Monthly Archives: April 2016

KMT divided over axing China forum

DIVIDED WE STAND:KMT members wanting to tone down the annual China forum now that the party is in opposition have met with disapproval from former leaders

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 05, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members are divided over a proposed abolition of the party’s annual forum with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has taken place since former KMT chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰) “journey of peace” visit to China in 2005.

The proposal was tabled by former KMT secretary-general Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) in a party reform proposal submitted to KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) late last month.

In the report, Lee called the annual forum — officially referred to as the Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum — “political pageantry,” saying it should be replaced by the establishment of a service center for China-based Taiwanese businesspeople in Beijing.

New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), who nominated Lee as the party’s secretary-general after assuming the KMT chairmanship in January last year, yesterday said that the possibility of transforming the cross-strait forum had already been touched upon during last year’s forum.

“Preliminary efforts were made to transform the forum last year. We hope Hung and leaders in Beijing can make some adjustments, as different stages of cross-strait interaction have different missions and should therefore be handled in a different manner,” said Chu, who led a delegation to the 10th KMT-CCP forum in Shanghai in May last year.     [FULL  STORY]

No cooperation with China in South China Sea: Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-04
By: Central News Agency

The Republic of China (Taiwan) has its own foreign policy and will not join forces with imagesChina or act in its interests on South China Sea issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Monday.

The ministry reaffirmed the country’s long-held stance after some claimed that the government’s recent moves to highlight Taiping Island’s legal status, including an invitation to foreign news media to visit the island, was serving the interests of China.

Because China claims Taiping Island as its own, Taiwan must lower its voice in the international community to curb Beijing’s expansionism in the South China Sea, they have contended.

The ministry reiterated the government’s contention that from the perspectives of history, geography and international law, the ROC has sovereignty over the Spratly (Nansha) Islands, the Paracel (Xisha) Islands, the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands), and the Pratas (Dongsha) Islands in the South China Sea, and their waters.     [FULL  STORY]

Nearly 8,000 Yeh clan members gather at ancestral shrine in Taoyuan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/04
By: Chiu Chun-chin and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) Nearly 8,000 people from the same clan packed their ancestral shrine 7480779in the northern Taiwan municipal city of Taoyuan Monday to take part in a group ceremony during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival to worship their ancestors.

The worshipers, who all share the same surname of Yeh (葉), traveled from around Taiwan and other countries, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, to the Yeh Family Ancestral Shrine in Xinwu District on the annual holiday to honor ancestors at their graves.

The gathering marked the largest tomb-sweeping group in Taoyuan in this year’s Tomb Sweeping Festival, which is observed in early April each year as a time for families to gather together and ceremonially clean their family tombs.

According to the Yeh Clan Association, their lineage goes back to Yeh Chun-jih (葉春日), who traveled by boat from China to Taiwan in 1735, when the mainland was ruled by Qing Dynasty.     [FULL  STORY]

PANAMA PAPERS:More than 16,000 Taiwanese appear in Panama Papers

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 05, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter, with AP

More than 16,000 Taiwanese investors’ offshore account details were published yesterday in a massive document leak by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the ICIJ Web site showed.

The documents, dubbed the “Panama Papers,” showed how Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca allegedly helps its clients avoid taxes and skirt financial oversight.

The ICIJ Web site said the firm has about 16,785 Taiwanese clients, including individuals and enterprises. Based on more than 11.5 million leaked files, the investigation has exposed people who use offshore companies to facilitate bribery, arms deals, tax evasion, financial fraud and drug trafficking, the ICIJ said on its Web site.

Mossack Fonseca worked with more than 14,000 banks, law firms, corporations and other go-betweens to set up companies, foundations and trusts for clients, the ICIJ said.     [FULL  STORY]

Battle array teams vie for NT$1 million top prize

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-04
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

After two days’ first-round battling over the weekend, eight teams are qualified to vie for 6745893the one million NT dollars top prize money of the high school and college Song-Jiang Jhen creative battle array contest on April 9 in Neimen District, Kaohsiung City.

The final-round contest is scheduled to take place from 10:00 – 17:20 on Saturday at Shun-Sian Temple.

The eight teams are from Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, National Formosa University, University of Taipei, National Siluo Agricultural Industrial High School, I-Shou University, Shih Chien University, Chih Yung Senior High School, and National University of Tainan.

In addition to the inter-school competition, many teams participated in the one-day Civil Kung Fu Fitness Exercise Contest on April 4 at the same venue. The contest is open to any teams regardless of team members’ age and sex and offers NT$60,000, NT$40,000 and NT$30,000 to the first, second and third place winners, respectively.

