PRIVATE LAND SPAT:Aboriginal rights advocates pounded on an outside fence throughout a news conference held by the Council of Indigenous Peoples minister

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 25, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod ruled out adjustments to

controversial delineation guidelines for traditional Aboriginal areas, even as advocates contended that the Presidential Office’s Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Commission’s views on the issue have been stifled.

“Traditional areas are complete, but our legal empowerment is only partial,” he said, citing controversial language in the 21st Article of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法).

The article addresses notification and consent rights for Aboriginal peoples in their traditional areas, stipulating that the rights apply to “Aboriginal land or villages and surrounding public land.”

“The next step would be passing an Aboriginal land and sea area law based on Article 20 to address the issue of private land,” he said, adding only that there was a need for “full discussion” when asked when a bill would be proposed.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 24, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Cops have busted a gang of Chinese pickpockets who came to

Taiwan and targeted Japanese travelers at tourist attractions, metro stations and high-speed trains stations.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested three ringleaders of the group: a 50-year-old surnamed Yang, 55-year-old surnamed Kao and a 54-year-old surnamed Liao.

The three men — all skilled pickpockets from Guangxi, China — came to Taiwan as individual tourists, according to the bureau.

They worked with a simple MO. They would scout for potential targets and follow them to escalators. Kao would block the way and distract the victim while Liao nipped their wallet or purse and handed it to Yang. None of the victims realized they were robbed until afterward, the CIB said.    [FULL  STORY]

CRITICIZED:Ko Wen-je has been mayor for two years and has no major achievement to show for it, with the exception of demolishing a ramp, Chiang Wan-an said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 24, 2017
By: Chen Yu-fu and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), son of former KMT

vice chairman John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) and grandson of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), is considered a possible candidate to run for Taipei mayor next year, party sources said.

Despite saying he has not made any plans to run for Taipei mayor, Chiang Wan-an, 38, spoke about his vision for the city and criticized independent Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) administration.

“Ko has been mayor for two years and has no major achievement to show for it, with the exception of demolishing a ramp connecting to Zhongxiao Bridge (忠孝橋) and reducing city budgets,” Chiang Wan-an said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper).

Many Taipei residents and borough wardens said Ko’s administration should be constructing facilities for the city instead of wasting its energy on the Taipei Dome project, Chiang Wan-an said.    [FULL  STORY]

Thai Immigration Bureau chief announced the decision Sunday

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/23
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As earlier reports led to believe, Thailand on Sunday

announced it was sending 25 Taiwanese phone fraud suspects to China, and not to Taiwan, as should have been the case.

It was reportedly the first time since the two countries concluded a bilateral judicial cooperation agreement concluded in 2013 that Thailand made a decision running counter to it, reports said. Pressure from China has widely been blamed for Thailand’s change of heart.

The Taiwanese office in Bangkok said it hoped it could still turn the tide, as the deportation to China was reportedly not imminent.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/23
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Life could not have been more cruel to Yu Wen-han (尤文瀚), but

the 27 year-old patient of Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL), a rare genetic disorder, said the incurable disease has not stopped him from making the most of his life by traveling the world.

Yu, who has toured Taiwan on a motorcycle and traveled from Australia to Japan and countries in Southeast Asia, said he would like to encourage young people to never give up on their dreams and be confident in what they do.

“My mother suffered from a very rare disease called Von Hippel-Lindau,” he said, recalling that he was only 13 when she died from multiple organ failures.

VHL is a cancer syndrome where blood vessel tumors grow and continue to grow throughout various parts of the body, including the brain, spinal cord, kidney, pancreas, inner ear, adrenal glands and eyes.    [FULL  STORY]

Do you know of these directors?

The News Lens
Date: 2017/07/22
By: TNL Staff

Images by Nelly Wu.

Taiwanese films have become regular participants in international film festivals and awards over the past few decades. One of the most acclaimed Taiwanese directors is Academy Award-winning Ang Lee (李安), who is known for films like “Brokeback Mountain,” “Life of Pi,” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” among others.

But aside from Lee, who are some other directors in Taiwan you should know of?

hsiao-hsien_hou

The 70-year-old is most famous for his 1989 film “A City of Sadness,” which portrays the 228 Massacre and White Terror period in Taiwan. One of Hou’s signature styles is extreme long takes with little camera movement, and he is known for depicting the turmoil of Taiwan history through the eyes of individuals or a small group of people.

Hou has received numerous international film awards including the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and most recently, the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival for “The Assassin” in 2015.

edward_yang

When talking about films that explore urban Taiwan, the name Edward Yang is bound to come up. Yang’s films reflect the conflict between traditions and modernity, and he was the first Taiwanese director to be awarded the Best Director Award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for “Yi Yi,” his most acclaimed film.

The director passed away in 2007, and “Yi Yi” was named one of the 25 best films of the 21st century so far by The New York Times this year. Digital restorations of a series of Yang’s films are also currently screening in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Storm to move away toward Hong Kong and Guangdong

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/22
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The seventh tropical storm of the season emerged south of

Taiwan Saturday, but Roke was likely to head off in the direction of Hong Kong and China’s Guangdong Province, forecasters said.

Over the past few days, two other tropical storms, Kulap and Noru, were also said to have no expected effect on the weather in Taiwan, according to the Central Weather Bureau.

The tropical depression which transformed itself into Roke Saturday afternoon was situated about 200 kilometers southwest of Oluanpi, Taiwan’s most southerly point. It was moving in a west-northwesterly direction at a speed of 21 km per hour, the weather bureau said.

If it stayed the course, Roke would make landfall in China east of Hong Kong around Sunday noon, according to forecasters. The storm was unlikely to develop into a typhoon and was moving away fast, leaving Taiwan out of its reach.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/22
By: Scarlett Chai, Liu Te-chang and Christie Chen

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) Taiwan and China have again engaged in a tug of war over Taiwanese nationals arrested overseas, with the latest incident involving 25 Taiwanese detained in Thailand on suspicion of telecom fraud.

Earlier this week, law enforcement authorities from Thailand and China carried out a joint operation against telecom fraud, arresting 44 suspects in Chonburi and Samut Prakan provinces in Thailand.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand has confirmed that 25 of the 44 suspects are Taiwanese nationals and they are currently being held at an immigration shelter in the Southeast Asian country, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Saturday.

Beijing has asked Thailand to send the Taiwanese suspects to China for prosecution there, according to sources that asked not to be named. The majority of victims of such telecom fraud are usually Chinese nationals.    [FULL  STORY]