The China Post
Date: February 18, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

The Breeze Charity Foundation has stepped up its support for emergency relief programs, with the

shopping giant’s corporate social responsibility arm providing help to those hit by natural disasters as well as to underprivileged groups.

Breeze Group Chairman Henry Liao, for instance, donated NT$5 million to the Tainan City Government immediately after a devastating earthquake struck the southern city in February 2016, claiming 117 lives.

A few days ago, the foundation’s chief executive officer, Chen Mei-ting, paid a visit to the most seriously injured survivor, Hung Chia-yi, and his wife in Tainan to check on their condition and learn of their plans for the future.

To ease the burden on Hung’s family, the foundation has covered all care-taking expenses for his 1-year-old son.

Learning Japanese

Encouraged by his wife, Hung — after being discharged from the hospital — started learning Japanese from a Japanese student studying at National Cheng Kung University.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/16
By: Chao Li-yen and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Feb. 16 (CNA) Eight suspects were arrested in connection with an alleged telecom fraud in which a Chinese professor was swindled out of more than 18 million Chinese yuan (US$2.62 million), Taichung police said Thursday.

Police said the professor, identified only by her surname Huang, 54, was targeted by the suspects in July 2016.

The alleged mastermind behind the group surnamed Liu and his accomplices posed as the prosecutor-general of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the highest national agency responsible for investigation and prosecution in the People’s Republic of China.

Police said some of the money was withdrawn using ATMs in Taiwan, while the remainder was transferred through online banks, with the IP address of the QQ account identified as being in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

BILATERAL TIES:The lawmakers said that exchanges with their US peers showed that both sides hope for better cooperation on trade, the economy and security

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 17, 2017
By: Nadia Tsao and Jake Chung / Staff reporter in Washington, with staff writer

A delegation from the Taiwan-USA Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association on Wednesday

visited the US Department of State in Washington to meet Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇), one of the eight legislators in the delegation, said the meeting signified more stable Taiwan-US relations.

While Taiwanese legislators have visited the State Department individually before, it was the first time they were able to meet senior US officials as a group, Wang said on Wednesday night at the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has not yet tapped an official to head the bureau, but there are signs that US President Donald Trump’s government is leaning toward a continuation of policies enacted by former US president Barack Obama’s administration in its second term by gradually changing some guiding principles, which restricted US actions, on certain policies for the potential normalization of relations with Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: February 17, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI — Taiwanese made over 1 million visits to Macau in 2016, up nearly 9 percent from the previous year, according to statistics released by the Macao Government Tourism Office on Thursday.

As a result, Taiwanese are now the third-largest source of visitors to Macau, after mainland Chinese and Hong Kong residents.

According to the office, 1,074,525 Taiwanese visited Macau last year, up 8.8 percent, while the number staying over night also grew by double-digits, or nearly 100,000.

The office said the opening of the Parisian Macau and Wynn Palace resorts in 2016 helped to attract more visitors.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 017/02/15
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — When cold weather sets in, keeping warm is essential for a

good night’s sleep, but should you wear socks to sleep? Experts say it depends.

Media reported that Japanese physicians had advised against wearing socks to sleep because the soles perspire actively to regulate body temperature, making socks wet and the body feel even colder. Moreover, they are against wearing socks to the bed also because they will impede blood circulation.

Kang Hung-ming (康宏銘), director of family medicine at Taipei-based ReShining Clinic, said that the Japanese physicians’ theory is somewhat different from traditional knowledge. In principle, body parts wrapped inside clothing are easier to keep warm as the body heat would not dissipate easily. As a Chinese saying goes, “When the limbs are kept warm, the body will be warm,” Kang said.

However, even during a cold night, it’s not a good idea to go to bed wearing too much clothing, he said. The human body has a mechanism to modulate its need for energy, and the metabolism slows down during sleep; therefore, it’s not necessary to wear too many clothes when sleeping, Kang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/15
By: Sabine Cheng and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) application to join the General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC) was approved Wednesday and she was nominated for a seat on the executive committee.

The association also approved the membership of Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君), among other government officials. They were among 258 new members admitted to the association, while the 276 existing members were confirmed, at an executive committee meeting chaired by GACC acting president Liu Chi-jen (劉吉人).

Within 15 days, the GACC is expected to hold its seventh congress at which it will elect a new executive committee of 35 members and 6 supplementaries, according to GACC Secretary General Yang Du (楊渡).    [FULL  STORY]

‘LOVE FOR TAIWAN’:Lawmaker Freddy Lim said that the nation’s Olympians to go to Tokyo in 2020 might not have to use a flag representing the former party-state

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 16, 2017
By: Cheng Hung-ta and Chen Wei-han / Staff reporters

The Taiwan People News Culture and Arts Foundation yesterday announced the results

of an Olympic flag design competition, with hopes award-winning designs might replace Taiwan’s Olympic flag, the foundation said.

Wang Chao-ching’s (王朝慶) De Facto Existence and International Coexistence won first prize, with AnnieC’s Taiwanese Olympic Team second and Lee Po-feng’s (李白峰) Pride of Taiwan, Top of the World claiming third.

Artist Chen Tzu-fu (陳子福), winner of a Golden Horse lifetime achievement award, was given special recognition, along with nine works named as finalists.

More than 200 entries were judged by a panel consisting of scriptwriter/director Wu Nien-jen (吳念真), graphic designer Nieh Yung-chen (聶永真), Olympic track and field medalist Chi Cheng (紀政), comic artist Yu-fu (魚夫) and University of Taipei professor of visual arts Su Jen-ming (蘇振明), foundation chairman Chen Yung-hsing (陳永興) said.
[FULL  STORY]