Taiwanese ‘gutter oil’ scandal spreads to Hong Kong, Macau

Pineapple buns and dumplings have been pulled from the shelves in Hong Kong as authorities check whether they contain what media are referring to as “gutter oil” that has sparked a growing regional food safety scare, officials said yesterday.

An investigation was launched after oil from a Taiwanese company accused of using illegally recycled products — including fat collected from grease traps — was exported to the territory.

Taiwanese authorities say a factory in Greater Kaohsiung illegally used 243 tones of tainted products to mix with lard oil in a case that has reignited regional concerns about food safety.

The lard oil — a clear oil pressed from pig fat — was supplied to at least 900 restaurants and bakeries in Taiwan. The owner of the factory was arrested on Sunday.

The scare has now spread to Hong Kong, with local chains forced to pull products from their shelves and experts ramping up spot checks.

Philip Ho, an officer from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, told Radio Television HK yesterday that dozens of food samples had been taken, with results expected in the next few days.

The government’s Centre for Food Safety is also conducting tests on mooncakes from retailers across the territory. The pastries are consumed in vast numbers during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Popular bakery chain Maxim’s Cakes removed pineapple buns from its shelves over the weekend after confirming it had used oil from Chang Guann Co (強冠企業), the Taiwanese oil manufacturer at the heart of the scandal.

Macau’s Food Safety Centre said 21 bakeries and food manufacturers had bought oil from Chang Guann through a local importer.

Shoppers in Hong Kong said they were increasingly concerned about the safety of food, especially imported products.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/09/09/2003599324

Structure of the lead:

Who- Not given

When- September 8

What- Gutter oil

Why- Not given    

Where- Taiwan

How- Not given

Keywords:

Grease trap (n.) 隔油池

Reignite (v.) 重燃

Hygiene (n.) 衛生

Taiwan actor Ko Chen-tung cut from blockbuster after drug arrest with Jaycee Chan

The fourth installment of the Chinese blockbuster franchise Tiny Times will not feature Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung, after he was arrested for drug use in Beijing in July, state media reported.

The 23-year-old actor, also known as Kai Ko, served 14 days in detention in Beijing for drug offences after he was detained along with Jaycee Fong Cho-ming, son of Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan.

China’s media watchdog has warned mainland production companies not to use stars involved in prostitution, gambling or drug abuse. China Radio International reports that Ko’s scenes in Tiny Times 4, due for release in February, are being reshot.

The Tiny Times franchise, which has been called China’s ‘Gossip Girl’, has been hugely successful. On its release in July, the third film knocked Transformers 4 off the top of the Chinese box office, taking more than 306 million yuan in its first four days and setting a record for a 2D film.

Writer-director Guo Jinming said earlier this year he might have to cut Ko from the fourth film, though he later denied he was in talks with an actor to replace him.

“The movie has to be submitted for censorship and it’s beyond my ability,” Guo told the Beijing News in September.

Ko, who made a tearful confession of drug use on state TV in August, has already lost a number of high-profile endorsement deals, including with Canon, KFC, and Quaker Oats.

The actor will also reportedly be cut from ‘Monster Hunt’, the live-action debut of Chinese director Raman Hui, who previously co-directed ‘Shrek the Third’.

Jaycee Chan was formally arrested in September on suspicion of “accommodating drug users” and potentially faces as much as three years in prison.

Jackie Chan, who was named a Chinese anti-drug ambassador in 2009, has publicly apologised for his son’s behavior and blamed his failings as a parent.

“I am always a father. I used to be an unqualified father. Now, after this event, I want to be a qualified father,” Chan told reporters last month.

Ko and Chan were detained as part of an ongoing anti-drug campaign. This week Chinese police announced that more than 100,000 drug users had been "investigated" and 12 tones of narcotics seized in the past 50 days alone. 

Structure of the lead:

Who- Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung

When- July

What- Arrested for drug use

Why- Not given       

Where- Beijing

How- Not given

Keywords:

Blockbuster(n.)賣座的

Franchise(n.)專營權 

Prostitution(n.)賣淫

Abuse(n.)濫用

Censorship(n.)審查

Ambassador(n.)大使

Narcotics(n.)毒品

Dozens dead as Taiwan gas explosions tear up streets

A downtown district of the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung was ripped apart just before midnight Thursday by a series of explosions that killed at least 26 people and injured hundreds more, state news agency CNA reported.

