Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/13
By: Claudia Liu and Maubo Chang

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) The outcomes of opinion polls on Kuomintang presidential hopeful Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) approval rating will be disclosed at 10 a.m., Sunday by the party’s Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川), sources from the ruling party said Saturday.

The polls will be undertaken by three consultancies, Trengo, Statinc and the United Daily News, each of which has to collect more than 1,200 valid samples, according to the sources.

Each poll will measure Hung’s approval ratings both with her running alone and with her pitted against her Democratic Progressive Party rival Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The final outcomes will be the average of the two scenarios among the three different polls.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/12
By: Yang Ming-chu and Lilian Wu

Tokyo, June 12 (CNA) A relocation and opening ceremony for a new Taiwan Cultural Center was held Friday in an upmarket section of Tokyo, with more than 200 dignitaries in attendance.

The Taiwan Cultural Center, originally named the Taipei Cultural Center, was inaugurated in Japan five years ago and operated through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Tokyo.

It was later relocated to near Tokyo’s new landmark, the Toranomon Hills skyscraper.

Taiwan’s Culture Minister Hung Meng-chi (洪孟啟), addressing the opening ceremony, expressed hope that the center will attract more Japanese to want to get to know Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-12
By: CNA

The secretary-general of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT) Lee Shu-chuan announced

Thursday that deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu’s fate as the ruling party’s 2016 presidential nominee will be decided by her ability to secure at least 30% of support in a series of opinion polls set to take place over the coming two days.

The results of the opinion polls are then set to be published on Sunday morning.

According to the ruling party’s regulations, Hung’s nomination will be decided by the collective outcomes of three polls to be conducted by different companies.

She is the only candidate to have qualified for the ruling party’s presidential primary.

Each of the three polls will be comprised of an “approval” survey designed to gauge respondents’ support for Hung as a candidate and a “comparative” survey testing her rating against that of Tsai Ing-wen, chair and presidential nominee of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party. In addition, each of the three polls must obtain 1,200 valid results from those polled.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/12
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) The Philippines and Taiwan could sign an agreement to cooperate on

law enforcement in fisheries matters in their overlapping waters in July, the Philippines’ representative to Taiwan said Friday.

Antonio Basilio said that his government will hold a Cabinet meeting next week or the week after to discuss the content of the draft agreement.

The Philippine envoy made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions on the sidelines of an event in Taipei to celebrate the 117th anniversary of the Philippine Independence Day.

The Cabinet meeting is aimed at discussing whether to approve the content of the draft agreement, according to Basilio.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-12 15
By: CNA

Taiwan’s military showcased its newly acquired UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter during a drill

Thursday, as part of a rehearsal for a military display in July to mark the 70th anniversary of the Republic of China’s 1945 victory over Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The ROC’s eight-year fight against Japan was one of the Asian fronts during World War II.

Three Black Hawks joined other types of military aircraft in a flyover in Thursday’s rehearsal at a military base in Hukou, Hsinchu county.

A rapid assault drill was held after the flyover, in which 16 army special forces soldiers rapelled from two Black Hawks to the ground. It was the first time the Black Hawks were included in a drill.

The soldiers were joined by other soldiers riding motorcycles from a CH-47SD helicopter after it landed, as well as other special forces soldiers on mountain bicycles to fight a simulated enemy force.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 13, 2015
By: Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday urged

lawmakers to pass proposed constitutional amendments without dispute, while calling on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to refrain from “kidnapping” reform.

Attending the DPP caucus meeting for the first time in this legislative session, Tsai was greeted by loud cheers as she walked in.

She shook hands with each of the legislators, who responded by saying: “Hello, president.”

Speaking to inaugurate the meeting, Tsai urged the caucus to put as much effort as possible into pushing for the passage of constitutional amendments.

“I hope there is concrete progress in constitutional reform this time, because there is a consensus [between the DPP and the KMT] on lowering the voting age to 18 and adjustments to the threshold for at-large legislative seats,” Tsai said in response to media queries before entering the meeting room. “I hope the DPP and the KMT caucuses can speed up handling the amendments, so that they may be passed before the end of this session [on Tuesday].”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/11
By: Hsieh chia-chen and Lillian Lin

Taipei, June 11 (CNA) Taiwan is planning to further open up its special employment program

for foreign students by including graduates of vocational schools and two-year colleges.

Since last July when Taiwan introduced the points system for foreign graduates of local schools, 852 applications have been received and 693 had been approved as of the end of May, Steven Shyh-kwei Chen (陳士魁), head of the country’s Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC), reported at a Cabinet meeting Thursday.

Under the program, applicants are awarded points in eight sectors, including Chinese-language ability, educational level and special skills.     [FULL  STORY]