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Taiwan lifts ban on Canadian beef

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

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A ban on the import of beef from Canada imposed after 6768003cases of mad cow disease last year will be lifted effective Friday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.

In February last year, the province of Alberta found a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease, leading to an immediate suspension of imports by the Taiwanese government.

Even though imports could restart from July 8, the MOHW’s Food and Drug Administration attached several conditions, including thorough checks and the requirement that beef should come from cattle under 30 months of age and be accompanied by a number of licenses and veterinary documents.     [FULL  STORY]

School, office closures for Friday as typhoon approaches Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/07
By: Bernie Chiu, Han Ting-ting, Liu Chien-pang and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, July 7 (CNA) All cities and counties in Taiwan, except Kinmen and Matsu, on

Taitung County

Taitung County

Thursday have announced school and office closures for Friday in anticipation of inclement weather due to Super Typhoon Nepartak.

Taiwan’s equity and exchange markets will also be closed for Friday.

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) said it will suspend all services on Friday. Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said it will not operate any express trains on Friday up to 5 p.m.

Bus services in Taipei and New Taipei will be suspended before noon Friday, according to Taipei’s Transportation Department.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan wins 1st Red Dot best of best interior design award

Taiwan Today
Date: July 7, 2016

Chang Ching-ping is one of four recipients of a Best of the Best prize for interior

Taiwan interior designer Chang Ching-ping (second left) receives a Red Dot Award Best of the Best trophy July 4 in Germany. (Courtesy of Tienfun Interior Planning Ltd.)

Taiwan interior designer Chang Ching-ping (second left) receives a Red Dot Award Best of the Best trophy July 4 in Germany. (Courtesy of Tienfun Interior Planning Ltd.)

design in Red Dot Award: Product Design, making him the first winner in the category from Taiwan in the Germany-based competition comprising the contest fields of communication, concept and product design.

The Bright, Open Space project by Chang of Taichung City-based Tienfun Interior Planning Ltd in central Taiwan sets out a living space featuring wood and natural stone to create a harmonious feel in keeping with the human desire for seamless transitions appealing to the senses. It scored highly in the assessment criteria including degree of innovation, ecological compatibility, formal quality, functionality, and symbolic and emotional content.

The project was praised by the Red Dot Jury for its fascinating and fresh approach. “The concept of wall elements formed by plants creates a fascinating atmosphere of translucency,” the jury said in a statement, adding that the plants in the wall serve as the organic pulse of the house.     [FULL  STORY]

Measures taken ahead of court ruling

WASTEPAPER:The Ministry of Defense said it would continue routine cruise patrols and surveillance of waters regardless of the international court ruling expected on Tuesday

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 08, 2016
By: Tu Chu-min / Staff reporter

Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) yesterday said that the ministry has prepared three countermeasures ahead of the verdict on an international arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China’s claims in the South China Sea that is expected on Tuesday.

Feng made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, during which he was quizzed by lawmakers on how the government is preparing to respond to the verdict.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) asked Feng whether he agreed with former Chinese state councilor Dai Bingguo’s (戴秉國) recent dismissal of the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the controversial case as “just a piece of wastepaper.”

Feng declined to comment, but said the government’s policy is to shelve disputes and seek joint development of resources.     [FULL  STORY]

Over 100 flights canceled or delayed due to super typhoon

The China Post
Date: July 8, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI — A total of 106 passenger and cargo flights at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the country’s main international gateway, were canceled or delayed Thursday due to approaching Super Typhoon Nepartak, according to the airport authorities.

As of 11 a.m., 53 inbound flights, 27 outbound flights and 17 cargo flights had been canceled, while nine other flights had been delayed, the Taoyuan International Airport Corp. said.

The number of canceled flights accounted for around 17.7 percent of the total number of flights expected to land at or take off from the airport that day, the company said.

It reminded passengers to check the status of their flights with their airline before departing for the airport.     [FULL  STORY]

Resolution on Taiwan-EU investment pact welcomed by MOFA

Taiwan Today
Date: July 6, 2016

The passage of a resolution in the European Parliament urging the European Commission to

The headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels is expected to be a hive of Taiwan-related activity once negotiations start in the near future on a Taiwan-EU investment agreement. (CNA)

The headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels is expected to be a hive of Taiwan-related activity once negotiations start in the near future on a Taiwan-EU investment agreement. (CNA)

immediately start talks with Taiwan on a bilateral investment agreement was welcomed July 6 by the Republic of China (Taiwan) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the MOFA describing the development as delightful and urging the EC to initiate negotiations as soon as possible.

