Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/06
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and the Navy will hold a joint drill in the

South China Sea at the end of this month, it was announced on Sunday.

The joint drill will focus on humanitarian rescue missions and be led by the Coast Guard Administration with support from the Navy in line with the policy of the Navy supporting Coast Guard Administration operations.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has instructed that Taiping Island – the largest island in the South China Sea controlled by Taiwan – should be turned into a center for humanitarian rescue and a supply base, following an international arbitration court ruling in July that Taiping is a “rock.”

The joint drill will demonstrate the progress being made in efforts to turn Taiping into a humanitarian rescue center. The CGA and Navy will also conduct joint operations to protect Taiwan’s fishing boats and improve anti-terrorism capability at sea to guarantee the safety of Taiwan fishermen.    [FULL  STORY]

FUNDRAISING:KMT Secretary-General Mo Tien-hu said that two fundraising programs had generated a total of NT$30 million and they would continue until targets are met

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 07, 2016
By: By Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with CNA

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday acknowledged that streamlining its structure is

inevitable, but downplayed allegations that it is planning to dismiss half of its employees.

KMT Secretary-General Mo Tien-hu (莫天虎) said that party members at central and local levels, as well as the party’s union, have been preparing themselves since the KMT national congress on Sept. 4 passed a resolution to push for the streamlining of the party’s structure and salary adjustments.

“Our plans are to be unveiled after they are approved at a meeting of the KMT Central Standing Committee,” Mo said.

However, when asked to confirm the KMT leadership’s reported plan to lay off 400 workers, Mo said that while there had been speculation of layoffs of at least half of the KMT’s 800 employees, the number is mere speculation, as such a figure has never been mentioned.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 7, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A man being transported by ambulance died after a police car allegedly slammed into

the rescue vehicle in Chiayi County on Sunday, police said.

According to police investigations, the ambulance was carrying a 68-year-old man, surnamed Huang, from Yunlin County to Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital to receive medical care.

When the ambulance passed by Chiayi’s Liujiao Township (六腳鄉), it approached a Chiayi County police car. The police said the ambulance is suspected to have tried to overtake the police car, but collided into it, causing the police car to run into a tree while the ambulance veered into a steep ditch next to the road. Police later stated that the squad car had switched on its left turn signal.

Huang was reportedly severely injured during the accident. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

The driver of the ambulance, the accompanying physician, the nurse, and the two police officers in the other vehicle were also sent to the hospital, but no serious injuries were reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/11/06
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A female military training instructor of a senior high school in Taoyuan City was accused of pimping out female students in the school.

The instructor has been removed from her teaching position at the school while an investigation is being conducted.

According to prosecutors’ investigation, the instructor was accused by parents of students on Oct. 28 of taking three high school seniors out to attend social gatherings and even selling the virginity of one of the students for NT$100,000.

A parent of the student whose virginity was being offered for sale found text messages regarding the deal, questioned her about the matter, and learned that the instructor was suspected of pimping out girls in exchange for a commission, media reports said.    [FULL  STORY]

The Hung-Xi meeting has not revealed anything new we did not already know, but it may be that a poor response from the DPP or a failure of the DPP to manage international perceptions of the meeting can still be a threat to maintaining Taiwan’s de facto independence.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/11/05
By: Brian Hioe

The fact that Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) meeting with Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing has largely been a

non-event in Taiwan probably attests to its futility. Given that Hung is already known for outlandishly extreme pro-unification views, Hung’s meeting with Xi probably does not really surprise the Taiwanese public, in the way that Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) or Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) meetings with Xi Jinping in 2015 provoked stronger reactions. Hence the lack of any real public response. But does the Hung-Xi meeting indicate anything new?

Hung’s meeting with Xi takes place through the auspices of yearly interparty meetings between the Kuomintang (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which have taken place since 2005, with Hung and Xi meeting in their capacities as chairpersons of the KMT and CCP respectively. Such meetings are conducted on the basis of the so-called “special historical relationship” of the KMT and CCP. Namely, the historical animosity of the KMT and CCP dating back to the defeat of the KMT during the Chinese Civil War, which led to its flight to Taiwan, has given way to shared interests in achieving the unification of Taiwan and China. Seeing as the KMT retaking China by force has become impossible, the ideological priority of KMT diehards has become achieving unification in any form, something which goes hand-in-hand with a rosy view of Chinese authoritarianism.

