Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/10
By: Wang Shu-fen and Ko Lin

Kaohsiung, March 10 (CNA) An investigation into the alleged rape of a former elementary

school girl by her PE teacher more than a decade ago has been launched by prosecutors in Kaohsiung, the city’s Education Bureau said Saturday.

Citing the account presented by the alleged victim, who recently wrote to the bureau for help, the crimes detailed occurred when she was at elementary school and lasted for 10 years, from 1996 to 2006, bureau official Chen Yi-ting (陳怡婷) said.

It was not until the woman learned about the “#MeToo” movement on social media that she plucked up the courage to tell her story of being raped while at elementary, according to Chen.    [FULL  STORY]

NEW AGE: The former president said Taiwanese can be identified not by looking at their descent, but by asking if they love Taiwan, put it first and identify with democratic values

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 11, 2018
By: Peng Wan-hsin and Sherry Hsiao  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The nation should be careful about China’s incentives for Taiwanese, as they could further

bolster China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said at the Taiwan United Nations Alliance’s eighth membership meeting yesterday.

China is using its benefits for Taiwanese to drain Taiwan’s talent and economic competitiveness, Lee said, adding that if the nation’s economy were to lose its autonomy and ability to develop, its democratic system would become a hotbed for China legitimizing its claims to sovereignty over Taiwan.

China is already blocking Taiwan’s international development through investments and purchases all over the world, Lee said.

It is attempting to turn the “Taiwan problem” into an internal issue and block interactions between Taiwan and other countries, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

The PLA’s successes and failures in assaulting Xiamen, Kinmen and Hainan in 1949 and 1950 hold lessons for a potential invasion of Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/09
By: Kevin McCauley

Amphibious operations are important components of China’s People’s Liberation Army

(PLA) doctrinal writings and exercises. With no recent experience in amphibious warfare, PLA military science examines foreign and historical operations for guiding principles.

PLA histories highlight amphibious operations against Xiamen, Kinmen and Hainan in 1949 and 1950, the last of which the PLA views as its first large-scale sea crossing experience. These nascent amphibious operations provided amphibious warfare experience and lessons learned for the intended invasion of Taiwan, as well as the PLA’s first joint operation to seize the Yijiangshan Islands in 1954-55.
[FULL  STORY]

Ill-Gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee accuses three of tampering with evidence

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/03/09
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Ill-Gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee (黨產會) on

Friday took its accusations of tampering with evidence against former National Women’s League (NWL, 婦聯會) Chairwoman Cecilia Koo (辜嚴倬雲), her daughter and an assistant, to prosecutors Friday.

The visit to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office marked the latest step in the government’s efforts to probe financial links between the opposition Kuomintang and a host of organizations.

Koo, her daughter Koo Huai-ju (辜懷如), and an assistant surnamed Liu (劉) were accused of having destroyed up to 170 boxes of NWL documents late last year as the investigation into the group gathered steam, the Central News Agency reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/09
By: Elaine Hou and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expressed its appreciation to Japan on Friday for its generous donations and assistance after a deadly magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Hualien County in early February.

In a statement, the MOFA thanked Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan for extending his condolences to victims of the quake, and the government for sending a team of specialists to assist with rescue efforts in Hualien.

“This kind of gesture truly reflects the friendship and values shared by both Taiwan and Japan,” the foreign ministry said.

Public donations totaling more than 270 million yen (US$2.5 million) have been raised through various portals, including Yahoo Japan, since the earthquake occurred, according to the ministry, which thanked the Japanese people for their generosity.   [FULL STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-08

March 8 is International Women’s Day. Vice President Chen Chien-jen said Taiwan is

promoting the He For She movement started by the United Nations in 2014. He was speaking at a health ministry event marking Women’s Day.

Chen said, “We are working hard to promote gender equality policy guidelines We have completed three reports on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). We are using all kinds of tools to encourage central and local governments to work towards gender equality. We also want to show the results of our work on gender equality to the world.”

The He For She campaign encourages men to speak out for women. As gender equality is not only a women’s issue, the movement encourages men to take part in making our society more equal.

The He For She movement aims to help women gain equal rights and opportunities in politics, economics and in society overall.    [SOURCE]

‘A woman is not defined by society, a woman is as equal as any other gender, and that’s what it’s all about.’

The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/08
By: Vanessa Wang

The Women’s March is a worldwide protest which began in Washington DC on Jan. 21,

2017, to advocate legislation and policies regarding basic human rights, but particularly women’s rights and LGBTQ rights.

The initial protest directly targeted newly established U.S. President Donald Trump due to the many offensive remarks and actions he had taken towards women and the LGBTQ community. The march led to multiple rallies taking place around the U.S. and the world and was thelargest single-day protest in U.S. history, attracting millions of participants across its various locations.

According to organizers, the protest was meant to “send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights.”    [FULL  STORY]

Foreign Minister Wang Yi says China isn’t trying to ‘replace America,’ but that China’s ‘Rejuvenation’ can’t be stopped

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/03/08
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – After a U.S. Senate hearing on ‘Worldwide Threats’ on March 6

which featured a discussion on China’s ambition to extend its influence across the world, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded on March 8 that China is not trying to “replace America.”

Speaking to nearly 3,000 delegates of the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing, Wang Yi struck an assertive tone speaking about Taiwan, insisting that Taipei must “come around to China’s way of thinking” if it hopes to enjoy “peaceful development,” while also hinting at consequences for other countries that don’t fall in line with the “consensus.”

After U.S. Chief Intelligence Officer, Dan Coats, raised a red flag in the U.S. Senate that China was in the midst of a US$68 billion dollar influence campaign targeting 68 different countries, China’s Foreign Ministry sought to downplay the remarks, insisting that China is on a “totally different path” than the U.S., and that “the more China develops, the more it can contribute to the world.”    [FULL  STORY]