Page Two

Petition against uniform changes gathers support

THRESHOLD MET:The defense ministry has until Oct. 5 to respond after at least 5,168 people signed a proposal on the NDC’s policy forum Web site

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 16, 2017
By: Aaron Tu / Staff reporter

Following last week’s announcement of a NT$200 million (US$6.6 million) change

From left, military personnel modeling new winter uniform jackets for the army, navy, marines and air force salute during a Ministry of Defense news conference in Taipei on Tuesday last week. Photo: CNA

to military uniforms, an online petition against the policy has collected enough signatures to ask the Ministry of National Defense to make a detailed policy statement.

The ministry on Tuesday last week said a new set of short-length winter jackets would be delivered to each branch of the armed forces by the end of next year. The announcement drew mixed reactions, with critics attacking the cost.

The Taiwan Military and Law Enforcement Tactical Research and Development Association initiated an online petition against the policy on a government platform on Friday, describing the change as “unnecessary spending for a non-urgent jacket.”

The policy was made to “cater to Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan’s (馮世寬) personal tastes,” and NT$200 million would be spent on a jacket that not everyone in the military would wear, so there was no urgent need for the change and it would only take money away from more important the defense budget items.
[FULL  STORY]

There’s been another breakdown at a Hualien power plant

The China Post
Date: August 15, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s power problems continued Tuesday after a generator

The Ho-Ping plant. (Wikipedia)

broke down at the same plant where a fallen tower had put the country’s energy supply on red alert earlier this month.

The coal-powered generator at the Ho-Ping power plant in Hualien went offline early Tuesday morning, according to the Central News Agency.

The setback came just three days after the plant had resumed operation following Typhoon Nesat-caused damage to its transmission tower late last month, which left it able to generate power but not to distribute it.

State-run utility Taipower said workers would not be able to inspect the broken generator until after the boiler cools, so a time frame for its repair and restart was unknown.    [FULL  STORY]

More Chinese military planes spotted near eastern Taiwan

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-08-14

Chinese military aircraft were again observed close to Taiwan’s airspace east of

Chinese military planes have been coming close to Taiwan too often. (CNA)

Taiwan on Monday. That’s according to the defense ministry.

The ministry said the two Y-8 military transport aircraft were returning to their base in China after a far-sea flight training mission. One of the aircraft first skirted Taiwan’s airspace in southern Taiwan as it passed through the Bashi Channel before turning northeast that took it close to Japan’s Miyako Islands. The other aircraft turned southeast after passing through Bashi Channel.

Chinese military aircraft have flown close to Taiwan’s airspace near eastern Taiwan three days in a row since Saturday and four times since the start of August.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei 18th Comic Exhibition attracts thousands of fans

The event attracted various manga and anime fans to purchase numerous limited-edition products

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/08/14
By: Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Thousands of comic book and anime fans showed up in 2017 Comic Exhibition in Taipei to grab limited editions of comics and games as well as enjoying various interesting anime-related activities.

Running from August 10 to August 14, the event has attracted thousands of comic and anime fans, who are mostly students, patiently waiting in long lines to purchase newly published manga and unique character-related souvenirs in big bags printed with anime characters.

Visitors have the chance to purchase various editions of comic books from 70 publishers displayed in 620 booths and have their books signed by several graphic artists, authors, or animation producers from Taiwan and Japan.   [FULL  STORY]

NDC aims to push for 100% green energy power in Penghu by 2025

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/08/14
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Frances Huang

Taipei, Aug. 14 (CNA) The National Development Council (NDC), the top economic

CNA file photo

planning body in Taiwan, has set a goal that 100 percent of the power used in outlying Penghu County will come from green energy by 2025.

To reach the goal, the NDC said the government is planning to create a Penghu energy development company to accelerate the pace of green energy development.

NDC deputy chief Tseng Shu-Cheng (曾旭正) said the government is planning to invest NT$21 billion (US$693 million) in the first stage of the plan from 2017-2020 that will result in 50 percent of Penghu’s electricity coming from green energy by 2020.

