Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/28
By: Amy Huang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 28 (CNA) Taiwan will develop Kinmen, an island group it controls off southern China, into a “model spot” for peaceful exchanges between the two sides of Taiwan Strait, the head of the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said Wednesday.

Although cross-strait dialogue has been suspended by China, foundation Chairman Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) said during a visit to Kinmen that he found cross-strait exchanges and interactions through the “three mini-links” between Kinmen and China’s Fujian Province are operating normally.

He told local officials that the government will make efforts to develop the outlying island county into a “middle point” and “window” for cross-strait contacts.

The Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council and the SEF, the Taipei-based intermediary institution that handles cross-strait affairs in the absence of formal ties with China, will both try to make Kinmen into “a model spot for peaceful cross-strait exchanges,” Tien said.    [FULL  STORY]

GOOD SIGNJapan’s ‘de facto’ embassy name change could signal a shift in Taipei-Tokyo relations as the nations traded US$57.9 billion last year, and ‘times have changed’

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 29, 2016
By: Chang Mao-sen / Staff reporter in Tokyo, with CNA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed support for the planned renaming of the

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying yesterday expresses China’s discontent during a news conference in Beijing with the planned name change of the Interchange Association, Japan, effective from Sunday. Photo: CNA

Interchange Association, Japan to the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association from Sunday.

The association represents Japan’s interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties, which ended in 1972. Taiwan also set up a de facto embassy with an ambiguous title in Tokyo, called the Association of East Asian Relations, which was renamed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan in 1992.
The ministry said that the new name reflects the business activities carried out by the association and is a positive development in Taiwan-Japan relations.

Saying that the two nations have become closer in recent years, the ministry added that Japan is Taiwan’s third-largest trade partner, while Taiwan is Japan’s fourth-largest. Bilateral trade totaled US$57.9 billion last year.

In addition, there were 5.3 million travelers between Taiwan and Japan last year and that number could surpass 6 million this year, the ministry said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 29, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh

Beijing Wednesday expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with Japan’s decision to change the name of its

(The China Post)

de facto embassy in the Republic of China to include the word “Taiwan.”

The Japan Interchange Association announced it was changing its name to the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, effective Jan. 1, in a move hailed by the Taiwan government as a positive sign for bilateral relations.

“The association will continue to serve as a bridge between Taiwan and Japan to bring bilateral relations into the next stage,” it said.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) described the change as a “passive measure” by Japan on the Taiwan issue and called on Japan to uphold the “one China” policy.

Hua said Beijing has asked to negotiate with the Japan government over the change.   [FULL  STORY]

The students have been slammed for being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘totally ignorant of history.’

The News Lens
Date: 2016/12/27
By: Hsu Chia-yu

The Taiwanese high school that allowed students to parade in Nazi uniforms is under more pressure after it was revealed students also depicted a highly-sensitive massacre involving one of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes.

The high school in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, has already been widely criticized for allowing students to take part in a Nazi-themed parade at its anniversary celebration on Dec. 16.

Read more: Taiwan Nazi Parade Continues Decades of Ignorance; Netizens Defend Students

A video on YouTube shows students from another class dressed as Japanese forces and indigenous Seediq people, holding toy guns and paper-made knives, to reenact the Musha Incident (霧社事件) during the same anniversary event.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/27
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Tainan (Taiwan News)–Police solved a murder case three hours after the decomposing body of the

Police solved a murder case three hours after the decomposing body of the female victim was found near a ditch in Tainan City on Monday.(By Central News Agency)

female victim was found near a ditch in Tainan City on Monday.

A Tainan citizen found the body in Annan District in the afternoon on Dec 26 and reported to police.

The informant passed by a spot near a gas station and saw swarms of flies. Driven by curiosity, the informant went farther to check and was shocked to see a blackened hand protruding from a thicket.

Responding to the report, police arrived at the crime scene and found a badly decomposing body of a female aged between 40 and 50 with the head wrapped in a plastic bag.    [FULL  STORY]

‘STRONGER SENTIMENT’:A survey conducted by the Taiwan Thinktank showed increasing support for using the title ‘Taiwan’ instead of ‘the ROC’ in official matters

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 28, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

About half of Taiwanese said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should refer to herself as “the president of

Taiwan Thinktank polling director Chou Yung-hong reports the results of a poll on national identity at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

Taiwan” while visiting the nation’s diplomatic allies, marking a rise in Taiwanese identification, according to a poll released by the Taiwan Thinktank yesterday.

According to the poll, 49.4 percent of respondents said Tsai should introduce herself as the president of Taiwan — up from 39.8 percent in a May poll by the think tank — while 41.2 percent said she should refer to herself as the president of the Republic of China (ROC) — down from 44.7 percent in May.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said the nation should use “Taiwan” as its official title when participating in international events, while 34.6 percent preferred “the Republic of China” and 9 percent preferred “Chinese Taipei.”

When asked whether diplomatic missions in Taiwan should be identified as “representatives to Taiwan,” as was the case during the administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), or as “representatives to [the Republic of] China,” which has been the case since former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, 55.9 percent of respondents said the missions should be referred to as “representatives to Taiwan,” while 26.8 percent said they should be referred to as “representatives to China.”    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 28, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday called on the R.O.C. armed forces to

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) greets newly promoted generals during a ceremony held in Taipei on Tuesday, Dec. 26. (Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office )

continue implementing reforms to restore the damaged reputation of service members following a series of scandals.

Speaking during a promotion ceremony in Taipei — her second such event since becoming commander-in-chief on May 20 — the president congratulated 31 senior military personnel who were rising to the rank of general, saying that their higher ranking meant they must shoulder greater responsibility.

Tsai said that after assuming the presidency, she had inspected the nation’s troops and found that some major reforms needed to be launched to improve the military’s image.

One of the top priorities of Taiwan’s military is to upgrade the individual equipment carried by its soldiers, Tsai said, adding that the military also needs to renovate its idling lots and camps and to improve administrative efficiency.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2016/12/26
By: Olivia Yang

More than 30,000 supporters of same-sex marriage gathered around the Legislative Yuan this morning while more than 10,000 protesters occupied the street in front of the building.

Draft amendments to Taiwan’s Civil Code which would legalize same-sex marriage today passed a committee review in the Legislative Yuan.

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

Photo Credit: Olivia Yang/The News Lens

The amendments were proposed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mnegotiations and still need to pass second and third readings before becoming law, which would make Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

As of around 10 a.m. today, more than 30,000 supporters of same-sex marriage gathered around the Legislative Yuan while more than 10,000 protesters occupied the street in front of the building.   [FULL  STORY]