Taipei Times
Date: Apr 25, 2015
By: Ho Yi  /  Staff reporter

As the name suggests, Whinos, too is the sequel to a culinary hit. A spin-off of

the popular bistro Whinos Bar & Kitchen, Whinos, too boasts exuberant food and wine, and a space that is felicitously ample, incorporating a cozy, hip design. My dinning companions and I were delighted with our visit on a recent Saturday night — although a mishap that occurred at the end of the meal put a slight damper on the visit.

When we arrived early in the evening for our reservation — almost an imperative if you dine there on the weekend — the place was already filled with young diners clinking wine glasses and enjoying hearty food. With subdued lighting, a warm, wood entrance and wrought iron signage, it gives a hip impression to passersby. Inside, vintage furniture blends harmoniously with brick walls painted white and paintings to create a relaxing ambience which is accentuated by jazz music. A finely stocked glass cellar and a cabinet filled with cheeses heralded a delightful evening.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/24
By: Huang Li-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 24 (CNA) Thirteen chains selling tea drinks in Taiwan have agreed to join Taipei’s food ingredient registration campaign, publishing their sources of food ingredients and other key information on food safety on the city government’s Food Tracer platform.

The agreement was reached in a meeting between Taipei city health officials and the operators of major tea drink chain stores in the country Friday for talks about tea safety, after two tea chains were discovered to be selling pesticide-tainted tea drinks, triggering public concerns.

The 13 businesses attending the meeting also agreed to adopt a three-tier management scheme on tea quality examination and verification, in an effort to guarantee the safety of their products, Vice Taipei Health Director Lin Hsiu-liang (林秀亮) told the press after the event.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-25
By: Wu Chiang-chuan, Chang Chi-fang, Lee Yi, Chang Tong, Chiu Wen-hsiu, Chang Li-hsun and Staff Reporter

Visits by Taiwanese to local night markets have been drastically affected by

huge numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, reports our Chinese-language sister newspaper China Times.

Chinese tourists are often seen in groups of 12, all sitting at one table sharing one oyster omelete. At the same time, they’re loud voices and conversations make other patrons uncomfortable, according to China Times.

The situation is similar to what took place in Hong Kong, where massive numbers of Chinese visitors forced locals to change their living habits as well. People in Taipei city who used to frequent Taipei’s Shilin Night Market and Ningxia Night Market have since chosen to go elsewhere so they might avoid the noisy Chinese tourists.

It is common to see four or five people sharing a dish that costs only NT$50 (US$1.55), and it is also frequent to see 10 Chinese tourists sharing one oyster omelete, a much loved Taiwanese dish. Stand owners now refuse to give such visitors more than two pairs of chopsticks for one dish, nor will they provide extra bowls to share it.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/23
By: Justin Su, Yang Sz-ruei and Ted Chen

Taipei, April 23 (CNA) Two corpses were found Thursday in a grotesque state in

northern and southern Taiwan.

In northern New Taipei City, a corpse was discovered by workmen floating in the underground water storage tank of an apartment complex in Banqiao District, after residents complained of a foul “spoiled seafood” odor whenever they used their faucets.

Given the severe bloated condition of the corpse, police estimated that the body had been decomposing in the water tank for at least 10 days. Workmen also had to cut a bigger hole in the water tank to allow the removal of the bloated remains.     [FULL  STORY]

LINE IN THE SAND:Law enforcement at sea retains ‘room for improvement,’ Coast Guard Administration Minister Wang Chung-yi told legislators yesterday in Taipei

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 24, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Illegal mining of sea sand has been a serious problem off Kinmen, with Chinese

dredgers regularly entering the nation’s waters and taking almost 20,000 tonnes of sand over the past 10 years, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said yesterday in Taipei, urging the government to block the activity, which they said could cause irreversible damage to Taiwan’s coastline.

They made their remarks during a legislative Internal Administration Committee meeting in which the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and other agencies were asked to report on the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement signed in 2009.

Chinese dredgers have been active in Kinmen’s waters without facing sustained and compelling opposition from Taiwanese authorities, DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) said, citing a report by the Chinese-language CommonWealth Magazine published in July last year.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-23
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, who is known as a cat lover, has

said that he has never been to Taiwan and is interested in visiting the country’s Houtong Cat Village.

Responding to a comment on his website, the bestselling writer said some of the Taiwan destinations mentioned in the post seemed interesting.

“I’ve never been to Taiwan, and would like to go to the cat village,” said Murakami, whose novel Norwegian Wood became a bestseller in Taiwan after it was published in 1987.

The comment on Murakami’s website was written by a 49-year-old man posting under the username Miracle.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-21
By: CNA

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed for the first time Monday that the military will

dispatch P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft on surveillance missions to the country’s territory in the South China Sea in the future.

In a report to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said the military has already taken delivery of eight US-made P-3Cs, and another four will be delivered by the end of this year.

At present, the aircraft are mainly engaged in anti-submarine reconnaissance and joint surveillance in Taiwan’s surrounding waters and air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the MND said.     [FULL  STORY]