Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/11
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) Taiwan successfully concluded its most important war games, the annual Han Kuang series of military exercises, which this year simulated an attack by China, the Ministry of National Defense said Friday.

“The drills have achieved the goal of the training,” the ministry said of the exercises, which were staged on Taiwan proper and on its outlying islands from Monday to Friday.

Through simulating various scenarios of a Chinese attack, the drills “were aimed at testing the military’s combat capabilities and testing the effectiveness of military mobilization, in an effort to bolster the country’s overall combat capabilities,” it said.

As the second part of the Han Kuang military exercises, the five-days of maneuvers saw the Army, Navy and Air Force test their joint operations in the face of a simulated military threat from China. They followed computer-aided war games held in May.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-11
By: CNA

Taijiang National Park in Tainan will hold a six-month festival featuring the black-faced

Black-faced spoonbills forage at Taijiang National Park. (File photo/Taijiang National Park)

spoonbill that will run from October to March, when the endangered bird species migrates to Taiwan to spend the winter, park authorities said Thursday.

Tainan is one of the most important global wintering sites for the black-faced spoonbill, accounting for more than 65% of the global population. Every year, over 1,000 of the birds are recorded there.

The festival will kick off with an exposition Sept. 26. In addition to an exhibition, there will be games, dramas, DIY activities and quizzes.

The festival will feature a different theme each month and there will be various activities in which people can take part in the park, such as birdwatching and bicycle-riding. Those interested in the activities can register to take part via the park’s official site two weeks prior to the start of the events.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-10
By: Staff Reporter

A total eclipse of a supermoon will take place during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, which

A blood moon observed from Yunnan province, April 4. It was the shortest total eclipse recorded so far this century. (File photo/Xinhua)

will fall on Sept. 27, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily, though sadly the event will not be visible from China to coincide with the festival celebrated by gazing at the moon.

The last supermoon occurred in August 2014 but the last eclipse of a supermoon was 30 years ago on Sept. 27, 1982. The next will not occur until 2033.

Wang Sichao, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory attached to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the eclipse will not be visible in China, though, people in the Americas, Africa and Europe will be able to see it.

A supermoon is observed when the moon is at its shortest distance from the Earth in the orbital cycle, making it appear brighter and around 12%-14% bigger than usual. Wang said the moon during the festival this year will appear to be particularly large due to the coincidental occurrence of the supermoon and the eclipse.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Sep 10, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The annual Han Kuang military exercises continued yesterday, with combined naval and air

Tsai Lien-hui, commander of the military’s Joint Operations Training Base Command in Pingtung County, yesterday talks to local residents who want the command to pay attention to soil and water conservation. Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times

force combat maneuvers held off the east coast, and a simulation of the defense of Taichung Harbor from a Chinese attack.

However, live-fire drills and troop movements at a major armed forces base in southern Taiwan met with the protests of local residents.

The protest in southern Taiwan is part of a long-running feud between local residents and the military over the activities of the Joint Operations Training Base Command, which is in Pingtung County’s Checheng Township (車城).

Led by county councilors and township elected officials, more than 200 residents gathered at the entrance of the base yesterday morning and attempted to enter.

The residents wanted to stop the military exercise and the live-fire drills, because they said the noise and the concussive shocks from artillery bombardments have damaged nearby houses and severely affected their living environment.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/09
By: P.N. Lung and Lillian Lin

Taipei, Sept. 9 (CNA) Taiwan recorded 3,546 suicides in 2014, with males outnumbering

CNA file photo

females by two to one, according to statistics released by the Taiwanese Society of Suicidology Wednesday, on the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day.

The data showed that 2,364 males and 1,182 females committed suicide in Taiwan last year, with 32 percent of the total number in the 25-44 age group, which is considered the prime of life.

Among the total 3,546 suicides, 38 percent were in the middle-aged to elderly group (45-64), 24 percent were over 65 years old, 4 percent were between 15 and 24, and there were two deaths in the under-14 age category, according to the statistics.

For 13 consecutive years, from 1997 to 2009, suicide was among the top-10 causes of death in Taiwan, and the number of cases peaked in 2006 to 4,406, according to the report.     [FULL  STORY]

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

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The number of deaths confirmed to have been caused by dengue

Dengue fever death toll rises to 18. Central News Agency (2015-09-08 21:08:39)

fever rose from 10 to 18 Wednesday, though the Centers for Disease Control were still investigating 14 other suspected cases.

The mosquito-borne disease has been spreading fear across the island, though the city of Tainan has been at the center of the outbreak, so much so that CDC Director-General Steve Kuo temporarily moved there.

On Tuesday, 560 new dengue fever patients were identified, the biggest daily rise since the beginning of the summer, according to the CDC. In addition to Tainan, adjacent Kaohsiung City was the area worst affected, officials said.

Taipei City also counted three new cases of citizens suffering from dengue fever, bringing the total up to seven, but all three had visited Tainan City, the CDC said. A 20-year-old woman from the Zhongshan District was still staying in hospital, but a 19-year-old woman had already returned home to the Daan District, and a 39-year-old man living in the Xinyi District was in hospital.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/09
By: L.C. Su and Lillian Lin

Taipei, Sept. 9 (CNA) The New Taipei City government said Wednesday that 60 percent of the people who were hospitalized two months ago with burns sustained in a deadly flash fire at a water park have been discharged.

As of Tuesday, 316 of the 499 burn victims had been released from hospital and most of them had checked into rehabilitation centers, according to a city government health official.

Among those discharged from hospital, only about 15 percent have been able to return home, with instructions for follow-up visits to medical clinics, the official said, adding that 171 burn victims of the water park fire are still hospitalized.

In response to the city government’s efforts to help the victims return to their normal lives, 29 companies have offered 170 job opportunities to those who have recovered, the official said.     [FULL  STORY]