Focus Taiwan
2016/02/08
By: Kay Liu

Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) The Central Weather Bureau will maintain its cold surge advisory for most parts of Taiwan until Tuesday, after Banqiao District in New Taipei recorded a low of 4.9 degrees Celsius early Monday.

The Year of the Monkey began in Taiwan with mostly sunny yet chilly weather Monday as a high pressure system bringing cold air passed through the northern part of the island, according to the bureau.

Taichung in central Taiwan and Tainan in southern Taiwan both recorded temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius before 7:30 a.m., but most parts of the island warmed up to the high teens and low 20s before noon.

The bureau said temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius are still likely between Monday night and early Tuesday, except in Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung in southern Taiwan.   [FULL  STORY]

PRAYING FOR WEALTH:Worshipers at the temple to the Earth God in Nantou can borrow up to NT$600 for investment and touch a chicken statue for luck

Taipei Times
Date:  Feb 09, 2016 – Page 2　
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Zihnan Temple (紫南宮) in Nantou County’s Jhushan Township (竹山) is the No.

1 choice for people wishing to pray during the Lunar New Year for wealth and good fortune, according to an online poll conducted by the Web portal Yam.

At the temple, where the main deities are Tudigong (土地公, Earth God) and his wife, worshipers can borrow up to NT$600 for investment, which can be repaid within a year, according to the temple’s Web site. Worshipers usually throw divination blocks for a sign that they have the deity’s “permission” to borrow the money.

Visitors are also invited to touch a chicken statue at the temple for good luck, the Web site says.

Fude Temple (福德宮) in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和) ranked as the second-most popular place of worship for people hoping for wealth in the new year.

telesur
Date: 7 February 2016

The death toll continues to rise in the Taiwanese city of Tainan as rescue

teams scour rubble for survivors. So far officials have reported 34 deaths

Over 120 people are still trapped this Sunday under tons of rubble after a deadly 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan on Saturday, government officials said, adding that the death toll has risen to at least 34, including seven children.

Numerous buildings collapsed across the city, which is home to just under 2 million people, including a 17-story apartment complex that fell into itself after the tremor.

Rescuers continued to pull survivors from the Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building on Sunday, including a 20-year-old identified by Taiwan media as Huang Kuang-wei and another man in his 20s surnamed Kuo.

Both men managed to walk from the wreckage with the support of rescuers, despite being trapped for over 24 hours     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/07
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) Taiwan’s high-speed rail system resumed regular service Sunday evening after all bullet trains running in southern Taiwan had been suspended since Saturday morning after its electric lines on the southern end was damaged in a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, according to Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.

The bullet train system resumed regular service between Taipei in northern Taiwan and Kaohsiung in the south in both directions as a train directly bound for Taipei departed from Zuoying, Kaohsiung at 5 p.m., while a train bound for the south departed from Taichung in central Taiwan at 6 p.m., according to the company.

In addition, trains from Taipei will run as scheduled except cancellations that had already been announced.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 08, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A disaster evaluation team from Japan and a Taiwanese-

Chinese husband-and-wife team have arrived to provide assistance in the wake of a series of earthquakes that hit southern Taiwan on Saturday, killing 29 people and injuring hundreds.

The five-member Japanese team yesterday went to Tainan, the city hardest hit by the quake, where they met with Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) and inspected the site of the collapsed Weiguan Jinlong apartment building in the city’s Yongkang
District (永康), where most of the earthquake deaths occurred.
After evaluating the situation, the team is expected to advise on local search-and-rescue efforts.

At least 120 people are believed to be still trapped in the 17-story building complex, one of several structures in Tainan that toppled after the magnitude 6.4 main earthquake struck.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/06
By: Jay Chen

Update:
●Madonna sends condolences to those affected by Taiwan quake
●14 killed, 484 injured, 153 unaccounted for after quake
●Quake death toll climbs to 14; rescue work continues in Tainan
[Saturday evening]

●Donations flow in from NGOs, business sector for quake relief
●Japan sends evaluation team to Taiwan in wake of earthquake
●China’s Red Cross pledges 2m yuan to Taiwan’s quake relief efforts
[FULL  STORY]