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Taiwan commits to maintaining cooperation with allies

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/19
By: Tang Pei-chun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affair (MOFA) said Tuesday

The Diplomatic Quater in Taipei. (CNA file photo)

The Diplomatic Quater in Taipei. (CNA file photo)

that Taiwan’s existing cooperation projects with its allies and the countries with which it maintains friendly relations in the absence of diplomatic links will not be changed despite the upcoming power transfer.

The message was delivered to around 80 foreign ambassadors and representatives to Taiwan earlier in the day as they were briefed on the results of the country’s just-concluded presidential and legislative elections held Jan. 16, the MOFA said in a statement.

During the briefing, the ministry said that the Republic of China’s foreign policies are consistent and continuous, and as a result, there won’t be any changes to the ROC’s existing cooperation projects and obligations to foreign countries.     [FULL  STORY]

Charity solo exhibition gets underway in Hsinchu

Taiwan Today
Date: January 19, 2016

A charity solo exhibition by Yang Yin-chai opened Jan. 13 in Hsinchu

Yang Yin-chai poses with one of her colorful abstract oil paintings on show until Feb. 14 at Museum of Fine Arts in Hsinchu County. (UDN)

Yang Yin-chai poses with one of her colorful abstract oil paintings on show until Feb. 14 at Museum of Fine Arts in Hsinchu County. (UDN)

County, showcasing the octogenarian artist’s signature works and industrial-influenced painting techniques.

Featuring 63 oil, pastel, traditional Chinese and watercolor pieces, the event offers a fresh take on Yang’s innovative use of glass, gravel and sawdust in her creations. It runs until Feb. 14 at Museum of Fine Arts operated by the Cultural Affairs Bureau under Hsinchu County Government.

CAB Director-General Tsai Jung-kuang said Yang is a trailblazer in experimenting with various materials and modern techniques. “The graduating, multilayered effect in her paintings appeals to art lovers from home and abroad. Her works reflect the color and vibrancy of a lifetime in Hsinchu County.”

Born in 1936, Yang is a self-taught artist who exhibited from 2002 to 2005 at the Louvre Museum and Salon of French Artists, as well as staging 26 solo exhibitions around Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Premier Mao resigns, leaves Ma out in cold

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 20, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

In arguably the most bizarre reaction to the Chinese Nationalist Party’s

Members of the Executive Yuan yesterday attend a pre-Lunar New Year banquet in Taipei from which Premier Mao Chi-kuo, who has tendered his resignation, was conspicuously absent. Photo: CNA

Members of the Executive Yuan yesterday attend a pre-Lunar New Year banquet in Taipei from which Premier Mao Chi-kuo, who has tendered his resignation, was conspicuously absent. Photo: CNA

(KMT) electoral defeat on Saturday, Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) has resigned in spite of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) objection, and even turned the president away from his residence in the process.

Details began to surface late on Monday after Ma was said to have left a message with Mao’s wife, asking the premier to stay on until Ma can persuade the Democratic Progressive Party to form a new Cabinet after it won both the presidency and control of the Legislative Yuan.

Presidential Office spokesperson Charles Chen (陳以信) said that Ma went to Mao’s residence, but did not find him there.

Ma then asked the premier’s wife to convey the message, asking Mao to “put the interest of the nation first and to hold his position” until the Cabinet’s resignation is approved, Chen said.     [FULL  STORY]

Ma awaits Tsai’s answer to form a new Cabinet

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

President Ma Ying-jeou said Monday he will not approve Premier Mao Chi-6729576kuo’s resignation before Tsai Ing-wen, president-elect and leader of the majority party in the new Legislature, gives a clear answer to his invitation to form a new Cabinet.

Ma told former U.S. Deputy State Secretary William Burns during his visit to Taiwan after the 2016 general election that he had phoned Tsai to congratulate her on winning the election and told her that he hopes the new government under her leadership will continue to maintain the status quo of peaceful cross-Strait relations.

Ma said during the telephone conversation he told her that since the Democratic Progressive Party under her leadership has become the majority party in the new Legislature, he hopes to appoint a new premier who has the support of the majority party to stabilize the government and avoid government’s “empty run.”     [FULL  STORY]

Foreign student impressed with helpfulness of Taiwan police

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/18
By: Lu Kang-chun and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) Police in Hsinchu County have impressed a foreign

(From Hsinchu County police)

(From Hsinchu County police)

student with their helpfulness by driving the student back to his school over the weekend after his bicycle had a flat tire.

Tugdual, a French national studying at National Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu City, rode his bicycle from the school to scenic sites around Emei Lake in Hsinchu County on Saturday, according to Hsinchu County police.

After arriving there, he noticed that his bicycle had a flat tire, and he decided to walk with his bicycle to look for help.

After a walk of more than 10 kilometers, Tugdual came to the Baoshan branch office of the Hsinchu County Police Bureau and nervously used gestures to try to communicate with police officers there because he does not speak Mandarin well.     [FULL  STORY]

Nangang hosts Taiwan’s 1st smart public housing project

Taiwan Today
Date: January 18, 2016

Taiwan’s first information and communications technology-enabled public

Dongming Public Housing project in Taipei City’s Nangang District will boast an enhanced ICT infrastructure and eco-friendly environment. (Courtesy of TCG)

Dongming Public Housing project in Taipei City’s Nangang District will boast an enhanced ICT infrastructure and eco-friendly environment. (Courtesy of TCG)

housing project was launched by the local government Jan. 15 in Nangang District of Taipei City.

