As the Second World Congress of Taiwan Studies commences today in London, two participating scholars discuss the state of the subfield and how China fits into the equation

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 18, 2015
By: Dana Ter  /  Staff reporter

Besides being frequently asked what it was like growing up as a foreigner in “China,” a problem I

persistently encountered as a graduate student at Columbia University and the London School of Economics, was that the mere mention of Taiwan in conversations about my research to classmates or professors would automatically elicit a response along the lines of: “But are you also going to write about China?”

It was as if Taiwan as an area of study could not exist without China. Consigned to the periphery of studies on “Greater China,” topics such as Taiwanese politics and military affairs were permissible only if they were discussed in relation to China. And I could pretty much forget writing about music, arts or pop culture — some academics who had devoted decades of their lives to advancing the subfield of “Taiwan studies” had no clue who Jay Chou (周杰倫) or Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) were.

The mere thought of devoting a year and a half of my life to researching the history of cross-strait politics or military development was nearly coma-inducing. So in the end, I wrote my 15,000-word dissertation about China. It was on how Soong Mayling (宋美齡, Chiang Kai-shek’s last wife) used her charm, beauty and wits in 1943 to woo American politicians and win support for the Chinese war effort against Japan. Since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had brought all their documents to Taiwan when they fled China in 1949, this meant I could do most of my research in Taiwan. It was a fair compromise.     [FULL  STORY][

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 17, 2015
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan  /  Staff reporter

The Republic of China （ROC） Constitution allows no possibility of Taiwanese independence, Chinese

Nationalist Party （KMT） presidential hopeful Hung Hsiu-chu （洪秀柱） said yesterday, when asked whether she would take a more radical approach to pushing for cross-strait unification.

“You can look at the ROC Constitution. Does it allow for Taiwanese independence?” the deputy legislative speaker told reporters, when she was asked for her views on media commentaries that said she would accelerate the process of unification if she wins the presidential election in January.

Cross-strait policy under any administration must respect the Constitution, Hung said, adding that even Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington earlier this month that she would handle cross-strait relations in accordance with the ROC Constitution.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/16
By: Yu Kai-hsing, Ku Chuan and Y.F. Low

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) A tiger escaped from an animal hospital at the Taipei Zoo on Tuesday but was soon

tranquilized and recaptured, police said.

They said the tiger posed no danger to the public since it remained in an enclosed area the whole time. The tiger was resting in the shade of a tree before it was recaptured, according to the zoo.

Police said they received a report from the zoo at around 11 a.m. that a tiger had escaped but when they arrived on the scene, the zoo staff had already recaptured the animal, using a tranquillizer gun and a net.

The 130-kg animal had escaped from the animal hospital and it ran into a restricted area for staff only but did not enter the visitors’ area, the police said.

The Taipei Zoo apologized for the incident and pledged better security in the future.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-16
By: CNA

Liu Lihua, vice minister of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), on Monday called

for closer cooperation with Taiwan in the field of telecommunications.

At an annual cross strait telecommunication conference in Hsinchu, Liu said China and Taiwan should work more closely on developing telecom technology.

While China and Taiwan have made great progress in telecom development, they now need to take the next step by working together in areas such as telecom business management, roaming services and internet information services, said Liu, who is also chairman of the China Association of Communications Enterprises.

In addition, China and Taiwan should cooperate with each other to draft specifications for 5G telecom services in the future, while setting their sights on the development of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), Liu said.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-15
By: CNA

Taiwan’s Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) on Sunday said that an Immigration Act

amendment draft bill has been submitted for review, aiming to address difficulties faced by overseas Taiwanese compatriots, including those from the Philippines, who have overstayed their visas and not completed the required household registrations.

Compatriots who have overstayed their visas are unable to obtain a National Identification Card or apply for the National Health Insurance, according to accounts from overseas Taiwanese compatriots.

Taiwanese compatriots residing in the Philippines also appealed for residency and employment rights.

The OCAC said that the new bill is the result of extensive inter-departmental collaboration among the relevant government agencies including the National Immigration Agency, the Ministry of Labor, and the National Health Insurance Administration through numerous seminars and forum events over the past few years.     [FULL  STORY]

TAKING TO THE STREETS:The students warned that should the Ministry of Education fail to revise its changes to curriculum guidelines, they would organize larger protests

Taipei Times
Date:  Jun 16, 2015
By: You Pei-ju and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with Staff writer

Scores of student organizations from various high schools in Taipei staged their first flash protest at

the Taipei First Girls’ Senior High School yesterday in the hope of drawing more public attention to the issue of their opposition to the Ministry of Education’s controversial changes to the high-school curriculum guidelines.

Northern Taiwan Anti Curriculum Changes Alliance spokesman Chu Chen (朱震), a student at Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, criticized the process under which the ministry decided to adjust the high-school curriculum guidelines as overly rash and hasty, saying that even the Taipei High Administrative Court had ruled that the ministry had broken the law.

Chu was referring to the Feb. 12 High Administrative Court ruling that the ministry must make its information more transparent and complete for public scrutiny.

If the ministry does not change its mind and insists on implementing the changes in August, the students’ demonstrations would continue, Chu said, adding that students would hold talks and seminars, and work with their peers in central and southern Taiwan to organize larger demonstrations next month.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/15
By Tsai Pei-chi, Lee Hisen-feng and Ted Chen

Taipei, June 15 (CNA) A pair of skeletal remains have been identified as belonging to a couple suspected of having murdered their five children in Hualien in 2005, according to an Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) announcement released Monday.

A local hunter discovered the remains in a hilly area of Hualien June 10.

The IFM confirmed that the remains were those of Liu Chih-chin (劉志勤) and Lin Chen-mi (林真米), the parents of five children who were found dead in their home in September 2006.

The five children included Liu’s 18- and 17-year-old sons from a previous marriage, as well as three daughters aged 12, 9 and 8 from his marriage to Lin.

Police said they were found dead stacked on top of each other in the bathroom of their residence, with their hands and legs bound with wire.     [FULL  STORY][

Taipei Timeas
Date: Jun 15, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A woman who was placed in isolation at a Taipei hospital on Saturday after she developed a fever on

returning from South Korea yesterday tested negative for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

The Taiwanese woman walked to the Zhongxiao branch of Taipei City Hospital on Saturday evening seeking treatment for a fever, the Taipei City Department of Health said, adding that she was admitted to an isolation ward after an influenza screening showed a negative result.

She was then tested for MERS and the result was found to be negative yesterday, the department said.

The woman traveled to Seoul on Tuesday for a six-hour shopping trip, before heading to China via Hong Kong.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/15
By You Kai-hsiang and Lilian Wu

Taipei, June 15 (CNA) Nine suspects have been turned over to the authorities for alleged involvement in drug trafficking, police said Monday.

The police also seized a total of 28 kilograms of heroin, which they said has a market value of about NT$148 million (US$4.78 million).

The Criminal Investigation Division of the Taipei City Police Department said they were tipped off as early as February that several people were planning to smuggle heroin from Thailand.

Late Saturday, eight of the suspects returned to Taiwan from Thailand with a tour group, and police found that they were all dressed in loose clothing. They later seized 14.097 kg of heroin hidden under their clothes.     [FULL  STORY]