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Taiwan student wins British award for creating LED pedestrian system

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/18
By: J.K. Liao and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 18 (CNA) A student from Taichung-based Mingdao Junior High 28092376School has won a gold medal at the British Invention Show & Awards 2015 for his invention of a light-emitting diode (LED) light system for pedestrian intersection crossings that could enhance pedestrian safety.

The signaling and illuminating system was devised by Deng Li-wei (鄧立維), a second-year student at Mingdao Junior High School, that incorporates crosswalk safety lights with flashing LED crossing signs, to achieve the highest levels of safety for pedestrians, particularly those who are elderly, or visually impaired.

Deng said that to help pedestrians safely cross signalized intersections, he has developed the system that uses the latest technologies and allows pedestrians to clearly see traffic signs and road markings.     [FULL  STORY]

CAA head suggests Songshan closure be put on hold

Taipei Times
Date: , Nov 18, 2015
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Deputy Director-General Fang Chih-wen (方志文) yesterday said that the nation should wait until at least 2030 to evaluate whether Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) should be closed completely, after terminals three and four, as well as the third runway at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, have been completed.

Fang made the remarks after the CAA announced plans to relocate Songhshan airport to Taoyuan by 2020.

Fang said Songshan airport is a hub for flights serving the outlying islands, as well as remote areas, adding that the facilities in the airport are shared by civilian carriers and the air force.

Passenger volumes at Songshan airport reached 6.1 million last year, including 3.3 million passengers on international flights and 2.8 million on domestic flights, Fang said.

Given the limited capacity at the Songshan facility, Fang said that the administration has capped passenger volume there at 7.1 million.     [FULL  STORY]

The battle of ideology: Government plans to make stickers on passports illegal

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-17
By: Jocylin FC, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously condemned the action of decorating passports with

Government plans to make stickers on passports illegal. Taiwan News Photo credit: Taiwan Passport Sticker Facebook

Government plans to make stickers on passports illegal. Taiwan News
Photo credit: Taiwan Passport Sticker Facebook

“the Republic of Taiwan” stickers. They said that it is illegal to put stickers on the passport but there are no laws to support this claim. However, the Ministry has recently added a drafted rule where “alteration of any kinds on the passport cover is forbidden”.

As Taiwanese identity rises, a new kind of national identity has formed. In face of China’s oppression on the international stage, more and more Taiwanese proclaim their nation’s sovereignty and take actions to express their national identity. The designer of the sticker Lao Dan said his intention to create the “Republic of Taiwan” sticker series is because he wants to advocate Taiwan identity abroad. “I did not want to change the passport appearance. The sticker is just for decoration and you can tell very easily it is a sticker. The sticker helps foreigners know we are Taiwanese; we come from Taiwan, not the People’s Republic of China. We are proud of our country. The sticker points out an irony in the ideology posed by the government of the Republic of China. Even our President Ma Ying-jeou did not dare to mention the Republic of China,” said Lao Dan. More than 250,000 people are currently using the sticker on their passports. They experienced zero difficulties when going through customs in more than 80 countries.     [FULL  STORY]

Tropical storm strengthens to typhoon

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/17
By: Wang Shu-feng and Lee Mei-yu

Taipei, Nov. 17 (CNA) A typhoon has developed over the Pacific, but so far, it is not forecast to 201511170040t0001hit Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Tuesday.

As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, IN-FA, the 26th typhoon of this year, was centered over 5,000 kilometers east-southeast of Taiwan, moving at a speed of between 21 kilometers per hour and 26 kph in a westerly direction, veering toward west-northwest.

With a radius of 100 km, Typhoon IN-FA is carrying maximum sustained winds of 18 meters per second, with gusts of up to 25 mps.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei honors international design award winners

Taiwan Today
Date: November 17, 2015

The 68 winners of the Taipei International Design Award were honored Nov. 15 in the northern

Germany’s Steffen Knoell is the biggest winner at this year’s Taipei International Design Award for his poster Flohribi—Fleamarket at the bar Ribingurmu. (Courtesy of Taipei City Government)

Germany’s Steffen Knoell is the biggest winner at this year’s Taipei International Design Award for his poster Flohribi—Fleamarket at the bar Ribingurmu. (Courtesy of Taipei City Government)

Taiwan city, with most of the selected talents focusing on advancing economic, environmental, social and cultural development through creativity and ingenuity.

According to event organizer Taipei City Government Department of Economic Development, this year’s competition attracted 4,246 submissions from 59 countries around the world.

The biggest winner was Steffen Knoell, a communication design student from Germany, for his poster Flohribi—Fleamarket at the bar Ribingurmu. The judges praised the graphic design piece for powerfully and concisely communicating its message through clear visual language.

