Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-28
By Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taipei City Government said Wednesday it had accepted the

immediate resignation of an administration official at the center of a row over cheap housing.

Chen Ming-shiun, the chairman of the city’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, said Monday he would resign if the rent for his official residence was hiked from NT$700 (US$21.5) to NT$15,000 (US$462) a month. The remark caused widespread condemnation, while city councilors accused him of having assets worth more than NT$100 million (US$3 million).

As a result of his statement, it was found that a total of 14 senior members of Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je’s administration were renting places at the same low price.

Ko first asked Chen to take sick leave for a week, but the official submitted a letter of resignation on Tuesday, reports said. After a face-to-face meeting between the two men Wednesday afternoon, they agreed on the approval of the resignation.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/28
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) Former Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) will represent President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting in Manila next month, the Presidential Office announced Wednesday.

Siew, who was a senior economics and trade official, has attended six APEC annual meetings, either as a government minister or as an envoy of Taiwan’s president, and has built good connections with most of the APEC leaders, the Presidential Office said.

It said Siew has solid experience in explaining Taiwan’s trade and economic development to other APEC delegates and has made a great contribution to promoting trade and economic cooperation with APEC members. One of the themes at this year’s APEC meeting Nov. 18-19 in the Philippines will be “enhancing the regional economic integration agenda.”     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-28
By: CNA

Taiwan has reported another 316 cases of dengue fever, bringing the total number of

infections in the country since the start of May to 27,736, the national Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday.

On Monday, Kaohsiung and Tainan, where the dengue fever outbreak is concentrated, reported 193 and 117 new daily cases, respectively.

It appears that the spread of dengue fever is continuing to slow in Tainan, where 21,327 cases have been recorded so far.

In Kaohsiung, however, the outbreak could be on the rise, CDC data shows. The city has seen 5,921 cases since the summer.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/27
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Tuesday recognized the

contributions of a late Russian general to the Republic of China (ROC) during its War of Resistance against Japan from 1937-1945, and said he is grateful for the general’s help for the country.

Ma delivered the words of gratitude during a meeting with visiting Nikolai Chuikov, grandson of Soviet Marshal Vasily Chuikov (1900-82), and his wife, Galina Chuikova, at the Presidential Office.

On the event, Ma presented Nikolai Chuikov with a commemorative medal marking the 70th anniversary of the ROC’s victory in the war against Japan to honor his grandfather’s contributions, who Ma said was sent to mainland China to serve as a military adviser to then-ROC military leader Chiang Kai-shek from 1940-1942.     [FULL  STORY]

ASKED AND ANSWERED:AIT’s new director addressed a news conference in Taipei that ranged from Eric Chu’s planned visit to the US, cross-strait relations and the TPP

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 28, 2015
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The US will continue to engage with all major Taiwanese political parties and treat their

candidates equally, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin Moy said yesterday.

Moy made the remarks at a news conference in Taipei in response to questions about Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) plan to visit the US next month.

“I told Chu at our meeting last week that we welcome him to the US at a time that is appropriate. We engage with all the political parties here and I think we have a really strong relationship,” said Moy, who took over as director in June.

“We will treat all the political parties and all their candidates on an equal footing with equal respect,” he said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-26
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Monday that a group of permanent

representatives to the United Nations whose countries retain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China have arrived in Taiwan for a six-day visit.

The four senior diplomats are Zwelethu Mnisi, permanent representative of the Republic of Swaziland to the U.N.; Makurita Baaro, permanent representative of Kiribati to the U.N.; Caleb Otto, permanent representative of the Republic of Palau to the U.N.; and Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the U.N. Ruben Zamora.

According to the foreign ministry, the visiting delegation will meet with President Ma Ying-jeou and local officials, including Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, Environmental Protection Administration Minster Wei Kuo-yen, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Shih, Council of Agriculture (COA) Deputy Minister James Sha, and authorities from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction.     [FULL  STORY]