Page Three

KMT says DPP push for TV debate non-democratic

ENGAGE:The KMT and the DPP are deadlocked over which television station should host a presidential debate, as both parties claim the process has been non-democratic

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 01, 2015
By: Stacy Hsu and Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporters

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday continued to urge Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to have a televised debate, saying that her insistence on letting a particular TV station host such an event runs counter to democratic principles.

“It has been customary practice for the Public Television Service (PTS, 公視) and the so-called four newspapers and one agency to jointly hold a TV debate for presidential candidates,” Chu said on the sidelines of a news conference in Taipei to release his long-term care policy.

The four newspapers and one agency refer to the Chinese-language newspapers Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), Apple Daily, United Daily News and the China Times, as well as the Central News Agency.

Chu said Tsai’s attempts to interfere with the tradition on a technicality and asking other presidential candidates to attend a proposed TV debate held by a TV channel she specifically requests do not conform to democratic norms. [FULL STORY]

Tang Prize Foundation joins exhibition of COP21 in France

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-29
By: Central News Agency

Paris, Nov. 28 (CNA) Tang Prize Foundation CEO Chern Jenn-chuan arrived in Paris on Saturday to organize a booth that will showcase the foundation’s emphasis on sustainable development at an exhibition on the sidelines of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21).

The Tang Prize honors leading personalities in four categories — sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, Sinology, and the rule of law — and is thus taking advantage of the COP21 to promote its initiatives.

A 50-member Taiwanese delegation will attend the COP21, which will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 11 in Le Bourget in suburban Paris.

The delegation, which will have observer status at the meeting, includes representatives of the Tang Prize Foundation and the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy. [FULL STORY]

Taipei plans to introduce coding system for metro stations

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/29
By: Ku Chuan and Kay Liu

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) The Taipei City government unveiled on

(From Taipei City government’s Facebook page)

Sunday a proposed coding system for its metro stations, which is expected to be implemented before the 2017 Summer Universiade.

The proposed coding system was posted on one of the city government’s Facebook pages for a two-month public consultation, according to Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. (TRTC), operator of Taipei’s metro system.

According to the proposed rules, each station will be coded with the color of the metro line and a number. The number of each station will increase from south to north and from west to east.

For instance, the Xindian station, a terminal station on the green line (Line 3, Songshan-Xindian Line), will be coded “G01.” [FULL STORY]

INTERVIEW: Consensus calls for legislative reform: Wang

The Legislative Yuan should always be included in the decisionmaking process when it comes to cross-strait policies, regardless of which political party is voted into the Presidential Office, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng said in an interview with staff reporter Tzou Jiing-wen of the ‘Liberty Times’ (the sister newspaper of the ‘Taipei Times’), adding that the legislature’s exclusion from such processes would only deepen distrust among the public

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 30, 2015

Liberty Times (LT): President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was “building a bridge” on which to normalize visits between leaders from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Do you consider this “bridge” to be steady?

Wang Jin-pyng (王金平): Everyone has their own view on whether the “bridge” is steady. When I said to look on the bright side and not take everything negatively, I meant that one should endeavor to see the silver lining of a cloud and act upon it. As the saying goes: “To meet someone projects some sincerity” (見面三分情). Having established a precedent enables future leaders to follow suit when the need arises.

The majority of the public’s discontent stems from a lack of trust. People wish for more transparency in policymaking, want to make their opinions known and hope for their opinions to be acted on. [FULL STORY]

Poor air quality in Southern Taiwan hits the roof

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-29
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) advised

Air quality in Southern Taiwan remains poor. Central News Agency

residents with chronic lung problems and heart diseases to limit their outdoor activities in Southern Taiwan as air quality in the area will remain extremely poor in the next few days, reports said Sunday.

Districts in Changhua’s Erlin, Tainan’s Hsinyin, and Kaohsiung’s Fengshan and Zuoying are currently witnessing dangerously high levels of PM 2.5 due to a lack of wind to disperse pollutants, according to CWB weather forecast center director Cheng Ming-dean, the

“The key indicator measuring levels of the pollutant PM 2.5 has reached purple, or level 10,” he said. [FULL STORY]

DPP’s Tsai maintains double digit lead in presidential race: poll

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/28
By: Yeh Su-ping, Huang Hui-min and Christie Chen

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)

Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文, front row, left)

Chairwoman and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) continues to hold a commanding lead over her opponents, in the countdown to Taiwan’s three-way presidential race on Jan. 16, according to the latest public opinion poll released Saturday.

