Taipei Times
Date:  Dec 14, 2015
By: Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporter

Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday attended a wedding

rehearsal for his granddaughter Lee Kun-yi (李坤儀) at the Jinan Presbyterian Church in Taipei, his first public appearance since he was hospitalized on Nov. 27 after suffering a minor stroke.

Lee appeared to be in a good mood as he stepped out of a car, accompanied by his wife, Tseng Wen-hui (曾文惠), and daughter-in-law Chang Yue-yun (張月雲).

“I am very happy,” he said in response to reporters’ questions, and said “yes” when asked if he would feel a little sad when his granddaughter left home.

Pastor Huang Chun-sheng (黃春生) said the former president was in a good mood during the rehearsal and held Lee Kun-yi’s hand as he escorted her from the entrance of the church to the altar.tar.

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/12
By: Amy Huang, Chiu Po-sheng and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) Twelve mid-sized electric buses purchased by Kinmen County were put into service Saturday, a step forward in the county’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

At the inauguration ceremony, Economics Minister John Deng (鄧振中) said the use of electric vehicles in Kinmen, in line with the international trend of carbon reduction, will help draw more tourists to the offshore county and boost the development of Taiwan’s electric vehicle industry.

In Kinmen, one of Taiwan’s main tourism areas, some tour agencies have also applied to use electric buses, Deng said, promising full support by his ministry for their efforts.     [FULL STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-12-11
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Prosecutors questioned Farglory Group chief Chao

Teng-hsiung Friday, one day after the tycoon changed his plea to guilty in a case involving the payment of bribes to government officials in return for development contracts.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office reportedly wanted to know whether Chao also paid off Hung Chia-hung, a former chief secretary of the Construction and Planning Agency at the Ministry of Interior.

Chao is being investigated for a number of cases, mainly involving the urban renewal of military settlements in Hsinchu, Taoyuan’s Bade District, and Linkou in New Taipei City.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/11
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Elaine Hou

Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) The vast majority of Taiwan’s office workers would like to be flight attendants, citing their love for travel, good salaries and opportunities to expand their horizons, a survey has found.

In a poll conducted by 1111 Job Bank gauging the willingness of office workers to work as flight attendants, some 94 percent of respondents said they would be willing to take on the job, according to the survey’s results released Friday.

The number was up 19 percent from the result of an identical survey conducted in 2008, the manpower agency said.

The opportunities to travel, relatively high salaries and the chance to expand one’s horizons were found to be the main reasons behind the desire to work as flight attendants, the survey found.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: December 11, 2015

Taiwan was best performer at the International Junior Science Olympiad Dec.

2-11 in Daegu, South Korea, with all six members of the national team winning gold for top 10 percent showings.

In addition to the individual honors, the youths bagged three gold and three silver medals in experimental examinations. A total of 236 students from 42 countries and territories contested the competition this year.

“This is Taiwan’s best result since first taking part in the competition in 2004,” said team advisor Lo Pei-hua, associate researcher at National Taiwan Normal University’s Science Education Center. “Although we do not have a strong track record in experimental examinations at the event, this year’s team got the monkey off its back by claiming gold or silver in the tests.”

Among the winners, Lu Chen-yu from Kaohsiung Municipal Senior High School set a new benchmark with four golds, including two top prizes in theoretical tests and total scores, positioning her No. 1 among all entrants.     [FULL  STORY]

INCONSISTENCY:The DPP said that the KMT’s numbers did not add up, highlighting discrepancies in price calculations and presenting evidence rejecting the allegations

Taipei Times
Date:  Dec 12, 2015
By: Jake Chung  /  Staff writer

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that allegations of land speculation by DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators over the past few days were abhorrent election smear tactics, calling on KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) to live up to his promise of a clean campaign.

DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) yesterday said at a news conference that the information provided by the KMT on the size, price, buyer and which plot of land was sold were all erroneous, demonstrating that all allegations are false.

“It is clear the KMT is fabricating information like charlatans,” Wang said, calling on Chu to keep his campaign staff in line and to cease a smear campaign comprised of baseless accusations.     [FULL  STORY]