Want China Times
Date: 2015-03-31
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Taiwan’s deputy finance minister, Wu Tang-chieh, said Monday that he thinks “Chinese Taipei”

would be an appropriate designation for Taiwan in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a China-initiated lender that will offer financing for regional infrastructure projects.

“Taiwan joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (in 1991) under the name of Chinese Taipei. So this (designation) is more appropriate,” Wu said while answering lawmakers’ questions at the Legislature on the AIIB issue.

President Ma Ying-jeou said last week that Taiwan should take part in the AIIB initiative rather than staying on the sidelines. His idea is supported by Cabinet officials, including the governor of the central bank, Perng Fai-nan.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/03/31
By: Kelven Huang and S.C. Chang

Taipei, March 31 (CNA) More than 30 members of the Black Island Youth Front, an organization behind the occupation movement, tried to storm the Presidential Office late Tuesday in protest against the government plan to join China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Their attempt was blocked by military police and security guards, with four of them arrested and taken to a police station. Those remaining in nearby places shouted slogans such as “Refuse to have our sovereignty dwarfed,” and “Make the procedure public and transparent, forge societal consensus.”

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/03/30
By: Lee Shu-hua and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, March 30 (CNA) Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te (賴清德) scored the highest overall satisfaction rating of any mayor of Taiwan’s six major municipalities after 100 days in office, according a poll conducted by cable TV news station TVBS.

Lai had a 76 percent satisfaction rating, compared with 70 percent support for Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and 68 percent support for Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊).

The bottom three were New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), with a satisfaction rating of 50 percent, Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) at 43 percent, and Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) at 42 percent.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/03/30
By: Claudia Liu, Wei Shu and Lilian Wu

Taipei, March 30 (CNA) Taiwan will submit a letter of intent on joining the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a Presidential Office spokesman said Monday.

Charles Chen ( 陳以信) said the decision was made at a national security meeting presided over by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at the Presidential Office in which Ma heard reports by Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) and other officials on Taiwan’s plans to join the AIIB.

It was decided at the meeting that the Ministry of Finance will work out the letter of intent and have it approved by the Executive Yuan.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the country’s top China policy planning body, will then submit it to the Interim Secretariat for Establishing the AIIB through the Taiwan Affairs Office under China’s State Council.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/03/29
By: Zep Hu and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, March 29 (CNA) Taiwan detected 15 flights as of Sunday afternoon using China’s newly opened M503 flight route that is seen as a threat to Taiwan’s security and aviation safety.

Most of the flights using the flight path up to 4 p.m. were flying from Pudong Airport in Shanghai to Hong Kong, Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration said.

It also recorded one flight from Qingdao in Shandong Province to Hong Kong, one from Pudong Airport to Kuala Lumpur, and one from Dalian in Liaoning Province to Hong Kong, the agency said.

China’s Civil Aviation Administration said the M503 route was officially inaugurated at midnight Saturday, and that the first flight on the new route, Dragonair (港龍航空) Flight 857 that took off in Shanghai, made a smooth landing in Hong Kong.

Want China Times
Date:  2015-03-29
By: CNA

President Ma Ying-jeou said the government will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the

Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II with a series of commemorative events this year.

Rana Mitter, an Oxford University professor and author of Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937-1945, will be invited to Taiwan to take part in the commemorative events, Ma said while attending an arts event held by the General Association of Chinese Culture.

A grandson of John Rabe, the German businessman who helped 200,000 people evade slaughter during the Nanjing Massacre in 1937-1938, will also visit Taiwan, during which he will accept a citation conferred by the government on Rabe, Ma said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/03/29
By: Lee Hsien-feng and Christie Chen

Taipei, March 29 (CNA) A woman’s body was found floating in waters off Shoufeng Township in Hualien County on Sunday, with authorities trying to identify the woman and determine the cause of her death.

People who were diving near the beach in Yanliao discovered the body around 3 p.m., and pulled the body ashore and called the police, according to the Eastern Coastal Patrol Office.

The dead woman, likely in her 50s, was wearing only a purple T-shirt and appeared to have been dead for no longer than 12 hours, Coast Guard officials said.     [FULL  STORY]