Taiwan Today
Date: February 14, 2017

Farmers in northeastern Taiwan’s Yilan County recently formed a coalition to grow

soybeans in a bid to revive local production of the crop, the source of such popular food items as soy sauce, soy milk and tofu.

Under the leadership of farmer Wu Shao-wen, 13 local farmers, some of whom had focused on growing rice in the past, began sowing seeds this week on a combined seven hectares of farmland in several Yilan townships.

Wu said that Taiwan is overreliant on imports of non-rice grains such as corn, wheat and soybeans. She added that growing such crops domestically could help reinvigorate Yilan’s soy sauce industry.

The soybean growing efforts in the northeastern county are in line with the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture’s policy of enhancing the nation’s farming self-sufficiency. Currently, Taiwan imports 68 percent of the food it consumes.    [FULL  STORY]

Kaohsiung District Court rules only 160 victims of Chuang Guang tainted-oil incident are eligible for compensation

Taiwan News
Date: 017/02/14
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News)—The compensation the Kaohsiung District Court ruled Chuang

Guang Co. (強冠公司) should hand out to 160 victims from an edible oil scandal three years ago was a far cry from the amount demanded by the Consumer Protection Association (CPA) in its class-action lawsuit.

The Kaohsiung District Court ruled only 160 out of the 230 tainted-oil victims were eligible to receive NT$6,000-9,000 (US$194.63-291.99) in compensation each, amounting to a total award sum of NT$1.33 million.

Kaohsiung court’s ruling falls short of the NT$180,000 the CPA sought per victim in its original class-action suit filed against the company in 2015, which would have required Chuang Guang to shell out a total of NT$3.7 billion in compensation.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/14
By: Chen Wei-ting and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday that a baby boy and his mother have been infected with pertussis, or whooping cough, becoming the first cluster infection case of the disease this year.

Pertussis is highly contagious, with patients usually suffering from a cough for more than two weeks and showing symptoms similar to flu, such as rhinitis, sneezing and mild fever.

The two-month-old boy developed symptoms between Jan. 14 and Jan. 21, when he was only one month old. He was confirmed to have been infected with pertussis on Feb. 6.

Health authorities began testing four people living with the boy on Jan. 24 and gave them medicine as a precaution. Among them, three tested negative, but the the boy’s mother was confirmed to have been infected on Feb. 7.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: February 15, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer has decided to back out from accepting

an invitation to visit Taiwan in March, a pro-Taiwan independence opposition party said on Tuesday, citing obstruction of “certain people.”

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU, 台聯), which had previously announced Rebiya acceptance of the party’s invitation in January, said the party was disappointed to learn that the international human rights activist decided to cancel her planned visit to the country.

The TSU said the party learned the news on Monday, when the party chairman Liu I-te (劉一德) and TSU Department of Organization director Chang Chao-lin (張兆林) met with Rebiya in Tokyo to discuss the details of her visit.

During the meeting, the activist told the pair that she would need to think twice before visiting Taiwan, TSU said in a released statement.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 15, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The annual Wanan air raid drills are to be held across the nation from this month to May,

while the Minan disaster prevention drill will include anti-terrorism exercises in preparation for the Universiade in August.

The 40th Wanan drill, a military and civilian exercise, is to be held in seven regions on Taiwan proper and the outlying islands to build public awareness of defense, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.

Streets will be evacuated from 1:30pm to 2pm to allow for military exercises, disaster prevention drills, air-raid siren tests and traffic control.

The National Police Agency will also test its mobile phone text alert system during the exercise, with information on the annual drill being sent to users when air raid sirens are turned on, All-out Defense Mobilization Office Director Major General Han Kang-ming (韓岡明) said.   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: February 13, 2017

Northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City and southern Taiwan’s Chiayi City were named among the world’s top

seven intelligent communities by New York-based International Community Forum at a ceremony Feb. 9 in Taipei City.

The list recognizes cities, counties and rural areas that use digital tools to foster local economic and social development. Taoyuan, Chiayi and the other locations in the top seven will now vie for the title of Intelligent Community of the Year, with the winner to be disclosed at ICF’s Intelligent Community Summit and Awards Dinner June 8 in New York.

“Taiwan has consistently recorded impressive performances in the ICF rankings,” Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung said at the ceremony. “This is because the criteria that Taiwan has established for building smart cities are in line with the six intelligent community indicators on which the selections are based, namely broadband, knowledge workforce, innovation, digital equality, sustainability and advocacy.”

According to ICF, Taoyuan earned recognition for the i-Taoyuan Free Wi-Fi 2.0 project launched last year to optimize the city’s existing wireless network services and expand the number of free Wi-Fi hot spots. Chiayi impressed the judges with its Community Home Medical Care and Palliative Care Network program, which aims to link senior and health care facilities through the city’s Smart Health Cloud Platform.    [FULL  STORY]

Scenic places, restaurants and affordable hotel packages for spending Valentine’s in Taipei

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/13
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News)-Valentine’s Day can be costly to celebrate for people with demanding significant

others, but here are some ideas to spend the holiday that will not cost an arm and a leg in Taipei.

A corny option is treating your date to watch the kinky romance sequel “Fifty Shades Darker” this Valentine’s, the movie has been showing in theaters since Feb. 10, 2017 in Taiwan.

Couples that decide to watch movies in Gold Class theaters at Vieshow Cinemas this Valentines, and upload photos taken in front of preserved flower decorations onto the cinema’s website are eligible to a lucky draw that features prizes including portable chargers and Centurion Jolie Kits.

A more romantic option would be to go flower watching at Yangmingshan National Park in Taipei in the afternoon, where camellia flowers are currently in full bloom.    [FULL  STORY][

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/13
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) Nuclear-free advocates around Taiwan have organized three parades through the online “Nuclear Go Zero” action platform, in a national protest action set for March 11 in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taitung simultaneously.

The parades will take place on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, the Labor Park in Kaohsiung, and the Tiehua Pedestrian Zone in Taitung, with the theme of “Zero Nuclear, Low Carbon, Sustainable Energy,” the organizers said Monday.

The government will be urged to accelerate efforts to realize its campaign promise to replace existing energy sources with green ones, to decommission three operating nuclear power plants as scheduled, and to find the best solution for the disposal of nuclear waste, the organizers said.

This year, they will also demand that the government resolve problems relating to carbon emissions and air pollution. “The government should accelerate its steps, and come up with concrete plans and schedules for the implementation of its nuclear-free policy,” the organizers said.    [FULL  STORY]