The blasts, which were triggered by underground gas leaks, tore trenches through main roads, overturned cars and trucks, and sent flames leaping into the air in the city's Cianjhen district.

Witnesses said they saw vehicles flung into the air by the force of the explosions; one car was found on the roof of a three-story building.

Zong Han-Li was driving when the explosion happened directly in front of him, and his dashboard camera caught the moment the gas ignited.

The explosion left a trench 2 meters deep. Some vehicles were blasted into the air, and some people fell into the trench. It was a devastating scene.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/31/world/asia/taiwan-explosions/index.html?iref=allsearch

Structure of the lead:

Who-not given

When-7/31

What-gas explosion

Why- not given

Where-Kaohsiung

How- not given

Keywords:

Rip(v.)拉開

Blasts(n.)爆炸

Trigger(v.)引發

Trenches(n.)壕溝

Dashboard(n.)儀表盤

Ignite(v.)點燃

Devastating(Adj.)破壞性的

48 killed in Taiwan plane crash

At least 48 people were killed when a twin-engine turboprop plane crashed Wednesday while attempting to land in Taiwan's Penghu Islands, according to Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration.

Officials say 10 people were injured in the plane crash and that five residents on the ground were also hurt. Taiwan's Transportation Minister Yeh Kuang-shih told reporters there were no casualties on the ground.

Taiwanese authorities are now identifying victims and investigating the cause of the crash.

Two of the people killed were believed to be French passengers, identified as Jeromine Deramond and Penelope Luternauer, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. One of those on the passenger's list was an 82-year-old Taiwanese wood craftsman, according to local Taiwanese media.

Footage aired on CNN affiliate ETTV showed the plane had crashed in a residential area and broken into pieces. ETTV reported that the fallen plane destroyed or damaged 11 houses.

The central weather bureau reported lightning storms at the time and winds between 40 and 45 mph, the news agency said.

Injured passengers were taken to Penghu Hospital, and TransAsia Airways established an emergency response center, according to a statement issued by the airline.

The president of TransAsia Airways, Chooi Yee-choong, appeared briefly at a news conference and bowed in front of news cameras. He choked up as he expressed his sorrow to passengers' families and the public. "I sincerely apologize," he said.

Before Flight GE222 took off from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, it had been delayed because of conditions related to a typhoon, the airline said. The plane was a 72-seat twin-engine turboprop ATR 72.

"TransAsia Airways is exhausting all means to assist passengers, victims and families" and working with investigators, its statement read.

One of the plane's flight data recorders was recovered, and investigators will examine the crash site Thursday, the minister said.

The plane crashed near Magong Airport at about 7 p.m., according to CNA. Witnesses told ETTV that they saw homes on fire.

The cause of the crash is unknown.

Some media reports said strong winds from Typhoon Matmo, which hit Taiwan early Wednesday, forced the plane to attempt a crash landing.

Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration director, Jean Shen told reporters that visibility at Magong Airport at the time of the plane's attempted landing was about 1,600 meters (1 mile) and considered acceptable for landing.

The Penghu Islands are off the west coast of the main Taiwanese island.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/23/world/asia/taiwan-plane-crash/index.html?iref=allsearch

Structure of the lead:

Who- Not given

When- Wednesday   

What- A twin-engine turboprop plane crashed

Why- Not given

Where- Penghu Islands

How- Not given

Keywords:

Turboprop (n.) 渦輪螺旋槳飛機

Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (n.)台灣民航局

Casualty (n.)傷亡

Bureau (n.)局

Taiwan to halt construction of fourth nuclear power plant

President Ma Ying-jeou met with lawmakers from his Kuomintang Party (KMT) and reached a decision to seal off the plant's first reactor after the completion of safety checks, KMT spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi told reporters.

Construction of the second reactor will be halted immediately, the spokesman added.

The move is the latest sign of pressure on Ma's administration from opposition parties and anti-nuclear activists, who are concerned about the safety of such facilities in earthquake-prone regions of Taiwan following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in downtown Taipei over the weekend, urging the government to abandon nuclear energy.

