Police question Yang Wednesday evening

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-22
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A drone which hit Taipei 101 was guided by a tourist from China in an

China tourist hits Taipei 101 with drone. Central News Agency

incident which provoked concern about national security and terrorism, reports said Wednesday.

Around 10 o’clock Tuesday morning, an unmanned drone carrying a camera smashed into Taiwan’s tallest building, reports said. As a security guard found the damaged object near Songzhi Road, a man came running and said the drone was his. The man reportedly presented himself as Yang, a 28-year-old visitor from China.

He said he was staying at an adjacent five-star hotel. Because the skies were clear, he had gone to nearby Songshou Park to launch his drone, reports said.

However, operating the unmanned flying object around the tower buildings had been too difficult and as a result, it smashed into Taipei 101 unintentionally, he reportedly told the security guard.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/22
By: Tang Pei-chun and Bill Lin

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Vanessa Shih (史亞平) hosted a ceremony to kick off a training program for Taiwan’s 2015 International Youth Ambassadors at Shih Chien University in Taipei on Wednesday.

The selected 160 students from 55 universities and colleges around Taiwan will receive intensive training July 22-Aug. 28.

They will be divided into 10 groups that will visit 35 countries and 41 cities on a three-week mission, starting at the end August, Shih said.

She called on the youth ambassadors “not to be afraid of tough training, complete the full training and then show the results to the world.”     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-22
By: CNA

Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou has accepted the resignation of National Security Bureau

Yang Kuo-chiang, left, and Andrew Kao. (Photo/CNA; Huang Shih-chi)

Director-General Lee Shying-jow, with the vacancy to be filled by Army Reserve Lt-Gen Yang Kuo-chiang, the National Security Council announced Tuesday.

Lee, who cited personal and health issues as reasons for his resignation, will be appointed a national policy advisor to the president, based on past practice.

Yang has previously served as superintendent of the Chinese Military Academy, head of the Republic of China Army Armor Training Command and Armor School and as deputy director-general of the NSB.

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrew Kao will be transferred to serve as deputy secretary-general of the NSC, with the appointment to become effective July 25, according to an announcement issued by the Presidential Office Tuesday.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Jul 23, 2015

Wanted by the police, fraud offender Tsai Han-ting jumped from five stories up while fleeing

A police officer pushes repeat offender Tsai Han-ting in his wheelchair in New Taipei City on March 12. 警察推著累犯蔡瀚霆的輪椅。攝於三月十二日，新北市。 Photo: Wu Jen-chieh, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報記者吳仁捷

arrest and broke his legs, leaving him in a wheelchair. He then took advantage of people’s sympathy by lying to them about having no money to return home, by which he successfully scammed two people for NT$10,000, one of whom was even kind enough to push Tsai’s wheelchair to the post office and withdraw money to give him. The New Taipei District Court sentenced Tsai to six months in prison for fraud, with leave to appeal.

According to police investigations, Tsai had previously fractured his leg while attempting to escape arrest and has recently used a wheelchair. However, as he lacks spending money, he uses his twisted mind to swindle people while taking advantage of their compassion.     [FULL  STORY]

BBC News
Date: July 21, 2015

Taiwan has seen a string of disasters this year. But these are not simply accidents. Behind

Two planes from TransAsia have crashed in the past year

each case, investigators found that either negligence, an error in judgment or legal violations were at least partly to blame. The BBC’s Cindy Sui in Taipei asks whether Taiwan’s reputation for safety is deserving.

Taiwan is considered one of the safest places in the world because of its low crime rate. But crime-rate aside, it may not be as safe as it likes to think it is.

The past year of disasters is a stark reminder:

•     In the past year, two planes from local carrier TransAsia crashed, killing more than 80 people. In one case, the pilot may have misjudged whether it was safe to land after a typhoon. In the other, a pilot is thought to have mistakenly shut down the only working engine on the aircraft.
•        Underground petrochemical pipelines exploded in Kaohsiung city killing 32 people. Investigators found local and central governments had known about the pipelines, but neglected to inspect them, and neither did the companies that owned or rented them. The local public works department violated regulations in its construction of a draining ditch which contributed to the rupture.
•     Several fires occurred in structures that were allowed to exist even though they violated building codes. A fire at a bowling alley illegally built with metal sheeting killed six firefighters when the roof collapsed on them.
•     A fire at a water park concert in June, that began after coloured powder sprayed on spectators ignited, burned nearly 500 mostly young people and killed several. Organisers and park managers had failed to take safety precautions and government agencies had not restricted the use of the flammable material, investigators found.

The incidents point to underlying problems in how Taiwan views public safety. Employees are not adequately trained on safety, and standard operating procedures are lacking.     [FULL  STORY]