At present, most of Penghu’s power is generated by thermal power plants, with only 8.23 percent of the country’s total power coming from wind turbines and solar panels.  [FULL  STORY]

Firefighter’s case reaches Council of Grand Justices

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 15, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Former Kaohsiung firefighter and labor rights advocate Hsu Kuo-yao’s (徐國堯)

Firefighter’s case reaches Council of Grand Justices

case has reached the Council of Grand Justices, Hsu said yesterday, setting the stage for a possible ruling that might have implications on how the government deals with labor movements in the public sector.

In 2014, Hsu was dismissed from the Kaohsiung City Fire Department shortly after organizing a labor rights march. He was previously given 43 demerits over three months for violations including serving as an administrator at the National Association for Firefighters’ Rights and damaging the department’s image by speaking to the media.

After his firing, Hsu filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn his dismissal.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s ‘cultural parks’ are nice to visit but they are failing artists badly

The China Post
Date: August 14, 2017
By: Alan Fong, The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Anyone who’s been to one of Taiwan’s “cultural parks” won’t be surprised by a new report which has found that very little of these spaces is dedicated to supporting local artists.

Figures from the Ministry of Culture showed that as of April, less than 15 percent of space in cultural parks nationwide were allocated to resident artists. In the most extreme case — Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei — artists took up only 0.64 percent of space.

Instead, most of the resources were dedicated to entertainment, retail and restaurant businesses. Twenty percent of Huashan was occupied by restaurants, while Cultural and Creative Industries Parks in Taichung and Hualien were basically glorified restaurants, with more than half of their space set aside for foodies.

“Wencuang” (文創, culture and innovation) is a buzzword in Taiwan for where the global hipster movement meets the nation’s top-down societal structure and its penchant for hype    [FULL  STORY]

Coast guard submits plan to replace 130 sea vessels

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 14, 2017
By: Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The coast guard is to retire up to 130 aging seafaring vessels in its fleet over the next 10 years, an official said on Saturday, citing a plan submitted by the Coast Guard Administration to the Ministry of the Interior.

Set to coincide with the purchase of 141 new vessels, the plan would save maintenance costs and insurance expenses for the coast guard, the official said.

The vessels to be phased out include two 3,000-ton ships, four 2,000-ton ships, six 1,000-ton ships, eight 500-ton ships and a large number of patrol boats, the official said.

Although most of the coast guard’s bigger ships are not particularly old, their high malfunction rates have led to high costs for upkeep and insurance premiums, the official said.    [FULL  STORY]

Magnitude 5.2 earthquake rattles southeast Taiwan

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-08-13

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake off Taiwan’s Pacific coast has rocked the southeast of the island.

According to the Central Weather Bureau, the earthquake hit at 8:08am, Taiwan time. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 63km. Its epicenter was located in waters 82.3km south of the Taitung County Government.

The strongest shaking was felt on Orchid Island off Taiwan’s southeast coast. Less intense shaking was recorded in Pingtung County in Taiwan’s far south. Minor tremors could also be felt in Taitung City in Taiwan’s southeast and at other points in southern Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

After 15 years of paralysis in bed, painter in Taiwan’s Hualien wishes to have his own exhibition

“I can’t sleep at night because I keep thinking about going to Taipei”, says Jin Gen Hong(金根鴻)

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/08/13
By: Taiwan News

“I can’t sleep at night because I keep thinking about going to Taipei”, says Jin Gen

(By Central News Agency)

Hong(金根鴻). The 38-year-old man got into a car accident 15 years ago when he was only 23.

The accident caused him to paralyze below his neck and he can only move his left arm. He has been lying in bed since then. He says that occasionally he would watch stories on TV about mouth painters, so he decided he wanted to try.

Through Tzu Chi community volunteers, he was able to meet the mouth painter, Xie Kun Shan (謝坤山), who had his own share of tragedy. He was seriously injured after he touched high-voltage when he was 16. Because of this accident he lost his hands, right leg, and later also sight in his right eye. “Since then, I’ve not encountered any difficulties, because I’ve never looked at what I’ve lost; instead I’ve only cherished what I have”, said Xie. These words were a great inspiration to Jin.    [FULL  STORY]