On Friday, Ma refused opposition demands for an immediate referendum on the future of Taiwan's contentious fourth nuclear plant, but reiterated that the government would hold such a vote before the facility starts operations.

The news triggered a 2 percent drop in Taiwan's share market due to fears higher electricity prices could dent the economy.

The fourth plant is located in northern New Taipei City.

Taiwan's three current nuclear power facilities would have to serve longer if the fourth one does not start operating as planned, the economics ministry has said.

Taiwan's first nuclear plant is set to be decommissioned from 2018-19, while the second is set to close between 2021 and 2023.

Some 40 percent of the island's electricity is generated by burning coal, 30 percent using natural gas and 18.4 percent by nuclear power plants, according to the economics ministry.

Taiwan sits near the so-called ring of fire region of seismic activity around the Pacific Ocean. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/27/taiwan-nuclear-idUSL3N0NJ08C20140427

Structure of the lead:

Who- President Ma Ying-jeou

When-Not given  

What- Seal off the plant's first reactor

Why- Not given

Where-Taiwan

How- Not given

Keywords:

Reactor (n.)反應爐

Halt (v.)停止

Administration (n.)管理

Referendum (n.)公投

Contentious (Adj.)爭議的

Reiterate (v.)重申

MH370 Aviation Mystery

In the aviation mystery which has baffled the world there is one fundamental question which continues to swirl: Has Inmarsat got its numbers right?

It was these very calculations which led the search for MH370 far from the plane's original route across South East Asia and deep into the southern Indian Ocean, off the west coast of Australia. No piece of work is more important in the search for the plane.

I was given exclusive access to the satellite experts who did the groundbreaking work. Time and again, I would ask them the toughest question: "Are you right?"

But before we get there ... How did the data come to light in the first place?

Once the plane went missing, the ground station in Perth checked the logs and discovered that while the aircraft's communications systems were switched off, the plane and the satellite still kept saying "hello" to each other, every hour.

"Having messages for six hours after the plane is lost is probably the biggest disbelief," admits Inmarsat's vice president of satellite operations Mark Dickinson.

These messages are the raw data upon which everything rests.

  http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/27/world/asia/mh370-is-inmarsat-right-quest-analysis/index.html

Structure of the Lead :

Who-Inmarsat

When-Not given

What-aviation mystery

Why-Not given

Where-southern Indian Ocean

How-Not given

Keywords :

Aviation (n.)航空

Baffle (v.)困惑

Fundamental (Adj.)基本

Swirl (v.)捲

Inmarsat (n.) 國際海事衛星組織

Satellite (n.) 衛星

Groundbreaking (Adj.)創新

Aircraft (n.)飛機

week1-Sunflower Student Movement

Sunflower Student Movement

 On March 17, Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party (KMT), attempted a unilateral move in the Legislative Yuan to force the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement to the legislative floor without giving it a clause-by-clause review as previously established in a June 2013 agreement with the opposing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Previously, in September 2013, the two parties had agreed to hold 16 public hearings over the details of the trade agreement with academics, NGOs and representatives of trade sectors impacted by the agreement. The KMT had chaired eight public hearings within a week, and several members of social groups, NGOs, and business representatives from impacted industries were either not invited or were informed at the last minute. When academics and business sector representatives gave their opinions at the hearings, the presiding chair of the legislature’s Internal Administrative Committee, KMT legislator Chang Ching-chung, said the agreement had to be adopted in its entirety and could not be amended.^[25] Legislative gridlock followed, as the opposing DPP had not completed the eight hearings they had agreed to chair by March 17. Chang, citing Article 61 of the Legislative Yuan Functions Act, announced that the review process had gone beyond the 90 days allotted for review. The agreement, in the KMT's view, should therefore be considered reviewed and should be submitted to a plenary session on March 21 for a final vote.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
Who-Kuomintang party (KMT)
When-March 17
What-Legislative Yuan to force the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement to the legislative floor without giving it a clause-by-clause review
Why-Not given
Where-Taiwan
How-Not given

Unilateral (n.) 單方面

Legislative Yuan (n.) 立法院

Kuomintang party (n.) 國民黨

Democratic Progressive Party (n.)民進黨

Gridlock (n.) 僵局

Allot (v.) 配發
Plenary (adj.) 全體
Session (n.) 會議