The work picked up the Taipei Mayor Award and Gold Award of Visual Communication Design, and also won the Judges’ Award for Visual Communication Design.

Han Ji Sun from South Korea walked away with the Gold Award of Industrial Design for his submission Portable Vest IV, a wearable intravenous fluid delivery unit.     [FULL  STORY]

Taichung to set standard of procedure to curb air pollution

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-16
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The city government will soon establish a standard operating procedure to adjust power output

Taichung seeks to curb air pollution. Central News Agency

Taichung seeks to curb air pollution. Central News Agency

when air pollution reaches a certain level, Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung said Monday.

A draft operating procedure suggested by the government proposes reducing emissions from coal-fired plants when more than half of the city’s 11 air quality monitoring stations report purple PM2.5 levels, he said.

Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), the plant’s operator, said that it agreed to the city government’s proposal to adjust power output when air pollution reaches a certain level.

The country’s 10-tier PM 2.5 index (10 being dangerously high) is defined as air pollution that contains fine particles smaller than 2.5 millimeters in diameter and is linked to several chronic health problems.     [FULL  STORY]

Hsinchu City to establish rice noodle exhibition hall

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/16
By: Lu Kang-chun and Brook Hsiao

Taipei, Nov. 16 (CNA) Hsinchu City will complete a rice noodle exhibition hall next year that will

Hsinchu City Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅, second right)

Hsinchu City Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅, second right)

give visitors a chance not only to taste rice noodles but also show people how to make them, said Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) Saturday.

The hall is being created by renovating an abandoned Air Force dormitory in the Nanshi area of the city with the Air Force’s permission.

Hsinchu rice noodles are well known for how they are made. When strong winds from the northeast monsoon sweep through the area between October and January, residents air-dry their noodles outside, which locals says gives the noodles a unique taste.

Rice noodles are a specialty of Nanshi and can be seen drying in the sun all around the area when they are in season, creating a special cultural landscape.     [FULL  STORY]

KMT Chairman Chu wraps up US visit

Taiwan Today
Date: November 16, 2015

Ruling Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu returned Nov. 16 to Taiwan after wrapping up a

Kuomintang Chairman and presidential candidate Eric Chu fields questions from the media after visiting the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Nov. 12 in Washington. (UDN)

Kuomintang Chairman and presidential candidate Eric Chu fields questions from the media after visiting the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Nov. 12 in Washington. (UDN)

seven-day U.S. trip to promote his policy platform as the KMT candidate in the 2016 ROC presidential election.

During his stay in Washington, Chu met with several high-ranking U.S. officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as Assistant Secretary of State and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel and Susan Thornton, respectively.

The Nov. 12 discussions went exceedingly well, according to Chu, with both sides exchanging ideas on such common issues as democracy and freedom, security cooperation and trade relations.     [FULL  STORY]

Immigration plan ‘absurd’: legislator

Taipei Times
Date:  Nov 17, 2015
By: Chung Li-hua and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The National Immigration Agency’s (NIA) plan to replenish Taiwan’s younger generation with Chinese immigrants is absurd, Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lai Cheng-chang (賴振昌) said yesterday.

Lai made the comments in response to an NIA immigration law draft proposal titled “draft amendment for the tabulation of the quota for the residency or permanent residency of Mainland-area peoples in Taiwan through family,” which would increase the number of Chinese minors, those younger than 20, granted resident status in Taiwan.

Its statement of purpose said: “The amendments to the quota tabulation is proposed because the trend toward smaller family size has caused a decline in the youth population, while relaxing restrictions could replenish the youth population, increase the size of the working-age population, protect their right to family (家庭團聚權), replenish the youth demography … and ameliorate population aging.”

The draft amendment would increase the yearly residency quota for children of legal Chinese residents in Taiwan — a path to residency status that does not require a parent to be married to a Taiwanese national — from 180 to 300.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei to propose plans for reducing air pollution: Ko

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Taipei to curb air pollution: Ko. Central News Agency

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-15
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je promised that the government will come up with a concrete plan within the next four years to help improve the city’s air quality, reports said Sunday.

“It’s frustrating that our children today have to be wary of partaking in any outdoor activities due to air pollution,” Ko said.

During an inaugural photography exhibition centered on Changhua County’s Taisi Village, the mayor said his administration will work closely with the central Taiwanese county in a combined effort to curb air pollution.

Residents in Taisi, who have long been affected by poor air quality as a result of the pollutants spewing out of Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s sixth naphtha cracker plant in surrounding Yunlin County, urged the government to exert pressure on the facility to reduce its emissions by asking it to stop burning petroleum coke and coal.     [FULL  STORY]