week3- Uber 優步

Taxi drivers’ union wants tougher penalties for Uber

By Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

Mon, Dec 22, 2014

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has been asked by taxi drivers to toughen up its measures against Uber, an application-based taxi service provider, to protect the interests of legal taxi-service providers.

The ministry had previously threatened to put Uber out of business as it has been offering taxi services without first registering as a taxicab transportation business, as is required by the Highway Act . Statistics from the Directorate General of Highways show that, as of last week, the government has issued a total of 63 citations against Uber, and against drivers accepting assignments from the company, with penalties issued totaling more than NT$4.8 million (US$152,240).

Starting on Saturday, Uber faces a fine of NT$600,000 per day if it continues to operate illegally.

Taiwan Taxi Corp representative Chu Kong-ming (朱孔明) questioned why drivers should spend so much time and energy preparing for the test to become cab drivers, when drivers accepting work provided by Uber can simply offer taxi services without having to pass any tests.

Chu said the government has a series of legally-binding rules stipulated in the Act Governing Punishments for Road Traffic Regulations that are aimed at regulating registered taxi drivers, but that authorities had simply let drivers working for Uber operate unregulated.

Although Uber seems to offer discounts and other promotions to attract customers, Chu said safety remains the top priority for passengers, who are also concerned with the professionalism of the drivers.

In response to the MOTC allegations, Uber’s office in the Asia-Pacific region issued a statement on Friday saying it was disappointed with the ministry’s remarks. The company said it has been following the legal requirements and has responded to the ministry’s requests and has filed an appeal, adding it had sought to communicate with the government by offering constructive suggestions.

The company said that thousands of passengers in the Greater Taipei Area rely on Uber for a safe, reliable, convenient and inexpensive daily service, adding that many taxi drivers also depend on Uber to provide them with a more flexible work schedule and more business opportunities so that their families can have a better life.

Uber also faces legal challenges in other nations, including the US, Spain, Thailand, India and the Netherlands. In the US, for example, the city governments in both San Francisco and Los Angeles have accused Uber of misleading consumers.

Its operation in Nevada was suspended following a court order. Meanwhile, Uber was banned from operating in Spain after the Madrid Taxi Association filed a complaint.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/12/22/2003607333

 Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC)

   WHEN-Starting on Saturday

   WHAT- asked by taxi drivers to toughen up its measures against Uber

   WHY- Uber faces a fine of NT$600,000 per day if it continues to operate illegally.

   WHERE-In Taiwan 

   HOW- taxi drivers

Keywords：

   1.toughen up : 強硬起來

   2. ministry : 部

   3.Highway Act : 公路法

   4.citations : 引文

   5.penalties : 處罰

   6.Act Governing Punishments for Road Traffic Regulations : 法管理處罰的道路交通管理條例

   7.regulating  :調節

   8.constructive : 建設性

   9.accused : 指責

   10. filed a complaint : 投訴

2014-02-week 2 台中歌劇院

 National Taichung Theater

National Taichung Theater will be closed for maintenance and construction from Jan 1st, 2015. The performances, tours and the restaurant service will be unavailable. Out-door area and the water fountain will remain open to public.

National Taichung Theater is located in Xitun District, Taochung. It is a very characteristic performance area. The theater is designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Using the concept of the primitive caves and holes, Toyo Ito designed the world first and only Sound Cave Curved Wall for National Taichung Theater. There are no vertical and horizontal structures and it’s the world’s first curve surfaced hanging structure architect. Due to the complexity, it is known as the most difficult architect to complete. Five years and NT$ 4.36 billion, the theater finally open in November 23rd, 2014. The theater is organized into a large theater, medium theater and experimental stage, which hold up to more than 3000 guests.

During the urban renewal in Taichung, Taichung city government tried get the Guggenheim Museum to join the museum project in Taichung. Unfortunately due to the budget shortage, the project was canceled. After Architecture Design Competition for the later idea to build a national theater, Toyo Ito’s design was selected. But the difficulty of building this monster in reality caused investments backing out over and over. But after conquering the obstacles, they finally broke the ground in the end of 2009.

