Page Three

Steam spotted rising from Taiwan Strait amid cold spell

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/24
By: Chen Wei-ting and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 24 (CNA) The Taiwan Strait was steaming, a surfer in the

(Photo courtesy of surfer Ah Shui)

(Photo courtesy of surfer Ah Shui)

southern Taiwan county of Pingtung said Sunday, as Taiwan was reeling under a strong cold spell that brought snow to many places around the subtropical island, where snow is rare and unusual.

The surfer, calling himself “Ah Shui,” photographed the rare phenomenon in Fangshan Township in Pingtung. He said he felt that the sea water temperature this year is the highest in recent years.

Apart from Ah Shui, steam rising from the water’s surface was also reported in Liuqiu Township, an outlying island off Pingtung County, earlier in the day.

According to the county’s Hengchun Weather Station, under the influence of the El Nino Southern Oscillation phenomenon, the temperature of sea water this year has been detected to be around 1 degree Celsius higher than in the past.     [FULL  STORY]

MAC prying into rumors of China reducing visitors into Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-24
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia said Sunday the 6730928council is investigating a rumor circulating among Taiwan’s tour operators that China is cutting down on the number of Chinese tourists allowed into Taiwan.

The rumor is that China will reduce the number of its tourists allowed to visit Taiwan to two thirds of the current number from March 20 to June 30, keeping open only four of the 47 cities currently allowed for free and independent travel to Taiwan—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen. It is said that China will cancel all quotas allowed for the other 43 cities.

Noting that he did hear such a rumor, Hsia said the MAC and the Tourism Bureau are investigating the truth behind the rumor through respective channels, and will make the results of the investigation public once they become available.

Hsia said China’s reducing the number of Chinese tourists allowed to visit Taiwan at this juncture “is not a good thing to cross-Strait relations.”

New Taipei unveils ‘Jinshan initiative’

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/23
By: Justin Su and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) The New Taipei city government unveiled Saturday the 201601230015t0001“Jinshan initiative,” which calls for sustainable use of natural resources, coexistence of people and land, and the promotion of eco-friendly agriculture.

The initiative was created jointly with the Taiwan Ecological Engineering Development Foundation and was inspired by the arrival of a Siberian crane in the city’s Jinshan District in December 2014. The bird has since made a temporary home there under the care of a local farmer.

New Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) said the Siberian crane’s arrival has called people’s attention to the issues of ecological conservation and the development of local communities.

Chen said he looks forward to working out a multi-win resolution on land use with local residents and pushing for an environmental revitalization campaign, eventually building a sustainable farm village in which humans coexist peacefully with nature.     [FULL  STORY]

Tsai assassination threats quelled by police in Taichung

GANG LINKS:It is alleged that the person behind the threats could have gangster connections, as he allegedly claimed to be a ‘hit man’ for the Bamboo Union gang

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 24, 2016
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Taichung police yesterday said they tracked down a man who allegedly made repeated threats on his Facebook page that he was going to assassinate president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

Taichung police officials said after they received reports of the threats they searched various social media sites and analyzed telecommunication records and located a man surnamed Chang (張), 37, who lives in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯).

Police said the man wrote various threats on his Facebook page following the presidential election, such as “I am going to assassinate Tsai Ing-wen…. ha, ha, ha,” and “On the day when Tsai assumes the presidency, my life will not be wasted by assassinating her.”     [FULL  STORY]

Presidential and DPP reps meet to talk handover

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-23
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Presidential secretary-general Tseng Yung-chuan and President-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s representative Lin Hsi-yao met Saturday to discuss the period leading up to the presidential inauguration on May 20.

There have been a wide variety of suggestions for handling the transition period, especially in the wake of Premier Mao Chi-kuo’s resignation and the advent of a Democratic Progressive Party majority at the Legislative Yuan beginning February 1.

At their meeting, Tseng and Lin, who is a former DPP secretary-general, discussed the plan to find a new premier who was acceptable to the new legislative majority as well as the setting up of a transition committee, presidential spokesman Charles Chen said.

Tsai’s delegation officially rejected President Ma Ying-jeou’s recurrent offer to form a new Cabinet based on the new DPP majority at the Legislature, reports said. Lin also denied that his party had already formed a transition committee.     [FULL  STORY]

Cold rain, strong winds in forecast as cold wave arrives

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/23
By: Jay Chen

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) The Central Weather Bureau on early Saturday issued 46194844special bulletins warning of low temperatures, heavy rain and strong winds with cold air beginning to wrap Taiwan proper and outlying counties in cold, moist air.

Temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius are expected all around Taiwan and Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu islands, the weather bureau said.

In addition to low temperatures, heavy rain is in the forecast for the central regions of Taichung, Nantou as well as cities and counties to the north, it said.

Almost all areas of Taiwan can expect to see strong winds during the day, the bureau added.     [FULL  STORY]

KMT urged to side with CCP for survival

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 24, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter
Pro-unification professor of Chinese literature Wang Hsiao-po (王曉波) on Friday said that the only way for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to survive is to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and achieve a peaceful unification.

While some have proposed removing “China” from the KMT’s party name, others have said that the party took a drubbing in the election because it is against mainstream public opinion — meaning that it is not “green” enough.

Wang was quoted by the Chinese-language China Review News as saying “that is nonsense” at a forum in Taipei on Friday. The forum was organized by several pro-unification groups to discuss post-election development of cross-strait relations.

Wang said that the presidential and legislative electoral results have not shifted blue-green distribution of party allegiance because of the low turnout of pan-blue supporters.

“What had defeated the KMT was not the Democratic Progressive Party (DDP), but the KMT’s shifting toward the DPP and not being KMT enough,” he said.     [FULL  STORY]

NPP discusses next legislative speaker

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-22
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The New Power Party said Friday it would not name 6730375a candidate for the post of legislative speaker, while setting conditions for the kind of candidate it would support.

In the January 16 elections, the Democratic Progressive Party won 68 out of 113 seats, making it virtually certain that its candidate will be elected speaker on February 1.

The NPP won five seats, coming third behind the Kuomintang, which held on to 35 seats. Presidential candidate James Soong’s People First Party won three seats, and independents of various backgrounds won two.

At its first official caucus meeting Friday, the NPP said it would not name its own candidates to run for speaker or vice speaker, but would review other candidates for their legislative review plans, their past political behavior, their social reputation and their ability to conduct foreign parliamentary relations.

Any candidate should first propose a clear blueprint for reforming the Legislature, said NPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang, one of the five lawmakers from the party, which emerged from the ranks of the Sunflower Movement.     [FULL STORY]

‘Recognise Taiwan’ petition in UK gets over 18,000 signatures

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/22
By: Tai Ya-chen and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) An online petition to “Recognise Taiwan as a country,”

Lee Chapman (from CasperMedia.org)

Lee Chapman (from CasperMedia.org)

which was launched on Jan. 18 by British citizen Lee Chapman, had obtained more than 18,000 signatures as of Friday.

According to Casper Media, Chapman has traveled to Taiwan twice and is married to a Taiwanese woman.

He told the online publication that the reasons for starting the petition is because of the recently concluded presidential election in Taiwan, which has placed it conspicuously on the world stage, and because of the treatment of 16-year-old pop star Chou Tzu-yu, who apologized after waving the Republic of China’s national flag on South Korean TV.

National identity is a personal freedom and people should not be prevented from expressing that freedom, he argued.     [FULL  STORY]

MOE honors Taiwan indigenous literary awards winners

Taiwan Today
Date: January 22, 2016

The winners of Taiwan Aboriginal Literary Awards organized by the ROC

Atayal poet Rucu Pawan shows off her Taiwan Aboriginal Literary Awards certificate of merit presented Jan. 20 at Hualien Cultural Creative Industries Park. (UDN)

Atayal poet Rucu Pawan shows off her Taiwan Aboriginal Literary Awards certificate of merit presented Jan. 20 at Hualien Cultural Creative Industries Park. (UDN)

Ministry of Education were honored in a ceremony Jan. 20 at Hualien Cultural Creative Industries Park.

The 36 recipients are from the indigenous tribes of Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Kahabu, Paiwan, Pazeh, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Sediq, Truku and Tsou. They finished atop a 99-strong field in the categories of essay, novella, poetry and translation.

Huang Yueh-li, director of the MOE Department of Lifelong Education, presented each of the winners with a cash prize and certificate of merit signed by Education Minister Wu Se-hwa. She praised the writers for promoting diversity and enriching the nation’s literary scene.

“The submissions capture some of the most alluring aspects of the indigenous landscape, and create a better understanding of the intangible heritage of such ethnic groups,” Huang said.     [FULL  STORY]