Page Three

Soong mulls presidential run

TURNING GREEN:The PFP chairman said the party has stayed true to Sun Yat-sen’s principles and followed Chiang Ching-kuo in safeguarding democracy in Taiwan.  By Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday said he would

People First Party Chairman James Soong, center, yesterday cheers for the party’s candidates for next year’s legislative elections during a news conference in Taipei. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

People First Party Chairman James Soong, center, yesterday cheers for the party’s candidates for next year’s legislative elections during a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

consider running for president if he thinks the two major parties’ policies have been “hijacked by fundamentalists.”

The PFP held a press conference in Taipei to announce its five legislative candidates for the Jan. 16 elections. Three of the candidates are former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, including Chang Sho-wen (張碩文), who just withdrew from the KMT earlier this week.

Soong likened the KMT to an apothecary that “sells counterfeit medicine.”

“It is not that the PFP has turned ‘green,’” Soong said, addressing criticism that the party has aligned itself with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). “It is that we can no longer say for sure whether the KMT is lan [藍, blue] or just lan [爛, rotten].”     [FULL  STORYU]

Ko demands action on accident, traffic ‘hot spots’ in Taipei

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 01, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday ordered the capital’s Department of Transportation to address accident and traffic jam “hot spots,” in addition to existing work on illegal parking hot spots.

He made his remarks during the city government’s monthly traffic report.

Department Commissioner Chung Hui-yu (鐘慧諭) said that traffic jams would be difficult to address by focusing on hot spots, because the road network is largely fixed.

Department officials also said that, because traffic deaths showed patterns of randomness, it would be difficult to achieve reductions by targeting hot spots.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan would rather not join AIIB if sovereignty compromised: MOF

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/30
By: Wei Shu, Lu Hsin-hui, Tseng Ying-yu and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 30 (CNA) The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Tuesday that Taiwan would

Juan Chao- hsiung (阮昭雄), right.

Juan Chao- hsiung (阮昭雄), right.

rather not join the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB) if its national sovereignty would be compromised by doing so, as some media reports have indicated.

The MOF made the statement in the wake of reports that China, which is leading the establishment of the AIIB, has changed a rule for accepting members who do not enjoy national sovereignty or cannot take responsibility for their international relations behavior.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party’s spokesman, Juan Chao- hsiung (阮昭雄), said that some international media see the rule as designed specifically for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, “apparently aimed at downgrading Taiwan’s international status.”

He urged the government to make a thorough report to the Legislature before presenting its application for joining the AIIB so that the lawmakers will have a chance to fully discuss the issue.     [FULL  STORY]

New policy makes replacing NHI cards easier and cheaper

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 01, 2015
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The National Health Insurance Administration yesterday announced that people can apply for new National Health Insurance (NHI) program cards at household registration offices in 19 cities and counties.

“Statistics show that approximately 440,000 identification cards and 660,000 NHI cards are lost each year, with about 300,000 people losing both yearly,” Underwriting Division official Wu Hsin (吳昕) said.

Wu said that in the past, people who lost both credentials had to go to a household registration office to get a replacement identification card and an agency office to get a new NHI card, which was a waste of time and money.     [FULL  STORY]

Immunotherapy to be first choice in cancer treatment: scientist

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/29
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) Prominent Japanese scientist Tasuku Honjo predicted Monday that 201506290032t0001immunotherapy will be the best way to treat cancer in the future.

It has fewer adverse effects than other types of cancer treatment, is effective for a wide range of tumors, and can be combined with other anti-cancer treatments, the 73-year-old immunologist said during a talk at National Taiwan University.

He said the immune system of human beings has “enormous diversity” and can recognize viruses it has never encountered before, such as HIV, SARS or MERS.

Drugs used to treat cancer may not be effective after three months or a year because cancer cells mutate and become resistant to treatment, but the immune system is able to recognize all the mutant cancer cells as “not self,” Honjo said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Mobile apologizes after signal down for 95 minutes

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-29
By: CNA

Taiwan Mobile, one of Taiwan’s major mobile telecommunication services providers,

A Taiwan Mobile store in Taipei. (File photo/Tu Yi-an)

A Taiwan Mobile store in Taipei. (File photo/Tu Yi-an)

offered an apology Sunday for a 95-minute signal breach earlier in the day, and said it will compensate those who suffered losses as a result of the glitch.