“We are grateful for the July 5 resolution and hope both sides can work quickly to conclude the pact so as to enhance protection for investors, expand mutual investment and business opportunities, and create more local jobs,” the MOFA said. “The agreement promises to deliver mutual benefits and a win-win outcome.”

The resolution follows an address by President Tsai Ing-wen early last month at the Europe Day banquet organized by the European Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. She said a Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement would help Taiwan upgrade its industries and diversify its economy and foreign trade.     [FULL  STORY]

NGTB launches 6 North Coast Shuttle tour cards

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-06
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Tourism Bureau’s North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area Administration (North-6767688Guan Tourism Bureau, NGTB) announced

Wednesday six electronic cards, each for one of six different Crown North Coast Shuttle Bus tour packages that include discounted shuttle bus fare, destination tickets, hot spring, meals, hotel amenities, or hotel stay, depending on the content of each card.

NGTB Director Chen Mei-hsiu said the NGTB launched the “Crown North Coast Shuttle Bus” service, one of dozens of the Taiwan Shuttle Bus routes, in 2012 and it has since attracted more than 450,000 visitors to take the bus. The shuttle route service was rated by customers as the most satisfying of all the routes in 2014.

Chen said new features have been added to this route, including the addition of the new stop at the popular Fuguei Cape Lighthouse (Laomei Green Reef) as well as the audio tour system, which introduces all the attractions along the route in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, English, or Japanese. A scan of the QR code on the back of every seat towel on the bus with a smartphone will take riders into the audio tour system, Chen said.     [FULL  STORY]

Greenpeace warns of health risks of plastics in seafood

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/06
By: Yang Shu-min, Yu Hsiao-han and Elaine Hou

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) The environmental group Greenpeace warned on Wednesday of human 29538810exposure to and potential health effects of plastics that have entered the marine food chain, highlighting the issue of people consuming seafood contaminated by plastic particles.

About 800 tons of plastics enter the ocean every year, accounting for 60-80 percent of total maritime trash, Greenpeace said, while urging the government to take action to deal with the threat to consumers’ health now posed by plastic-contaminated seafood.

After the plastic debris has floated in the ocean for a while, it will likely become smaller “microplastics,” whose diameters are less than 5 millimeters, Greenpeace said.

These microplastics will enter the marine food chain, after they are eaten by marine plankton or fish. Toxic substances in the plastics, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), will contaminate fish and shellfish consumed by people, posing health risks, Greenpeace said.     [FULL  STORY]

Hearing on transitional justice for Aborigines held

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 07, 2016
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Legislators and academics deliberated on the need for a draft bill on transitional justice for Aborigines at a legislative meeting yesterday, with several speakers calling on the government to allocate funds to save Aboriginal languages, return traditional territories taken by past government administrations and grant official status to Pingpu Aborigines.

The hearing was held to address Aboriginal issues after draft legislation on transitional justice last month cleared review at the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, which some lawmakers said mainly focused on human rights abuses and atrocities perpetrated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government during the Martial Law era, and did not go far enough on historical injustices suffered by Aboriginal communities.

In yesterday’s first of two hearing sessions, most participants agreed on the need to set up a special committee to promote the restoration of rights for Aborigines, which would be placed under the authority of the Presidential Office and have the power to make recommendation reports.     [FULL  STORY]

Indigenous activists protest resort project

The China Post
Date: July 7, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Environmental activists and hundreds of members of three indigenous villages

Fasiyaw Dawa (鍾錦榮), an Amis aboriginal from the Karoroan Village (加路蘭部落), kowtows in front of the Executive Yuan on Wednesday, July 6, in protest of the government's weak efforts toward protecting the traditional land of indigenous peoples. (Stephanie Chao, The China Post)

Fasiyaw Dawa (鍾錦榮), an Amis aboriginal from the Karoroan Village (加路蘭部落), kowtows in front of the Executive Yuan on Wednesday, July 6, in protest of the government’s weak efforts toward protecting the traditional land of indigenous peoples. (Stephanie Chao, The China Post)

protested a resort project in Taitung County yesterday outside the Executive Yuan.

Following an initial environmental impact assessment, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) last week gave tentative approval to the controversial Shanyuan Palm Beach Resort (杉原棕櫚濱海渡假村) project.

The EPA’s decision drew immediate criticism from groups advocating indigenous rights and environmental protection.

Demonstrators said that the development project was flagrantly disrespectful of Taiwan law and of the right of the indigenous people to their traditional lands.

Protesters demanded that the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) work harder to represent them during the Executive Yuan’s decision-making process.     [FULL  STORY]