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Taiwan fisherman survives after drifting at sea for 2 hours

Taipei Times
Date: 2015-06-24 09
By: CNA

A Taiwanese fisherman survived on Monday after drifting in the sea for two hours and

The rescued fisherman, right front, being escorted by the police on the shore in Kaohsiung, June 22. (Photo courtesy of Fire Bureau, Kaohsiung City)

being washed back to the shore of the southern port city of Kaohsiung, police said.

The fisherman, identified only by his surname Liu, sailed alone on a sampan, a relatively flat-bottomed wooden fishing boat, out to the sea in the morning that day from a fishing port in the district of Tzukuan, Kaohsiung.

Without wearing a life jacket, Liu, 61, fell into the sea after his sampan capsized. Liu was found by anglers on the shore where he had been washed back by waves after having been drifting for two hours in the sea.

The fortunate fisherman was exhausted when he was found without serious injuries. He then was sent to a hospital for further examination.

Ex-navy captain in procurement scandal released

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 24, 2015
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Former navy captain Kuo Li-heng (郭力恆), who played a prominent role in the

Former navy captain Kuo Li-heng, center, yesterday declines to respond to reporters’ questions after being released from Taichung Prison. Photo: CNA

Lafayette frigate scandal, was released from jail yesterday, after serving his latest six-month term in lieu of paying a court-imposed fine of NT$200 million (US$6.45 million).

Kuo was found guilty of accepting NT$1.1 billion in kickbacks for brokering the deal, together with arms dealer Andrew Wang (汪傳浦), for the navy’s purchase of six Lafayette-class frigates from France in the early 1990s.

At least a dozen Taiwanese and French nationals associated with the case have since died in suspicious circumstances, including captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓), the navy official in charge of the procurement case.

A Taiwan High Court ruling in December last year upheld an earlier decision sentencing Kuo to 15 years in prison and a fine of NT$200 million for his role in the procurement scandal.

How Taiwan can avoid a Chinese takeover: expert

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 24, 2015
By: William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON

US Naval War College professor James Holmes has some advice for Taiwan on how to avoid a Chinese takeover.

“I reject the idea that a free people is doomed to fall to foreign conquerors,” he said.

Writing on Web site RealClearDefense, the strategy expert said that Taiwan can “master its destiny” if it does a few basic things.

First, Taiwan must not be taken in by “hooplah” over cordial cross-strait relations, he said.

“Much has been made of the supposed thaw in cross-strait relations during the [President] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) years,” Holmes said. “This will last precisely as long as Beijing sees the trendlines going its way toward unification.”

Taiwan must be realistic about US help in the case of an invasion, he added.

“Taiwan must ready itself to hold out as long as possible while the US political process sorts itself out, orders are given and US relief forces try to pry open the region,” he said.

“Self-help” should be the watchword for Taipei’s defense preparations, he wrote.

“Threaten credibly to make things hard and drawn-out for Chinese forces and Bejing’s success doubtful and you may balk its plans — or deter aggression altogether,” he said. [FULL STORY]

Bruises may cause serious issues if untreated: doctors

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 23, 2015
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

With the number of sports injuries increasing due to the sunny weather, several doctors yesterday urged people not to overlook bruising and swelling of soft tissue as it can lead to more severe injuries that might impede mobility and cause chronic pain.

Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital’s Division of Orthopedics director Shih Kao-shang (釋高上) said a recent survey found that more than 80 percent of respondents work out regularly, with half of that figure exercising for at least three days per week.

“The most popular forms of exercise are jogging, cycling and playing basketball, all of which put participants at risk of sports injuries, such as those caused by collisions and falls,” Shih said at a news conference in Taipei yesterday morning.

Shih said that the number of people visiting his outpatient service for sports injuries has increased by 20 percent, with sprains and contusions being the most common types, and sports injuries accounting for more than 80 percent of all injuries. [FULL STORY]

Child welfare foundation raising fund for disadvantaged children

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/23
By: T.W. Hsu and Lillian Lin

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) The Child Welfare League Foundation is hoping to raise NT$18 million for disadvantaged children, sponsoring summer camps, providing meals and nutrition, and subsidizing tuition in the new semester.

A survey report released by the foundation indicates that many disadvantaged children find the two-month summer vacation not only monotonous because their families cannot afford any holiday recreation, but also a time of extreme frugality because of the lack of a free lunch when school is not in session.

The foundation conducted a survey in January-February this year, selecting 866 samples among disadvantaged children around the island.

