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Kenya leaves Ma’s China policy in tatters

EDITORIAL
Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-14
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Kenya is one of the most unlikely countries to have emerged as a player in 6747949relations between Taiwan and China. It is not even one of Taiwan’s rare diplomatic allies on the continent, and while some Taiwanese have no doubt visited because of its reputation for interesting wildlife and beautiful beaches, it mostly does not register with the average Taiwanese citizen.

Yet the country now has emerged as the place to undo years of efforts by President Ma Ying-jeou and his Kuomintang administration to present their China policy as a success which has raised Taiwan’s profile in the world.

At the origin of the sudden crisis are dozens of people from Taiwan and China who were allegedly active in the African country perpetrating telephone and online scams, allegedly mostly targeting residents of China.

A local court acquitted many of them, leading observers to believe they would either be allowed to stay in the country, or return to their native country, in the case of 45 of them, Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan should have defensive deterrence capacity: president-elect

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/14
By: Sophia Yeh and Romulo Huang

Taipei, April 14 (CNA) Taiwan does not need to engage in an arms race with

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (center) arrives at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Taipei.

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (center) arrives at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Taipei.

China, but it must have a defensive deterrence capacity, President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Thursday.

Tsai, who will take office on May 20, made the remarks after hearing reports presented by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) at a briefing on confidential matters.

Tsai said that the government, society and armed forces constitute the three principal pillars of a nation’s defense, and that a good national defense can only be achieved when these three principal factors are consolidated simultaneously.

The incoming president said that after assuming power, she will elaborate on strategies for national defense and security in a more rigorous manner, allowing the armed forces to have a clear direction for their future development.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan protests deportation of ROC nationals

Taiwan Today
Date: April 14, 2016

2The government voiced April 13 a strong protest over the detention and

MOFA Minister David Y. L. Lin voices April 13 a strong protest over the actions of the Kenyan police in forcibly deporting 45 ROC nationals to mainland China. (CNA)

MOFA Minister David Y. L. Lin voices April 13 a strong protest over the actions of the Kenyan police in forcibly deporting 45 ROC nationals to mainland China. (CNA)

forcible deportation of Republic of China (Taiwan) nationals to mainland China by the Kenyan police, describing the actions as serious human rights violation that have hurt the feelings of the people of Taiwan and severely affected cross-strait relations.

The incident occurred following the acquittal of 23 ROC nationals by a Kenyan district court on telecoms fraud charges. The group, ordered to leave the West African country in 21 days, was detained for 24 hours after attempting to collect their passports at Kilimani police station near the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Eight of the 23 were deported April 8 to mainland China. The remaining 15, along with 22 other ROC nationals involved in a separate telecoms fraud case, were deported after police used tear gas to force them out of the station. “These measures are against the will of the 45 ROC nationals and we demand a reasonable explanation from the Kenyan government,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

President Ma Ying-jeou called on Beijing to return the ROC nationals to Taiwan and make sure forcible deportations to mainland China never take place again. This position is shared by President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who said Taiwan’s jurisdiction should be respected.     [FULL  STORY]

Minister calls on China for fraud facts

JOINT CRIME-FIGHTING:Chinese officials have said that scams committed by Taiwanese cost more than 10 billion yuan annually and inflict great suffering

Taipei Times
Date: , Apr 15, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday urged China

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia yesterday speaks during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia yesterday speaks during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

to present concrete evidence backing figures it released to demonstrate the prevalence of Taiwanese-orchestrated telecommunications fraud, while calling for a new round of negotiations on a cross-strait pact to jointly fight crime.

Hsia made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, which invited him speak and answer questions about Kenya’s deportation of 45 Taiwanese from Nairobi to Beijing on Friday last week and on Tuesday.

“I have seen the frightening numbers of [telecom scam] victims published by Chinese authorities. However, we hope they can present some evidence to back the figures so that they are not just conjecture,” Hsia said.

China is also urged to show evidence that its forcible seizure of the Taiwanese conformed with procedural justice, Hsia said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Leader’s Bento Exposed

CRI
Date: 2016-04-12
By: Web Editor: Huang Yue

Taiwan media has recently publicized the picture of what it claims to be island

A photo of Ma Ying-jeou's bento is publicized by Taiwan media recently. [Photo: Agencies]

A photo of Ma Ying-jeou’s bento is publicized by Taiwan media recently. [Photo: Agencies]

leader Ma Ying-jeou’s bento.

According to Taiwan’s United Daily News, the “dedicated set meals for the senior leaders” include fish, meat and three different kinds of vegetables, and only cost 50 Taiwan dollars, or around 10 yuan.

However, the nutritious bentos can’t be appreciated by every senior officer in Taiwan. Some officials say they get bored after being served with these bentos day after day.

Ma Ying-jeou has been enjoying the set meal for eight years.

The topic has aroused heated discussions on the Internet on the mainland. A netizen from the Chinese mainland says he just came back from Taipei, and a bowl of beef noodles at Taipei’s Night Fair cost him 100 Taiwan dollars (around 20 yuan). He says Ma Ying-jeou’s bento is quite cheap.