The United Daily News poll showed 46 percent support for Tsai and her running mate Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), 19 percent for the ruling Kuomintang’s (KMT’s) Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄), and 9 percent for James Soong (宋楚瑜) of the People First Party (PFP) and his running mate Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩). [FULL STORY]

Remembering a ‘man of unbending character’

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 29, 2015
By: Tzou Jiing-wen / Staff reporter

“He views running newspapers as a conscientious enterprise,”

Lin Rung San, right, founder of the Taipei Times and the Liberty Times, presents the Eighth Lin Rung San Literary Award on Nov. 17, 2012. Photo: Sean Chao, Taipei Times

journalism professor Cheng Jim-ming (鄭貞銘) said about Lin Rung San (林榮三), founder of the Taipei Times and its sister newspaper, the Chinese-language Liberty Times, in his book titled A Century of Journalists.

Throughout his life, Lin had always stood by this credo, leading his employees by example.

Lin died yesterday afternoon of a tumor-induced cardiopulmonary failure. He was 76 years old.

Lin’s contributions to the Liberty Times not only helped to transform it from a local newspaper with a readership based in Taichung to a newspaper with the largest circulation in the nation, but also shaped it into one of the most influential newspapers in Taiwan.

During the Liberty Times’ formative years, Lin had often told his employees that running a newspaper is a resource-intensive business that requires capital and a large pool of talent, and that he would provide all necessary support to produce a newspaper capable of reflecting the opinions of all 23 million Taiwanese. [FULL STORY]

Modern dance legend to stage comeback after 16 years

Taiwan Today
Date: November 27, 2015

The 71-year-old legendary dancer-cum-choreographer Liao Mo-shi is returning to

Dancer Liao Mo-shi (center), 71, will play the lead in “Blossom of Phoenix Flowers” Nov. 28 at Tainan Municipal Cultural Center after a 16-year medical hiatus. (Courtesy of Liao Mo-shi)

the stage in a performance Nov. 28 at Tainan Municipal Cultural Center in southern Taiwan.

Born in 1944, Liao choreographed her first dance at age 13 and created 400-plus works in genres such as ballet, modern and jazz during her 42-year career. Osteoarthritis forced her to walk away from the spotlight in 1999.

“While teaching my students over the past years, I felt like my enthusiasm for dance was ignited again,” Liao said. “The call was so strong that I decided to follow in the footsteps of my mentor Tsai Jui-yueh and Martha Graham.” Tsai was a contemporary dance trailblazer in Taiwan while Graham was a U.S. master who continued dancing until the age of 78.

Well-known for experiments that bring together elements of literature, music and fine art, Liao also incorporates local cultural aspects into her choreography. [FULL STORY]

Hung says no to New Party, and not to seek seat

REFORMS:Hung Hsiu-chu has vowed to stay with the KMT rather than join the New Party, who she said walks the ‘right path’ against Taiwanese independence

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 28, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), after what she described as a

Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu, center, smiles at a press conference in Taipei yesterday, at which she said she will not run for a seat in the legislature. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

“long deliberation,” announced yesterday that she would not run for a legislative seat as an independent candidate, nor would she accept the New Party’s offer to be listed as one of the party’s legislator-at-large nominees.

Speculation had been rife that Hung, whose presidential candidacy was rescinded by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) last month, would run for legislator in New Taipei City’s Yonghe District (永和).

Hung refused to confirm or deny the rumor on Thursday, saying she would provide an answer yesterday, which was the last day of candidacy registration.

Hung called a press conference at 3pm, officially announcing her decision that, in order to continue to push for reform in the KMT, she would stay in the party, indicating that running for legislator in Yonghe would be out of the question, as it would cost her KMT membership. [FULL STORY]

Shih aims for ruling about failed bid

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-27
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Former Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Shih

Shih aims for ruling about failed bid. Central News Agency

Ming-te plans to take his failed presidential bid to the Council of Grand Justices for a ruling on its constitutionality, reports said Friday.

Even though Shih announced in September he was giving up his effort, he still showed up at the Central Election Commission Friday to register for the January 16 election.

As predicted, the commission rejected his registration attempt because he could not produce the 300,000 signatures necessary for an independent candidate.

When it became clear last September that he would not be able to collect that many endorsements, Shih announced he would not be running. Earlier in the race, he had reportedly tried to cooperate with People First Party Chairman James Soong, who did not need endorsements because his party won sufficient votes at the previous legislative election. Shih also called on the CEC to allow the registration of online endorsements, but the commission said only filled-out paper forms counted for the election registration. [FULL STORY]

Page 770 of 876

« 1 … 768 769 770 771 772 … 876 »