Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/27
By: You Kai-hsiang and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) The man in charge of Taipei’s urban development said the city government will set up a public housing corporation by the end of this year to build and manage 50,000 for-rent-only housing units in eight years.

Lin Chou-min （林洲民）, director of the capital city’s Department of Urban Development, made the statement after signing a memorandum of understanding with Seoul’s SH Corporation to model its successful experience in the development and construction of housing projects in South Korea.

Reiterating Mayor Ko Wen-je’s campaign promise to build 20,000 housing units in four years and 50,000 units in eight years, Lin said South Korea’s capital city has since the 1990s built 220,000 social housing units, accounting for 6.2 percent of the city’s total number of residences.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-27
By: CNA

A Taiwanese group of mountain climbers who experienced the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated Nepal on Saturday arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport from Nepal on Sunday, happy to be safely home.

The 12 travelers were the first group of Taiwanese travelers in Nepal to fly home after the earthquake. They flew from Kathmandu to Guangzhou in China on Saturday night and then transferred to a flight to Taiwan.

Members of the group said it felt good to be back home safe and sound, but one traveler, surnamed Hsiao, still had a vivid impression of the quake, which hit as they were walking around Kathmandu.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-26
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

President Ma Ying-jeou extended his sympathy to Nepal Saturday after the

Himalayan country was devastated by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Saturday and asked the Executive Yuan as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact Kathmandu to see what assistance Taiwan can provide.

Charles Chen, a spokesman for the Presidential Office, said Ma’s sympathy was conveyed to Nepal through Taiwan’s representative office in India.

The death toll from the disaster had exceeded 1,900 as of press time and continues to climb. An aftershock of magnitude 6.7 was registered on Sunday morning.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/26
By: Ho Horng-ju, Hsu Chih-wei, Evelyn Kao, Elizabeth Hsu and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 26 (CNA) Taiwan’s Buddhist groups are organizing teams that will

go to Nepal to help with the Himalayan country’s relief efforts in the wake of a magnitude-7.8 earthquake Saturday that have reportedly killed more than 2,000 people.

Master Pei Chueh, secretary general of Buddha Light International Association (BILA), which is linked to Fo Guang Shan Monastery in southern Taiwan, said the association is organizing a 30-member team on a rescue and medical mission that will include physicians and interpreters.

The relief team will take food, tents, blankets and other relief supplies to Nepal to extend medical and humanitarian assistance to the victims in the quake-stricken areas, Peiu Chueh said.     [FULL  STORY]

‘TAIWAN YES, CHINA NO’:Campaigners said that the Ma administration was determined to accomplish its ‘de-Taiwanization’ mission before he leaves office

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 26, 2015
By: Rachel Lin  /  Staff reporter

In the latest of a series of protests against the high-school curriculum for

Chinese language and social science, dozens of civic group representatives yesterday called for Taiwanese to demand the President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration reverse the policy aimed at “brainwashing” the younger generation.

“Taiwan yes, China no,” protesters shouted outside the Ministry of Education building, which has appealed against the ruling handed down by Taipei High Administration in February that threw into doubt the legitimacy of the ministry’s revisions to the curriculum guidelines in January last year.

The protesters put on a skit to show their dissatisfaction of the weight accorded to the 228 Massacre and the White Terror era in the new version of the curriculum, waving a banner reading: “Taiwanese independence.”     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-26
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday issued a travel alert urging

people not to travel to Nepal following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the Himalayan country earlier in the day in which over 1,900 people are confirmed to have died as of press time, with the death toll continuing to climb.

In a statement, the ministry called on Taiwanese nationals to postpone plans to visit Nepal.

The earthquake, the worst to hit Nepal since 1934, occurred approximately 80 kilometers to the northeast of the country’s capital of Kathmandu, according to the US Geological Survey.

More than 1,900 people were reported dead as of Sunday afternoon, and many buildings had collapsed in the capital and in areas near the quake’s epicenter, foreign media reported.     [FULL  STORY]

The large number of higher education institutions has turned students into consumers and teachers into salespeople

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 26, 2015
By: Eddy Chang  /  Staff reporter

If you were a university professor, what would you do if your students kept

playing with their smartphones or tablets in class? Assistant professor Lin Wan-hua (林婉華) banned their use. And guess what? She was almost fired by Da-Yeh University (大葉大學) in Changhua County, where she has taught English at its International Language Center for 14 years.

STUDENTS AS CUSTOMERS

After banning electronic devices, Lin got into an argument with a student who refused to turn off his smartphone. The student later filed a complaint to the university. Surprisingly, the school allegedly threatened to dismiss Lin over the dispute.

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-25
By: CNA

The British Trade and Cultural Office will put up a pavilion at the upcoming

Creative Expo in Taipei to showcase UK fashion and to boost bilateral business links within the industry.

The UK pavilion will present works by Taiwanese designers who have established their own brands in the UK after studying there, as well as the jewelry and shoes of two British brands, said the office, which represents UK interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties.

“The UK is at the cutting edge of international fashion and is renowned for its trendsetting, inventiveness and creativity,” said the office.

This is evidenced by UK designers exporting two-thirds of the clothing that they produce and the UK footwear industry exporting over 90% of its production around the world, it added.     [FULL  STORY]