After 5 years and NT$ 4.36 billion devoted in, the theater finally completed and the process of building the hardest architect was documented by foreign press. The theater was designated as a national degree performance center and was nominated as one of the World’s New 9 Landmarks. The first opening show “Cat Man” is performed by Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group.

The theater structure high 37.7 meters, 2 underground levels and 6 floors above ground. It is built with steel and concrete with the concepts of the primitive state of human livings, caves and holes. The structure consists of 58 curved surfaces, very difficult to construct. It is referred as the hardest building to be constructed. Interior designed with a large theater (2014 guests), medium theater (800 guests), and experimental stage (200 guests). Not just the main building but the surroundings is designed to correspond with Sound Cave Curved Walls.

The acoustic engineering was carefully designed. In the large theater, guests will see the round curve on the ceiling; this will reflect the sounds perfectly in every angle to every seat. A cat walk is organized on the top for maintenance purposes. The view to the stage will not be blocked in anyway. Everything is designed to what a theater may need in the best way. The exterior shapes like a tea pot during the day with the extraordinary curves. When the night falls, lightings will put the theater under the spot light.

http://www.travelking.com.tw/eng/tourguide/scenery105140.html

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-National Taichung Theater

   WHEN-from Jan 1st, 2015

   WHAT-National Taichung Theater will be closed for maintenance and construction

   WHY-he government hopes to create a "golden triad" for the performing arts in Taiwan.

   WHERE-Taichung

   HOW-no given

Keywords：

   1.water fountain ：噴泉

   2.the concept ：原始的

   3.the primitive：概念

   4.backing out over and over：打退堂鼓

   5. steel ：鋼 

   6.concrete：混泥土

   7.acoustic engineering：聲學工程

   8.curve：曲線

   9.exterior ：非凡的

2014-02-week 1

Man held over missing 43 in Mexico

Sun, Jan 18, 2015 - Page 7

 NY Times News Service

Mexican officials said on Friday that they had detained the leader of a group of criminals who prosecutors believe killed 43 college students then burned their bodies, in a case that continues to roil the country more than three months after the young men disappeared.

The arrest of Felipe Rodriguez Salgado, who was being questioned late on Friday, might add more details to the theory that the authorities have outlined.

Prosecutors say municipal police in Iguala City, in the southern state of Guerrero, arrested the students and handed them over to the Guerreros Unidos organized crime group on orders from Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca.

Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa, are believed to be closely linked to the Guerreros Unidos. The pair fled Iguala, then were arrested in Mexico City in November. Authorities formally charged Abarca in the students’ disappearance on Tuesday. At the same time, Pineda was charged with involvement in organized crime.

The case, which has highlighted the ways in which drug gangs have succeeded in buying off the local police and officials in many parts of the nation, has shocked Mexico and challenged Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s efforts to focus public attention on the economy.

Turmoil is rising in Guerrero State, where masked protesters have been burning state buildings and cars and disrupting public events.

The families of the missing young men, who were studying to be teachers at the Escuela Normal Rural Raul Isidro Burgos, have questioned whether the students are dead. The remains of only one of the 43 students have been identified so far by a special laboratory at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Some of the families began a new search in the hills around Iguala on Friday.

On Monday, some relatives gathered outside the army base in Iguala, demanding to be allowed in to see if their sons were inside. The army said that it would allow the Mexico’s National Commission for Human Rights to visit the base with relatives.

Rodriguez, whom officials described as a Guerreros Unidos hit man, is believed to have ordered the group that killed the students and burned the bodies to remove all traces of the crime. According to the authorities, he took orders from a lieutenant named Gildardo Lopez Astudillo, who is a fugitive.

Officials believe that Lopez orchestrated the students’ disappearance in September on orders from Guerreros Unidos leader Sidronio Casarrubias Salgado, who was arrested in October.

Almost 100 people have been detained in the investigation, officials announced this week. The majority of those are police officers from Iguala and the neighboring town of Cocula, the site of the trash dump where prosecutors said the students were killed and then cremated.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2015/01/18/2003609549

 Structure of the Lead：

   WHO- 43 college students and Mexican officials

   WHEN-on Friday

   WHAT- the students were killed and then cremated.

