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Hung lists reasons to maintain capital punishment

‘WHITE PEOPLE’S GODS’:KMT Legislator Alex Tsai said that Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers are ’lazy,’ following the preferences of anti-death-penalty Europeans

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 01, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Saturday night listed six reasons to keep the death penalty, while KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) responded negatively to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) call for the abolition of capital punishment to become a universal value.

The killing of an eight-year-old girl has enraged the nation and some politicians have weighed in on the debate over the abolition of death penalty.

Hung said she supports capital punishment because “calls to abolish the death penalty have blind spots.”

“First, there is no way the state can refrain entirely from killing people. Which country could keep every life sacrosanct and not kill a single person?” Hung asked.

For example, a police officer who is compelled to shoot a person who is threatening lives cannot consider how that person has been psychologically affected by childhood issues or discrimination,” Hung said.

Hung asked whether those who want the death penalty abolished also oppose weapons manufacturing.     [FULL  STORY]

DPP mistakenly presume to have US support: Eric Chu aide

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-30
By: CNA

A renowned figure from Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang said on Friday that “someone”

Kao Koong-lian. (Photo/Yen Chien-lung)

Kao Koong-lian. (Photo/Yen Chien-lung)

had misunderstood a comment by a US State Department official as a gesture supporting the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

Such a huge misunderstanding could be problematic, said Kao Koong-lian, a former deputy chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), who also serves as a special consultant to KMT chair Eric Chu and the director of the KMT’s Department of Mainland Affairs.

At a Brookings Institute speaking event titled “Taiwan: A vital partner in East Asia” held May 21 in Washington DC, Susan A Thornton, deputy assistant secretary of the US State Department’s Bureau of East Asian Pacific Affairs, commended the firm foundation of dialogue and exchange that has been established between Taiwan and China and that Taiwan, China and even the US have benefited from warming relations across the strait.

She said that the US supports stable and positive interactions continuing across the strait. However, Thornton emphasized that the naming and defining of the content of that foundation is not “something that the US is in the business of elaborating.”     [FULL  STORY]

Further discussion needed on scrapping capital punishment: DPP

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/30
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Lilian Wu

Taipei, May 30 (CNA) The main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said 2015053000261Saturday that further dialogue and communication with those who advocate abolishing capital punishment are needed in the wake of the tragic murder of a second-grader by a random attacker at her school campus in Taipei’s Beitou District.

DPP spokesman Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said every child is the darling of the parents and that the party was saddened by the tragedy. He added that every child should be able to study in an environment free from fear.

Wang said that there are complex and serious social problems behind the killing and not just the issue of campus security.

He noted that on the issue of abolishing the death penalty, there are still deficiencies in the complementary measures of the current law, and also different views in society regarding the issue.     [FULL  STORY]

NPP legislative candidate Hu says he is leaving party

Taipei Times
Date: May 29, 2015
By: Lii Wen  /  Staff reporter

New Power Party (NPP) legislative candidate Hu Po-yen (胡博硯) yesterday announced his withdrawal from the party, following controversy over the party’s relationship with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Hu stirred controversy when he said in an interview on Tuesday that the party might withdraw its support for DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidential bid if the DPP fails to display sincerity in collaborating with minor parties.

The NPP quickly distanced itself from Hu’s remarks in a statement on Wednesday, saying that his comments were “not representative of the NPP’s stance.”

“Although we are unclear about the context and intent of Hu Po-yen’s remarks and whether there has been any misunderstanding, what the media have reported cannot be further from the party’s longstanding stance,” the NPP said in a statement.

“We have never seen the issue of negotiating constituencies as a question of ‘yielding’ or not, nor have we ever used our support for any particular presidential candidate as a bargaining chip for legislative constituencies,” the NPP said.

Hu announced his decision to leave the NPP in a Facebook post yesterday morning.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan military says it fully identified passing French frigates

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/29
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said Friday it had been

CNA file photo

CNA file photo

closely monitoring two French military vessels that passed near Taiwan earlier this month, and there was no truth to a local media report that it had failed to identify the ships.

The ministry said one of the vessels was a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship that passed east of Taiwan on May 6, while the other was a La Fayette-class frigate that sailed through the Taiwan Strait the following day.

In a statement, the defense ministry said it was on top of the situation as the two French vessels sailed northward past Taiwan and it had put response measures in place. However, none of the French military ships entered Taiwan’s territorial waters, the ministry said, adding that the information reported on the website of Storm Media was inaccurate.

