VOLUNTEER EFFORT:Several university students are headed to Nepal to work with the Calls Over Ridges project to educate elementary-school youngsters in Gorkha District

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 30, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

While most Taiwanese are celebrating the Lunar New Year with their families, a team of

volunteers from a group known as Calls Over Ridges is heading out today for the Gorkha District of Nepal to help children affected by the massive 2015 earthquake that hit the nation.

National Taiwan University student Lin Tzu-chun (林子鈞), who has worked as a volunteer in Nepal teaching children English and crafts, and classmate Tsai Wan-ting (蔡宛庭) cofounded Calls Over Ridges in early 2015, just months before the earthquake hit in May that year.

Last year they helped students at an elementary school create two libraries out of storage sheds and taught them to read and write English.    [FULL  STORY]

Derek Kwan takes of his mask.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/01/29
By: James Baron

Derek Kwan (關顯揚) is a clown. Not in the pejorative sense, and certainly not one of

those clowns that have been all over social media recently.

“It’s unfortunate because real clown is about innocence. Essentially it’s your 5-year-old self, which is the best of you. People don’t actually know what a clown show is,” says the Toronto-born actor. “They think [Stephen King’s] ‘It’ but they’ve never actually seen the joy a good clown show can bring. It’s the same with masks.”

Last year, Kwan joined Dr. Red Nose, a professional clown troupe that performs at paediatric cancer wards. The initiative was established by Ma Chao-chi (馬照琪) and based on a similar venture by a French organization named Rire Médecins. Ma is a graduate of Paris’ prestigious Theatre Jacques Lecoq and artistic director of Théâtre de La Sardine, a Taipei-based company that combines street performance, circus and physical theater.    [FULL  STORY]

Check out the public services schedule before you head for any of them

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/29
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News) – During the Lunar New Year (LNY) holidays, most of the shops are closed during some days of the period as well as public services, while some will be open but they may have reduced opening hours.

The MRT service during the 2017 Lunar New Year period from January 27 through February 1 is provided according to weekend/holiday schedule, while additional train services will be added to avoid over-crowding when necessary.

The schedules for Taipei Metro, Taipei Children’s Amusement Park (TCAP), Maokong Gondola, Taipei Arena Ice Land, Beitou Resort (including the Interactive Emergency Evacuation Exhibition Center and Kid’s Playroom), and Lost and Found Service Center during the 2017 Lunar New Year period will be as follows:    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/29
By: Sunrise Huang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 29 (CNA) A by-product of Taiwan’s renowned tea industry, tea seed oil is

growing into an essential ingredient of various Taiwanese gourmet foods, such as stir-fried chicken with tea seed oil, and consumers can now see how high-quality oil of this kind is produced in New Taipei’s Pinglin District, home to Baozhong tea.

The tea oil model factory, set up in 2015 as part of the Pinglin Tea Cultural Museum at the Pinglin District Farmers’ Association, is the first factory in northern Taiwan to show visitors how tea seeds are pressed into premium cooking oil, according to the New Taipei Agriculture Department.

Tea oil contains 90 percent monounsaturated fatty acids, thanks to which it is dubbed in Taiwan as “Oriental olive oil,” department officials said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 29, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — High-occupancy vehicle restrictions will be imposed on north-bound

vehicles traveling on National Freeways No. 1 and No. 3 Monday and Tuesday, in anticipation of increased traffic as the end of the Lunar New Year holiday approaches, according to the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau.

This means that only vehicles with at least three people will be allowed onto the freeways between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on those two days, the bureau said.

Vehicles with pregnant women or disabled individuals, however, are not subject to the restrictions.

On Sunday, the second day of the Lunar New Year, congestion was seen on certain sections of National Freeways No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5, mainly because the day is when married daughters traditionally visit their parents, the bureau said.  [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 28, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Hong Kong is the world’s leading destination city based on international visitor arrivals and Taipei ranked 14th, according to the Top City Destinations Ranking 2017 released on Thursday.

According to the report published by global market research firm Euromonitor International, Hong Kong received 26.68 million visitors in 2015, ahead of Bangkok’s 18.73 million.

The No. 3 to No. 13 spots went to London, Singapore, Paris, Macau, Dubai, Istanbul, New York City, Kuala Lumpur, Shenzhen, Antalya and Rome.    [FULL  STORY]

A list of 10 customs observed on the first day of the Lunar New Year in Taiwan to ensure good health and wealth

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/28
By: Keoni Everington, Rana Yeh, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

There are a mind bending amount of taboos during the Lunar New Year in Taiwan. The

following are 10 rules to follow specifically on Lunar New Year’s Day, to maximize your chances of good health, happiness and success.

1.Put up spring festival couplets on and around your door

Legend has it that there is the ferocious beast called “Nian” (年獸), which comes down from the mountains at this time of year and wreaks havoc. Fortunately, its kryptonite is the color red, so placing red-colored couplets around the door as well as the door gods will keep Nian away.

On the door itself, place the word for “blessing” (福) upside down (倒) to act as a homonym for the word to “arrive” (到), this symbolizes that fortune will arrive at your home.    [FULL  STORY]