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US should ‘openly’ declare its intent to defend Taiwan from China: think tank

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 02, 2015
By: William Lowther  /  Staff reporter in Washington

A new commentary published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the US should declare “openly and unequivocally” that it will defend Taiwan against any Chinese coercion or aggression.

Written by Joseph Bosco, a former China desk officer at the US Department of Defense, the commentary was a response to an article by CSIS China experts Bonnie Glaser and Jacqueline Vitello published last month by the think tank.

Bosco said that Glaser and Vitello sounded the alarm and warned that Beijing could react harshly if Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) wins next year’s presidential election.     [FULL  STORY]

Taichung plant, firm need to cut pollution: lawmaker

BEST PRACTICE:DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-chang said that the two facilities should implement measures similar to TSMC’s, which buys straw farmers would normally burn

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 02, 2015
By: Huang Chung-shan and Ho Tsung-hsien  /  Staff reporters

A coal-fired power station and Dragon Steel Corp, which are the biggest sources of air pollution in Taichung, should create emissions reduction plans and implement measures to cut air pollution, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said on Friday.

The two facilities should collect straw from farming households, a practice Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) implemented, so that farmers do not have to burn straw, which exacerbates air pollution, he said.     [FULL   STORY]

Taiwan’s Navy plans to upgrade S-70C anti-submarine helicopters

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/01
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) Taiwan’s Navy is planning to upgrade its fleet of S-70C anti-submarine

CNA file photo

CNA file photo

helicopters in an effort to maintain the country’s self-defense capabilities, a military source confirmed Saturday.

“The Navy has a plan to upgrade its 18 S-70Cs, but is still working out the details of the program,” the military official told CNA.

The official’s remarks confirmed a report in Saturday’s edition of the Liberty Times, a local Chinese-language newspaper.

Citing an unnamed military official, the report said the military has decided to spend about NT$800 million (US$25.27 million) on upgrading the Navy’s S-70Cs.      [FULL  STORY]

96 legislative candidates support students

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A total of 96 incumbent or aspiring legislators signed a petition to

96 legislative candidates support students. Central News Agency (2015-08-01 18:03:02)

96 legislative candidates support students. Central News Agency (2015-08-01 18:03:02)

back the students’ demand for a withdrawal of a new high-school curriculum deemed to pro-China, reports said Saturday.

Hundreds of students have been sitting in front of the Ministry of Education to back up their demand, especially after one of their spokesmen apparently committed suicide Thursday.

The activists launched separate actions to give their movement a more nationwide following, while also calling for material support and for moral support, including the petition for legislative candidates, the Chinese-language United Evening News reported.

The students said that out of 190 candidates contacted, 147 had been successfully interviewed. A total of 96, or 65 percent, had agreed to sign the petition calling for the withdrawal of the curriculum changes, the students said. Only 4 percent refused flatly, while 31 percent did not give an opinion about the issue, according to the activists. Only one of those who supported the students’ move was an incumbent member of the ruling Kuomintang, lawmaker Yang Chiung-ying.     [FULL  STORY]

Court finds Tainan speaker’s top aide Huang guilty

STANDSTILL:Due to City Council Speaker Lee Chuan-chao’s pending litigation, Mayor William Lai has refused to attend meetings until the court delivers a ruling

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 02, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Huang Teng-ching (黃澄清), top aide to Tainan City Council Speaker Lee Chuan-chao (李全教) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), was found guilty of vote-buying in last year’s nine-in-one elections and sentenced to five years in prison by the Tainan District Court on Friday.

Two other people, Lee Li-hua (李麗華) and Kang Ching-liang (康清良), described as vote brokers working for Lee Chuan-chao, were also found guilty and given suspended two-year and 19-month sentences respectively.

The court found the three violated provisions of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).     [FULL  STORY]

Media tycoon Gary Wang sentenced to 40 months

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-31
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Media tycoon Gary Wang was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for insider trading after a retrial by the Taiwan High Court Friday.