According to the report, 36% of the surveyed children said during the winter and summer vacations they weren’t able to eat lunch every day, and 12% said meals at their dining tables were often leftovers. [FULL STORY]

Philippines to crack down further on poachers from China and Taiwan

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-23
By: CNA

The Philippines is acquiring nearly 100 patrol boats to step up crackdowns on what fishery officials describe as “poachers from Taiwan and China,” local media quoted the Fisheries Development Authority as saying Monday.

The media quoted Asis Perez, the country’s top fisheries official, as saying his government has ordered over 70 short-range and nearly 30 mid- and long-range patrol vessels, which will be delivered by the end of the year.

The Philippines currently has only 20 patrol boats to patrol its 36,000 kilometers of coastline.

During the past two months, Taiwanese fishing boats have entered the Philippines’ “law enforcement” waters in the northern part of the country at least five times. [FULL STORY]

FEATURE: ‘Hidden Taipei’ tours give unique perspective

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 23, 2015
By: Chen Wei-han / CNA, with staff writer

A London-inspired guided tour led by homeless people to explore secret spots in Taipei’s Wanhua

Tour guide A-ho shares stories of life on the streets in Taipei’s Wanhua District during a Hidden Taipei tour on May 30. Photo: CNA

District (萬華) has transformed the lives of many, including a contingent of homeless people and an information-technology engineer-turned social worker.

Tour founder Tseng Wen-chin (曾文勤) said she modeled the Taipei program on an unorthodox tour she took in London in 2013 — one of the “Unseen Tours” organized by a grassroots volunteer network — and that gave a view of the metropolis through the eyes of homeless people, who took participants into the city’s hidden corners to share their life stories and engage with local residents.

She said she was impressed and motivated by the experience and decided to reproduce it in Taiwan. [FULL STORY]

Study links Parkinson Disease (PD) with different cancer types in Taiwan

The Hoops News
Date: Jun 22, 2015

During a study conducted in Taiwan, scientists have come to know that Parkinson’s disease or PD might be linked to 16 different types of cancer.

The study is a part of an effort to establish and explain the association between PD and multiple cancer forms in an East Asian population. This makes the study significant as the majority of the previous studies on this subject were conducted on Western people. The study has recently been published in the journal JAMA Oncology.

The past five decades have seen over 25 epidemiological studies being conducted for gathering information on links between cancer and PD. The majority of those studies suggested that people suffering from PD has a reduced risk of developing cancer than the ones without PD.

However, as mentioned above most of those previous researches had Western people as subjects; this new study in Taiwan tested East Asian people as it is a known fact that genetic backgrounds have an important role to play in disease development. [FULL STORY]

Pop diva A-mei to perform at Golden Melody Awards

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-22
By: CNA

Pop diva A-mei will highlight the list of performers at this year’s Golden Melody Awards ceremony,

A-mei. (Photo/Mei Entertainment)

organizers of the ceremony said Sunday.

In her performance, the singer will collaborate with Filipino dance group A-Team, which won gold at the World Hip Hop Dance Championship last year, Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV) said in a statement.

A-mei will perform several of her popular songs and will sport avant-garde style clothing, TTV said.

The 42-year-old singer and her album Faces of Paranoia were nominated for three Golden Melody awards this year–Best Mandarin Female Singer, Best Song of the Year and Best Album Packaging.

She will compete against Taiwan’s Lala Hsu, Waa Wei, and A-lin and Hong Kong’s Karen Mok for the Best Mandarin Female Singer award.

Among the other singers set to perform at the ceremony are Hong Kong’s Eason Chan and Sandy Lam, Taiwan’s Lala Hsu, Harlem Yu and Show Luo. [FULL STORY]

KMT groups planning July 5 event to mark Sino-Japanese war anniversary

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 23, 2015
By: Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is planning an event for July 5 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War — and whip up support for the party ahead of January’s presidential and legislative elections.

The event, cohosted by the party’s Huang Fu-hsing branch and its Culture and Communications Committee, is to stress the values of peace and the spirit of resistance, sources said, adding that it was clear from calls of maintaining KMT solidarity that the event is also intended to spur pan-blue supporters into action.

The Huang Fu-hsing branch is comprised of military veterans and their families, as well as “deep blue” supporters.

The list of invitees has not been finalized, but party sources speculate Deputy Legislative Speaker and presidential nominee Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and retired generals would be on the list. [FULL STORY]

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