According to event organizer, Kaohsiung City Government, Neimen has a long history of battle array culture and outshines other places in terms of team density.     [FULL  STORY]

200 Chiangs pay respects to ancestors at Tainan tomb

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/04
By: Yang Ssu-jui and S.C. Chang

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) Some 200 descendants of the Chiang (江) clan followed an ancient 201604040014t0001ritual to pay respects to their ancestors at an ancestral tomb in Nanxi District of Tainan City Monday.

In addition to offering incense and chanting a eulogy, the Chiangs kneeled and bowed before the tombstone that marked their ancestors’ names and family genealogy.

All participants were each given a turtle-shaped rice cake which symbolizes peace and safety before attending a lunch party featuring spring rolls in their clan compound.

Chiang Chin-ching (江晉清), organizer of the annual event, said 30 families currently live in Nanxi Township’s Lutaoyang area, a 3.5-hectare area that is arguably the largest concentration of members of a single clan in Southeast Asia. At its peak, 136 families lived there, forming the Lutaoyang branch of the Chiang clan.     [FULL  STORY]

Pure Youth beat Braves to level semi-final series

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 04, 2016
By: Paul Huang / Contributing reporter

Top-seeded Pure Youth Construction avenged Saturday night’s tough loss to the Fubon

From left, the Fubon Braves’ Joseph Lin, the Dacin Tigers’ Zhou Yixiang, the Fubon Braves’ Earl Barron, Taiwan Beer’s Liu Cheng and the Yulon Luxgens’ Lu Cheng-ju pose with their trophies at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

From left, the Fubon Braves’ Joseph Lin, the Dacin Tigers’ Zhou Yixiang, the Fubon Braves’ Earl Barron, Taiwan Beer’s Liu Cheng and the Yulon Luxgens’ Lu Cheng-ju pose with their trophies at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

Braves by erupting for 55 points in the second half to pull away with a 92-72 win in Game 2 of the SBL semi-finals at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night to even the best-of-seven series at one win apiece.

Tsai Wen-cheng held nothing back in the must-win game for the four-time defending champions, who squandered a double-digit lead in the first half on Saturday to drop the opener by eight with 26 points on the night to pace the Builders to victory.

“The biggest difference between the two games was our defense, especially in the second half,” Tsai said after the game.

Pure Youth held a red-hot Fubon offense, winners of four straight games heading into the contest, to 37 points in the second half to hand the Braves their first loss in the post-season.     [FULL  STORY]

Global smartphone sales may grow only 7% in 2016: Gartner

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-02
By: Central News Agency

Worldwide smartphone sales for 2016 are expected to grow only 7 percent in 2016, marking the first year for the handheld devices to post a single-digit increase in a saturated market, according to market information advisory firm Gartner.

Citing a research report, Gartner said that smartphone sales in the global market are estimated to reach 1.5 billion units, up 7 percent from a year earlier. Total mobile phone sales, meanwhile, are expected to hit 1.94 billion units this year, up slightly from the 1.92 billion units seen last year.

“The double-digit growth era for the global smartphone market has come to an end,” Gartner’s research director Ranjit Atwal said in a statement. “Historically, worsening economic conditions had a negligible impact on smartphone sales and spending, but this is no longer the case.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s green soybean exports hit record high

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/03
By: Yang Su-min and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 3 (CNA) Taiwan’s exports of green soybeans, called edamame in Japan and

(CNA file photo)

(CNA file photo)

mao dou in China, hit a record high of US$76 million in 2015, with 87.5 percent of the exports going to Japan, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Sunday.

The strong export performance was attributed to the constant research and development of new products by the COA’s Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, according to the COA.

Despite facing 6 percent customs duties and fierce price competition in Japan, Taiwan’s green soybean exports to that country were able to succeed in the market due to their high quality, according to the station.

Last year, Taiwan exported 36,117 metric tons worth US$76.61 million last year, which represents a 6.5 percent growth from 2014 and a record high in 22 years.     [FULL  STORY]

Home transactions plunge 32.6 percent

DOLDRUMS:The market was mired in ‘pessimistic sentiment last quarter,’ but sales could pick up this quarter as rates drop and credit controls are lifted, an analyst said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 04, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Existing home transactions in the nation’s major cities contracted 32.6 percent in the first quarter year-on-year as expectations of price declines, holiday disruptions and soil liquefaction concerns sank the market to an 11-year low, government data showed.

There were 32,148 housing deals during the January-to-March period in the six special municipalities, local government data showed.

“The market remained enveloped in pessimistic sentiment last quarter, but the situation might improve this quarter with lower interest rates and lifting of credit controls,” Umei Realty Co (優美地產) analyst Yeh Li-ming (葉立敏) said in a report.     [FULL  STORY]