The verdict was related to the web of financial scandals surrounding the collapse of the China Rebar Group in 2007. Wang’s father, group founder Wang You-theng, fled the country to China and ended up in the United States via Singapore as the scandal rocked his business empire. More than 100 defendants including several of his sons and daughters went on trial, with a new round of verdicts expected on August 14. Appeals are still possible.

Gary Wang, who founded the Eastern Multimedia Group, also saw the court impound NT$20.2 million (US$639,000) in alleged illegal profits Friday. He reportedly made the money by selling shares in his company before the public announcement of a major transaction which saw the Carlyle Group of the US buy a stake in his media empire.     [FULL  STORY]

Class offered for would-be Indonesian spouses to Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/31
By: Jay Chou and Flor Wang

Jakarta, July 31 (CNA) Due to rapid growth in interracial marriages between Taiwanese men 201507310032t0001and Indonesian women, Taiwan’s representative office here is offering a weekly class to help would-be Indonesian spouses better adapt to their new life in Taiwan.

Chang Liang-jen (張良任), Taiwan’s envoy to Indonesia, said the number of Taiwan-Indonesia marriages has been on the rise, which indicates ever increasing relations between the two countries.

To help Indonesian spouses blend into Taiwanese life and culture, the class offered by the Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TECO) Jakarta aims to help them gain an understanding of Taiwan before they enter the country.

“We hope that Indonesian spouses can form happy families in Taiwan and contribute to Taiwan’s multi-faceted society,” Chang said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan in talks with South Africa on changes to visa rules

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-31
By: CNA

Taiwan has been in talks with South Africa on the African country’s new visa regulations,

David Wang, left, at a press conference in Taipei, November 2013. (File photo/Chen I-cheng)

David Wang, left, at a press conference in Taipei, November 2013. (File photo/Chen I-cheng)

which require in-person visa applications and have reportedly resulted in a drop in tourism, an official said Thursday.

“We’ve raised the issue with South Africa,” said David Wang, director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of West Asian and African Affairs, at a news briefing.

“We’ve passed on the feedback from the Taiwanese public and travel agencies to South Africa,” he said. That country is conducting an internal review of the regulations and assessing the impact on its tourism revenues, he added.

At the news conference, Wang expressed hope that the South African government will make it easier to apply for and obtain visas to the country. South Africa is the most popular tourist destination in Africa for Taiwanese tourists, he added.     [FULL  STORY]

Nation’s beaches clean for swimming: EPA

SURF’S UP:Tests conducted at 12 beaches have shown that bacteria levels are low and safe for summer fun, although, an ocean dip should be avoided after heavy rain

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 01, 2015
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday said the water quality at beaches across the nation were ideal for the public to engage in water activities during summer.

Results published by the EPA said that analysis of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus levels in water samples taken from 12 beaches between Sunday and Monday indicate that the water is clean.

The samples came from beaches at Fulong (福隆), Sinjinshan (新金山), Ciding (崎頂), Tongsiao (通霄), Mashagou (馬沙溝), Sizihwan (西子灣), Cijin (旗津), Kenting’s South Bay (南灣), Waiao (外澳), Jici (磯崎), Shanyuan (杉原) and Guanyinting (觀音亭).     [FULL  STORY]

Tainan KMT campaign official sentenced

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-3
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A top official on Tainan City Council Speaker Lee Chuan-chiao’s election campaign was sentenced to five years in prison for vote-buying Friday.

After his surprise election as speaker last December 25, the Kuomintang’s Lee became the target of an investigation linked to vote-buying, while Mayor William Lai refused to attend city council sessions.

The Tainan District Court on Friday sentenced the chief of Lee’s campaign for a seat on the city council, Huang Cheng-ching, to five years in jail. Two other campaign workers, Lee Li-hua and Kang Ching-liang, received suspended sentences of two years and one year respectively.     [FULL  STORY]