Hung has indicated a desire to meet with Xi for some time, with public statements suggesting that the KMT would not hesitate to take cross-Strait relations into its own hands because of its lack of faith in the Tsai administration to maintain peace with China. Though the focus of the forum was originally economic development between Taiwan and China, given the recent deterioration of ties between Taiwan and China since the Tsai administration took office, the focus of the forum has been changed to “peaceful cross-strait development.” Hung had previously met Xi as part of Eric Chu’s delegation to Beijing in March 2015.    [FULL  STORY]

Leftwing groups plan to highlight other topics as well

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/11/05
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Labor groups announced Saturday they would hold a major protest outside the

ruling Democratic Progressive Party headquarters on November 27.

Labor activists have repeatedly protested against a decision by the government to cut seven out of 19 annual holidays for workers, even though other measures will benefit labor and reduce the maximum amount of time that can be worked within a week.

Small groups of protesters recently invaded the offices of the DPP’s top lawmaker, Ker Chien-ming, and part of the party headquarters just before its chairperson, President Tsai Ing-wen, was due to attend a meeting there Wednesday.

The late November “autumn struggle” protest was announced online Saturday on a page called “Leftwing Fighting.” The group said that a number of social organizations would cooperate to launch the march and protest outside the DPP headquarters in Taipei City.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/05
By: Wang Shwu-fen and Elaine Hou

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) vowed to support the effort to seek justice for

Taiwanese veterans who fought in World War II and the Chinese civil war whether for the Republic of China or the Chinese communists, during a memorial service Saturday in Kaohsiung.

The term “Taiwanese veterans” refers to those who served in the Japanese military — when Taiwan was a colony of Japan (1895-1945) — and in the militaries of the ROC and the Chinese communists.

Japanese rule in Taiwan ended in 1945, when the ROC took over the island. The ROC government retreated to Taiwan in 1949 after it lost the Chinese civil war to the Chinese communists.

These veterans are part of the collective memory of the Taiwanese people and the government will support the effort to seek historical justice for them, Tsai said at the memorial service to commemorate Taiwanese veterans, held at War and Peace Memorial Park and Theme Hall in the port city in southern Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

‘OBVIOUS’ INTERFERENCE:Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee said it was ‘obvious’ that Beijing was behind Interpol’s decision to bar Taiwan from the general assembly

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 06, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The central government yesterday expressed its deep regret and discontent with the International

Criminal Police Organization’s (Interpol) rejection of its bid to attend the organization’s upcoming general assembly.

Asked if Beijing was behind Interpol’s decision, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) said “that is a very obvious factor.”

Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) last night urged China to acknowledge the Republic of China’s existence and stop hurting the well-being of Taiwanese by obstructing Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.

The government will continue to work closely with the US and other like-minded nations to promote Taiwan’s participation in Interpol, in the hope that Taiwan can be included in the global network for public security protection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 6, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Tsai Ing-wen Saturday instructed police authorities to give the highest

possible death gratuity to the family of an officer killed in a car crash while chasing a drunk driver, a presidential spokesman said.

Interior Minister Yeh Jiunn-rong also promised the family of the deceased officer, Chen Ming-hui, that he would do his best to give them the highest possible compensation for their loss.

The 31-year-old officer sustained massive head injuries after her squad car crashed into a tree during a chase in Taoyuan on Wednesday. Her partner, Tu Yu-hsiu, was also injured but is recovering after treatment.

Chen, an officer who was stationed at Taoyuan’s Guishan police station, died in the hospital Friday after her family agreed to take her off life support.

“The president is deeply saddened by Chen Ming-hui’s death while on duty,” presidential spokesman Alex Huang said. “She offers her deepest condolences to (the officer’s) family and has also asked relevant government bodies to give out the highest possible death gratuity.”    [FULL  STORY]

Accident causes traffic jam in Chiayi County

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/11/05
By Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – At least 15 people were injured and nine vehicles were damaged in a crash

which involved a bus on a freeway in Chiayi County, reports said Saturday.

There were no immediate reports of life-threatening injuries.

Around 1:10 p.m., a bus of the Ubus Co. traveling north on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway near the city of Dalin failed to brake on time ahead of a line of cars merging to the right due to road works ahead, reports said. The bus, on its way from Tainan to Taichung, crashed into the other vehicles before skidding to a stop against the freeway’s central divider with its front ripped apart.

As about a dozen ambulances rushed to the scene, it became clear that nobody was in mortal danger, with some of those lightly injured even insisting they should not be taken to hospital, reports said.    [FULL  STORY]