LOST IN THE SHUFFLE:Labor groups said that the government was ‘railroading’ the ‘secretive’ talks through, and that the agreement would likely hurt consumers

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 02, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

The latest round of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks with the US

ignores the interests of ordinary citizens, labor activists said yesterday.

Campaigners from the Taiwan Free Trade Investigation, the People’s Supervisory Alliance (人民監督雜碎聯盟) and other groups protested outside of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the site of yesterday’s talks.

The talks were the ninth round of TIFA talks, aimed at filling out the framework, which was signed in 1994.

The ministry earlier this week said that it would use the platform to express Taiwan’s desire to join the Tran-Pacific Partnership (TPP) being negotiated among Pacific Rim states.

Taiwan Free Trade Investigation member Lee Yuan-chun (李援軍) said that while TIFA talks were aimed at “kickstarting” Taiwan’s bid to join the TPP, the results of past free-trade accords suggest that corporations would benefit at the expense of average citizens. While activists were not opposed to trade agreements, any negotiations should be conducted from the standpoint of furthering the interests of ordinary people, he said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-30
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Life expectancy in Taiwan rose to an average 79.84 years in 2014, with an average 76.72

years for males and 83.19 years for females, according to the Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday.

According to preliminary calculations, the average life expectancy at birth for males only rose slightly over the previous year, which saw 76.7 in 2013, as opposed to a drop for females with 83.3 last year.

However, the decrease of female life expectancy in Taiwan can be attributed to the increased number of deaths for women aged 65 and above in 2014, the ministry said, adding that cancer remains the number one killer disease in the nation.

Based on the data collected, the MOI survey found that Taiwan’s average life span is comparative with figures from countries in Europe, the United States and Germany.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/30
By: S.F. Wong and Lillian Lin

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) The ever popular annual Taiwan Cycling Festival will open on Oct. 30, with cyclists from home and abroad taking part in the Taiwan KOM Challenge, a 105-kilometer hill climbing ride from Hualien (花蓮) on the east coast to Hehuan Mountain (合歡山) in central Taiwan.

The 2015 cycling festival, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 22, also features three other events, namely the Formosa 900, Sun Moon Lake Come! Bike, and OK Taiwan Bike and Horse Riding Tour.

Now in its fourth year, the Taiwan KOM Challenge attracts many professional cyclists who see it as a big challenge.

Last year, John Ebsen of Denmark completed the route in 3 hours, 40 minutes and 5 seconds from the official timed start, which began after an 18-kilometer ride.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 01, 2015
By: Chris Fuchs  /  Contributing reporter in New York

Dozens of Taiwanese Americans protested Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN this past week

as Pope Francis and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) joined other world leaders in addressing the 70th UN General Assembly in New York City.

The Taiwanese American Association of New York (TAANY) held two separate sit-ins — one on Friday last week and one on Monday — at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the UN to advocate for religious freedom in China and to protest China’s aggression toward Taiwan, TAANY board member Jennifer Liu (劉佩芸) said.

“Today’s message was more like ‘China — hands off Taiwan,’” Liu said of Monday’s protest, which was timed to coincide with Xi’s speech to the General Assembly.

Liu said the rallies attracted between 50 and 80 people from nearby states and from as far away as Maryland and Virginia.

Clad in black-and-white “Keep Taiwan Free” T-shirts, demonstrators called for Taiwan to be included in the UN, she said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-29
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Due to problems with too much murky water in the wake of

Typhoon Dujuan, Taipei City said it would postpone the resumption of its regular water supply until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Taipei City water officials apologized, saying they regretted that 70 percent of water users in the capital would have to wait until Wednesday morning, instead of the earlier mentioned time of Tuesday noon.

Most tap water in the capital comes from three water purification plants, and the Zhitan plant, which supplies 70 percent of consumers, had a problem with murky water, officials said. A workable solution to solve the problem was not found until 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to the authorities.

Residents of the Zhongzheng, Wanhua, Daan, Xinyi and Jingmei areas could look forward to receiving tap water at 6 p.m. Tuesday because they were supplied by the Changxing and Gongguan purification plants, which had not suffered the same problem, the authorities said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/29
By: K.H. Yu and Lillian Lin

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Forty-two suspected members of a cross-border phone fraud ring arrested by a joint investigative team of Taiwanese and Philippine police earlier this month were deported by the Philippines and sent back to Taiwan Tuesday.

The team started its operations about a year ago after receiving information about the cross-border scam ring led by a 37-year-old man surnamed Lin, and members he recruited from Taiwan and China.

The phone fraud ring was busted in early September when the Taiwan-Philippine investigative team raided 37 locations in Taiwan and the Philippines.

Lin and 13 of his gang in Taiwan, as well as 68 members of the fraud ring in the Philippines, were arrested during the raids.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-29
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

The rock band Bon Jovi departed Taiwan on Tuesday morning, the local promoter of their

concerts said, dashing any lingering hopes that they would stage a show in Taipei on Tuesday after its scheduled concerts were canceled due to a typhoon.

“We are sorry…the band members flew out of Taiwan this morning, while Jon Bon Jovi will depart Taiwan in the afternoon,” Live Nation Taiwan said.

“We understand that everyone has waited for a long time and is frustrated, but at present there really are no plans for a concert,” the organizers said.

Two Bon Jovi concerts that were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Taipei were canceled due to Typhoon Dujuan, which hit the island directly Monday night with powerful winds and torrential rain.     [FULL  STORY]

Turtle Island, off the coast of Yilan, not only provides for spectacular dolphin watching but also has a rich history which its former inhabitants have been fighting to preserve

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 30, 2015
By: Han Cheung  /  Staff Reporter

After more than 15 years of being barred by the government from visiting his ancestral

home, Chien Ying-chun (簡英俊) can still remember the moment when he set foot on Turtle Island (龜山島) again.

Speaking in a thick Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) accent, Chien said, “When we arrived, we took our time looking at every stone, every object, remembering our feelings toward the land.”

We weren’t on Turtle Island, however. When the entire population was evacuated in the 1970s, most of them were resettled in a cluster of residences now known as Gueishan Borough (龜山里) near Dasi (大溪) on the Yilan coast. Chien met us at the Turtle Island Museum in the community center and we talked amid artifacts, displays and memories of his past, including a 72-sided kite and a detailed model of the 2.8km2 island — head, shell, tail and all.

DREAMING OF TURTLE ISLAND

Fascinated by cartography as a teenager living in Taipei, I would carefully study maps of Taiwan and take note of the various offshore islands. Turtle Island was seemingly the most accessible, its distinct shape clearly visible from the highway on one of our many drives down Taiwan’s east coast. It’s also one of the few active volcanoes in the country.     [FULL  STORY]