Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-12
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu pointed out Wednesday that the primary objective would

be to solidify the KMT before moving on to win popular supports from voters.

“Our priority is to solidify strength within the KMT by gaining supports from 88 party members,” he said.

When asked by the local media about his ongoing plans, Chu said the first step would be to call for solidarity and unity as People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong is also vying for supports from his KMT party members.

In terms of who would run alongside KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu, the chairman said the nominee would be disclosed after a collective decision made by his party members.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/12
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) Descendants of a German businessman and a U.S. missionary who made significant contributions during World War II are in Taiwan to attend events in commemoration of the end of the war and to highlight the importance of peace.

At the invitation of the Republic of China government, Cindy Vautrin, great-grandniece of American missionary Minnie Vautrin; and Thomas Rabe, grandson of German businessman John Rabe, are attending the events to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

“From my perspective, I think that it’s important to continue to recognize and to remember what happened and to learn from that,” Vautrin told reporters in Taipei.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-12
By: CNA

Stargazers will have the opportunity to see the Perseid meteor shower, thanks to low

interference from moonlight, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said Wednesday.

One of the most promising meteor showers each year–along with the the Quadrantids in January and the Geminids in December–the Perseids will peak Thursday afternoon, with 100 meteors per hour predicted.

For astronomy buffs in Taiwan, the best time to catch the celestial event falls some time between 10 pm Wednesday, when the Perseids ascend, and sunrise Thursday, according to the museum.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-11
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Two television news channels in Taiwan on Monday won the Tseng Hsu-pai Journalism

Award, the Taiwan equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, for excellent news reporting and professionalism.

CTi News, one of the winners and a China Times affiliate, was honored for its investigative report on how life in northeast Taiwan’s Yilan county has changed since the opening of the Hsuehshan Tunnel in 2006.

The report said that Yilan is often referred to as the playground of Taipei residents. Only a one-hour drive from Taipei, Yilan with its natural beauty serves as a getaway from the noise and bustle of the capital, the report said.

Since the opening of the Hsuehshan Tunnel, the number of visitors to Yilan has tripled, but there have also been drawbacks such as traffic jams which have disrupted the quiet life of local residents.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-11
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – New Taipei City Vice Mayor Hou Yu-ih was cut off from the

outside world for a time Tuesday afternoon after a road near the devastated district of Wulai collapsed.

Following the passage of Typhoon Soudelor last weekend, the mountainous New Taipei district turned out to have suffered serious damage. The area is popular as a weekend destination for its hot springs and indigenous culture.

Hou and New Taipei fire department chief Huang Te-ching were part of a delegation of officials visiting the area when the road reportedly collapsed again after a first round of repairs. Nobody was reported injured, however.

Hou and the members of his delegation reportedly walked around the spot, at the 10.2 kilometer mark of Highway No.9, and waited outside for transportation out of the area.

By 4 p.m., the road had been repaired and rescue teams were able to move back in, reports said. Hou said that the New Taipei City Government, the military and private groups would do their best to disinfect the area within three days in order to prevent disease from breaking out.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/11
Kang Shu-hua (R).

Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) A women’s rights group expressed hope Tuesday that human rights concepts will be included in school curriculum guidelines, after the issue of “comfort women” became a point of controversy in the recent dispute surrounding revised high-school curriculum guidelines.

The existing curriculum fails to provide accurate information on the topic of comfort women — women across Asia who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II — to help students understand the sexual abuses and pain suffered by the comfort women, said Kang Shu-hua (康淑華), executive director of the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation (婦女救援基金會).

Kang made the remarks on the sidelines of a news conference held just before a screening of the documentary “Song of the Reed,” a 76-minute film that chronicles the later years of Taiwanese comfort women. The foundation has been dedicated to helping Taiwanese comfort women cope with their mental anguish and to seek justice and compensation from Japan over the last 20 years.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-11
By: CNA

New Taipei mayor Eric Chu, who is also chair of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang, pledged

Monday to continue the efforts toward building a nuclear-free Taiwan, a goal that he said is shared by the people of the country.

Noting that the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project has been suspended, Chu said the issue of whether construction should resume must be decided by referendum.

Chu was responding to a comment by Hung Hsiu-chu, deputy legislative speaker and the KMT’s presidential candidate, who said Sunday that if Taiwan cannot ensure a stable supply of electricity, she would not rule out the possibility of putting the mothballed fourth plant into operation if she is elected.

The issue arose after Typhoon Soudelor cut power to more than 4.3 million households around Taiwan, the biggest power outage to result from a typhoon in the country’s history.     [FULL  STORY]