The China Post
Date: October 4, 2016
By: Christine Chou

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC, 金管會) Chairman Ding Kung-wha (丁克華)

tendered his resignation Monday morning, as the financial regulator continues to face criticism over its handling of a recent money-laundering scandal involving one of Taiwan’s biggest banks.

Ding, formerly appointed by Premier Lin Chuan (林全), has served as head of the FSC for nearly four months.

According to Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), the premier has approved Ding’s resignation and the FSC Vice Chairman Kuei Hsien-nung (桂先農) has also resigned.

Ding will be temporarily replaced by Huang Tien-mu (黃天牧), another FSC vice chairman, Hsu said at a news conference.

In a statement issued earlier Monday, Ding announced he would step down to assume responsibility for money laundering allegations involving Mega Financial Holding Co. (兆豐金控).

Ding said he and the commission launched investigations immediately after receiving news about the Mega Bank scandal and that they had set up a special task force.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 3, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, 中華職棒) formally announced its

withdrawal from Taiwan’s preparations for the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

The body, which organizes professional baseball in Taiwan, said it would leave the decision to release players for national duty up to individual teams.

CPBL Secretary-General Chu Kang-chen told local media that the CPBL has withdrawn its previous offer to provide assistance for team member draftee selection, training, holding practice matches and overall back-up support in preparation of next year’s 16 nation tournament.

The withdrawal of assistance comes after negotiations to select a manager to lead the national team between the semi-official Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) governing body and the CPBL, fell through.

CTBA backed the Sports Administration’s nomination of Lion’s manager Kuo Tai-yuan for manager, while the CPBL argued for the EDA Rhinos’ Yeh Chun-chang, according to local reports.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-02
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

In response to a question on Sunday with regard to Chinese travel agencies’ tour packages that include KMT-ruled cities and counties in Taiwan and skip Democratic Progressive Party-ruled counterparts, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said “I don’t believe Chinese tourists come to Taiwan by parachutes.”

After eight years of pro-China policy adopted by the Ma Ying-jeou administration from 2008 to 2016, KMT has been regarded as a pro-China party in Taiwan. Since the transition of power on May 20, the government led by the DPP, which had not recognized the “1992 Consensus,” a political synonym of the One China principle, China has used its widespread political and economic influence to boycott Taiwan.

About two weeks ago, eight city and county chiefs from Taiwan, who are KMT members, formed a delegation and met with Chinese authorities to promote tourism for their respective cities and counties. As a result, many Chinese travel agencies have rolled out “blue city and county tours” around Taiwan, packages that only include destinations in cities and counties ruled by the KMT and skip those ruled by the DPP. Some Chinese tour operators even spelled out the appeal of the tours as to promote the “1992 Consensus.”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/02
By: Chen Chia-lun and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) A move by Chinese tour operators to promote travel to eight cities and counties in Taiwan governed by the Kuomintang-led pan-blue camp could hurt Beijing’s efforts to win the hearts and minds of people in Taiwan, Taiwanese scholars said Sunday.

Some Chinese travel agencies have organized tours to the eight cities and counties during China’s National Day holiday from Oct. 1 to 7 in response to a call for more cross-Taiwan Strait exchanges after heads of the eight governments visited China on Sept. 18.

The tours exclude several destinations normally popular with Chinese tourists, including the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Alishan National Scenic Area in Chiayi County.

National Taiwan Normal University political science professor Fan Shih-ping (范世平) said that if the new itineraries are based on the local governments’ recognition of the “1992 consensus” as a political foundation for bilateral exchanges, and if Chinese authorities are pulling the strings behind the scenes, it would show the rigidity of the Chinese regime.     [FULL  STORY]

BEYOND POLITICS:Many countries said it is necessary for Taiwan to participate in the ICAO professionally and agreed with the idea that aviation safety is ‘without borders’

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 03, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan faced a great challenge in its bid to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s

(ICAO) Assembly, but it received warm support from its diplomatic allies, a Taiwanese official outside the event said.

Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Deputy Director Ho Shu-ping (何淑萍) made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) on Saturday, before returning to Taiwan after a six-day trip in Montreal.

Heading a seven-member delegation, Ho flew to Canada on Thursday last week when the ICAO opened the 39th session of its assembly at the ICAO’s headquarters.

Taiwan was not invited to the event — most likely because of the objections of Beijing — but the government nonetheless sent a delegation to express its appreciation to countries that have shown their support for Taiwan, Ho said.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 3, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA, 外交部) said Sunday that Taiwan would take

part in an upcoming United Nations climate conference.

The announcement came after the country failed to receive an invitation for the U.N.-organized International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) recent assembly and despite neither the U.N. nor any U.N. member suggesting that Taiwan would be invited.

According to the ministry, Taiwan would attend the upcoming U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting as a nongovernmental organization represented by the government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute.

The ministry said Taiwan should not be excluded from the global action against climate change, adding that the country had a legitimate right to participate.

UNFCCC Conference of the Parties 22 will take place between Nov. 7 and 18 in Marrakech, Morocco.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-30
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Infighting in China in the run-up to next year’s 19th Communist Party Congress will lead to increased pressure on Taiwan, a deputy minister at the Mainland Affairs Council said Friday.

The congress, which is held once every five years, is scheduled for the autumn of 2017 and will see changes at the top of the leadership, even though President Xi Jinping is widely expected to stay on for another term as general secretary of the party.

Domestic developments in China had to be watched because they also played a part in cross-straits relations, MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng told a seminar in Taipei Friday.

Xi was obviously totally unprepared to give way on issues of territorial sovereignty, which would restrict Chinese policies toward Taiwan, Chiu said. Infighting between communist officials to obtain promotions at the 19th Congress would lead to increased pressure on the Taiwan issue, according to some academics, Chiu said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/30
By: Tang Pei-chun and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) said Friday that it will have to delay September salary payments for its employees due to financial difficulty after an Executive Yuan committee froze its main bank account.

The party will have to apply to the Taipei High Administrative Court to stop the freeze, a party official said at a news conference.

Steve Chan (詹啟賢), the party’s vice chairman, said the party will also ask lawyers to send letters to two banks — Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行) and Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行) — to ask them to agree to the party’s continued use of the deposits and to honor its checks.

KMT Administration and Management Committee Director Chiu Da-chan (邱大展) said that the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee’s move to freeze the bank account has resulted in financial difficulty for the party.     [FULL  STORY]