Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/11
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) The Tungchu Tao Lighthouse in Matsu is a national

historic building, the first lighthouse built of granite in Taiwan, that has survived the shifts of contemporary history.

The tower is located on Dongju, one of the islets of the Matsu archipelago about 25 kilometers off the coast of China.

It was constructed in 1872 during the Ching dynasty, based on an agreement on commerce and navigation signed between the Chinese government and Great Britain following China’s defeat in the Opium Wars.     [FULL  STORY]

FADED AWAY:The flower market in Taipei’s Neihu District has been failing to attract customers in its new location, which is far from the nearest MRT station

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 12, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Lunar New Year holiday celebrations come in many forms, but in a nation

where people staunchly believe a good start to the year brings in wealth and good fortune, celebrations almost always involve the practice of surrounding oneself with foods and floral decorations that have auspicious meanings.

In most cases, the practice manifests itself as dishes with propitious names on the Lunar New Year Eve’s dinner table, such as fish, which is homophonous with the Mandarin word yu (餘, surplus) and symbolizes a wish for a bountiful harvest in the coming year.

Fruits such as apples and pineapples, which denote safety and prosperity respectively, are also popular choices of food offerings to the gods during the holiday.

While some favor auspicious foods, others opt for flowers or potted plants to add festivity to their homes, as the Mandarin word for “flower” is a near homophone for fa (發, becoming wealthy), while numerous plants are associated with good fortune.

Prosecutors find 50% cutback in concrete beam stirrups

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-10
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Tainan District Prosecutors Office revealed its suspicion of shoddy construction practices undertaken to build the Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex that collapsed in the wake of an earthquake in southern Taiwan last Saturday, killing 39 people, reports said Wednesday.

Questions have been raised about the building’s construction quality, especially the materials used to build it, prompting prosecutors to launch a probe into the collapse.

Prosecutors disclosed to reporters in the morning that the blueprints they found led them to believe 50 percent of the concrete beam stirrups were skimmed on the construction of Weiguan’s supporting columns.

Stirrups are usually rectangular, and are placed at regular intervals along a column or beam to prevent shear failure.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/10
By: Chen Yi-wei and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) The body of a six-year-old boy was found dead Wednesday afternoon, bringing the death toll of a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that jolted southern Taiwan on Feb. 6 to 47, according to data compiled by the National Fire Agency.

As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, another 548 people had been injured, according to the official data.

The quake caused 10 buildings collapsed in Tainan City.

Forty-five of the 47 confirmed deaths resulting from the earthquake occurred in a collapsed apartment complex, called the Weiguan Jinlong, in Tainan’s Yongkang District.

More than 90 people are still believed to be trapped in the rubble of the collapsed 16-story building, according to Tainan City government.      [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 11, 2016
By: Tsai Tsung-hsun, Wu Sheng-ju and Lee Jung-ping / Staff reporters

As efforts continue to search the rubble of the collapsed Weiguan Jinlong

complex in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康) following Saturday’s magnitude 6.4 earthquake, stories of personal sacrifices by rescue workers from across the nation have started to surface, including some who gave up far more than their Lunar New Year holiday in the race to save lives.

Chiayi City special rescue squad captain Hsu Shao-tang (徐紹唐) directed rescue efforts on Saturday and Sunday, even though his father was hospitalized. He only left the disaster site on Monday to see his father after the hospital contacted him to say his father was in critical condition.

Hsu’s father passed away on Tuesday, and Hsu said that he would rejoin the search and rescue efforts after he puts his father’s affairs in order.

A soldier named Ma Ping-han (馬秉涵) was also among those working on the Weiguan Jinlong site, even though his own family’s home in Tainan also collapsed during the quake.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-09
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je disclosed Tuesday that the city government expects to map out a newly-revised blueprint for its urban renewal projects in the wake of Saturday’s earthquake in southern Taiwan.

The draft will be revealed within a month, Ko said during a visit to Taipei’s Xingtian Temple in the morning.

Commenting on the Tainan earthquake, he said the tragic event has more or less affected the way in which city planning proposals will be carried out in future.

“Although earthquake measures have always been taken into consideration as part of the city’s urban planning, a greater determination must be presented to reinforce personal safety awareness in the event of earthquakes.”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/09
By: Chen Che-fong and Jay Chen

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) Condolences over the loss of lives in Tainan because of

an earthquake continued to pour in Tuesday, with American professional tennis player Venus Williams and Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles sending their prayers to the bereaved families.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims in Taiwan after this weekend’s tragic earthquake,” said Garcetti.

“California has the largest concentration of Taiwanese immigrants in the nation,” he said in a statement. “Today, we all join our Taiwanese-American community here in Los Angeles to mourn this tragic loss of life.”

Williams, who flew to Taiwan Tuesday for a tennis tournament, said that this must be a very difficult time for many families, adding that she wanted to send them her prayers and encouragement.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 10, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The government has extended its appreciation to Japan, the US and China

for their generosity in the wake of the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck southern Taiwan early on Saturday, killing at least 41 people.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday thanked Japan for pledging US$1 million to help with relief efforts and offering other forms of aid.

Japanese Cabinet Chief Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that Tokyo was donating US$1 million via its Red Cross to help with relief and reconstruction efforts.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also expressed sympathy for the earthquake victims in a message to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) shortly after the quake struck; the message was delivered by Interchange Association, Japan Secretary-General Takashi Hamada.

Abe said in the message that the Japanese government was willing to provide Taiwan with human and material support.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-08
By: Keoni Everington, Central News Agency

Now that you have gone through your basic training on Spring Festival faux pas in Part 1 of this series, you need to get ready for the big day — New Year’s Day (大年初一). The first day of the year starts with the first new moon of the first month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

The following are 10 rules to follow specifically on New Year’s Day, unless you really want a bad start to your year:

1. Set off fireworks and bang gongs at midnight on New Year’s Eve

In addition to the color red, “Nian” (the New Year monster) also greatly fears fire and loud noise. This is why many people set off fireworks, clang gongs and generally make a lot of racket on Chinese New Year’s Eve.     [FULL  STORY]