The China Post
Date: July 14, 2016
By: Yuan-Ming Chiao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan and China did not communicate following the Permanent Court of

Arbitration’s South China Sea ruling, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said Wednesday.

“Each side has its individual position (on the matter) and is pursuing its own interests,” Chang told the Internal Affairs Committee when asked whether the two side’s interests could be interpreted by foreign governments as a potential avenue of cooperation.

The South China Sea dispute should be resolved peacefully, multilaterally and under the principle of equality, she told lawmakers, adding that shelving disputes would enable the area’s resources to be jointly developed by multiple actors.

In a report to the committee, Chang said MAC was continuing to monitor Beijing’s reaction to the South China Sea ruling, which sided with the Philippines by rejecting China’s historical claims in the region — in the process severely damaging Taiwan’s own territorial claims, including of Taiping Island.     [FULL STORY]

A Chinese who tried to raise money to study in Taiwan has canceled her crowdfunding campaign after a barrage of online criticism. The case has sparked discussion about the costs facing Chinese students in Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/07/13
By: Hsu Chia-yu

A Chinese student who was admitted to the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan

University launched an online campaign earlier this month to raise about 50,000 RMB (US$7,500) for her college tuition fees, in a case that has drawn attention to the financial difficulties that a number of Chinese students face in Taiwan.

Soon after the student launched her campaign, hundreds of comments expressing disapproval were posted on the crowdfunding platform and other Chinese-language social media sites. Some people suggested that crowdfunding projects should have a broader public benefit, while others argued that the student’s target exceeded the amount required to study and live in Taiwan.

The student said she was influenced by the criticism and canceled the campaign three days after it was launched. The 6,700 RMB already raised was returned to donors.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-13
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The man suspected of having exploded a crude home-made bomb on

a train in Taipei City last week has regained consciousness, the hospital said Wednesday, leading to the expectation that investigators can soon question him.
The 55-year-old man, named Lin Ying-chang, was one of 25 people injured when the device exploded on a train approaching Songshan station after a journey from Hsinchu City after 10 p.m. on July 7.

Lin had a record of mental illness and petty crime, and was living in a van in Nantou County. Surveillance camera footage allowed investigators to see how he traveled by bus and train up from Central Taiwan to Taipei on the day of the explosion. He was suspected of planning to commit suicide with the bomb on the crowded train.

Due to the severe nature of his injuries, investigators had been unable to question him and ascertain whether the speculation was right. However, on Wednesday, his situation had improved to the point that he could be taken off the respiratory equipment, according to the Taipei Medical University Hospital where he was staying in the intensive care ward.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/13
By: Tang Pei-chun, Chen Chun-hua and Bear Lee

Taipei, July 13 (CNA) Taiwan has ruled out the possibility of cross-strait cooperation on the

South China Sea issue after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague handed down its ruling on the disputes in the area that has been considered unfavorable to China.

China’s Foreign Ministry and Taiwan Affairs Office late Tuesday both made the call for Taiwan “to join hands with China in safeguarding the sovereignty of the South China Sea islands and the rights in the surrounding waters,” saying that all these “have been the traditional assets of the Chinese people.”

“There has been no dialogue or communication between Taiwan and China on the South China Sea issue after the release of the court ruling,” said Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council head Chang Hsiao-yeh (張小月) Wednesday at a legislative session.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 13, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The number of women diagnosed with precancerous cervical

lesion is on the rise, the Formosa Cancer Foundation (FCF) said on Tuesday, citing data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW).

Precancerous cervical lesions are abnormal cell changes that may disappear without treatment for some women, but may also lead to cervical cancer for others.

One in every five women between the ages 20 and 34 are diagnosed with precancerous cervical lesion in Taiwan, according to the MOHW.

The foundation invited famed Taiwanese actress Kuo Shu-yao ( 郭書瑤), known as Yaoyao, to attend a press event Tuesday morning as the foundation’s cervical cancer prevention ambassador.

Kuo, who got vaccinated before her 26th birthday, encouraged young women to receive vaccinations and routinely take six-minute pap smear tests for better protection against cervical cancer.     [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2016/07/12
By: Hsu Chia-yu

Authorities say the July 4-6 nationwide campaign led to the largest number of arrests in the nation’s history.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ) says that a total of 525 drug dealers were arrested and 1.5 tons of drugs were seized during a nationwide sweep on July 4-6, in what the authorities say is the largest number of arrests in Taiwan’s history.

Wang Tian-sheng (王添盛), chief prosecutor at the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, told a press conference on July 11 that this will not be the last drug bust.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has made the drug problem one of her top priorities. Soon after her inauguration, she said the government would strengthen its anti-drug efforts. The Executive Yuan has since devised a series of strategies, including the nationwide drug sweep, to reach Tsai’s goal.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-12
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) announced on Tuesday that all flight

tickets to Taiwan’s offshore islands for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday will go on sales from 8 a.m. on July 18.

As this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival is a four-day holiday, the CAA announced the availability of flights to and from the offshore islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu for the six days from the day before the holiday (Sept 14) to the day after the holiday (Sept 19).

The CAA said there will be a total of 1,422 flights and 129,508 seats available for passengers to and from the three offshore islands during the six-day period.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 13, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

Representatives of dozens of civic groups yesterday staged a rally in front of the

Legislative Yuan calling on lawmakers to remove provisions restricting people’s right to protest, including maintaining restricted zones and police discretion over where demonstrations can be held.

The legislature is expected to clear some major amendments to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) before the legislative session ends on Friday.

The protesters also called for scrapping the need to apply for a permit or to notify authorities before staging a demonstration, and opposed changing the name of the law to the “assembly and parade protection act,” which they say is meant to highlight the transformation from a government-centered law to a people-centered one.   [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 13, 2016
By: John Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Marking the first bank heist of its kind, two Russians stole NT$70

million worth of cash from First Commercial Bank’s (第一銀行) automatic teller machines (ATM) and managed to flee the country on Monday.

The suspects had installed malware to trigger automatic cash disbursement on 34 First Bank ATMs in Taipei and Taichung. A Taiwanese accomplice is believed to be involved and is still at large, the police said.

The suspects extracted cash without using bankcards or inappropriately operating the machines. The police, citing video footage and other evidence, said two suspects operated the machines while the other remained in the getaway vehicle.

The crime was only uncovered after the suspects left NT$60,000 worth of cash in a hurry after their suspicious behavior was noticed by a customer using an ATM at a local branch. First Bank was later notified by the police of the situation and discovered a NT$6 million loss at the branch’s ATMs the next day.     [FULL  STORY]