Ma Ying-jeou won Taiwan’s leadership in 2008 and will be relieved of his office next month.     [SOURCE]

Taiwan Forced To Rethink Its Air Defense Strategy

Defense News
Date: April 13, 2016
By: Michael J. Lostumbo, Special to Defense News

Air defense planners in Taiwan face a daunting challenge. They need to have

Two US-made F-16 fighters take off from the Chiayi air base in southern Taiwan during a demonstration on January 26. Taiwan is refurbishing its F-16 fleet, but even with the upgrades its force will lag behind China's. (Photo: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)

Two US-made F-16 fighters take off from the Chiayi air base in southern Taiwan during a demonstration on January 26. Taiwan is refurbishing its F-16 fleet, but even with the upgrades its force will lag behind China’s. (Photo: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)

enough capacity to deter China, which not only has a large military but, more importantly, for the past 25 years has spent heavily on modernizing that force. In modern warfare, air dominance is important in its own right, but it also enables other types of military operations by land and sea forces.

Thus an important capability for Taiwan is to be able to contest China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) air dominance. In the past, Taiwan’s fighter aircraft have been the mainstay of their air defenses, and in the future these aircraft will command most of the air defense budget. But China has found ways to put those aircraft in check, making them an expensive luxury in Taiwan’s defense budget.

Taiwan should begin to think beyond an air defense that relies so heavily on its fighter aircraft. Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) would offer greater defensive capabilities and are a better investment moving forward.     [FULL  STORY]

U.S. Congress marks TRA’s 37th anniversary

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/13
By: Rita Cheng and Evelyn Kao

Washington, April 12 (CNA) Members of the U.S. Senate Taiwan Caucus and

(CNA file photo)

(CNA file photo)

Congressional Taiwan Caucus have recently released statements in recognition of the 37th anniversary of the enactment of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the continuing and growing partnership between Taiwan and the United States.

“Taiwan is one of the strongest democratic and economic partners of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region,” said U.S. Senator James Inhofe, a co-chair of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, in a statement issued Monday.

“The Taiwan Relations Act has played an indispensable role in shaping American policy toward Taiwan and U.S. strategy in Asia and serves as a model of freedom… Taiwan’s strength, both democratically and economically, helps to bolster peace and stability in this strategically important region,” Inhofe said.     [FULL  STORY]

Abduction Flap Signals China’s Increasing Pressure on Taiwan

Voice of America
Date: April 13, 2016
By: Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI—
A top Taiwanese official on Wednesday said Taipei may send a delegation to

FILE - A Chinese national flag flutters in front of the Shanghai's No. 1 People's Intermediate Court in Shanghai, China.

FILE – A Chinese national flag flutters in front of the Shanghai’s No. 1 People’s Intermediate Court in Shanghai, China.

Beijing to learn more about a fraud trial involving some 45 Taiwanese nationals who were deported from Kenya and sent to mainland China against their wishes.

Taipei has accused China of abducting the group, which faced accusations in Kenya of committing telecommunications fraud. Analysts say Beijing may be trying to force the soon-to-be ruling party in Taiwan to start a friendly dialogue with mainland China, rather than veering toward stronger self-rule, which goes against Beijing’s wishes.

“For this kind of case, I must say that we will try to get our citizens back [to Taipei] for trial,” Andrew Hsia, who heads the island’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), told VOA’s Mandarin Service. “But China will contend, too, since the victims are already over there. So both sides will coordinate on the basis of judiciary assistance.”

Hsia also said there used to be cross-strait cooperation and a tacit understanding between the two sides in dealing with similar cases. If mainland China thinks a sentence for fraud in Taiwan is not heavy enough, he said, there would be room for discussion.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan “I Believe” video something to be proud of

Editorial
April13, 2016
By: Editor

I have been to Taiwan many times.  I have grown to love the smells, sights and people of Taiwan.  The Taiwanese have a good reason to be proud.  They have developed the most technologically advanced engineering and manufacturing facilities bar none.  Their democracy has developed into the most democratic in all of Asia.  Their human rights policies are a model that other Asian nations would be smart to follow.  The people of Taiwan are the warmest and friendliest people that you will find anywhere.  And did I mention the food?  The food is to die for.

Sadly I don’t meet the immigration qualifications required under Taiwan’s immigration laws. They are almost as stringent as the USA’s.   If I could, I would immigrate to Taiwan in a heartbeat.  If I could die in Taiwan I would truly believe that my life had been truly full.

Lawsuits filed in Kenya case: Lin

‘UNACCEPTABLE’:Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin refuted remarks by the Kenyan minister of foreign affairs that Taipei had not contacted Nairobi about the deportations

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 14, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) yesterday said that legal

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese suspects involved in wire fraud are escorted off a plane upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Wednesday. The deportation of nearly four dozen Taiwanese that`s part of a larger group including mainland Chinese from Kenya to China where they are being investigated over wire fraud allegations is focusing new attention on Beijingis willingness to assert its sovereignty claim over Taiwan. Photo: AP

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese suspects involved in wire fraud are escorted off a plane upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Wednesday. The deportation of nearly four dozen Taiwanese that`s part of a larger group including mainland Chinese from Kenya to China where they are being investigated over wire fraud allegations is focusing new attention on Beijingis willingness to assert its sovereignty claim over Taiwan. Photo: AP

action had been taken against Kenyan government officials for ignoring a court injunction and cooperating with China in its forced deportation of several Taiwanese last week.
On the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday, Lin said the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa had instructed the defense attorneys of the first eight Taiwanese forcibly deported to Beijing to take legal action against the Kenyan interior minister, the inspector general of police and the attorney general.

The lawsuits were filed on Friday last week, the day the eight Taiwanese were deported to China following their acquittal in a 2014 telecoms fraud case, Lin said.

Thirty-seven more Taiwanese — 15 of whom were also acquitted in the same case and the others, who were suspected of telecoms fraud and arrested on Friday last week — suffered the same fate on Tuesday, when they were forced by Chinese personnel into an airplane heading to China.     [FULL  STORY]