Taipei Times
Date: Aug 27, 2017
By: Shih Hsiao-kuang / Staff reporter

Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday lambasted President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy stance, which she described as desinicization.

Hung made the remarks in Taipei yesterday at a forum on Ming Dynasty loyalist Cheng Cheng-kung’s (鄭成功, also known as Koxinga) legacy in Taiwan.

“How did the KMT come to this?” Hung said.

Hung said Tsai was attempting to “root out” China’s influence.

“[Former president] Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) abolished the Guidelines for National Unification and sought to discredit Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), but at least he acknowledged that his family was from Zhangzhou in China’s Fujian Province,” Hung said.

“Madam Tsai is worse. She not only wants to discredit Chiang, but Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), Confucius (孔子), Guan Gong (關公), Matsu (媽祖) and all religions originating in China,” she said.    [FULL  STORY]

‘NOT A SIGN’:Officials said the cancelation should not be considered a sign that cross-strait tourism was in decline, but resulted from disagreements during the preparations

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 26, 2017
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

The Taiwan Visitors Association confirmed this week that Chinese tour operators will not attend this year’s Cross-Strait Taipei Travel Fair, which is scheduled to take place in October.

It would be the first time Chinese tour operators skip the fair since it opened in 2006.

The fair was for several years jointly organized by the Taiwan Visitors Association and the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, two quasi-official agencies representing Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau and China’s National Tourism Administration.

It was held at the same time as the International Travel Fair (ITF), another annual event organized by the Taiwan Visitors Association. Both were held at the Taipei World Trade Center, but treated as separate fairs.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/08/25
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Friday that Taiwan’s

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文, right)

efforts to build military aircraft and vessels on its own are helpful to maintaining stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

As a responsible stakeholder in regional security, Taiwan has been increasing its investment in defense, strengthening its defense capabilities, and enhancing its information security, Tsai said while receiving a delegation led by U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, who currently serves as chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.

She said Taiwan and the United States share common values on many issues and maintain close cooperation with each other.

The president expressed confidence that the values of freedom, democracy and human rights upheld by Taiwan and the United States will continue to shape the future of the Asia-Pacific region.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 26, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Taiwan has the full right to conduct live-fire exercises on and around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, rebutting a Vietnamese government protest against new exercises.

In a statement, the ministry said the nation unquestionably possesses all international and sea law rights to the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) and surrounding sea, adding that Itu Aba, which is the largest of the Spratly Islands, is “national territory” on which Taiwan possesses the right to conduct routine drills.

The national government holds to the principle of setting aside controversy to pursue joint development of the area and is willing to participate in negotiations on a foundation of equality, the statement said, adding that the nation was also willing to maintain and promote peace and stability in the South China Sea in cooperation with other nations.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in December last year promised to “steadfastly protect” the nation’s territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea.
[FULL  STORY]

‘CAUTION’:The ‘freeway green corridor’ project would balance construction with drainage and environmental protection issues, the National Freeway Bureau said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 25, 2017
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

The National Freeway Bureau is scheduled to brief the Executive Yuan next month about its “freeway green corridor” project, which is proposed in part to honor film director Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), who drew attention to environmental problems in his documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above (看見台灣).

The presentation would cover the problems identified in the documentary and explain how the bureau plans to incorporate environmental protection into its planning for freeway construction, the bureau said.

Taiwan has a complicated and fragile environment, but it does not mean that no construction can be done under such circumstances, Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said.

“Construction projects should be undertaken after we learn about the environment and try to handle it with extra caution, particularly in choosing appropriate freeway routes and in maintaining freeways,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]