Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/21/2020
By: Tsai Peng-min and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, June 21 (CNA) Well-located homes in Taiwan priced at NT$30 million (US$1.01 million) or less that allow convenient access to facilities and public transport systems are a main draw for most Hong Kong people who have emigrated to Taiwan and are seeking property here, according to Taiwanese real estate companies.

The number of people from Hong Kong and Macau with household registration in Taiwan has been on the rise over the past few years, up from 6,193 in 2015, 9,549 in 2018 to 11,000 in 2019, a record high and an increase of 15.3 percent from a year earlier, according to Ministry of the Interior statistics.

The anti-extradition bill protests that raged in Hong Kong last year have spurred more people to emigrate to Taiwan, giving a boost to Taiwan's real estate market, real estate brokers said.

Taiwan's good living environment and cheap commodity prices, plus relatively low housing costs compared with Hong Kong have therefore attracted many Hong Kongers to emigrate to Taiwan over the past few years, according to Continental Development Corp. Chairman Chang Liang-chi (張良吉).    [FULL  STORY]

Dream Café runs space for youth to build skills, find confidence, retrieve their future

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/21
By: Chris Chang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Juvenile rehabilitation is a long, demanding, and sometimes fruitless process, but one Taiwanese organization believes every young outcast has a story to tell and deserves a second chance beyond the justice system.

Established in 1992, the Bornanew Youth Caring Association (BYCA) supports youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who feel society has no place for them. Dream Café was founded to create a difference — to be a place where young people can learn skills, interact with others, and gain confidence that schools fail to give them.

"Many young Taiwanese cannot get a sense of accomplishment in the current educational system. When educators only care about performance in major subjects and students with athletic or artistic talent miss their chance to shine," said Chen Yen-chun (陳彥君), director of the BYCA. "Many young adults then choose to drop out and use extreme, often illegal, means to find their worth."

Having been a social worker for more than a decade, Chen pointed out that changing social values and technologies have drastically shaped juvenile crime. In 2011, most delinquents were involved in theft (32.58 percent) or violence (15.07 percent), but in 2019, higher percentages of youth were being taken into custody for fraud (22.23 percent) and drug-related crime (13.55 percent).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/16/2020

Focus Taiwan and CNA Media Lab present — Going into Taipei Metro.

In 1996, after eight years of construction and what was described as "the dark days of Taipei's traffic," the city saw the opening of Taiwan's first metro system.

Since then, Taipei Metro continues to expand with the development of the city, shaping the landscape of Greater Taipei and becoming a part of many people's lives.

The sights, as well as sounds, of Taipei Metro have also become symbols, such as the sound of the alarm before train doors close, or different themed tunes designed for some of its lines.
[FULL  STORY]

Fars News
Date:  Jun 20, 2020 4:35

TEHRAN (FNA)- Beijing slammed Taiwan for its new plan to harbor asylum seekers from Hong Kong, which has seen massive anti-government protests and rioting. This “plot” will backfire, China said.

“Providing shelter for and taking onto the island the rioters and elements who bring chaos to Hong Kong will only continue bring harm to Taiwan’s people,” China’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesperson, Zhu Fenglian, told reporters, according to RT.

Earlier this week, Taiwan unveiled a plan to set up a government-funded agency to help asylum seekers from Hong Kong, a self-governing region of China, settle on the island. The proposed scheme includes a basic living allowance and help with employment for Hongkongers seeking “shelter” from Beijing. 

Zhu slammed the plan as a “political plot to intervene in Hong Kong affairs and undermine Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.”     [FULL  STORY]

Viral strain similar to ones found in imported cases from Turkey: CECC

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/20
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The coronavirus task force on Saturday (June 20) rebutted claims that Beijing’s resurgence of COVID-19 infections were linked to Taiwan.

Hong Kong experts suggested the viral genome sequence identified in the Chinese capital’s new outbreak bears a similarity to the ones found in Taiwan and Europe. In response, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) clarified the viral strain was detected from imported cases in March from Turkey, wrote Newtalk.

A total of 13 individuals on a group tour to Turkey between March 4-13 were confirmed to have contracted the novel virus after their return to Taiwan. No other cases reported in Taiwan so far were found to be infected by the same viral strain, Chuang added.

The health official stressed Taiwan has nothing to do with the second wave of the COVID outbreak wreaking havoc in Beijing, according to the report.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/20/2020
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) Generally cloudy to sunny skies are forecast across Taiwan on Sunday, making it ideal for people to watch the rare annular solar eclipse that day, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The weather in western parts of Taiwan and its outlying islands could be better than in other areas, where more clouds are likely, particularly in mountainous regions and eastern Taiwan, the bureau said.

The much-anticipated celestial event will be visible to people in parts of Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Nantou, Hualien and Taitung cities and counties, as well as the outlying islands of Penghu and Kinmen, according to the Taipei Astronomical Museum.

The phenomenon occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, covering the sun's center but leaving its outer rim, or corona, visible, forming an annulus around the moon, the museum said.    [FULL  STORY]