Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/19

(CNA file photo)

Taipei, April 19 (CNA) The weather around Taiwan is expected to be fair and stable until another weather front arrives on Saturday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Tuesday.

After a chilly morning, temperatures on Tuesday could rise to 25 or 26 degrees Celsius in the north and the east and up to around 30 degrees in central and southern Taiwan under cloudy or sunny conditions, according to the CWB.

Only the mountainous areas in western Taiwan and parts of eastern Taiwan will have chances of brief showers Tuesday, the bureau said.

A weather front is expected to arrive on Saturday but it remains to be seen how much it will affect the weather around Taiwan, it said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: April 19, 2016

A training program turning sheltered dogs into therapy canines is underway in

Taipei City, reflecting a rising awareness of the importance of animal welfare in Taiwan.

Established by the local government’s Animal Protection Office, the program selects suitable candidates and arranges for their training and matching with owners by Taipei-headquartered Formosa Animal-Assisted Activity and Therapy Association. Since FAAATA’s founding in 1999, it has trained more than 300 dogs.

Association trainer Teng Hui-chin said dog therapists can assist the elderly, infirm and young undertake various kinds of rehabilitation exercises not possible with human therapists or assistive devices. “But it’s their companionship that makes all the difference when it comes to enhancing the psychological well-being of patients.”

During the launch of the program April 11, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said the initiative is an extension of a service dog plan introduced late last year. “In addition to finding a permanent home for these canines, it offers the animals a chance to prove invaluable helpers and make a real contribution to society.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Yulin prosecutors on Monday said that they have indicted 50 members of a

Taiwanese scam ring for committing fraud in China.

Yulin chief prosecutor Huang Yi-hua said that the 50 people set up telecommunications rooms in Taoyuan City and other areas between June 2013 and June 2014 to engage in phone scamming.

The ring obtained personal information of Chinese nationals through its members, Huang said. The ring members, posing as public security officers, would call their targets in China and accuse them of having involved in crimes such as “drug offenses and money laundering,” according to Huang. The calls would then be transferred to other ring members posing as other public security officers, who would proceed to con the targets into giving away information about their bank accounts under the pretext of making a police report, Huang added.

According to prosecutors’ investigations, the ring successfully scammed RMB 4.35 million (about NT$22 million) from Chinese nationals between 2013 and June 2014.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 19, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday urged the government to

make every effort to avoid a recurrence of the perceived hasty release of 20 Taiwanese fraud suspects recently deported from Malaysia, which it said could impede Taiwan’s future obtainment of visa-free privileges.

The caucus held a news conference at the legislature, amid a growing public outcry over the government’s handling of the 20 Taiwanese suspects, who were released shortly after their deportation to Taiwan on Friday last week due to a lack of evidence, which is still in China’s hands and has yet to be referred to the Taiwanese authorities.

They are among 52 Taiwanese nationals charged with fraud in Malaysia last month.

“Many lawmakers had strongly demanded that the government defend its jurisdiction over Taiwanese nationals and the nation’s sovereignty. Then, without evidence, the government set these suspects free after their return. Where is the justice in this?” KMT caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) told the press conference.     [FULL  STORY]

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TOKYO — Thirty-nine Taiwanese students and tourists in Japan’s quake-struck

Kumamoto Prefecture were brought to safety on Sunday, with seven stranded Taiwanese nationals still awaiting rescue, Taiwanese officials said that day.

A total of 28 university students have been picked up from Kumamoto University and Kumamoto Gakuen University and will be driven to Fukuoka City, where some of them will board a flight back to Taiwan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Eleven Taiwanese tourists stranded in the southern part of the Aso area in Kumamoto Prefecture were also rescued Sunday afternoon, Rong Yee-jung (戎義俊), director of Taiwan’s representative office in Fukuoka, told CNA by telephone.

“I am glad that we were able to escape,” said Lai Chun-yi (賴君怡), who lead the tour group.

When the earthquake struck in the middle of the night on Saturday, the tremors were so strong that she felt her body bounce up and down twice on the bed, Lai said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/17
By: Kay Liu

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) An approaching weather front will increase the chance of

showers across Taiwan Monday, before milder weather returns later in the week, the Central Weather Bureau said.

Taiwan saw mainly cloudy weather with scattered showers on Sunday, with daytime temperatures in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung reaching highs of 24.9, 30.8 and 30.4 degrees Celsius, respectively, according to the bureau.

The weather is expected to become more unstable Monday because of an approaching weather front, which will result in localized showers and thunderstorms in western and northeastern Taiwan, and scattered showers in eastern Taiwan, the bureau said.

Temperatures are likely to fall to around 20 degrees Celsius in northern Taiwan and the mid-20s in central Taiwan, but still reach 31 degrees Celsius in the southernmost county of Pingtung, the bureau noted.     [FULL  STORY]