   WHY-burning state buildings and cars and disrupting public events.

   WHERE-Mexico

   HOW-killed 43 college students then burned their bodies

Keywords：

   1. prosecutors ：檢方

   2. be charged with：被控訴

   3. Turmoil：風暴

   4. laboratory：實驗室

   5. traces：痕跡

   6. lieutenant：中尉

   7. fugitive：逃犯

   8. cremated：火化

week 7- Hong Kong occupy central

Occupy founders ‘surrender,’ urge HK protest retreat

DISOCCUPY:The architects of Occupy Central plan to turn themselves in today, but analysts say the call for pro-democracy protesters to fall back will be ignored

Wed, Dec 03, 2014  / AFP, HONG KONG

    The original founders of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Occupy Central movement yesterday tearfully announced that they will “surrender” by turning themselves in to police, urging protesters to retreat.

    Frustrated demonstrators at the territory’s main protest site said they felt “abandoned” by the move from academics Benny Tai (戴耀廷) and Chan Kin-man (陳健民), and Baptist minister Chu Yiu-ming (朱耀明).

    Their announcement came after hundreds of protesters clashed with police overnight on Sunday, leaving dozens injured in one of the worst nights of violence since rallies began in September.

    “As we prepare to surrender, we three urge the students to retreat — to put down deep roots in the community and transform the movement,” Tai said.

Tai said the trio would surrender to police today in a commitment to the rule of law and “the principel[s] of peace and love.”

    However, other protesters who have blocked three of Hong Kong’s major intersections since late September to demand free leadership elections said they cannot leave until their demands have been met.

    “The demand for civil nomination and true democracy has not been achieved and this site has not been cleared. Now they say they are turning themselves to police — the only thing I can say is that they abandoned us,” a 17-year-old protester said.

    “Now they talk about retreat. It is a betrayal of what we have insisted for all along,” 24-year-old protester Raymond Tsang said.

Teenage protest leader Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) paid tribute to Tai and said the student groups leading the movement would “discuss” Occupy’s request.

    “If Benny Tai did not publicize the idea of civil disobedience at the beginning, then there would be no ‘Umbrella movement’ today,” said Wong, who began a hunger strike on Monday in a last-ditch bid to force the government into further talks.

    “Surrendering is not an act of cowardice; it is the courage to act on a promise. To surrender is not to fail, it is a silent denunciation of a heartless government,” Tai said.

Tai said he did not know how police would respond to their surrender, but that the three were prepared for any consequences.

    Experts say the students are not likely to heed the call for retreat.

    “The students have always thought that they were the major protagonists of the movement and that Benny Tai and so forth have always been riding on their coattails,” Chinese University of Hong Kong Professor Willy Lam (林和立) said, but added that this was still a turning point in the movement.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/12/03/2003605850

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-The original founders of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy 

   WHEN-late September

   WHAT-Occupy Central movement

   WHY-to demand free leadership elections

   WHERE-Hong Kong

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. Frustrated : 失意的

   2. surrender : 投降

   3. nomination：提名

   4. democracy : 民主

   5. civil disobedience：非暴力反抗

   6. last-ditch：最後一搏

   7. heed：聽從

   8. protagonists：主角

   9. riding on：依靠

 10. coattails：政治影響力

week 6 -伊拉克ISIS-Iraq

Iraq wins promises of support against Islamic State

Tue, Sep 16, 2014

 AFP, PARIS

The world’s top diplomats yesterday pledged to support Iraq in its fight against Islamic State [IS] militants by “any means necessary,” including “appropriate military assistance”, as leaders stressed the urgency of the crisis.

Representatives from about 30 countries and international organizations, including the US, Russia and China, gathered in Paris as the brutal beheading over the weekend of a third Western hostage focused participants’ minds.

    The pledge came as US Secretary of State John Kerry stepped up efforts to forge a broad anti-jihadist coalition.

    In a joint statement issued after the talks, the diplomats vowed to support Baghdad “by any means necessary, including appropriate military assistance, in line with the needs expressed by the Iraqi authorities, in accordance with international law and without jeopardizing civilian security.”

