Page Three

Judge joins calls for Ma to drop council nominee

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 26, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

A Taipei District Court judge has joined calls to retract nominations to the Council of Grand Justices, saying one of the nominees played a role in a miscarriage of justice in a 1989 case.

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Thursday sparked a firestorm over his naming of Shilin District Court President Lin Jyun-yi (林俊益) among four nominees to seats on the Council of Grand Justices, which is responsible for interpretation of the Constitution.

Legal reform organizations cited a case in 1989, when Lin was a public prosecutor in Taipei.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan-China crime pact said to have achieved little

Taipei Times
Date:  Apr 26, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

While the Ministry of Justice and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) have touted the signing of a cross-strait crime-fighting agreement, critics and legal reform groups yesterday said that statistics can be deceiving, and that China had refused to repatriate several high-profile Taiwanese business fugitives.

At a public exhibition launched on Friday, the ministry presented data compiled since the signing of the Agreement on Jointly Cracking Down on Crime and Mutual Legal Assistance Across the Strait in 2009.

At the event, Ma lauded the agreement by citing statistics from the ministry which purported to show reduced crime in both Taiwan and China, decreases in financial corruption and an upturn in the crime clearance rates.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese youth planning to promote Taiwan at World Expo in Milan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/25
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) A group of young Taiwanese adults is launching a campaign to promote Taiwan’s international visibility during the upcoming World Expo to be held in Milan.

The group decided to launch the campaign and raise funds for the project after Italian authorities declined Taiwan’s wish to establish a national pavilion at the world’s fair, agreeing instead to allow Taiwan to set up a corporate pavilion.

A corporate pavilion did not seem feasible, however, because few Taiwanese businesses are likely to travel to Milan for the world’s fair.     [FULL  STORY]

Annual Taiwan-US commercial forum to be held next week

Taipei Times
Date: 2015-04-25
By: CNA

The annual Taiwan-US Commercial Forum will take place next week in the

Christopher J. Marut, head of AIT, speaks on Taiwan-US relations at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, April 22. (File photo/Chen Yu-hsien)

Christopher J. Marut, head of AIT, speaks on Taiwan-US relations at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, April 22. (File photo/Chen Yu-hsien)

southern city of Kaohsiung, during which officials from the two countries will discuss bilateral commercial relations, said the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Friday, which is co-organizing the event.

The seventh Taiwan-US Commercial Forum, co-organized by AIT’s Kaohsiung branch and National Pingtung University, is slated for May 1, said the AIT, which represents US interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties.

The goal of the forum is to address developments in US-Taiwan commercial ties and prospects for investment in Taiwan and the United States, the AIT said.     [FULL  STORY]

President asks Executive Yuan to provide assistance to Nepal

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/25
By: Kelven Huang and Maubo Chang

Taipei, April 25 (CAN) President Ma Ying-jeou extended his sympathy to Nepal

File photo of Charles Chen

File photo of Charles Chen

Saturday after that South Asian country was rattled by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, and asked the Executive Yuan as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact Kathmandu to see what assistance Taiwan can provide to it.

Charles Chen, a spokesman for the Presidential Office, said Ma’s sympathy was conveyed to Nepal through Taiwan’s representative office in New Delhi, India.     [FULL  STORY]

Court ends KMT appeal; Wang’s status restored

PHOENIX?Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential hopeful Yaung Chih-liang said he would bring the party to ruin so it can be reborn

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 24, 2015
By: Tseng Te-jung, Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday formally regained his

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, right, is cheered by members of the Chinese Federation of Labor yesterday at a meeting in Taipei. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, right, is cheered by members of the Chinese Federation of Labor yesterday at a meeting in Taipei. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) membership after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the party.

The Supreme Court made the decision after the KMT, which has been led by New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) since January, failed to submit a required document on the appointment of legal representatives.

Wang yesterday remained tight-lipped about whether he would run for president, dismissing media reports that he would register in the party’s presidential primary next week.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan ‘regrets’ Japanese lawmakers’ visit to Yasukuni Shrine

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-23
By: CNA

Taiwan expressed regret Thursday over a visit by scores of Japanese

Japanese lawmakers visit the Yasukuni Shrine, April 22. (Photo/Xinhua)

Japanese lawmakers visit the Yasukuni Shrine, April 22. (Photo/Xinhua)

lawmakers to a controversial shrine in Tokyo that honors Japan’s war dead, including executed World War II war criminals.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Anna Kao said the government regrets the visit by more than 100 Japanese lawmakers to the shrine a day earlier. The shrine is seen by many as a symbol of Japan’s wartime militarism.

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Kao said the government urged Japanese politicians to look squarely at historical facts and reflect deeply upon themselves.     [FULL  STORY]

12% of children fall victim to cyberbullying: survey

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/23
By: Hsu Chih-wei and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 23 (CNA) Along with Internet addiction and smartphone use, cyber 2015042300241bullying has been surging. Around 12 percent of children have been victimized by cyberbullying, 12 percent of whom have attempted suicide, according to a survey by the Child Welfare League Foundation.

After the family of entertainer Cindy (楊又穎), who committed suicide earlier this week, said Thursday she was a victim of online bullies, cyberbullying has become a topic of heated debate.

The foundation said that unlike apparent physical bullying, online bullying, which is often overlooked and even more harmful than physical abuse, has been on the rise.     [FULL  STORY]

Weather front swells reservoir supply by 1 to 5 days

Focus Taiwan
2015/04/21
By Huang Chiao-wen and Keoni Everington

Taipei, April 21 (CNA) The Water Resources Agency estimated that as of noon Tuesday, the recent weather front’s torrential rain has boosted the water supply of the northern reservoirs of Baoshan (寶山水庫), Second Baoshan (寶二水庫), and Yongheshan (永和山水庫) by five days each.

The Shimen (石門水庫) and Tsengwen (曾文水庫) reservoirs increased their water supply by three days and one day, respectively, for use by households and the industry.

Thanks to the recent weather front, the reservoirs have had their thirst quenched ever so slightly, with the Shimen Reservoir Water District currently implementing third-phase water restrictions of five days on and two days off. As of noon, the cumulative rainfall reached 11.1 mm, the equivalent to an estimated 1.69 million tons of reservoir inflow, increasing the water supply by about 3 days.     [FULL  STORY]

KMT hopeful wants ‘cross-strait peace’ deal

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 22, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called for a “cross-strait peace agreement” in an interview with the Hong Kong-based China Review News Agency published on Monday, and yesterday repeated the call to “properly situate cross-strait political status.”

Hung, who on Monday registered to participate in the KMT presidential primary, on Facebook yesterday said she decided to contest the primary to “establish a correct path for the Republic of China and the KMT.”     [FULL  STORY]