Page Two

Premier addresses staff of new food safety bureau

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-02

Premier Lin Chuan says the government is determined to ensure food safety. Lin was

Lin addresses staff of new food safety bureau.

speaking Friday while inspecting the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau under the Environmental Protection Administration.

The bureau was set up in late December. It aims to better manage and control hazardous substances and stop pollutants from entering the food chain.

A series of food safety scandals including tainted cooking oil and toxic starch prompted the government to strengthen safety checks last June. They include measures such as the monitoring of the origin of food products, tightened inspections, tougher punishments for producers as well as public scrutiny.    [FULL  STORY]

‘Rain bomb’ causes flooding in parts of northern Taiwan

Several areas in northern Taiwan are seeing flooding as a result of heavy rains

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/02
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, June 2 — Parts of the northern city of New Taipei were flooded Friday as a

Wulun stream overflows in Keelung.(By Central News Agency)

hovering front and southwesterly airstream dumped heavy rain across Taiwan.

As of 8:30 a.m. Friday, flooding had been reported in 43 locations in the city’s Danshui, Sanzhi, Shimen, Jinshan and Wanli districts, the city government said.

Some schools in Shimen, Jinshan, Wanli and Sanzhi districts have also been closed, it said.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) warned Friday that the moist weather system will bring downpours all over Taiwan, with torrential rain or extremely torrential rain likely on the northern coast.    [FULL  STORY]

Winning numbers for Friday’s Taiwan lotteries

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/02
By: Cheng Hsueh-wen and Ko Lin

Taipei, June 2 (CNA) The winning numbers for Taiwan’s Grand Lottery 6/49 (大樂透)

CNA file photo

on Friday were 08, 23, 07, 03, 31, 30, plus the special number 32, the Taiwan Lottery announced that day.

Continuing with the special edition of the Dragon Boat Festival Grand Lottery, 10 extra winning numbers were drawn on Friday. They were 07, 31, 15, 44, 23, 48, 10, 19, 20, and 09.

Buyers with six of the 10 numbers will win NT$500,000, Taiwan Lottery said, adding that the extra winning numbers will be extended until 300 lucky players win this special edition lottery.
[FULL  STORY]

Lee Ching-yu will not hire lawyer for husband

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT:If the nation’s political factions stay embroiled in their own disputes, they will not see the enemy standing right in front of them, Wuer Kaixi said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 03, 2017
By: Peng Wan-hsin, Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer

Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), wife of human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲) who is being detained in China on charges of sedition, on Thursday said she would hire no lawyers in her husband’s case, as it would only give credence to the pretense that China respects a fair judicial process.

Like Taiwan under the Chiang (蔣) family, China could accuse Lee Ming-che of any crime it wants, as the state is ruled by a dictatorship and not by law, Lee Ching-yu said.

Lee Ming-che was detained and prosecuted for allegedly violating the Chinese Act to Regulate Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations, but is now being prosecuted for attempts to overthrow the government, Lee Ching-yu said, adding that people cannot have confidence in China’s courts.

Lee Ching-yu said that her husband’s arrest ignores the UN’s International Bill of Human Rights, and that trusting China’s judicial system puts him in danger.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to continue climate change efforts despite U.S. withdrawal

The China Post
Date: June 3, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan will continue its efforts on climate change despite the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord, a spokesman from the Presidential Office said Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the U.S. will withdraw from the accord.

Alex Huang (黃重諺) said although Taiwan is not a signatory to related agreements on climate change, the government and private groups have conscientiously taken part in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) activities.

Taiwan has also worked hard to achieve international targets for carbon emission reduction, he said.

“Taiwan’s efforts will not change as a result of U.S. withdrawal (from the Paris Accord),” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Japan and Taiwan set goal of 7m tourists by 2020

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-01

Tourism officials from Japan and Taiwan have set a new goal to see 7 million visits a

(CNA photo)

year between the two countries by 2020.

A conference on Japan-Taiwan tourism opened in Japan’s Kagawa prefecture on Thursday. The head of Taiwan’s tourism bureau, Chou Yung-hui, attended along with a delegation. They presented promotions for upcoming festivals in Taiwan.

Another topic of discussion at the conference will be railway tourism.

Nearly 1.9 million Japanese tourists visited Taiwan last year. This was a 16.5% increase over 2015. In the other direction, Japan welcomed close to 4.3 million Taiwanese tourists in 2016. This combined for a total number of more than 6 million tourists. This exceeded the goal set at the previous tourism conference.
[FULL  STORY]

Actress Priyanka Chopra faces backlash for showing her legs to Prime Minister Modi

Baywatch actress Priyanka Chopra was flooded with rude comments after posting a picture of herself with the Prime Minister Modi

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/01
By: Juvina Lai,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – “Baywatch” actress Priyanka Chopra was flooded with rude

Priyanka Chopra Facebook Post

comments after posting a picture of herself with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

The actress recently visited Berlin to promote her movie “Baywatch.”

She met the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi and posted the picture on social media.

However, the post did not get her the positive attention she expected. Instead many Indian Facebook users criticized her for not wearing Indian attire or appropriate dress that would at least cover her legs. Fans blamed her for forgetting her roots and claimed that she was becoming “Westernized.”    [FULL  STORY]

University graduates bemoan low wages, despite record high

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/01
By: Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, June 1 (CNA) Recent government data indicates that on average university

CNA file photo

graduates earned a monthly salary of NT$28,116 (US$932) in 2016, an increase of NT$461, or 1.67 percent on the previous year. Few young people in Taiwan, however, were cheered by the news, bemoaning the prospect of years working for low wages.

Survey results published by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Wednesday showed that the NT$28,116 earned by university graduates for their first job was the highest since 1991, when the ministry started its annual survey on wages in different occupations.

The previous high was recorded in 2000, when the average starting wage for a university graduate was NT$28,016 per month. In other words, average salary has increased by NT$100 a month over the past 16 years.    [FULL  STORY]

Plan under way to boost wind power

ON TARGET?Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Yang Wei-fu said 22 proposals for wind farms could bring NT$1.8 trillion in investment and provide 10.2 gigawatts

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 02, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

A four-year plan is under way to increase wind power generation as part of efforts to increase energy generated from “renewable” sources to 20 percent by 2025, the Cabinet said yesterday.

The plan aims to increase the nation’s wind power generation capacity by 32 percent to 1.3 gigawatts by 2020, with land-based capacity increased to 814 megawatts and offshore capacity to 520 megawatts, it said.

It is a primary step to achieving the goal of increasing wind power capacity to 4.2 gigawatts and producing 14 billion units of electricity every year by 2025, which, if successful, would create 10,000 jobs and bring NT$613.5 billion (US$20.37 billion) in investments, Bureau of Energy Director-General Lin Chuan-neng (林全能) said.

“The key to developing wind energy lies in harvesting offshore wind energy, because the development of land-based wind farms is nearing completion,” Lin said.
[FULL  STORY]

American Jesuit priest dies days before Taiwan ID presentation

The China Post
Date: June 1, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Father George Martinson (丁松筠), an American Jesuit missionary

(CNA)

and TV personality, has died at the age of 74, the Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference in Taiwan said Wednesday, one day before he was due to formally receive Taiwan citizenship.

The priest, who returned to Taiwan on May 20 from a trip abroad, was found dead Wednesday but doctors said he seemed to have died several days ago of a heart attack.

Martinson, better known as Uncle Jerry, was one of the most recognizable foreign figures in Taiwan, having hosted many educational TV programs and served as missionary in the country for nearly 50 years.    [FULL  STORY]