The company, however, did not elaborate on what form the compensation might take, just saying it will be based on relevant laws.

The mobile phone signal breach began at 12:30 pm and ended at 2:05 pm, affecting users almost everywhere in Taiwan and drawing a large volume of complaints.

Some subscribers said on the PTT internet bulletin board that the breach happened abruptly, cutting off not only internet access but also telephone services.

Taiwan Mobile confirmed the glitch in a statement and said the problem was fixed at 2:05 pm. Its technicians were still probing the cause of the signal breach, the company added.     [FULL  STORY]

Water Park Inferno: Victims’ parents distraught, heartbroken

’HELL’:Witnesses described horrifying scenes as the fireball ripped through the crowd, with waterways filling with blood and young people running for their lives

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 30, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A father of one of the Formosa Fun Coast victims, who suffered second and third-degree

A father of one of the Formosa Fun Coast victims, who suffered second and third-degree burns to more than 40 percent of her body, tears up as he talks to reporters at National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan yesterday morning. Photo: CNA

A father of one of the Formosa Fun Coast victims, who suffered second and third-degree burns to more than 40 percent of her body, tears up as he talks to reporters at National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan yesterday morning. Photo: CNA

burns to more than 40 percent of her body, tears up as he talks to reporters at National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan yesterday morning.  Photo: CNA

The suspected dust explosion at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里) on Saturday evening, that injured nearly 500 people, mostly in their teens and 20s, has left many parents distraught and heartbroken.

The mother of 17-year-old Hsueh Ming-chuan (薛明娟) said her severely burned daughter was lying on an inflatable boat at the park when she found her, more than an hour after the explosion.

“All of her skin was gone. Her hands were shaking… and she kept calling for me,” the visibly distraught mother said.     [FULL  STORY]

Jolin Tsai’s Play wins best album at Golden Melody Awards

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-28
By: CNA

Pop diva Jolin Tsai’s album Play emerged as the biggest winner of Taiwan’s Golden

Jolin Tsai, right, performs the title track of the album Play at the Golden Melody Awards ceremony in Taipei, June 27. (Photo/China Times)

Jolin Tsai, right, performs the title track of the album Play at the Golden Melody Awards ceremony in Taipei, June 27. (Photo/China Times)

Melody Awards Saturday, bagging three awards, including Best Mandarin Album.

Play, which entered the competition with a leading nine nominations, also won Best Vocal Recording Album and Best Single Producer.

Band Buddha Jump, singers Ayugo Huang, Ricky Hsiao, and Chalaw Basiwali, as well as singer Karen Mok’s album Departures followed behind with two awards each.     [FULL  STORY]

Piano sounds take over from ‘beeps’ on Taipei’s MRT

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 28, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

The sounds of a piano are to replace the “beeps” emitted when EasyCard users swipe cards at gates on Taipei’s MRT metropolitan railway system from today.

Under city plans, users of student discount cards and other special EasyCards are to hear two piano notes, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said, adding that the new sound effects would also be used to signal any irregularities and remind riders to charge their cards.     [FULL  STORY]

Photo exhibition to mark ROC war of resistance against Japan

Focus Taiwan
Date:2015/06/28

Taipei, June 28 (CNA) A photo exhibition prepared to celebrate the 70th anniversary of 201506280023t0001the Republic of China’s victory in the 1937-1945 war of resistance against Japan will be held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei July 3-30.

As part of the celebration of the victory and the 70th anniversary of Taiwan’s retrocession, the Chiang Wei-shui commemorative exhibition will also be held at the memorial hall from July 3-Aug. 23.

Yilan-born Chiang (1891-1931), founder of the Taiwanese Cultural Association and the Taiwanese People’s Party, is seen as one of the most important figures in Taiwan’s resistance movement against Japanese colonial rule.

The two events are being jointly organized by the Taipei-based Central News Agency, the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and the Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation with guidance from the Ministry of Culture.     [FULL  STORY]