]