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KMT chaos destabilizing to ties: ex-China official

KMT DECLINE:There is no longer a group in Taiwan that can balance the independence faction, and the only such force now lies in China, Wang Zaixi said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 08, 2017
By: Lin Liang-sheng and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is losing its status as a powerful political party and a counterweight to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), leading to the ever-decreasing possibility of peaceful unification, former vice minister of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Wang Zaixi (王在希) said in a recent interview with the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Global Times.

Wang said that the “status quo” is largely supported by ordinary Taiwanese, and any move that would challenge it would likely be opposed.

Asked about the influence of US president-elect Donald Trump on cross-strait affairs, Wang said that at the beginning of Trump’s presidency there would be a period when his administration would seek to cause trouble for China over Taiwan.

However, US support of Taiwan is conditional and would require reciprocation, and Taiwan should consider the possible result should it wish to risk peace, Wang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Save freedom of speech, learn to detect fake news: media watchdog

The China Post
Date: January 8, 2017
By: James Lo

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Taiwan Media Watch Foundation (台灣媒體觀察基金會) has called on the government to preserve freedom of the press and not to write invasive regulations into the law, despite widespread fabricated information in the public discourse.

Taiwan has been the victim of fake news recently including a variety of falsified stories from mainland Chinese netizens as well as a scandal involving award-winning writer Chen Hsuan-ju (陳宣儒) and her fabricated identity of Tanaka Mika.

As a result of such incidents, a number of legislators have suggested amending current laws to empower the government to screen, filter and control the flow of fraudulent information on the internet.

But the media watchdog released a statement on Friday stating that the government should refrain from writing such regulations into law, as they would infringe upon the public’s right to freedom of speech.    [FULL  STORY]

Green tech R&D gets a boost

Taiwan Today
Date: January 06, 2017

The National Applied Research Laboratories under the Ministry of Science and Technology signed an

NARL President Wang Yeong-her (right) and NCKU President Jenny Huey-jen Su display an agreement on cooperation in the R&D of low-carbon and green energy technologies. (Courtesy of NARL)

agreement Jan. 5 with National Cheng Kung University in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City to cooperate in the research and development of low-carbon and green energy technologies.

According to the pact, NARL and NCKU will collaborate in areas such as semiconductor applications and nanodevices, which will play a key role in the development of sustainable technologies.

Wang Yeong-her, president of NARL, said the organization intends to build a center for the study of nanodevices on the NCKU campus. Called the National Nano Device Laboratories—Southern Branch, the facility is slated for completion in 2019 and will function as a hub of innovation, Wang said, adding that NARL will contribute NT$100 million (US$3.13 million) every year toward the center.

Established in 1988 under NARL, the Hsinchu City-based National Nano Device Laboratories is dedicated to supporting the R&D of advanced semiconductor processing technologies and cultivating tech talents.    [FULL  STORY]

Light up your Life at this year’s Taiwan Lantern and Pingxi Sky Lantern Festivals!

As the Chinese New Year approaches, its time to set your sights on the Taiwan’s lantern festivals

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/06
By: Jolene Ejmont, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

Taiwan (Taiwan News) — Lantern Festivals are actually one of Taiwan’s tourism highlights and happens

Sky lanterns released in evening during Pingxi Lantern Festival

to be on the bucket list for many international travelers around the globe. A festival that is based on lights, lanterns and loads of firecrackers! The Ping Xi Sky Lantern Festival is such an amazing festive destination that it even made it to the list of 10 Best Winter Trips released by National Geographic.

I absolutely love these incredible light displays. Yes, it is magical and so much so that it is worth traveling to the other side of the world to, in order to experience one.

We have seen quite a few lantern displays on our travels. Some of those were private and some of them were designed for the masses, however not one of them have been like this one.    [FULL  STORY]

Ex-vice president insists on validity of ‘1992 consensus’

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/06
By: Claudia Liu and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) The consensus of “one China, different interpretations” reached between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in 1992 cannot be overturned by a political party or individual, former Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said Friday.

Until the governments on either side agree to make a major change, the consensus will remain in place, Wu said during a meeting with a group of scholars from Harvard University’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, who were interested in the Kuomintang’s China policy.

He told the visitors that cross-strait relations were peaceful and stable during the eight years when former President Ma Ying-jeou was in power from 2008 to 2016 mainly because he abided by the consensus and adopted an approach of “no unification, no independence, no use of force.”