    They stressed militants of the Islamic State, previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, were “a threat not only to Iraq, but also to the entire international community” and underscored the “urgent need” to remove them from Iraq, where they control about 40 percent of its territory.

    However, the final statement made no mention of Syria, where the extremists hold one-quarter of the country and where the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad still had friends around the Paris conference table, including Russia.

    Opening the conference, French President Francois Hollande emphasized there was “no time to lose” in the fight against the jihadists.

    “The fight of the Iraqis against terrorism is our fight as well,” Hollande said, urging “clear, loyal and strong” global support for Baghdad.

    Iraqi President Fuad Masum also stressed the urgency of the crisis, saying there was a risk the militants could overrun more countries in the region.

    “We are still asking for regular aerial operations against terrorist sites. We have to pursue them wherever they are. We need to dry up their sources of finance,” he said.

    As if to underscore the urgency of the campaign, French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian announced just hours ahead of the conference it was joining Britain in carrying out reconnaissance flights in support of the US air campaign against the jihadists.

    Shortly afterward, two French Rafale fighter jets took off from the al-Dhafra base in the United Arab Emirates, reporters said.

    The Paris conference was one of a series of diplomatic gatherings in the run-up to a UN General Assembly later this week.

    German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier said meetings would come “thick and fast” in the coming days and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, said there would soon be a conference on Islamic State funding organized by Bahrain.

    While there was no mention of Syria in the final statement, Hollande said the international community “needs to find a durable solution in the place where the [IS] movement was born. In Syria.”

    “The chaos is benefiting the terrorists. We therefore need to support those who can negotiate and make the required compromises to secure the future of Syria,” Hollande said. “They are the forces of the democratic opposition. They need to be backed by all means.”

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/09/16/2003599814

Structure of the Lead：

  WHO-Representatives from about 30 countries and international organizations

  WHEN-yesterday

  WHAT-support Iraq in its fight against Islamic State [IS] militants

  WHY-a threat not only to Iraq, but also to the entire international community

  WHERE-Iraq

  HOW-any means necessary,” including “appropriate military assistance

Keywords：

   1. appropriate : 適當的

   2. Representatives : 代表

   3. beheading : 斬首

   4. hostage : 人質

   5. stepped up : 加緊

   6. anti-jihadist coalition : 反聖戰聯盟

   7. overrun : 侵占

   8. reconnaissance flights : 偵察飛行

   9. The chaos : 混亂

 10. be backed : 支持

week5-美警槍殺黑人

Ferguson erupts after no charges in shooting case

Wed, Nov 26, 2014 

Ads by Google 

    Enraged protesters looted businesses, and set fire to buildings and cars in Ferguson, Missouri, after a grand jury decided not to indict a white police officer in the death of an unarmed black 18-year-old, whose fatal shooting exposed deep racial tensions.

    Ferguson burned through the night, despite pleas for calm from US President Barack Obama and the family of victim Michael Brown after St Louis County’s top prosecutor announced the officer faces no state criminal charges.

    Monday night’s destruction appeared to be much worse than protests after Brown’s death in August. Authorities used tear gas to try to disperse the protesters and reported hearing hundreds of gunshots, which prevented fire crews from fighting the flames.

    Officer Darren Wilson’s fatal shooting of Brown in an Aug. 9 confrontation ignited a fierce debate over how police treat young African-American men and focused attention on long-simmering racial tensions in Ferguson and around the US, four decades after the 1960s civil rights movement.

Police were criticized for responding to protests with armored vehicles and tear gas.

Monday night’s protests were “probably much worse than the worst night we ever had in August,” said St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, who added police had not yet fired a shot.

    Obama said on Monday night from the White House that some Americans might be angry, but need to accept the decision.

    “We are a nation built on the rule of law, so we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury’s to make,” Obama said.

    St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch said that the grand jurors, who had met weekly since Aug. 20, were “the only people who heard every witness... and every piece of evidence.”

