Monthly Archives: April 2016

Missing Taiwanese woman found dead in Czech Republic

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 01, 2016
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

A Taiwanese woman was found dead in a small town in the southern Czech Republic after she went missing during a tour in central Europe earlier this month.

According to the Southeast Travel Service Co (東南旅行社), the woman, surnamed Huang (黃), joined the company’s 10-day tour to Austria and the Czech Republic.

The tour group checked into a hotel in the Czech city of Cesky Krumlov on the fifth day of the tour, the company said, adding that the tour guide did not arrange any activity for the night and left the tourists in the group to explore the town by themselves.

However, Huang did not return to the hotel that night. The tour guide and a friend of Huang spent the night trying to find her, but failed, the company said.

The tour guide reported to the police the next day that Huang was missing, the agency said, adding that her whereabouts remained unknown even after the tour group returned to Taiwan on March 14.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shocked again as mother finds 12-year-old daughter’s throat slit [VIDEO]

Straits Times
Date: APR 1, 2016
By: Chew Hui Min

Taiwan has been shaken again by a case of a mother finding her young daughter’s throat slit.

The 12-year-old girl survived the attack though. The incident happened in Tainan on Thursday (March 31) night, and the act was allegedly done by her mother’s ex-boyfriend, Taiwanese media reported.

The attack comes just days after a four-year-old girl nicknamed ‘Little Light Bulb’ was decapitated by a man in front of her mother in Taipei. The gruesome case shocked Taiwan and sparked public outrage.

In this latest incident, Madam Su and her two daughters – aged eight and 12 – were returning home from dinner in the evening when they found Madam Su’s ex-boyfriend hiding in their home, Apple Daily reported.     [FULL  STORY]

Swinging Skirts showcases Taiwan golfing talents

Taiwan Today
Date: April 1, 2016

Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic tees off April 18 in Daly City, California, giving rising Taiwan

SSF Chairman Johnson Wang (center) is joined by LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan (left) and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee at a promotional event for the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. (Courtesy of SSF)

SSF Chairman Johnson Wang (center) is joined by LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan (left) and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee at a promotional event for the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. (Courtesy of SSF)

talents the opportunity to strut their stuff on the international golfing stage.

Co-organized by Taipei City-headquartered Swinging Skirts Foundation, the classic enters its third year with a field of more than 150 top women golfers battling it out for US$2 million in prize money.

The foundation was established in 2010 by a small group of male and female golfers eager to grow the game in Taiwan and capitalize on local phenom Yani Tseng climb up the rankings. They decided to honor the Scottish roots of the sport by donning kilts and accordingly settled on the catchy name Swinging Skirts.

SSF Chairman Johnson Wang said the initiative stems from his dedication to promoting the sport in Taiwan and helping young players put their skills to the test. “We will sponsor six local juniors to compete this year, as we believe female golf is one of the sports where Taiwan stands a chance to become a frontrunner in the global arena.”

According to Wang, the 2014 edition was the first LPGA competition hosted by a foreign group on U.S. soil and described by LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan as “a perfect example of borderless golf.    [FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai to invest 200 billion yen in OLED technology

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-01
By: Central News Agency

The Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團), which has agreed to acquire a stake in financially ailing Sharp Corp. of Japan, is planning to invest 200 billion Japanese yen (US$1.8 billion) in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology over the next three years.
The OLED plan was revealed in a document obtained from Sharp related to Hon Hai’s acquisition of a 66 percent stake in the money-losing Japanese company.

That investment may go toward OLED production lines that the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Friday are being set up by Hon Hai and Sharp in a flat panel plant, Sakai Display Products (SDP), that is jointly owned by Sharp and Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘).

The Sharp document showed Hon Hai is also expected to spend an additional 60 billion yen to develop new generation medium-sized liquid crystal displays, 40 billion yen on the Internet of Things, and 40 billion yen to develop multi-functional office equipment.     [FULL  STORY]

Mandarin Airlines to launch Taichung-Wuxi route

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/01
By: Wang Shu-fen and Elaine Hou

Taipei, April 1 (CNA) Taiwan-based Mandarin Airlines (華信航空) said Friday that it will

CNA file photo

CNA file photo

launch flights between Taichung in central Taiwan and Wuxi City in China’s Jiangsu province later this month.

The new route will be launched on April 29, the airline said, adding that it will provide two flights between Taichung and Wuxi every week.

The promotional price for the new route will be as low as NT$4,999 (US$155), which will be available by the end of May, according to the air carrier.

Mandarin Airlines is a subsidiary of China Airlines (CAL), Taiwan’s largest air carrier, which operates four weekly flights between Taipei and Wuxi.

