Page Three

No hawks, doves in China: MAC

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 11, 2017
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff Reporter

There is no distinction between doves and hawks in Beijing’s dealings with Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said yesterday, after a lawmaker asked whether a recent leadership change at major Chinese think tanks dealing with Taiwan indicates a transition from dovish tactics to more hawkish ones.

Speaking at a question-and-answer session at the legislature, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) said that China’s National Society of Taiwan Studies and the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently had new heads appointed to lead the organizations.

“The new heads are different from their predecessors, who were academics or experts who have studied Taiwan’s economic, social and cultural affairs for a long time,” Chiu said.

Dai Bingguo (戴秉國), the new chairman of the National Society of Taiwan Studies, “is a veteran diplomat specializing in Soviet Union and Eastern European issues, and is a former Chinese deputy minister of foreign affairs, a former director of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party’s [CCP] Central Committee and a former director of the National Security Leadership Group of the CCP Central Committee,” Chiu said, adding that Dai’s previous positions has no direct connections to cross-strait relations.    [FULL  STORY]

Tissues getting dearer: Yuen Foong Yu to raise ex-factory prices of household paper products

The China Post
Date: March 11, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

Papermaker Yuen Foong Yu (YFY, 永豐餘) said Friday it would raise its household product prices this month because of rising material costs.

Cheng Loong Corp., one of its major domestic rivals, said it would not follow suit.

YFY said it would raise ex-factory prices by 5 to 8 percent for household paper products in mid-March, with the increases covering its popular tissue and toilet paper brands such as Mayflower and Tender.

But YFY said its retailers would determine the prices of the products on their own store shelves.    [FULL  STORY]

20% by 2025 goal for renewables achievable: Tsai

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-03-09

President Tsai Ing-wen says she has faith that the percentage of renewables in Taiwan’s

20% by 2025
President Tsai Ing-wen said Thursday she has faith that the percentage of renewables in Taiwan’s energy mix will reach 20% by 2025. (CNA)

energy mix will reach 20% by 2025. Tsai was speaking on Thursday while meeting with a delegation from Danish energy company DONG Energy.

DONG has agreed to build Taiwan’s first offshore wind power generator as well as four wind farms off the coast of Changhua county on the country’s west coast.

Tsai thanked the company for investing in Taiwan. She said Taiwan is working to lessen its reliance on nuclear and fossil fuels. Tsai said the use of renewable energy reached a new high last year but said this is not good enough.

“Last year, the percentage of renewables in Taiwan’s energy mix reached 4.8%, the highest in our history. But this level is still too low. Our plan is to reach 20% by 2025,” Tsai said. “We believe we can achieve that goal because we have a complete policy package. Within this, the policy for integrating wind farms passed its environmental impact assessment at the end of last year.”    [FULL  STORY]

Robot Pepper gets to work at Taiwan Stock Museum

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/03/09
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwan Stock Museum hopped on the bandwagon to adopt

Pepper at the Taiwan Stock Museum(By Taiwan News)

a new artificial intelligence robot to welcome and entertain visitors after its renovation in early 2017.

In 1887 during the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan Provincial Governor Liu Ming-chuan issued the first batch of physical stock certificates in Taiwan to raise money to build a railway connecting Taipei and Hsinchu. As time went by, the papers were terribly faded and can only be imagined through a couple of old photos in the museum.

Conveniently located in downtown Taipei next to the MRT Zhongshan Junior High School Station, the museum space is divided into five areas from the history of the global stock market and the development of Taiwan’s stock market and of its derivatives market to a room for the storage of share certificates which is now a thing of the past.
[FULL  STORY]

Ex-policeman acquitted in 1998 murder of colleague

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/09
By: Amy Huang and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) A man who was charged in the 1998 death of a fellow policeman in Kinmen and an attempted armed robbery in 2000 was acquitted of all charges Thursday by the Fujian High Court’s Kinmen branch after years of appeals.

In the final appeal, the high court overturned the Fujian Kinmen District Court’s life sentence handed down in July 2005 against Yeh Wei-hui (葉維輝), who was a policeman at the time of the incident.

The case arose from the murder of police officer Tsao Yi-kuo (曹義國), who was found dead in a forested area in Kinmen on Oct. 1, 1998 with two bullet wounds to the head, three days after he disappeared while on duty at the front gate of a Kinmen police station.