    When Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, heard the decision, she burst into tears and began screaming, before being whisked away by supporters.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/11/26/2003605314


 Structure of the Lead：
   WHO-Officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown
   WHEN-Aug. 9
   WHAT-Enraged protesters looted businesses, and set fire to buildings and cars
   WHY-a white police officer in the death of an unarmed black 18-year-old, whose fatal shooting
   WHERE-Ferguson, Missouri
   HOW-not given

Keywords：
   1. Enraged : 憤怒的
   2. protesters : 示威者
   3. looted : 洗劫
   4. indict : 起訴
   5. unarmed : 手無寸鐵的
   6. criminal charges : 刑事指控
   7. ignited : 點燃
   8. armored vehicles : 裝甲車
   9. witness : 見證
 10. be whisked away : 被接走

week 4-冰桶挑戰

Challenge raises funds, icy response

By Jason Pan  /  Staff writer, with CNA
Wed, Aug 20, 2014 
Taiwanese celebrities and public figures braced themselves to have buckets of ice water dumped on their heads yesterday as they joined an Internet sensation to raise awareness about a paralyzing disease.

Business tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘) took the Ice Bucket Challenge in New Taipei City alongside people fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and volunteers from the Taiwan Motor Neuron Disease Association, which helps people with ALS.

Standing under a bucket controlled by a robotic arm, the chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, also known as Foxconn in China, was soaked after his wife and an ALS patient in a wheelchair pulled a rope tied to the device.

Gou participated after being nominated by Xiaomi Corp CEO Lei Jun (雷軍) for the task, in which participants can either douse themselves in ice water or donate US$100 to an ALS charity, or both.

However, Gou did not stop at US$100, but pledged US$200,000 to the Taiwanese association and announcing a further cash donation of US$100,000 to a former employee who was diagnosed with the disease.

Gou also nominated others to take on the challenge, including Taiwanese supermodel and actress Lin Chi-ling (林志玲), who has agreed to take part, he said.

After Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) and his main rival in the Taipei race, independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), took the plunge a day earlier, local politicians continued with the challenge yesterday.

KMT Yilan County commissioner candidate Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞), after having a bucket of ice water poured on her, challenged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

The Presidential Office said Ma opted to make a donation rather than take the icy bath.

However, Taipei City councilor Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) of the Democratic Progressive Party deplored the “celebrity showboating” aspect of the phenomenon.

In a post on Facebook yesterday, Wu said the name-dropping in the Ice Bucket Challenge has become a celebrity marketing activity, “to show off how well-connected a person is and to flaunt one’s wealth and power networking... The focus now seems to be on the ice bucket rather than ALS sufferers.”

“When a charity campaign becomes a celebrity PR activity, those who benefit from it are not society’s disadvantaged,” she added.

Citing examples, Wu said National Development Council Minister Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), after dumping ice water over himself, challenged newly sworn-in Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh (杜紫軍) to do it, and from there, Duh named some business tycoons to follow up.

Wu added that after Lien drenched himself, he challenged New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), who in return nominated Wowprime Group chairman Dai Sheng-yi (戴勝益).

“Doesn’t this manifest the intricate links of business money and political power in Taiwan? Through the Ice Bucket Challenge, this link between politics and money is shown in its naked openness to the public, and these people have no qualms about it,” Wu said.

“After Lien was doused with the ice water, he said: ‘It felt great!’ That left me speechless. As it becomes about showing off, concern for ALS sufferers fades into the background,” Wu said. “Most of the time, government officials try to evade responsibility when things go wrong. Miraculously, officials are now serving easy balls for each other to hit. The Ice Bucket Challenge has become ‘showboat’ time for these figures.”

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/08/20/2003597822

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-Taiwanese celebrities and public figures

   WHEN-yesterday 

   WHAT-participants can either douse themselves in ice water or donate US$100 to an ALS charity, or both.

   WHY-to raise awareness about a paralyzing disease.

   WHERE-Taiwan

   HOW-doused with the ice water

Keywords： 

   1. braced  : 支撐

   2. alongside : 一起

   3. amyotrophic lateral sclerosis : 肌萎縮側索硬化症

   4. soaked : 浸泡

   5. pledged : 承諾

   6. was diagnosed with : 被診斷出患有

   7. plunge : 投入

   8. deplored : 痛惜

   9. showboating : 賣弄

 10. intricate : 錯綜複雜的