Page Three

US getting serious on South China Sea: Duowei

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-18
By: Staff Reporter

The United States is starting to take serious action against China’s growing

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, in Beijing on May 16, 2015. (Photo/CFP)

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, in Beijing on May 16, 2015. (Photo/CFP)

influence in the South China Sea, says Duowei News, a US-based political news outlet.

Shortly before Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Beijing for a diplomatic visit on Saturday, the Pentagon announed that it is considering sending US military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where China is engaged in several territorial disputes and extensive land reclamation activities.

US defense secretary Ash Carter has reportedly requested options that include sending the aircraft and ships to within 12 nautical miles of reefs that China has been building up in the Spratly Islands, which are claimed in whole or part by China as well as Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat for East Asia, also told Congress last week that the US “will not hesitate to defend our national security interests and to honor our commitments to allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific.”     [FULL  STORY]

Detained Taiwan fishing boat freed after paying fine in Japan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/18
By: Chang Che-fon and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) The captain of a Taiwanese fishing boat arrested by

CNA file photo

CNA file photo

Japan for poaching in its territorial waters was released Monday along with his boat after paying a fine, officials said.

The fishing boat registered in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan was detained Sunday by Japanese authorities while fishing south of the Yaeyama Islands in overlapping waters between Taiwan and Japan, according to the Fisheries Agency (漁業署) under the Council of Agriculture (COA, 農委會).

The captain and the fishing boat were released Monday after paying a fine of NT$1.65 million (US$54,193).     [FULL  STORY]

Ma rejects Dome graft allegations

Taipei Times
Date: May 19, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Taipei City Government allegations of illegal profiteering are “cooked-up charges” based on a “strained interpretation” of the facts, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said at a news conference yesterday.

Ma questioned the methods of the city’s Clean Government Committee, which has said that Ma, while Taipei mayor, agreed to Taipei Dome contract terms allowing Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設) to rake in illegal profits.

“I feel [the committee] first came to a conclusion and then looked for evidence,” Ma said, adding that people related to the case would demonstrate that there had been no illegal activity in each instance cited by the city.

Ma also responded to remarks made by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Sunday challenging Ma to account for an alleged difference between his “real” and nominal campaign financing.     [FULL  STORY]

Jody Chiang, Chen Yang win Golden Melody lifetime award

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/18
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Taiwanese pop diva Jody Chiang (江蕙) and composer 201505180031t0001Chen Yang (陳揚) were awarded the Golden Melody Awards’ Lifetime Contribution Award on Monday in recognition of their achievements in Taiwan’s music scene.

It was the first time the Lifetime Contribution Award will be given to two recipients at the same time, according to the jury.

Works by Chiang, 53, document the development of Taiwan’s society and “touch people deep in the heart,” the Ministry of Culture’s Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development said in a statement.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Tales: Tombs are not for the dead

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GRAPHIC: Y.C.CHEN

An expat reflects on his participation in a Hakka tomb sweeping activity and experiencing culture shock after 15 years in Taiwan

Taipei Times
Date: May 17, 2015
By David Pendery  /  Contributing Reporter

I am an American who has lived in Taiwan for 15 years, and I have had lots of evocative experiences during this time. My problem is, where to begin? I have related my story in my book Something Super: Living, Learning and Teaching in Taiwan, which was kindly reviewed by this paper. So I have told most of my tales of teaching, interacting with students, learning language, participating in Taiwanese politics, going to school, volunteering and the like.

For this piece, I would like to focus on a small event that occurred a few weeks ago. This event, as many others I have attended in Taiwan, was a mixture of both cultural inspiration and a dose of culture shock.     [FULL  STORY]

US chicken imports cut amid avian flu outbreak

NO SHORTAGE:Vendors imported more than 70,000 tonnes of chicken before the outbreaks, which would meet the next three months’ demand, an official said

Taipei Times
Date: May 17, 2015
By: Wu Liang-yi and Yang Ya-ming  /  Staff reporters

With chicken farms across the US hit by what US media outlets have called “the worst avian influenza on record,” the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine yesterday said that it has banned the import of chicken products from 15 US states identified as areas affected by the outbreak.

