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Midi Z’s ‘The Road to Mandalay’ wins FEDEORA at Venice festival

The China Post
Date: September 11, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI — “The Road to Mandalay” by Myanmar-born Taiwanese director Midi Z (趙德胤) won the FEDEORA Award for Best Film at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival on Friday.

The movie, which stars Taiwanese actors Kai Ko (柯震東) and Wu Ke-xi (吳可熙), is a story about two young Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand, who leave their home country for a better future.

The film’s Sept. 5 world premiere at the festival drew an audience of more than 600 and won a round of applause that lasted three minutes upon its ending.

In a Facebook post after the award ceremony, Z expressed his appreciation to the jury for its recognition, saying that winning the award is very important to him as he is not formally trained in filmmaking.

“Such an encouragement has given me self-confidence, inspiring me to continue down the road of filmmaking,” the 33-year-old director of Chinese descent said.     [FULL  STORY]

Diving in Taiwan: An Answer for the Tourism Industry?

Could diving give a much-needed boost to Taiwan’s tourism industry?

The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/09
By: Yuan-ling Liang

The Diving Resort Travel (DRT) Show Taiwan 2016 held in Taipei in June exhibited diving businesses

Photo Credit: SNORKELINGDIVES.COM @ Flickr CC By 2.0

Photo Credit: SNORKELINGDIVES.COM @ Flickr CC By 2.0

from Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and has led Taiwan to rethink its strengths in the diving industry.

Wang Cin-jie (王勤介), director of Sea Angel (台灣山海天使環境保育協會), a Taiwanese NGO promoting environmental protection, says Taiwan has several advantages in the diving market.

Green Island, Orchid Island (Lanyu), Kenting, Xiaoliuqiu (Lamay Island) and even the Northeast Coast National Scenic Area all have abundant resources for diving activities. However, there are currently no government authorities helping to develop the diving industry in Taiwan, reporter Wang Yuan-hung (王元鴻) wrote in the Chinese-language Liberty Times.

Wang calls for more specific environmental policies from the government, saying that excessive fishing and contamination in diving areas have prevented the growth of Taiwan’s diving industry. He estimates an output value of NT$4 billion (US$127 million) for Green Island if ecological restoration were carried out and transportation conditions improved.     [FULL  STORY]

National Film Institute gets off the ground

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/09
By: Wang Hung-kuo and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Sept. 9 (CNA) A long-delayed Taiwan cinema cultural park- aimed at promoting a revival of the once thriving local film industry — got off the ground in New Taipei City’s Xinzhuang District on Friday.

New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) signed an agreement to build the National Film Institute in the city.

Several well-known film industry figures, such as directors Lee Hsing (李行) and Huang Chien-yeh (黃建業), witnessed the signing ceremony.

New Taipei will be in charge of building the institute, while the Ministry of Culture will be responsible for providing follow-up interior content and managing operations.     [FULL  STORY]

Former Mega chairman questioned

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-09
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Prosecutors summoned former Mega Financial Holding Chairman McKinney 6773357Tsai and five others for questioning Friday while raiding several locations in the investigation into alleged money laundering.

The allegations started on August 19 when New York State’s Department of Financial Service fined the New York branch of the Mega International Commercial Bank US$180 million (NT$5.7 billion) after it allegedly uncovered a number of suspicious transactions with a Mega office in Panama.

Since then, Tsai has been declared a defendant and the financial group changed chairman several times.

On Friday, more than 20 investigators raided five homes and offices in Taipei City and New Taipei City in connection with the case, reports said. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office, which has been put in charge of the investigation, summoned five persons for questioning, including Tsai, who has faced four other rounds of interrogation.     [FULL  STORY]

Ko urges Farglory to honor its word

WORDPLAY:KMT vice chairman and ex-Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin said Ko had spent 500 days ‘hatching an egg,’ which turned out to be nothing but a ‘Psyduck’

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 10, 2016
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday urged Taipei Dome contractor Farglory Group to honor its word and complete a construction license change for the Taipei Dome complex in accordance with the law, after the conglomerate again sparked turmoil over the build-operate-transfer (BOT) project.

Farglory spokesman Jacky Yang (楊舜欽) — just seven hours after Ko announced his decision to retain the contract on Thursday — said that the company would abide by “existing” provisions in the safety review processes for the complex, and the seven safety standards, which Farglory says have no legal basis, do not fall within that category.

Yang targeted a comment by Taipei Department of Urban Development Commissioner Lin Jou-min (林洲民), who said that the standards were based on provisions that apply to “Taipei, the nation and Farglory,” saying that the conglomerate disagrees with Lin’s claim and that it would not comply with any reviews carried out according to the “illegitimate” standards.

“I hope that Farglory would value its reputation,” Ko said in response to reporters’ questions on the sidelines of a news conference yesterday.     [FULL  STORY]

Firefighters demand end to pet rescues

The China Post
Date: September 10, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Firefighters on Friday demanded senior administrative intervention to stop first-

Protesters throw snake props over the gates of the Executive Yuan on Friday, Sept. 9, to protest the government's inaction in the face of firefighters' complaints that they were called on to tackle mundane but dangerous tasks. (CNA)

Protesters throw snake props over the gates of the Executive Yuan on Friday, Sept. 9, to protest the government’s inaction in the face of firefighters’ complaints that they were called on to tackle mundane but dangerous tasks. (CNA)

responders from being sent out to perform mundane yet often dangerous tasks such as rescuing pets or removing nests.