Storm Media reported earlier in the day the two ships had been mistaken for fishing boats by Navy radar stations in southern and eastern Taiwan, therefore, no further efforts were made to identify the vessels.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei to demolish 10% of overpasses this year: officials

Taipei Times
Date: May 29, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Ten percent of Taipei’s pedestrian overpasses are to be dismantled this year, city officials said yesterday.

New Construction Office maintenance division head Chen Ping-lin (陳炳麟) said that eight overpasses and four underpasses have been slated for demolition this year, including overpasses near Laosong Elementary School, Nangang Tire Corp and Xinxing Market.

The city has 84 pedestrian overpasses and 50 underpasses, with four overpasses demolished last year.

Chen said that the office is to demolish the overpasses because many were sparsely used “eyesores,” whose maintenance costs drain the office’s budget.

Most pedestrians prefer to wait to cross the street rather than using underpasses or overpasses which require taking the stairs, he said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan rules out MERS-CoV case: CDC

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-29
By: CNA

Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Thursday that it has ruled out

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. (Photo courtesy of www.ycwb.com)

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. (Photo courtesy of www.ycwb.com)

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) after a patient reported symptoms similar to those of the infection the previous day.

The patient, who developed a cough and diarrhea after traveling in Jordan and Israel May 15-24, reported the situation to the CDC, said CDC deputy director-general Chou Jih-haw.

The patient tested negative for the potentially fatal disease, Chou said, adding that Taiwan has so far received 16 similar cases, none of which have been diagnosed as MERS-CoV infection.

Also Thursday, Taiwan sent a doctor to South Korea to learn about the development of MERS-CoV there after the country reported a fifth case.     [FULL  STORY]

Reported TAO comments on ‘mini three links’ criticized

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-28
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Andrew Hsia, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the country’s top

Andrew Hsia gives an interview in Taipei, May 27. (Photo/Huang Chung-jung)

Andrew Hsia gives an interview in Taipei, May 27. (Photo/Huang Chung-jung)

government agency in charge of cross-strait affairs, said Wednesday that he had not heard any comments from his Chinese counterpart, Zhang Zhijun of the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), on a possible termination of the current “mini three links” between the outlying island of Kinmen and mainland China.

On the sidelines of a seminar focusing on political developments in China, however, Hsia said that if Zhang did talk about a possible halt to the links should Kinmen develop a casino business, the comments were “inappropriate.”

According to local media reports, Zhang, head of the TAO, said during a visit to Kinmen with Hsia last weekend that if Kinmen wants to use the casino business to attract mainland visitors, China will cut the links.

Since Jan. 1, 2001, Taiwan and China have had direct trade, postal and transportation links between the Taiwan-controlled islands of Kinmen and Matsu, and the Fujian ports of Xiamen, Quanzhou and Fuzhou.     [FULL  STORY]

Sunday event to mark Taipei Air Raid

COMMEMORATION:The public is invited to a performance and exhibition in Taipei to remember the more than 3,000 residents who died during the air raid 70 years ago

Taipei Times
Date: May 29, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan’s wartime history must not be forgotten, academics and civic organization leaders said yesterday, as they invited the public to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the “Taipei Air Raid” (台北大空襲) with live music and a photography exhibition on Sunday.

Hosted by the Taiwan Nation Alliance (TNA) and Taiwan Society North, the commemoration event is to begin at 7pm in front of the Presidential Office Building on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard, with musical performances, video presentations and other activities.

Organizers said the event is to remember an important chapter in Taiwan’s history, which many Taiwanese have little knowledge about, adding that wartime memories and lessons must not be forgotten.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese fishing boat escorted safely from Philippine waters

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/28
By: Liu Chien-pang and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 28 (CNA) Under the escort of a vessel belonging to Taiwan’s Coast 201505280024t0001Guard Administration (CGA), a Taiwanese fishing boat is safe and has resumed normal operations after it was allegedly chased by a Philippine vessel in overlapping economic waters of the two countries Thursday, the CGA said that day.

The Taiwanese fishing boat was reportedly harassed by a Philippine government vessel while operating in the two countries’ overlapping exclusive economic zones, prompting the CGA to send a patrol vessel to protect the fishing boat.

Following the CGA’s escort to safety, the fishing boat later moved northward to continue fishing, according to the CGA.

Earlier this month, two Taiwanese fishing boats were detained by the Philippines for suspected poaching in its territorial waters.     [FULL  STORY]