Bureau Director-General Chang Su-san (張淑賢) said that if an outbreak occurred in another US state, the bureau would add it to the list and block its raw and processed chicken imports.

The outbreaks in the US could spread nationwide, in which case the bureau would consider banning all chicken products from the US, she said.

A report published yesterday by Fox News called the outbreaks of H5N2 and H5N8 subtypes in the US “the worst outbreak of bird flu on record,” saying that as many as 33 million chickens have been — or are expected to be — destroyed.     [FULL  STORY]

ROC military reveals new mobile mortar system developed in Taiwan

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-16
By: CNA

The Republic of China military unveiled a new locally developed mobile mortar

The new mobile mortar system on a truck displayed at the Armaments Bureau's Material Production Center, May 15. (Photo/CNA)

The new mobile mortar system on a truck displayed at the Armaments Bureau’s Material Production Center, May 15. (Photo/CNA)

system, along with other locally developed weapons systems and equipment, during a media tour Friday in Taiwan to demonstrate its efforts to create self-reliant defenses.

The mobile mortar system comes in two versions: one is mounted to a vehicle and the other is designed to be set up on the ground, said Lieutenant Colonel Chen Chien-chung of the 202nd Arsenal under the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau, who is responsible for developing the system.

Unlike traditional manual methods of launching mortars, the system allows personnel to launch mortars through a computerized system “which is completely developed locally,” Chen told reporters during a tour of the 202nd Arsenal’s Taipei unit.     [FULL  STORY]

Restrictions on Chinese students to be eased gradually: official

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/16
By: Kao Chao-fen and Lilian Wu

Taipei, May 16 (CNA) Taiwan will gradually lift its restrictions on Chinese

Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) in this undated file photo.

Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) in this undated file photo.

students studying at its schools, the head of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said Saturday.

Lin Join-sane (林中森) was referring to the “three restrictions and six noes” that have been in effect since 2011, when Taiwan first opened its universities to Chinese students.

The restrictions on Chinese students have to do with the schools from which they are accepted, the departments in Taiwanese universities in which they can enroll, and number of Chinese students allowed to study in Taiwan.

The “six noes” refer to actions that are not allowed, namely preferential grading on entrance exams, awarding of scholarships, change in Taiwanese student enrollment openings, part-time jobs, sitting of licensing examinations, and remaining in Taiwan after graduation.     [FULL  STORY]

Aboriginal job market improved: Control Yuan

Taipei Times
Date: May 17, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The job market for Aborigines has shown signs of improving in the past few years, the Control Yuan said yesterday.

After keeping a close eye on how the government implemented its policies to stimulate employment among Aborigines over the past five years, the Control Yuan said it found that the jobless rate among the Aboriginal population had fallen to 4.05 percent at the end of last year, from 8.69 percent recorded at the end of 2009.

The Control Yuan said it came up with measures in 2000 to correct the Council of Indigenous People’s policies, which were criticized for a lack of coordination in utilizing resources to improve the job market for descendants of the nation’s first inhabitants.     [FULL  STORY]

Long-term care service bill clears Taiwan Legislature

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-16
By: CNA

An estimated 760,000 individuals with disabilities and their families are expected to benefit after a long-awaited long-term care service bill which cleared the Taiwan Legislature Friday.

Under the bill, the term “long-term disabled” refers to those who have had a disability for six months or who are expected to remain disabled for more than six months and based on the needs of the individuals for caretakers to provide support, assistance, care and related medical services.

At present, long-term care service is confined to those aged over 65, aboriginal people over 55, and people over 50 who are physically challenged or mentally impaired, living alone and unable to care for themselves.

The new bill will provide families of the disabled with other options. Families will be able to hire foreign caregivers as is the current situation, or they can apply to long-term care centers to provide services.     [FULL  STORY]