The launch of the new route will make travel easier for Taiwanese businesspeople who are from central Taiwan and have investments in Jiangsu’s Suzhou, Wuxi and Kunshan cities, the airline said.     [FULL  STORY]

PMI moves back into positive territory

LOW BAR:The CIER said the rebound was largely due to a low base of comparison in February, although local tech firms were boosted by the release of Apple’s iPhone SE

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 02, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) registered 54.9 last month, bounding back to positive territory, as companies emerged from holiday disruptions and the launch of new handsets by Apple Inc also lent support, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.

The rebound has more to do with a low base of comparison in February than signs of a recovery because the reading after seasonal adjustments continued to contract, although at a milder pace, the Taipei-based institute said.

“A recovery remains elusive, even though the operating conditions showed improvement last month and beyond,” CIER president Wu Chung-shu (吳中書) told a news conference.

The PMI is an important economic bellwether aimed at gauging the health of the manufacturing industry’s operating conditions, with scores above 50 indicating improvement and values below the threshold reflecting deterioration.     [FULL  STORY]

Ko falls to new low in latest poll

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je’s popularity was falling dangerously 6745271close to the public’s level of dissatisfaction, according to an opinion poll by the Want Want China Times Group published Friday.

The outspoken independent was elected by a landslide in November 2014 and took office one month later.

Support for Ko stood at 42.4 percent but dissatisfaction at 39.1 percent, the closest result since his election, said the China Times Weekly, which commissioned the poll from the group’s opinion survey company.

Since the last similar poll published on February 3, satisfaction with Ko had dropped by more than 5 percent from 47.7 percent, while dissatisfaction grew by 9 percent from 30.1 percent.

The magazine suggested that the mayor’s ratings were close to a “death cross,” the point where the negative opinions surpass the positive ones.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan reiterates commitment to cross-strait peace

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/01
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and Y.F. Low

Taipei, April 1 (CNA) The Presidential Office on Friday reiterated President Ma Ying-jeou’s

Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國), CNA file photo

Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國), CNA file photo

(馬英九) commitment to promote peace across the Taiwan Strait, after the Taiwan issue was raised during a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

During the meeting held on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington on Thursday, Xi urged the United States to continue to take substantial steps to maintain the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.

The two leaders also discussed issues related to the South China Sea.

Presidential Office spokesperson Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國) said the administration of President Ma has adhered to the “no unification, no independence, no use of force” approach to maintain the cross-strait status quo based on the Republic of China Constitution.

It has also been promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait ties on the basis of the “1992 consensus” of “one China, different interpretations,” Ma said.     [FULL  STORY]

Domestic fuel prices expected to fall next week

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/01
By: Lin Meng-ju and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 1 (CNA) Domestic gasoline and diesel prices are likely to fall next week as 201604010025t0001international crude oil prices moved lower amid fears that oil producing countries will not reach a deal to cap production, sources said Friday.

Based on fluctuations in crude prices this week, the sources said, state-run oil refiner CPC Corp. Taiwan could raise its gasoline prices by NT$0.3 (US$0.009) per liter and diesel prices by NT$0.4 per liter next week after a hike of NT$0.2 per liter for both gasoline and diesel prices this week.

The CPC calculates its weekly fuel prices based on a weighted oil price formula that comprises 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude.

While members and non-members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to meet in Qatar on April 17 to discuss the possibility of freezing output, there have been rumblings that it will be hard for the participants to strike a deal, the sources said.

The uncertainty renewed fears of a supply glut in the global oil market as demand has shown no sign of picking up amid persistent economic sluggishness across the world, dealers said.     [FULL  STORY]

Hung attends KMT caucus meet

READY TO FIGHT:Hung said she would reform the party’s think tank, uniting it with the legislative party caucus to turn it into the caucus’ ‘ammunition depot’

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 02, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) attended a KMT

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu, left, attends a meeting of the party’s legislative caucus in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu, left, attends a meeting of the party’s legislative caucus in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

caucus meeting yesterday, appearing at the Legislative Yuan as party chairwoman for the first time.

She welcomes communication, Hung said during the meeting, calling on legislators to freely express their opinions.

Saying that there are only “comrades, no enemies” within the party, Hung added that the KMT, despite being a minority party, should exert its power of oversight.

She said that the KMT was often “hijacked by the minority” when it was a majority party, adding that party supporters said that there was no point in them giving the KMT the majority of seats in the legislature with many bills blocked.

Hung said she hopes that the 35 legislators the KMT has could become a strong team and refrain from “opposing [bills] just for the sake of opposition.”     [FULL  STORY]