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Holiday reduction proposal rejected

LABOR RIGHTS VIGIL:Protesters gathered outside the Legislative Yuan welcomed the decision, but said a resolution focused too much on legal technicalities

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 29, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

A Ministry of Labor proposal to cut the number of officially designated national holidays was

Labor rights campaigners yesterday hold banners and wave placards outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, calling on the Ministry of Labor and president-elect Tsai Ing-wen not to cut the number of national holidays. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

Labor rights campaigners yesterday hold banners and wave placards outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, calling on the Ministry of Labor and president-elect Tsai Ing-wen not to cut the number of national holidays. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

yesterday rejected by the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, in a hearing marred by clashes between legislators and Minister of Labor Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文).

The committee passed a resolution condemning the ministry’s executive order, saying it violated the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).

The executive order is to be sent back to the ministry for reconsideration if the resolution is approved by the Legislative Yuan’s full session.

The ministry moved to reduce the number of national holidays after the passage of legislation mandating a 40-hour work week drew criticism from legislators in questioning before the committee’s vote.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chung Kung-chao (鍾孔炤), a former Kaohsiung Bureau of Labor Affairs commissioner, said the ministry’s order violated articles of the Labor Standards Act that mandate days off should be granted for days of commemoration, Labor Day and other holidays decided by central government bodies. Designation of the holidays cut by the ministry’s executive order is the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, he said, accusing the Ministry of Labor of overstepping its authority.     [FULL  STORY]

Taichung Fire Bureau launches CO poisoning prevention service

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/03/28
By: Chao Li-yen and Brook Hsiao
Taipei, March 28 (CNA) The Taichung Fire Bureau has launched a new service in which city residents can have firemen check to see if gas water heaters are properly installed to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
Residents who have doubts about the safety of their water heaters can call 119 to contact the local fire bureau and have their heaters inspected.
The Taichung City government said that over 10 cases of carbon monoxide poisoning have been reported in the city since the beginning of the year, with most of them resulting from the improper installation or improper use of gas water heaters.
The signs of carbon monoxide poisoning may include dizziness, vomiting and nausea, chest pains and feeling tired and listless, and residents should be on the alert if those symptoms affect several people at the same time in the same living space, the city’s fire bureau said.
It also suggested that people who suspect they are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning should turn off their gas water heater at once and open doors and windows to increase ventilation.     [FULL STORY]

Irregular meals, stress at work could lead to colon cancer: doctor

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-03-27
By: Central News Agency

Office workers who face great stress at work and have irregular meals are more likely to fall victim to colon cancer, a doctor said recently, adding that Taiwan has the world’s highest incidence of colon cancer.

Having irregular meals due to busy work, eating salty and greasy food, eating too quickly and having too much red meat are among the factors that put office workers at high risk to develop colon polyps, said Chang Chia-lun, a doctor at Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital.

If people do not seek medical help to deal with polyps, chances are that polyps could lead to colon cancer 10 to 15 years later, said Chang, also a member of the Taipei-based Formosa Cancer Foundation.

Having colon polyps removed as early as possible will reduce the risk of colon cancer, he said.

He also noted that colon cancer tends to affect people over 50, with about 3,000 out of every 100,000 people in the age group suffering from the disease.     [FULL  STORY]

Blindfolded man puts on Chinese chess show

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/03/27
B:y Bien Chen-feng and Kay Liu

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) A man played Chinese chess blindfolded against 18 opponents 201603270023t0001simultaneously in Taoyuan on Sunday and ended up doing relatively well in a marathon display of concentration.

Chao Yi-fan (趙奕帆) began the challenge at 10 a.m. Sunday in the exhibition held alongside a national student chess championship organized by the Chinese Chess Promotion Association.

Chao’s 18 games against players who were not blindfolded ended at 6 p.m., with Chao ending up with a record of 11 wins, three defeats and four draws.

He said he plans to play 25 games in the same manner next year.

Playing blindfolded is a huge test of a player’s memory and concentration, since the person has to remember the moves already made in each game.     [FULL  STORY]

Naming of Ching-kuo Hall slammed

‘CULT OF PERSONALITY’:A former political prisoner said victims of repression resent commemoration of the former president, which he called an anti-democratic statement

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 28, 2016
By: Lee Hsin-fang and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) decision to name an auditorium after former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) glorifies a “secret police czar” and the “White Terror hangman,” survivors of the White Terror era said.

Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) on Tuesday last week said in a news release that because Chiang attached great importance throughout his life to the cultivation of young people and served as director of the China Youth Anti-Communist National Salvation Corps for about 21 years, the office is to name an auditorium in the Presidential Office Building after him tomorrow, Youth Day.

Taiwan Association for the Care of the Victims of Political Persecution During the Martial Law Period secretary-general Tsai Kuan-yu (蔡寬裕) said that since Chen’s announcement, he has received calls from many White Terror survivors expressing displeasure over the naming of the auditorium, adding that a protest against the decision is being organized.

Tsai said that during the White Terror era, Chiang was head of the political warfare department at the Ministry of National Defense, which implicated him as the “secret police czar” and “overseer of the White Terror period.”

