Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-26
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Hualien County-registered fishing vessel Rong Shen reportedly reeled in what it appeared

to be unexploded ordnance after setting out to sea early Sunday morning in eastern Taiwan.

The crew onboard the ship landed a catch consisting of three rusted shells capable of blowing a hole in a combat ship, reports said.

The fishing vessel immediately put out an SOS call and a coast guard team was sent to assist them.

According to the Eastern Coastal Patrol Office, the emergency call was picked up from Rong Shen at around 7 a.m., who was then 1.7 nautical miles off the coast from Hualien.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/26
By: Wen Kui-hsiang, Hsu Chih-wei, Lu Hsin-hui and S.C. Chang

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Opposition Democratic Progressive Party’s spokesman Huang Ti-ying

(黃帝潁) called on the Ministry of Education (MOE) Sunday to drop the charges against a group of students who broke into MOE buildings last week in protest against what they called a “unilateral” decision to modify high school history textbook guidelines.

Instead of “painfully prosecuting” the students, Education Minister Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) should learn from the Legislative Yuan and “rationally withdraw” the charges, Huang said in a statement.

Huang was referring to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng’s (王金平) decision not to press charges against students and activists who occupied the Legislature’s main hall for 24 days in March and April last year in protest against the ruling party’s attempt to push through a bill on a trade-in-services pact with China.      [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-26
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

A mass wedding in Taipei scheduled for October will be open to same-sex couples for the first

time, the city government announced Thursday.

The city council modified regulations in early July, opening the door for same-sex couples to join the event, which is held twice a year in Taipei, according to the city’s Department of Civil Affairs.

The mass wedding will take place on Oct. 24 this year and registration will be open from Aug. 24-28, according to the department.

The event does not mean that same-sex couples taking part will have their unions officially recognized by law, but the move is seen as symbolically significant.

On June 17, the Taipei city government began to allow same-sex couples to register their partnership and so far 11 same-sex couples have completed their registration, the department said.     [FULL  STORY]

PROFITEERING:The Taoyuan Irrigation Association has allegedly leased out public land on which illegal structures have been built, according to the district forestry office

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 26, 2015
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The Hsinchu Forest District Office plans to file charges against the privately owned Taoyuan

Irrigation Association over the organization’s alleged profiteering by occupying and leasing out four plots of public land covering more than 226,000m2 in a Shihmen Reservoir catchment basin.

The Water Resources Agency’s Geographic Data System shows that the plots are in the No. 4 National Forest, overseen by the Forestry Bureau.

The plots are close to Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪) and have a combined market value of about NT$140 million (US$4.44 million), the data showed.

An independent investigation by Green Formosa Front standing director Lin Chang-mao (林長茂) found that a mountain road leading to the plots had been fenced off twice, with a sign on a gate further down the road reading: “Fierce dogs inside. Do not enter.”     [FULL  STORY]

The Queensland Times
Date: 25th Jul 2015
By: Andrew Korner

BREMER State High School students traded a bit of Aussie culture for the sweet sounds of a visiting Taiwanese orchestra this week.

An entourage of 50 performers and 20 teachers and parents from the Tan-zi Youth Wind Ensemble dropped into Ipswich on Thursday, performing for an appreciative crowd at Bremer High.

Deputy principal Melissa Winks said Bremer’s music and performing arts students were gob smacked at the skill and professionalism of the ensemble, which put on a half-hour performance for their hosts.

“It was a wonderful cultural and learning experience for our students,” Ms Winks said.

“They don’t get to see a band of that magnitude and standard often, so it is great that our kids have been exposed to it.”     [FULL  STORY]