When Tsao’s body was found, his pistol and ammunition belt were missing.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese linked to Islamic State under surveillance

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 10, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Eight Taiwanese are being monitored because of suspicion they are affiliated with the Islamic State group, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday.

Bureau section head Huang Yu-shun (黃裕順) told a legislative hearing that the eight were mentally unstable and the bureau was keeping close track of them.

In a previous report to the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, the bureau said eight Taiwanese had been identified as possible Islamic State sympathizers.

Huang was asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) for an update on the situation.    [FULL  STORY]

Could Taiwan be up next in THAAD trouble?

The China Post
Date: March 10, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The deployment of the U.S.’ Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense

In this photo provided by U.S. Forces Korea, trucks carrying parts of U.S. missile launchers and other equipment needed to set up Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system arrive at Osan air base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea on Monday, March 6. (AP)

(THAAD) system in South Korea has spiked the already high tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, angering not only North Korea but also China, which sees the missiles and advanced radar as a security threat.

North Korea test-launched four ballistic missiles into the ocean near Japan shortly after U.S. missile launchers and other equipment required to set up the system arrived in South Korea earlier this month.

China also responded quickly, saying it would take “necessary measures” to protect itself, and warning that the U.S. and South Korea should be prepared for the consequences.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan begins nationwide forums on culture

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-03-08

The culture ministry is encouraging people to get involved in an upcoming series of

Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun
The culture ministry is encouraging people to get involved in an upcoming series of cultural forums. (Photo by CNA)

cultural forums.

The forums are an opportunity for people from all sectors to contribute their ideas on building up Taiwan’s culture sector and cultural influence. Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun said there will be 12 sessions held throughout Taiwan.

“As Taiwan faces the 21st century, we can’t just focus on the economy. We also need to focus on culture. Through building up our culture, we can fulfill our spiritual lives and increase our soft power. It can bring progress to our nation. We can move up economically, and Taiwan can join with the world through culture. I have a dream, and that’s for Taiwan to be the world’s beautiful island, ” said Cheng.

After the island-wide forums are over, the culture ministry will put out a white paper with suggestions to strengthen Taiwan’s cultural sector.    [FULL  STORY]

Protests, street art commemorate 228 event in Keelung

The guerrilla art project and march set to commemorate the dispatch of troops at Keelung Port

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/03/09
By: Matthew Lubin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An early morning guerrilla art project by the Create New Keelung Action Alliance (開創新基隆行動聯盟) and a march led by the Free Taiwan Party (自由台灣黨) commemorated the 70th anniversary of Chiang Kai-shek dispatching troops from Keelung Port left sidewalks splattered in red paint.

The Create New Keelung Action Alliance (開創新基隆行動聯盟) splattered the sidewalks and streets near Keelung Railway Station with water-soluble red paint at 5 a.m. on March 8 in what they called “Keelung Massacre Street Action Art” (基隆大屠殺街景行動藝術) to commemorate the importance of the day on Keelung’s history as well as on the events that followed the 228 Incident, Apple Daily reported. There were also white silhouettes on walkways and roads covered in red paint to symbolize those killed in the massacre. The fire department had washed away the paint from sidewalks and roadways soon after the art was noticed.

Later in the day, the Free Taiwan Party held a separate memorial service at 2:28 p.m. to commemorate the day, CNA reported. At the march, party leader Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) requested the removal of Chiang Kai-shek’s statue from the railway station. As protesters attempted to converge on the statue, they were stopped by police who held the group away from the area until they dispersed at 4 p.m.    [FULL  STORY]

Former vice president dies aged 93 (update)

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/08
By: Kuan Jui-ping, Wang Cheng-chung and Christie Chen

Taipei, March 8 (CNA) Lee Yuan-tsu (李元簇), who served as vice president under Lee Teng-hui (李登輝, no relation), died at the age of 93 at his home in Miaoli County on Wednesday following a long battle with kidney disease.

Lee had not eaten for more than 10 days prior to his death, surviving only on nutrient supplements, Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁), a close family friend and former house steward, told CNA that day.

Lee passed away peacefully at 4:15 a.m., with his family by his side, said Chen, leader of the Coast Guard Administration’s Taoyuan Reconnaissance Brigade.

Lee, a member of the Kuomintang (KMT), was the eighth vice president of the Republic of China from 1990 to 1996.    [FULL  STORY]