At a gathering outside the Executive Yuan, National Association for Firefighters’ Rights members demanded the Executive Yuan spearhead a cross-ministerial effort to clarify firefighters’ responsibilities.

The firefighters have protested sporadically over the past three years, with the recent flareup coming after a firefighter stationed in Changhua County, surnamed Hung, was forced to receive a finger amputation after being bit by a cobra in August.

Hung, like many others before him, said he had been engaged in duties outside of his professional mandate.

Yu Tsung-han (余宗翰), vice chairman of the association also argued that the equipment given to fire departments for terminating pests and catching animals was unsuitable.     [FULL  STORY]

Official Blames ‘Rude’ Taiwanese for Drop in Chinese Tourism

‘We need to stop using smearing language about Chinese people, especially on the Internet.’

The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/08
By: J. Michael Cole

As tour operators prepare to protest next Monday to call on the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration

Photo Credit: AP/達志影像

Photo Credit: AP/達志影像

to help the sagging tourism industry, a spokesman for the Travel Agent Association of the R.O.C. Taiwan attributes a drop in Chinese tourists to online rudeness by the Taiwanese.

Ringo Lee (李奇嶽), spokesman for the Association, said on Wednesday that dwindling numbers in Chinese arrivals to Taiwan were not the result of a decision by Chinese authorities to punish the Tsai administration for refusing to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus,” but rather “smearing language” used by Taiwanese netizens to refer to Chinese people.

According to Mainland Affairs Council statistics released this week, the number of Chinese tourist arrivals to Taiwan has dropped 22 percent since President Tsai’s inauguration on May 20 over the same period last year. On Aug. 31, Minister of Transportation and Communications Ho Chen Tan (賀陳旦) projected a decrease of 600,000 Chinese tourists to Taiwan this year from the 4.18 million in 2015.     [FULL  STORY]

‘A Touch of Green’ wins 13 Golden Bell Awards nominations

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-08
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TV drama “A Touch of Green” is the biggest winner after the 51st Golden Bell Awards (GBA) 6773331announced the list of nominees on Thursday, Sep 8, afternoon in Taipei City, winning 13 nominations.

The Golden Bell Awards is an annual Taiwanese television production award. It is the first television production award in Chinese circulation, founded in 1965, and Taiwan’s equivalent to the Emmy Awards. It is also one of the three major annual awards presented in Taiwan, along with the Golden Melody Awards for music and the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards for movies and films.

The GBA award giving ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on Oct 8.

Living up to the expectation to be the biggest GBA winner, “A Touch of Green” won 13 nominations, including Best Television Series, Best Leading Actor in a Television Series, Best Leading Actress in a Television Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series, Best Directing for a Television Series, Best Writing for a Television Series, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Award, Best Lighting Award and Best Art and Design Award.     [FULL  STORY]

APEC steps up fight against unethical practices by health industry

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/08
By S.C. Chang

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) The APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Working Group meeting in Lima Peru

photo from APEC website

photo from APEC website

reported a progress Wednesday local time in its efforts to unite health industry stake-holders against unethical conducts.

A press release issued by APEC said health system stakeholders in Peru and Canada have launched landmark collaborative arrangements to strengthen their ethical interactions.

The two countries will effectively address improper inducements and ensure patient interests while providing a foundation for relevant parties elsewhere in the Pacific Rim to build on this progress.

Peru and Canada’s “consensus framework” brings together health agencies, associations, practitioners, hospital groups and patient organizations to jointly develop and adopt codes of ethics, drawing on principles established in APEC for the medical device and biopharmaceutical sectors.     [FULL  STORY]

Legislator says KMT hiding assets

OWNERSHIP SWAPS?The DPP’s Lin Chun-hsien raised questions at a news conference about the ownership and management of Chung Hsin Electric and Machinery Corp

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 09, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has laundered some of its ill-gotten party assets by transferring the ownership of a party-run machinery corporation to two private companies, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said yesterday.

Lin’s allegation was backed by Liu Chao-yi (劉昭毅), son of former KMT investment boss Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英).

Chung Hsin Electric and Machinery Corp (中興電工), founded in 1962 by the then-KMT-owned China Development Industrial Bank (中華開發工業銀行) and Central Insurance Co (中央產險), was 100 percent owned and run by the KMT, but the party transferred its ownership as it tried to hide its assets from government oversight, Lin told a news conference in Taipei.

Chung Hsin chairman Chiang Yi-fu (江義福), who was appointed by Liu Tai-ying in 1996, in 1998 used the company’s funds to establish two investment firms, Jih Jih Hsing Co (日日興) and Sheng Yuan Co (盛元), Lin said.

Those two firms then bought Chung Hsin shares and took over ownership of the machinery company from China Development and Central Insurance to whitewash Chung Hsin’s affiliation with the KMT and turn party assets into private ones, he said.     [FULL  STORY]