CUPP advocates Taiwan’s unification with China

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/11
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A political party that promotes Taiwan’s unification with China has expressed its support for Kuomintang presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in the key election next January.

Notorious gangster-turned-party chair Chang An-lo (張安樂) has said his Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) will back Han in the presidential bid. He believes Han will bring peaceful cross-strait relations for the next eight years.

The party will seek representation in the legislature but will avoid competing with candidates from the China-friendly KMT, said Chang at an event held in Chiayi County on Saturday (August 10). Chang did not confirm whether he would run in the legislative elections next year.

The pro-Beijing party is controversial due to its record of violence, including attacking National Taiwan University students in 2017 after they lodged protests against a China-sponsored event held on campus. Six CUPP members were convicted of assault and extortion in that incident, including Chang’s son, Chang Wei (張瑋).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/11
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) The Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society (TPCMS) held a gathering Saturday evening to remember thousands of prisoners of war who endured hardship and in many cases lost their lives at POW camps in Taiwan and the Far East during World War II.

Participants observed a moment of silence for the deceased POWs after remarks by guests that recalled the suffering they endured.

A 2001 war film "To End All Wars," which depicts the story of POWs held in a Japanese camp during World War II, was then screened.

The event was held on Far East Prisoners of Wars Day (FEPOW Day), a day of tribute to those held by the Japanese as POWs in the Far East during World War II, including in 16 POW camps in Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 12, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

About 300 people took part in a demonstration in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong,

spelling out the words “Free Hong Kong” with their bodies in Taipei’s Central Art Park.

The event was organized by Hong Kong Outlanders, the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taiwan Citizen Front, Covenants Watch, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and several human rights groups.

In addition to the words, an image of Taiwan and one of “Raincoat Man” — honoring Marco Leung (梁凌杰), a Hong Konger who died on June 15 wearing a yellow rain poncho after falling from construction scaffolding in front of Pacific Place in the Admiralty district while hanging protest banners, were displayed.

The image shows that the public in Taiwan fully supports the people in Hong Kong in their pursuit of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, the organizers said.    [FULL  STORY]

Reuters
Date: August 10, 2019
By: Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen urged citizens to stay on alert for Chinese-financed

media “infiltration” after a Reuters report of a Beijing-backed media campaign in the self-ruled island which China considers its own.

FILE PHOTO: Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen visits the 6th Army Command, ahead of Lunar New Year, in Taoyuan, Taiwan January 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

Tsai said on Saturday the Reuters report confirmed growing concerns over Chinese attempts to influence press coverage on the island.

“The story to some extent confirmed that these concerns aren’t baseless,” Tsai told reporters in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

“The Chinese infiltration in Taiwan is actually omnipresent and we hope that all citizens could stay on high alert for such infiltration, which includes fake news,” Tsai added.

The report cited evidence that Chinese authorities had paid at least five Taiwan media groups for coverage in various publications and on a television channel in a campaign to sway popular sentiment in the island.    [FULL  STORY]

Found naked floating at sea, shirt from Changhua elementary school only clue to man's identity

Taiwan News
Date 2019/08/10
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On Saturday (Aug. 10) an unidentified body was found floating in the ocean off of Miaoli County and investigators are seeking the public’s help to identify the deceased.

Strangely, the adult male, assumed to be over 40 years old, was found with an elementary school uniform shirt, from a school located in Changhua County, wrapped around his head. The body, completely naked except for the school uniform, was spotted early in the morning in waters about three kilometers north of the Wai-pu Fishing Harbor (外埔漁港) of Houlong (後龍) Township.

The report indicates that the body had been in the water for some time as edema has made the man's face unrecognizable. With nothing else to help in his identification, the school uniform from Changhua Xian Xi Elementary School (彰化線西國小) is the primary clue to solve the mystery of his death.

CNA reports that the man is approximately 170 cm tall and that there were no visible signs of injury on his body. A forensic team has been tasked with performing an autopsy to determine the precise cause of death.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/10
By: Wang Shu-fen, Yeh Li-wei and Frances Huang

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Saturday that a report by Reuters a day earlier saying that China was buying positive coverage in Taiwanese media confirmed Beijing's widespread infiltration of Taiwan.

Speaking with the reporters on the sidelines of a visit to a temple in Kaohsiung, Tsai said China's infiltration of Taiwan was "ubiquitous" and worries over Beijing's influence here were not unfounded.

She was responding to a Reuters report saying that Chinese authorities, including China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), have paid at least five Taiwan media organizations for favorable coverage in various publications and even on a TV channel.

Among the stories, the report said, were two feature stories about a new Chinese government program aimed at luring Taiwanese business people to China and winning the hearts of Taiwan's people.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 11, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has removed an image that labeled

Taiwan as a province of China from its Facebook page following protests by Taiwanese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

The organization, also known as UN Women, on Sunday last week posted the image of the flags of nations and regions that legally recognize same-sex marriages.

Taiwan, which in May became the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage, was listed along with the US, UK, Germany, Sweden, New Zealand and other countries.

However, the image identified the nation as “Taiwan, Province of China,” sparking criticism, with a deluge of people protesting on UN Women’s Facebook page with comments saying that “Taiwan is Taiwan, not a part of China.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/09
By: Flor Wang and Huang Hsu-sheng

Taipei, Aug. 9 (CNA) A New Taipei resident was found dead by firefighters who broke into his room Friday, while his mother, who lived in the same apartment and had not seen her son for nearly two months, did not suspect anything was amiss.

Firefighters arrived at the apartment of the 63-year-old man, identified only by his family name Wu, after receiving a report from his older brother that there might be a problem, according to a spokesperson for the Xinzhuang Police Precinct.

Wu's brother, who lives in an apartment on a higher floor in the same building in Xinzhuang District, said he called police to the scene after noticing through a crack of the room's door that Wu was lying suspiciously still on his bed, the spokesperson said.

The older brother told police that he had gone downstairs to see his brother because he had not seen him for a while and was wandering how was he doing.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 09 August, 2019
By: Leslie Liao

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je says he’d rather keep his current job than act as a running mate to business tycoon Terry Gou in next year’s election.

There have been rumors that Ko might team up with Gou and run on a joint ticket, mounting a challenge to both of Taiwan’s traditional political parties.

Ko has not formally announced a run for president. However, he recently founded his own political party, a move some interpret as a prelude to a presidential run.

Terry Gou, by contrast, has made his presidential aspirations clear, running as a KMT candidate before losing a primary last month. He has since remained quiet about whether he intends to rejoin the race as an independent.    [FULL  STORY]