TAKING A STAND:Huang Kuo-chang said the WHO invitation is another slap in the face of Ma’s cross-strait policy. The NPP also said three Cabinet agencies should be closed

Taipei Times
Date: May 11, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Legislative Yuan should formally lodge a protest over the WHO’s invitation to Taiwan to attend

this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), the New Power Party (NPP) caucus said as it introduced a legislative proposal to do just that, one of two motions it lodged yesterday.

NPP lawmakers also submitted a proposal to abolish the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Veterans Affairs Council and the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, saying the three organizations are inefficient and their roles and responsibilities overlap with other government agencies.

The WHO invitation issued last week for the annual meeting has aroused controversy in Taiwan because, unlike previous invites, it cites UN Resolution 2758 and the “one China” principle.

“The history of Taiwan’s participation in the WHA has been an embarrassing one. In an internal memo sent in 2010, the WHA recognized Taiwan as ‘the Taiwan Province of China.’ This year’s invitation was another slap [in the face] to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) support of the ‘one China, different interpretations’ policy,” NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said.

Referencing a comment by China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Vice Chairman Sun Yafu (孫亞夫) that president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inaugural address could affect Taiwan’s chances of joining the WHA, he said Beijing cannot expect to partner with Taiwan while repeatedly making threats.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-05-09
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

As the weather has entered “summer solstice” based on the lunar calendar, the temperatures on the island are reaching as high as 34 degree Celsius, according to the Central Weather Bureau, with the ultraviolet radiation on the island hovering between HIGH and EXTREME level, threatening to reach the danger zone mark.

The ultraviolet (UV) index, set up by the World Health Organization and measured by Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, has been recorded values that range between 7 and 11 on Monday, and has appeared to be highest in southern Taiwan. Citizens are advised to avoid direct sun exposure to avoid sunburn or heat stroke.

Overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation can cause immediate effects such as sunburn and long-term problems such as skin cancer and cataracts, a local dermatologist said.

The UV Index is a linear scale, with higher values representing a greater risk of sunburn. The values at 11 or above are considered very dangerous.

Aside from the dangerous UV rays, thundershowers in the afternoon are expected between Monday and Tuesday, and the rains may last longer starting Tuesday as a new frontal band is to swing across the island, according to the bureau.     [SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/05/09
By: Kuo Chu-chen and Lilian Wu

Taipei, May 9 (CNA) Widows and coffee-growing farmers from Malawi visited Pingtung in southern Taiwan Monday to express appreciation to a foundation there for helping them improve their lives.

The Bjorgaas Foundation and the FamilyMart convenience store chain have worked together over the past four years to lend support to Malawi through donations, as well as selling coffee.

Three widows from Malawi that have received support sang Malawian songs to express appreciation to the foundation at the Victory Home, a facility that accommodates physically and mentally challenged people.

Serrah, one of the widows, expressed thanks to the foundation and the Taiwan people for giving her the means to raise chickens and hogs and later build her own house.

Liu Kan (劉侃), chairman of Victory Home, noted that the home was established by Norwegian doctor Olav Bjorgaas, who came to Taiwan decades years ago to work at the Pingtung Christian Hospital.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: May 6, 2016

Taiwan Railways Administration and Enoshima Electric Railway Co. Ltd. in Japan renewed early May

for 11 months an agreement allowing passengers to enjoy reciprocal one-day tourist pass privileges, underscoring the strength of the growing rail tourism market in both countries.

“Railway cultures form significant tourist draws,” said TRA Director-General Joe Chou regarding the state-run operator’s recent moves to enhance awareness of railway attractions through overseas exchange programs, adding that TRA efforts reflect “a revival of interest in the country’s railway systems,” which dates back to the final years of the Qing dynasty (1684-1895).

The agreement, which has run annually since May 2013, covers TRA’s 12.9-kilometer Pingxi Line in New Taipei City and privately owned EER’s 10-kilometer line in Kanagwa prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The former passes through the historic mountainous districts of Ruifang and Pingxi, a famous spot in northern Taiwan for launching “sky lanterns” or small hot air balloons as part of traditional festivities, while the latter connects Kamakura and Fujisawa cities in an area renowned for its beaches, mountains, shrines and restaurants.

