Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-12
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The law governing the operations of the Taiwan Red Cross was abolished in the

Taiwan Red Cross President Wang Ching-feng protests against the abolition of the Red Cross Society Act in front of the Legislature on July 12, 2016.

Legislature on Tuesday, prompting Taiwan Red Cross (TRC) President Wang Ching-feng to call the act a “misfortune of Taiwan.”

The Red Cross Society Act of 62 years old was revoked by a vote at a joint meeting in the Legislature in spite of the objection from the opposition KMT. After the abolition of the Act, the TRC will be regulated by the Civil Organizations Act.

In response, Wang said the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was founded 112 years ago to save injured soldiers from the battlefield and protect captives and civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

Upholding its original intention, the TRC has centered on providing domestic and international disaster relief, she said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date; 2016/07/12
By: Chu Tze-wei and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 12 (CNA) Taiwanese police said Tuesday they do not have any information on the whereabouts of the NT$70 million (US$2.17 million) stolen from First Bank automatic teller machines (ATMs) over the weekend.

The three suspects who stole money from 34 ATMs at 20 of the bank’s branches in Taipei and Taichung on July 9 and 10 left Taiwan on Monday, according to the police based on surveillance videos and other records.

It was unclear, however, if the suspects were carrying any of the money with them when they left the country or if they laundered it before leaving the island.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: July 12, 2016

The official opening ceremony of the 50th International Children’s Games,

Officials are all smiles at the launch of the 50th International Children’s Games July 11 in New Taipei City. (CNA)

sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, gets underway at 6 p.m. July 12 in northern Taiwan’s New Taipei City, bringing together over 2,000 participants from 83 cities around the world.

Held every year for children between the ages of 12 and 15, the games allow participants to take part in a variety of cultural activities and sports such as athletics, basketball, handball, soccer, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo and volleyball. Taiwan’s representation at the six-day event wrapping up July 16 is drawn from six cities and seven counties nationwide.

According to event organizer New Taipei City Government, the games are an outstanding platform for cultural exchanges between the youth of Taiwan and their counterparts around the world. About 300 students from universities and up to 1,800 senior high schoolers from around the island are volunteering to buddy up with foreign athletes as a way of building friendships and making their stays more memorable and rewarding.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 13, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Presidential Office declared Tuesday that the first-ever

This undated photo shows an overview of Taiping Island from an airplane in the South China Sea. (Photo captured from Charles Chen’s Facebook page / CNA)

international tribunal ruling on South China Sea claims was “completely unacceptable.”

As a display of the Republic of China’s sovereignty claim in the region, the Navy will deploy a Kang Ding-class frigate from Kaohsiung for a routine patrol trip to the South China Sea today — one day ahead of schedule — to ensure stability in the area and protect R.O.C. territory, according to local media.

President Tsai Ing-wen is slated to board the frigate today during her inspection of the Zuoying naval base in Greater Kaohsiung.     [FULL  STORY]

‘There are records of the torture – no one can believe it, but it happened, it is very serious.’

The News Lens
Date: 2016/07/11
By: Edward White

The organization and the lawyers it works with have reviewed all of the judgments in which the

Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡), executive director the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP), believes that at least three people who are currently on death row in Taiwan are innocent.

death penalty has been handed down over the past 15 years. In addition to the three cases identified so far, Lin says there is reason to believe there have been many more miscarriages of justice.

In an interview with The News Lens International at TAEDP’s Taipei office, Lin discusses the difficulties activists and lawyers have in gaining access to case records, why pressure from local activists and international diplomats has failed to change government policy, and details TAEDP’s new strategy for influencing the government.

The News Lens International (TNLI): To start with, how many people in Taiwan currently face the death penalty?

Lin Hsin-yi: Right now there are 41 death row inmates, where the death sentence was confirmed. If the Minister of Justice signs the execution order, they can be executed at any time.     [FULL  INTERVIEW]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-11
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s government is bracing for an award of the South China Sea arbitration case to be issued

The five members of the South China Sea arbitration panel–(from left) Alfred Soons, Rudiger Wolfrum, Thomas Mensah, Stanislaw Pawlak, and Jean-Pierre Cot.

on July 12 by an arbitral tribunal organized by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague.

The arbitration was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines in an attempt to resolve the relevant disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. The Chinese government has repeatedly reiterated that it would neither accept nor participate in the arbitration.

The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims among several sovereign states within the region, namely Brunei, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan (the Republic of China), Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Presidential Office spokesperson Alex Huang on Monday reiterated the three principles regarding Taiwan’s position on the South China Sea issue.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/11
By: By Chen Chia-lun and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) A ruling set to be handed down Tuesday by an international tribunal on a

(CNA file photo)

dispute between the Philippines and China over territorial issues in the South China Sea will not affect Taiwan’s defenses on Taiping Island there, Coast Guard Administration (CGA）Director-General Lee Chung-wei（李仲威）said Monday.

Lee also said that the government’s stance on its sovereignty claim over Taiping Island in the South China Sea remains unchanged and the CGA will not reduce its patrols in the area.

Lee made the comments before giving a report to the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee on measures the CGA will take to safeguard Taiwan-controlled Taiping following the July 12 ruling and reasons behind its decision to withdraw two new 100-ton CGA patrol vessels back to Taiwan from Taiping a few days ago.

During the legislative session, Lee said it was the CGA’s decision to pull back the two patrol vessels and he will shoulder political responsibility if Taiwan loses control of Taiping due to the decision.     [FULL  STORY]

MISSILE INCIDENT:Katharine Chang said the Mainland Affairs Council has sent two text messages to China, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the US

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 12, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said the nation no longer has a smooth

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang, left, and Coast Guard Administration Director-General Lee Chung-wei attend a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Affairs Committee yesterday in Taipei. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

communication channel with China since the new administration was sworn in, as a cross-strait hotline remained ineffective during an incident involving a missile fired by mistake on July 1.

In a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee in Taipei focused on the aftermath of the incident, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said the communication channel between Taipei and Beijing no longer runs as smoothly as it did before the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration took office on May 20.

The council had twice contacted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office about the incident on July 1 and July 2. Both contacts were made via text message, Chang said.

Chang did not directly respond to questions as to whether China replied to the council’s messages.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 8, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Taiwan military has prepared contingency measures ahead of an upcoming

Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬), left, prepares to take questions during a legislative session in Taipei on Thursday, July 7 (Joseph Yeh, The China Post)

ruling by an international court on a dispute between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea, Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said on Thursday.

Fielding questions during a Legislature committee session, Feng said the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has been carefully monitoring the regional situation near the South China Sea ahead of the July 12 ruling.

It is also closely watching the movements of nearby countries before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issues a ruling on the dispute between China and the Philippines.

The Taiwan military also has full grasp on mainland China’s ongoing military exercises in an area around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea ahead of the ruling, Feng added.     [FULL  STORY]