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

China’s government on Wednesday demanded that the leader of Taiwan’s main

opposition Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, expound upon what she meant when she said she would “maintain the status quo” if elected president next year.

Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council, made the demand when answering questions from media at a regular news briefing.

“The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have remained under separate rule since 1949, but it won’t change the fact that the mainland and Taiwan belong to ‘one China,'” Fan said. “China’s sovereignty and territory cannot be axed. Since 2008, peaceful development of cross-strait relations has been possible based on the 1992 Consensus, which is the status quo between the two sides.”

“As the DPP has mentioned that it would seek to maintain the status quo, all sectors in Taiwan are wondering what the party means when it refers to this term. This is something that they must give a clear explanation for,” Fan said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/27
By: Leaf Chiang and S.C. Chang

Brussels, May 27 (CNA) Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-hsien(侯孝賢), who just won the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival in France, said here Wednesday he is concerned that there are not many “passionate directors” with enough conviction to make movies according to their own standards.

“The Assassin” (聶隱娘) — a martial arts movie about a Tang Dynasty (618-907) woman killer Nie Yinniang — earned Hou a top honor at the French movie festival Sunday and premiered in the Belgian capital Wednesday.

Speaking to a group of Taiwan journalists, Hou said it is tough to be a director in Taiwan because of the pressure to create a box-office success while juggling one’s own convictions and the various views of movie companies and investors.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-27
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

The South China Sea Peace Initiative proposed by Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou,

on Tuesday hopes to extend Taiwan’s peace efforts in the region to the contested South China Sea, according to a source with the Presidential Office.

The initiative was the third taken by the president to bring about peace in regions neighboring Taiwan, the source said.

The first, which began soon after Ma took office in 2008, has been the president’s push for reconciliation between Taiwan and China under the framework of the Republic of China (Taiwan) constitution and on the basis of the 1992 Consensus.

According to the Ma government, the 1992 Consensus was a tacit understanding reached between Taipei and Beijing in 1992 that there is only one China but both sides are free to interpret what that means.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-26
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Taiwan’s deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu will be required to get at least

30% support in a public opinion poll to become the Kuomintang’s presidential nominee in the 2016 election, a KMT official said Monday.

Hung became the only candidate to qualify for the party’s presidential primary on Monday after a screening committee said she received 35,210 valid endorsements from registered party members, well over the threshold of 15,000.

The only other candidate seeking to qualify for the presidential primary, former health minister Yaung Chih-liang, obtained only 5,234 valid signatures and did not meet the requirement, according to the committee.

Because Hung was the only individual to qualify for the primary, her fate will now be decided by a public opinion poll. Should Hung fall short of the required 30% support, the KMT would decide not to nominate her and draft another candidate.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 27, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Two senior New Taipei City police officers yesterday were detained incommunicado

and two more were released on bail after being questioned over allegations of involvement in loan sharking and illegally confiscating private property.

Prosecutors detained Criminal Investigation Division senior specialist Chang Ming-wei (張明偉) and Haishan Precinct Captain Chang Wen-hsien (張文賢) to prevent them from fleeing or colluding with others amid a corruption probe that has reached into the upper echelons of the city’s police.

Wensheng Borough (文聖) police station chief Chang Ming-chao (張明朝) and Luzhou District (蘆洲) police station chief Lu Chih-hsiu (呂志修) were freed after posting bail of NT$200,000 (US$6,513) each.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/25
By: Yu Hsiang-kai and Lilian Wu

Taipei, May 25 (CNA) A club aimed at creating a platform that brings together

venture capitalists and young entrepreneurs looking to launch their own businesses was opened in Taipei on Monday.

The Taipei Angel Club, promoted by the Taipei City government, has invited venture capitalists from every city to establish the platform, which will mobilize venture capital and serve as a venue for young people to raise funds for startups.

Clark Su (蘇拾忠), the club’s secretary-general, said the group will hold a party every month to give 20 aspiring entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their ideas to venture capitalists and solicit funds.     [FULL  STORY]