He stressed that the consensus was not something that could be overturned by a political party or individual.    [FULL  STORY]

KMT’s Jason Hu warns Tsai of Trump’s ‘power play’

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 07, 2017
By: Bloomberg

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Jason Hu (胡志強) warned against getting involved in US president-elect Donald Trump’s “big power play,” ahead of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) transit stop in the US this weekend.

Taiwan should instead seek to strengthen one-on-one ties with nations such as the US, China and Japan, Hu said.

Trump broke diplomatic protocol by taking a telephone call from Tsai last month and later linking the US’ policy on Taiwan to a better trade deal with China.

Taiwan cannot afford to get involved in a “multilateral chess game,” said Hu, who previously served as minister of foreign affairs, in an interview on Wednesday in Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]

Urban renovation for Keelung goes global

The China Post
Date: January 7, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Fresh ideas for renovating Keelung sprang up during the Ministry of the Interior’s

Hsu Yen-hsing, second from right, head of Keelung’s Department of Urban Development takes foreign experts on an inspection tour of Keelung. (CNA)

Construction and Planning Agency’s three-day international forum that concluded Friday.

Hsu Yen-hsing (徐燕興), the head of Keelung’s Department of Urban Development, took urban planning experts from Taiwan and Europe on an inspection tour of Keelung on Wednesday.

Professor Maurits De Hoog from Amsterdam’s City Planning Bureau expressed support for Keelung Station’s plan to create more public spaces and to use large frame-like installations throughout the city to give it a sense of cohesion.

De Hoog underscored the importance of using public spaces to make a connection between residents and the sea and perhaps even to bolster the port’s economic performance.    [FULL  STORY]

Chiang Kai-shek documents to be published online

Taiwan Today
Date: January 05, 2017

The entirety of the Chiang collection, a vast set of documents pertaining to late President Chiang Kai-

Academia Historica is digitizing and releasing the Chiang collection, a vast set of records pertaining to late ROC President Chiang Kai-shek. (Courtesy of Academia Historica)

shek, will be published online by the end of April on the website of Academia Historica, according to the country’s foremost historical research institution.

Also known as the Daxi archive, the collection comprises some 310,000 diaries, documents, letters and other records predating the Nationalist government’s relocation to Taiwan in 1949.

Some 100,000 items in the collection are already accessible on Academia Historica’s website, approximately 50,000 of which were made public for the first time Jan. 5 alongside the launch of the research institute’s new online search system.

The remaining 210,000 documents are currently being declassified and digitized. Academia Historica plans to publish the files gradually over the next several months.

According to Chou Hsiao-wen, director of Academia Historica’s Department of Cataloguing, Preservation and General Service, the Chiang collection is the institution’s most frequently accessed archive. “The publication of the documents is part of efforts to digitize the search system and promote research on a very important part of the nation’s history.”

As the Nationalist government relocated to Taiwan following defeat in the Chinese civil war, Chiang instructed that the files be transported to the island on the same ship that carried the central bank’s gold reserves.    [FULL  STORY]

Movie director rejects Taiwan Independence label

Chinese criticism comes ahead of holiday comedy release

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/05
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Just ahead of the release of a comedy which is expected to do well during the

(By Central News Agency)

Lunar New Year holiday, Taiwanese director Chen Yu-hsun denied allegations from China that he was a supporter of Taiwan Independence.

Similar accusations against other artists and entertainers in the past have led to their work being banned from China, at least for a period.

Chen’s latest movie is “The Village of No Return,” the type of film which usually tops the box office during the Lunar New Year holidays. In addition, the comedy, about a Taoist priest who brings a mysterious weapon which wipes out villagers’ memories, also features Taiwanese superstar Shu Qi, Joseph Chang and Hong Kong comedian Eric Tsang.

Chen previously directed the comedies “Zone Pro Site” and “Tropical Fish.”    [FULL  STORY]

Spanish tenor José Carreras to hold concert in Taichung

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/05
By: Hau Hsueh-ching and Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) Renowned Spanish tenor José Carreras is scheduled to hold a concert in Taichung on Saturday, with Carreras saying on Thursday that he hopes to surprise his audience.

Carreras, who is known as one of the Three Tenors along with Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, will perform at the National Taiwan University of Sport’s track and field stadium in his only concert in Taiwan this time.

“I came here to surprise the audience, I hope in a positive way,” Carreras said in a light-hearted tone.

He said he has prepared at least one or two songs that will be different from his previous performances in Taiwan.

“We hope that they (audience) would like (it),” he said at a press conference.   [FULL  STORY]