Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/15
By: Lilian Wu

Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) The Agriculture and Food Agency said Saturday that it has tracked

down the rice grown in fields contaminated by slag dumped by a waste treatment company and that the rice harvested from the farmland beside a river in Tainan’s Xuejia District has not made its way into the market.

It noted that the harvested rice was first sent to a drying plant and later to a milling plant in Chiayi County, where a check of the milling plant’s warehouses found more than 200,000 tons of suspect rice.

To ensure food safety for consumers, the agency said that all the bagged rice has been sealed and it is certain that none of it has made its way into the market.

The agency will also conduct random tests on the rice to see if it contains heavy metals. The results of the tests will be unveiled Aug. 18.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 16, 2015
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

A greater number of the critically endangered Chinese crested tern, previously thought to

be extinct, have been spotted on Matsu, with the number of the rare birds expected to exceed 100 in the near future.

The Forestry Bureau said that 13 adults and four chicks had been observed at tern conservation areas in Matsu last month, contributing to a total of 75 adults and 24 chicks spotted this year at the three known breeding sites of the rare species.

The other two sites are the Jiushan Islands and the Wushishan Islands in China’s Zhejiang Province.

It was the first time in three years that chicks had been seen on Matsu, the bureau’s conservation official Hsia Jung-sheng (夏榮生) said.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-14
By: CNA

Descendants of a German businessman and a US missionary who made significant

contributions during World War II are in Taiwan to attend events in commemoration of the end of the war and to highlight the importance of peace.

At the invitation of the Republic of China government, Cindy Vautrin, great-grandniece of US missionary Minnie Vautrin; and Thomas Rabe, grandson of German businessman John Rabe, are attending the events to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

“From my perspective, I think that it’s important to continue to recognize and to remember what happened and to learn from that,” Vautrin told reporters in Taipei.

“Peace is really ultimately what we should be supporting and I think that having these types of ceremonies commemorating what happened, remembering what happened, teaches us what not to do for the future,”she said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/14
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Aug. 14 (CNA) State-run Chunghwa Post Co. launched a new campaign Friday that plays on the sudden fame of two mailboxes that were bent out of shape in similar directions by a falling sign that was dislodged by Typhoon Soudelor on Aug. 8.

The post office is encouraging people to submit post card designs to the post office between 5 p.m. Friday and noon Sunday, based on the theme of “Xiao Hong” (Little Red) and “Xiao Lu” (Little Green) — the nicknames of the two mailboxes.

“The contest is aimed at providing greater room for creativity,” the company said in a statement. “The contorted mailboxes are so cute that they have healed our hearts and inspired our sense of humor.”

A panel will choose 30 finalists from the submissions and then have them go through a public review online through which the 14 winners will be chosen.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-13
By: Jocylin FC, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

National Development Council on August 12 published the survey on the publics’ views on

the quality of their lives. They stated that 80% of the public are satisfied with their current living quality, 72% of the public are satisfied with their current work environment and labor conditions, and 70% of the public are content with their current financial status. Despite the improvements from last year surveys, many people are surprised by the numbers.

2015 survey of the quality of the general publics’ lives is 10% higher than the one conducted in 2014, yet the results spark controversies. Many data have proven that the economy in Taiwan is not doing well. The export has declined for 6 consecutive months, the GDP might fallen below 2% and the real wage has degenerated to the level of 15 years ago. National Federation of Independent Trade Unions (NFIDU) criticizes the survey, stating it is used as a tool of political manipulation for the 2016 election.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/13
By: S.C. Chang

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) A soldier was crushed to death Thursday by a tree trunk he was

carrying while helping to clean up wreckage left by Typhoon Soudelor which hit Taiwan last week.

The armored trooper, surnamed Chu, sustained a severe injury to the chest after he fell to the ground and was crushed by a heavy tree trunk he was trying to move.

He was pronounced dead after being rushed to Fengyuan Hospital in Taichung and his family agreed to forego further medical interventions, the 10th Army Corps said.