The NT$2.67 billion (US$79.5 million) Dongming Public Housing complex comprises three 21-floor high-rises and a six-floor building on an 8,348-square-meter site in the southeastern district. Construction gets underway next month and is scheduled for completion by year-end 2018.

Leveraging the experience and expertise of collaborators Acer Group, Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. and Fortune Construction Co. Ltd., Dongming features an innovative turnkey ICT solution with pre-installed fiber-optic cables.

Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je said he expects this public-private sector tie-up to serve as model for social housing development nationwide. “The project takes into consideration the disparate needs of housing justice, urban aesthetics and technological advances.     [FULL  STORY]

Justice and legal reform to be NPP priorities: Hung

COLD CASES:The DPP’s Wellington Koo said that unsolved controversial cases should be reopened and solved to help bring about transitional justice

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 19, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Legal reforms and transitional justice are likely to be priorities for the New

Members of the Judicial Reform Foundation hold a news conference calling for transitional justice with New Power Party legislator-elect Hung Tzu-yung, second left, sister of the late army corporal Hung Chung-chiu, Democratic Progressive Party legislator-elect Wellington Koo, right, and Wang Tsai-lien, third right, mother of Chiang Kuo-ching, who was wrongfully executed and posthumously acquitted for the rape and murder of a girl, outside the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

Members of the Judicial Reform Foundation hold a news conference calling for transitional justice with New Power Party legislator-elect Hung Tzu-yung, second left, sister of the late army corporal Hung Chung-chiu, Democratic Progressive Party legislator-elect Wellington Koo, right, and Wang Tsai-lien, third right, mother of Chiang Kuo-ching, who was wrongfully executed and posthumously acquitted for the rape and murder of a girl, outside the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

Power Party (NPP) in the new legislative session, NPP legislator-elect Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) said yesterday.

She and members of the Judicial Reform Foundation accompanied Wang Tsai-lien (王彩蓮), the mother of Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶), to petition the Taipei District Court to order the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to file charges against former minister of defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) for his role in Chiang’s wrongful execution.

“I believe I bear certain responsibilities, which I am obligated to complete — just like today’s case, the issue of human rights within the military is something I will work hard on in the future,” said Hung, the sister of late corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘), who rose to prominence after her brother’s controversial death in July 2013, just days before his discharge from compulsory military service.     [FULL  STORY]

Chiang descendant elected to Legislature

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-17
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Despite the dozens of Kuomintang candidates who

Chiang descendant elected to Legislature

Chiang descendant elected to Legislature

were swept away by a Democratic Progressive Party landslide Saturday, one of the rare winners for the “blue” camp was a descendant of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.

Wayne Chiang won the election district covering the Songshan and Zhongshan areas of Taipei City after first defeating high-profile lawmaker Lo Shu-lei in the primaries and then on Saturday Billy Pan, an independent candidate backed by the DPP and known for his close ties to Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je.

The victory came despite an overall disastrous election day for the KMT, with its national total of legislators tumbling from 64 to 35. In Taipei City, the KMT was left with five out of eight seats, with veterans Ting Shou-chung and Lin Yu-fang falling to DPP City Councilor Rosalia Wu and New Power Party rock star Freddy Lim respectively.

Chiang is a great-grandson of President Chiang Kai-shek, a grandson of President Chiang Ching-kuo and the son of former Foreign Minister John Chiang. John Chiang and a twin brother were born out of wedlock to Chiang Ching-kuo and a woman surnamed Chang in China. They originally took her surname, but changed their names to Chiang in 2005.     [FULL  STORY]

Six historic firsts in the 2016 presidential and legislative elections

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/17
By: Christie Chen and Luke Sabatier

Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP’s) Tsai Ing-38377399wen (蔡英文) was elected the new president of Taiwan on Saturday, completing the third transition of power in Taiwan’s democratic history.

The following are the six “firsts” seen in the 2016 presidential and legislative elections.

1. First female president

Tsai became the first female president to lead the Republic of China (Taiwan), joining the ranks of female heads of state in Asia, including South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Before Tsai, the woman who achieved the highest government position in Taiwan was Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), who served as vice president of Taiwan from 2000 to 2008.     [FULL  STORY]

Insulting message in Yilan ballot box elicits cheers

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 18, 2016
By: Chu Tse-Wei / Staff reporter

A message intended for China-based Taiwanese singer Huang An (黃安) that was pulled from a ballot box on Saturday prompted applause and cheering from people watching the poll count at Yilan County’s Sansing Township (三星).

Poll watchers burst into applause when an A4 sized piece of paper that had the sentence “Huang An eats shit” written on it in red ink was pulled out of a ballot box during vote counting.

Huang accused South Korea-based Taiwanese singer Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜) of being a supporter of Taiwanese independence because she held a Republic of China flag on a South Korean variety show.

Just hours before Saturday’s elections, a video was released of Chou making an apology.

There was near unanimous sympathy and support for the 16-year-old, as it was speculated that her Korean bosses forced her to apologize, under pressure from Chinese fans.     [FULL  STORY]