Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-14
By: Matthew Strong

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – New Taipei City said Tuesday it might take new legal steps

against the two organizers of the Formosa Fun Coast water park blaze after they were found to hold no bank accounts.

Five young people died and almost 500 were injured in the aftermath of the June 27 explosion of colored cornstarch powder at an event at a New Taipei City amusement park inspired by India’s Holi festival.

The city government received the go-ahead from a court for provisional attachments on the assets of water park chairman Chen Po-ting and organizers Lu Chung-chi and Chou Hung-wei, but an investigation Monday showed that the latter two were not registered as holding any bank accounts. Lu manages Play Color Co. and Chou heads Juipo International Marketing Co., the two companies which organized the colored powder event.

An attorney for the city government said he would use Article 20 of the Law of Compulsory Execution to ask the Shilin District Court to present a report on the two men’s assets. If the court approved, they would be forced to explain their financial situation to the court, while if they refused or presented false information, the city attorney could request the assets to be taken over.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/14
By: Wang Hsin/hsuan and Romulo Huang

Taipei, July 14 (CNA) One third of Taiwanese people are worried about their future, according to the result of a survey conducted by the Global Views Monthly.

Of the 807 people polled, 35,3 percent said that they were anxious about their future, and that 35,7 percent of the polled who were employed showed worry about their future, while only 32.8 percent of the unemployed had the same sentiment.

In the same survey, 47 percent of the surveyed said that they felt moderate to high levels of stress in their daily life, the magazine emphasized.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-14
By: Staff Reporter

In his recent article for Washington-based National Interest magazine, Gregory B.

Poling, a fellow with the Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies and the Pacific Partners Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies based in Washington, said that despite Vietnam haing 48 outposts in the Spratly islands as opposed to China’s eight, Beijing should still be considered the true aggressor in the region.

Yet in his June 18 article for Tokyo-based online current affairs magazine the Diplomat, Greg Austin, a researcher from the New York City-based EastWest Institute for the Diplomat, openly described Vietnam as the biggest regional aggressor. The author added that Vietnam has doubled the number of features it now occupies since 1996. Back then, Vietnam controlled only 24 features in the Spratlys, Austin said.

Poling did state that Vietnam is the only claimant engaging in land reclamations after the signing of 2002 Declaration of Conducts for Parties in the South China Sea, besides China. He also said that Hanoi’s move in the region had forced Ashton Carter, the US Secretary of Defense, to call on all sides to refrain from further land reclamations during his meeting with Phung Quang Thanh, the Vietnamese defense minister.     [FULL  STORY]

TRANSFORMATION:The US’ main policy is to support the ability of Taiwanese to determine their own fate, free from intimidation and coercion, the AIT chairman said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 15, 2015
By: William Lowther / Staff reporter in Washington

Over the past few years, the US has “transformed and redefined” the way it thinks

about Taiwan, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Ray Burghardt said in Washington on Monday.

During that time, it has started to take Taiwan seriously in and of itself, he said.

Addressing a Brookings Institution conference on relations across the Taiwan Strait, Burghardt said the relationship is now viewed as important and not “as some appendage or some small aspect of our relationship with Beijing.”

He reminded the audience that Taiwan was the US’ 10th-largest trading partner and sixth-largest source of foreign students.

“We cooperate more and more on issues that extend beyond our bilateral ties — things like counterterrorism, health and economic issues,” Burghardt said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/13
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, July 13 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Monday urged the

public to take precautions against dengue fever during the typhoon season.

Taiwan has reported 289 dengue fever cases this year as of July 6, compared with 254 in the same period in 2014, according to the agency.

During the week of June 30-July 6, 17 cases were confirmed, the CDC said.

The threat from abroad is increasing as well, the CDC said, noting that Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Cambodia, have recorded more cases this year than usual.     [FULL  STORY]

On Top Magazine
Date: July 13, 2015
By: On Top Magazine Staff

Thousands of demonstrators on Saturday called on the Taiwan government to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

According to Reuters, the protesters waved rainbow flags as they marched through the streets of Taipei to the headquarters of Taiwan’s two political parties. The march comes less than a month after the Supreme Court declared that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry throughout the United States.

“Taiwan society has reached the point of acceptance of gay marriage,” said Rafael Tsai, who joined the march. “It’s a shame our politicians don’t seem to be on the same level as the people.”
2Xist Shop

A bill that would legalize such unions in Taiwan – the first Asian nation to seriously consider the reform – has stalled in parliament. January elections are expected to usher in a pro-marriage equality majority.     [FULL  STORY]

Asia One
Date: Jul 13, 2015

TAIPEI – There is still no signing date on the horizon for Taiwan’s fisheries pact with the

Philippines, despite two years of talks and claims that the agreement has reached final review, Chinese-language media reported yesterday.

“At present, there is no timetable for the signing of the agreement,” the United Evening News reported yesterday, citing an unnamed source closed to the negotiations.

Since 2013, the two governments have been negotiating an agreement on law enforcement co-operation on fishing matters in their overlapping economic waters.

Talks opened in 2013 and have since been managed by three different negotiation teams, according to the United Evening News.

Last December, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said that the draft had reached final review and could be signed by April before the fishing season begins.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-13
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) brushed off speculations Monday that the

nation’s infirmaries lacked qualified staff to treat patients of the June 27 water park blast, adding that there is no shortage of doctors as fresh graduates have already reported in for duty.

MOHW Minister Chiang Been-huang pointed out that as of July 12, only one remaining hospital has put down a request for six additional healthcare staff, as opposed to the previous 103 from 12 different infirmaries on July 8.

“The primary reason for the reduction in demand can be attributed to the recruit of fresh graduates,” Chiang exclaimed.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/13
By: Kelven Huang and S.C. Chang

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, July 13 (CNA) President Ma Ying- jeou told Taiwanese media Monday why Kuomintang presidential hopeful Hung Hsiu-chu’s “one China, common interpretation” idea does not go beyond his “one China, different interpretation” policy toward China.

Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu is likely to get the ruling party’s nomination for the 2016 presidential election next Sunday. Her China policy proposal has therefore attracted much attention.

Meeting Taiwanese press on the first leg of his three-nation Central America and Caribbean visit, Ma said Hung’s and his China policy mantras have one thing in common: both are stating there is only one China.

The difference lies in his “different interpretation” of what “one China” means to China and to Taiwan, Ma said, insisting that to Taiwan, it means the Republic of China.     [FULL  STGORY]