Both railways are popular with sightseers and close to the respective capitals of Taipei and Tokyo. The tie-up is part of ongoing TRA efforts to boost links with Japanese railway lines, stations and trains through a series of tourism promotion and marketing initiatives.     [FULL  STORY]

INAUGURAL SPEECH:Independence advocates said the president-elect should focus on Taiwan’s global role instead of limiting the nation by tying it up with China

Taipei Times
Date: May 10, 2016
By: Chung Li-hua / Staff reporter

Pro-independence groups yesterday urged president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) not to make any

concessions to China and to assert Taiwanese identity by focusing her inauguration speech on public opinion rather than “China policy” as her predecessor did.
Taiwan National Security Institute president Lo Fu-chen (羅福全) said Tsai does not need to mention the so-called “1992 consensus,” but should instead declare her resolve to lead the nation in developing a global perspective.

The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.

“Tsai’s inauguration speech is not just for Taiwan and China, but the whole world. She does not need to bring up the ‘1992 consensus,’ which is a fabrication and does not exist. What she has to make clear is the opinions of Taiwanese,” Lo said. “According to several polls, more than 70 percent of Taiwanese believe that Taiwan is not part of China, and Taiwan is their nation.”

Lo said he hoped Tsai’s speech would not be limited to economic policies, because a more important thing is to make Taiwan a member of the international community.    [FULL  STORY]

A group of protesters sat on the bank of a big lake in Hanoi before police shepherded them on to a waiting bus, Reuters witnesses said.

Channel News Asia
Date: 08 May 2016
By: – Reuters/sk 

HANOI: Vietnamese police broke up a demonstration in the capital, Hanoi, on Sunday (May 8) when

protesters gathered for the second time in a week to denounce a Taiwanese firm they accuse of causing mass fish deaths in central coastal provinces.

Hundreds took to the street in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s second-largest city, last week to vent their anger at a unit of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics, even though an official investigation found no links between the fish deaths and Formosa’s US$10.6 billion coastal steel plant.

A group of protesters sat on the bank of a big lake in Hanoi before police shepherded them on to a waiting bus, Reuters witnesses said. Demonstrators were also put on buses at a square in front of the nearby Hanoi Opera House.

Formosa denies any wrongdoing.

Demonstrations are rare in Vietnam and are often quickly suppressed by uniformed and plain-clothes police. State-controlled media has not reported any of the demonstrations.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date:2016-05-08
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) will begin to take online meal (bento) box orders from

May 10, and initially the booking will be open only to seven Puyuma express trains and one Taroko express train on the eastern line during the trial period, the TRA said on Sunday.

The eight trains initially open for meal box booking are train code 218 (Shulin to Hualien), train codes 422, 432 and 438 (Shulin to Taitung), train codes 217, 219, 225 and 239 (Hualien to Shulin).

The online meal box booking is designed to provide passengers with more convenient services and to cut down on food waste by getting to know more precisely how many bento boxes will be needed on a certain train, the TRA said.

Passenger can book meal boxes immediately after having successfully booked train tickets, or book later but before making the payment, according to the TRA.

The cost for the tickets and meal boxes will be calculated together, and the payment shall be made online or at a TRA station, the TRA said, adding that those paying at a station will get both train tickets and meal box tickets.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/05/08
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Sunday advised people

around Taiwan to avoid outdoor activities as the levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation were extremely high. The ultraviolet index was highest in Taitung County in eastern Taiwan, at 11, while in most other areas it was 8-10, the EPA said.

The only exception was the offshore county of Lienchiang, where the index was 7, the EPA said.

Index levels of 11 or higher are considered dangerous and can cause sunburn within 15 minutes of exposure, the EPA warned

Readings of between 8 and 10 indicate excessively high UV ray levels, and sunburn can occur within 20 minutes of exposure, it said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-05-07
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President-elect Tsai Ing-wen did not respond to questions from reporters Saturday about how to deal with the invitation to attend the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

The letter, which arrived on Friday after weeks of waiting, said Taiwan could attend the May 23-28 event under the name of “Chinese Taipei” if it respected the “One China Principle.”

The invitation was also directed at incumbent Health and Welfare Minister Chiang Been-huang, who will make way for Tsai’s new government on May 20.

When Tsai arrived at a pharmacists’ conference Saturday, reporters asked her for her opinion on the invitation and its contents, but she failed to give a direct reply.

There have been suggestions that Chiang’s designated successor, Lin Tzou-yien, could represent Taiwan in Switzerland.    [FULL  STORY]