Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/24
By: S.C. Chang

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Control Yuan Vice President Sun Ta-chuan (孫大川) visited the Caritas Roma in

Rome on Friday local time and exchanged views with local leaders on how best to offer assistance to the needy.

Sun and Pao Tsung-ho (包宗和), another Control Yuan member, were greeted by Caritas Roma Director Enrico Feroci, who told the Taiwanese officials that there were more than 6,000 homeless people currently under its care.

Feroci said the concept of “redemption” originated from the East, but now he hoped that Western churches could offer their assistance to the less privileged in Asian and other less developed countries.

Caritas is an organization that shares the mission of the Catholic Church in serving the poor and promoting charity and justice throughout the world.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 25, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — In the remote mountains of Taitung, a hamlet famed as “the cradle of baseball” is in

a precarious position as the third storm of the month approaches.

Hong Yeh village has yet to recover from the more recent summer storm, the Central News Agency reported.

“Please don’t come again,” a villager, surnamed Yu, said of Megi Saturday, while clearing her home of mud and rocks from landslides that occurred during Typhoon Meranti, which battered Southern and Eastern Taiwan less than two weeks ago.

Almost 100 of those who were evacuated from Hong Yeh during Meranti have not yet been able to return to their homes, CNA reported.     [FULL  STORY]

The Taiwan High Court has charged two former military men for leaking intelligence to Beijing.

The News Lens
Date: 016/09/23
By: ZiQing Low

The Taiwan High Court yesterday sentenced a former Taiwanese intelligence agent and former colonel

to 18 years and six years in prison respectively for acting as double agents and selling information to China.

Major Wang Tsung-wu (王宗武) was charged with espionage under the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces and illegally leaking information under the National Intelligence Services Act.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily reports that Wang was turned by Chinese intelligence in 1995 when he was working for the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB). He provided China with the identities of other Taiwanese agents who were working in China.

Wang returned to Taiwan in 2005 after his retirement, where he continued to expand China’s intelligence network within Taiwan. In 2013, he recruited his junior, retired colonel Lin Han (林翰), into his operations.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-23
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

We have heard of many dedicated individuals doing their jobs in a respectful manner, but have you heard of a medical school professor who keeps a journal of his development of late-stage cancer and determines to donate his body after death to a medical school? A Taiwanese professor took his commitment to his profession to extremes.

Three years ago, a well-respected Taipei Medical University professor, Huang De-xiu, was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 83 and was told surgery was not possible anymore as the disease was complicated with multiple tumors. After performing a self-assessment, Huang decided to give up active medications and to start documenting the progression of the disease, including how it has spread into nearby tissues and distant parts of the body, according to the Chinese-language United Daily News.

On top of keeping a journal of the progression of the disease, Huang also signed a body donation consent form that assigned the Taipei Medical University as recipient for the purpose of research.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/23
By: Elaine Hou and Lu Ying-tzu

Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) Taiwan ranks 32nd on a health-related index that assesses 188 countries and territories around the world, with Iceland topping the list, according to research recently published by medical journal The Lancet.

The index measured 33 health-related Sustainable Development Goal indicators for the 188 countries from 1990 to 2015. In September 2015, the United Nations established 17 Sustainable Development Goals with the aim of achieving sustainable development in the economy, society and the environment.

Each indicator was measured on a scale from 0 (worst observed value between 1990 and 2015) to 100 (best observed).

Topping the index, Iceland received an overall score of 85.5, followed by Singapore (85.3) and Sweden (85.3). The index puts the United States in 28th place, with an overall score of 75.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 24, 2016
By: CNA

Workers inspect an evacuation slide attached to an Airbus 320 passenger jet owned by TransAsia Airways at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday, Sept. 23. TransAsia flight GE318 was scheduled to take off at 8:50 a.m. from Taoyuan en route to Xuzhou, China. Prior to passenger boarding, the aircraft’s evacuation slide disengaged from the Airbus’s rear left exit. No injuries were reported.     [SOURCE]

Do Taiwanese have access to proven treatments for injuries? Unfortunately no, according to medical experts.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/22
By: Timothy Ferry

People in Taiwan are exercising more and engaging in more sports. Extreme sports such as

marathons, triathlons, and cycling races, as well as intense workout regimens such as CrossFit are becoming increasingly popular. But with all of this exercise comes the risk of injury, particularly in middle-aged office workers who otherwise lead sedentary lives. Further, as Taiwan’s population rapidly ages, efforts to encourage more active lifestyles among the elderly can run into the challenges of arthritis and joint pain that can inhibit those same people from getting adequate exercise.

But do Taiwanese have access to proven treatments that foster recovery from musculoskeletal injury and infirmity to enable more active lives? Unfortunately, no, according to medical experts, who fault the inadequacy of the National Health Insurance (NHI) system for failing to provide effective physical therapy (PT) for those in need, while continuing to reject proven treatments such as chiropractic that play an important role in maintaining joint health around the world.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-22
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

There are people who live a luxurious life while wanting more to give them extra comfort; on the other hand, there are people who cannot even afford the basic requirements of living while wanting to help others in their community. In Dongshi Township, Chiayi, a group of 13 immigrant women, mostly from Southeast Asian countries, prove Good Samaritans still exist.

According to the Chinese-language Liberty Times, these women were born in Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Cambodia, and Thailand and moved to the township after marrying local residents. These immigrant women met each other at different occasions but found something in common — a drive to help each other and, even more, help others in difficulty. They found an informal association “United Nations Sisters” in late 2015, aiming to help the elderly people living alone.

Dongshi Township sits between the west shore and the foothills of the Central Mountains in Chiayi, with a growing aging population. Some elderly people who live alone are not capable of preparing for themselves a decent meal.     [FULL  STORY]