Chiang was the “White Terror hangman,” because numerous archived case files of White Terror victims contained Chiang’s written orders for their execution over fabricated charges and Chiang’s trusted lieutenants occupied leadership positions within security apparatuses throughout the White Terror era, former political prisoner Kao Chin-lang (高金郎) said.     [FULL  STORY]

Man arrested over CTBC Bank heist in Kaohsiung

DESPERATE MEASURES:Police said the suspect, Shih Yung-hsiang, robbed a bank to pay off hundreds of thousands in gambling debt from playing ‘tian jiu pai’

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 27, 2016
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Police raided a house in Kaohsiung yesterday morning and arrested a man suspected of involvement with a bank hold-up on Friday, when a bank clerk was threatened with a gun and NT$900,000 (US$27,468) in cash was stolen.

Kaohsiung City Police Department officials said they are questioning Shih Yung-hsiang (施永祥), 30, over the heist at the CTBC Bank in the city’s Nanzih District (楠梓).

At Shih’s house, an air pistol and NT$420,000 in cash were recovered, along with other evidence, Nanzih Police Precinct investigation unit chief Lin Keng-yu (林耕宇) said.

Shih said he had carried out the robbery because he had gambling debts of more than NT$1 million, police said.

Shih said he had used the money to pay some of his debts and planned to use the remaining NT$420,000 to pay other creditors.    [FULL  STORY]

Ministry death penalty review too narrow: lawyer

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 27, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

A Ministry of Justice-initiated review of “controversial” death penalty cases is too narrow and self-limiting, the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty said yesterday.

“Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) is in the transition period between administrations and should not have issued the order,” said Lin Tzu-wei (林慈偉), the head of the alliance’s legal department, adding that while the “direction” was commendable, because the scope of the review was narrowly limited to “controversial” cases, it could lead to the “deception” that a full review had been conducted.

“What is important about most of these cases is not whether the person committed the crime, but rather what degree of punishment is appropriate,” the lawyer said.

Luo announced the review this week at the suggestion of Supreme Prosecutor Yen Ta-ho (顏大和).

The review is warranted because of the irreversible nature of the death penalty, she said.     [FULL  STORY]

David Lee said to be named new Minister of Foreign Affairs

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-03-26
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

David Tawei Lee, Taiwan’s representative in Australia and former envoy to the United States,

David Lee, Taiwan’s representative in Australia and former envoy to the United States, was said to be appointed the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to media reports.

David Lee, Taiwan’s representative in Australia and former envoy to the United States, was said to be appointed the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to media reports.

was said to be appointed the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to media reports.

Current Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Lin, was quoted as saying in the report Saturday that Lee was suitable for the position due to his rich experience in the field, and his ability has gained high recognition among his colleagues.

Lin added that Lee is one of the most senior officials in the ministry, who had in the past served multiple positions, including Deputy-minister of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan’s representative in the United States, Taiwan’s representative in Canada, Chairman of Coordination Council for North American Affairs / Headquarters for Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. (TECRO), and his current position as Taiwan’s representative in Australia. Lee’s well-rounded resume makes him the right person for the job, Lin said.

Lee has served under several Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administrations, whose experience was said to be in accordance with President-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s foreign policy direction of “regional efforts and international participation.”     [FULL  STORY]

Cold weather to continue after rain stops

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/03/26
By: Chen Wei-ting and Y.F. Low

Taipei, March 26 (CNA) The sun has finally shown its face after two weeks of rain, but 45206357temperatures around Taiwan will remain low, especially during the late night and early morning hours, until next Monday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Saturday.

The bureau said the air mass currently lingering over Taiwan is colder than expected and has been upgraded from a “strong cold air mass” to a “cold surge.”

In the early hours of Saturday, low temperatures of 9-11 degrees Celsius were recorded in northern and central Taiwan and 13-15 degrees in southern and eastern Taiwan, according to the bureau.

The lowest temperature — 8.7 degrees — was seen in New Taipei’s coastal Tamsui District.

The CWB forecast that between Saturday and next Monday, overnight and early-morning temperatures will likely drop to below 10 degrees in open coastal areas in Yilan, regions north of Tainan, as well as the outlying counties of Kinmen and Matsu.     [FULL  STORY]

Wang Jin-pyng denies report of SEF offer

MAC BIAS?Storm Media said Tsai Ing-wen’s desire for stability means she is inclined to promote Mainland Affairs Council and pan-blue officials to leadership

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 27, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator and former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng

Legislator-at-large Wang Jin-pyng gestures at an entrance to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Thursday last week. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

Legislator-at-large Wang Jin-pyng gestures at an entrance to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Thursday last week. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

(王金平) yesterday denied a report that he was offered the chairmanship of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Online news portal Storm Media reported late on Friday that president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) contacted Wang — who Tsai considers a good candidate for the position — and offered him the chairpersonship, adding that Wang did not oppose the idea of quitting as a legislator to take the job.

The report said that because Tsai considers stability and maintaining the “status quo” as the guiding principles of her staffing plan for agencies dealing with cross-strait affairs, she has been, according to sources, inclined to promote officials working in the Mainland Affairs Council to leadership positions and to have someone from the pan-blue camp head the foundation.

The report said that Wang was keen on accepting the offer and playing the role of bridging gaps between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, but his aides were divided over the issue.

“It is all rumors,” Wang said.     [FULL  STORY]