Page Two

Philippines education delegation visits Taiwan

The focus of the delegation will be on agriculture exchange, the Ministry of Education said.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/03/09
By: Wendy Lee , Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A 33-member delegation from the Philippines is visiting Taiwan to enhance educational exchanges between the two sides, and is scheduled to visit Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park, Taiwan Banana Research Institute, and Taiwan University Plant Factory during their stay in the nation.

Headed by Alex B. Brillantes, the Commissioner to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the delegation is the largest-ever from the Southeast Asian nation so far, with members consist mainly of principals of the colleges under the University of Rizal System.

The focus of the delegation will be on agriculture exchange, the Ministry of Education said Wednesday. It is also scheduled to meet with a delegation of representatives from 11 universities in southern Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Official denies son of Kim Jong-nam is in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/09

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) The head of Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency (NIA) on

From Cheollima Civil Defense YouTube channel

Thursday denied news reports that the son of the North Korean leader’s brother may be hiding in Taiwan after his father had been assassinated in Malaysia.

Kim Han-sol did not enter Taiwan, said NIA Director-General Ho Jung-chun (何榮村).

Ho added, however, that he did not know whether Kim was in Taiwan during transit.

News reports in South Korea and Japan said that Kim Han-sol arrived in Taiwan on February 15, two days after his father Kim Jong-nam died in an assassination at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.    [FULL  STORY]

Court upholds defamation ruling against Clara Chou

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 10, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The Taiwan High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that radio host Clara Chou (周玉蔻) must pay NT$2 million (US$64,475) in compensation for defaming Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘).

Gou filed a lawsuit against Chou in 2015 after she accused him of making a NT$300 million donation to then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) campaign.

In August 2015, Chou, a HitFM radio host and frequent TV talk show guest, was ordered by the Taipei District Court to publish a half-page apology on the front page of seven newspapers, as well as on the my-formosa.com Web site.

Chou appealed the ruling, but the High Court upheld it, ordering her to pay the money, but limiting her apology to just four major dailies.    [FULL  STORY]

‘It’s Green Terror’: Anti-espionage bill criticized for violating human rights

The China Post
Date: March 10, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

The Investigation Bureau came under attack on Thursday after Cabinet officials said the bureau’s anti-spy bill authorized it with unconditional surveillance and interrogation powers.

Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) said Thursday that an anti-spy bill proposed by the Ministry of Justice’s Investigative Bureau earlier January was currently under Cabinet review.

The bill is being reviewed along with an amendment to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, Lin said at a meeting of the Democratic Progressive Party’s Central Standing Committee.

Both bills purport to address concerns that Chinese authorities have been penetrated Taiwan’s political and intelligence community.    [FULL  STORY]

Coast guard to protect fishermen near Okinotori with patrol boats

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-03-08

The coast guard plans to dispatch patrol vessels during the upcoming fishing season to protect Taiwanese fishermen near the Okinotori atoll.

That was the world from coast guard head Lee Chung-wei on Wednesday. He was responding to lawmakers’ questions at a meeting of the Legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.

The issue of fishing rights in the waters around the Japanese atoll has become a thorn in Taiwan-Japan relations. Japan says that Okinotori is an island and claims an Exclusive Economic Zone in nearby waters. Taiwan’s position is that Okinotori does not meet the definition of an island under international law, making the surrounding seas international waters.

Okinotori has been at the forefront of Taiwan-Japan ties since the Japanese coast guard detained a Taiwanese fishing boat in the area last year. After the incident, the government sent patrol boats to the area to protect Taiwanese fishing boats.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Ministry of Culture to call National Culture Meeting

Emphasis to shift from economic to cultural development

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/03/08
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – In order to reverse past Taiwanese governments’ emphasis on

Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun (center). (By Taiwan News)

economic development, Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) announced Wednesday she would call a National Culture Meeting this year preceded by regional forums.

All people in Taiwan were invited to share their opinions and ideals for the development of culture in the country, the minister said during a news conference at the URS27W Film Range in Taipei City’s Dadaocheng area.

Working hard on culture should become synonymous with Taiwan’s next stage of development, Cheng said.    [FULL  STORY]

Avian flu hits another Taiwan poultry farm

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/08
By: Yang Shu-min and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, March 8 (CNA) The Council of Agriculture (COA) said Wednesday that avian flu

(CNA file photo)

had been confirmed on another farm in Taiwan, bringing the total number of infected farms to 82.

The latest case was an infection of poultry by the H5N2 virus, the COA said, adding that all the birds on the farm will be culled.

With the latest development, the number of infected farms in Taiwan rose to 82 and the number of birds culled so far has been 625,243, according to the COA’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

Among the 82 farms, with 71 were infected by the H5N2 and H5N8 viruses and 11 were hit by the more virulent H5N6 strain, according to the COA.    [FULL  STORY]

Women’s League warns over ‘justice’

REBUKE:Transitional justice seeks to correct injustices and restore history, a NPP lawmaker said after the league accused the government of attacking its rivals

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 09, 2017
By: Cheng Hung-ta and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The National Women’s League yesterday urged the government to exercise caution

National Women’s League standing committee member Tien Ling-ling addresses a tea party held in Taipei yesterday to celebrate Women’s Day, calling on the government not to oppress the group due to its past political stance. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

pursuing transitional justice, saying that it should not be used as a pretext to attack political rivals.

The remarks were part of a speech prepared by National Women’s League chairwoman Cecilia Koo (辜嚴倬雲), who asked league member Tien Ling-ling (田玲玲) to deliver the speech at a Taipei event celebrating International Women’s Day in her absence.

“If justice is defined as oppressing a competing political party or organizations that have once supported those parties with no regard for historical truth, then justice runs the risk of being unjust,” Tien said.

Tien said the league, which has dedicated to protecting women’s rights and helping the disadvantaged, was of the opinion that the pursuit of transitional justice should be free of selfish motives.

Established by former president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) wife, Soong Mayling (宋美齡), in 1950 and headed by her for decades, the league has seen its assets under government scrutiny, as its activities benefited from its close ties to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Much of its funding came from the Military Benefit Tax, which was levied on the US dollar value of all imported goods between 1955 and 1989.    [FULL  STORY]

5.2 magnitude quake strikes off east coast of Taiwan

The China Post
Date: March 8, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County Wednesday morning, according to the Central Weather Bureau.

Occurring at 6:10 a.m., the quake’s epicenter was located 63.7 kilometers southeast of Yilan in the Pacific Ocean and struck at a depth of 41.6 km.

The strongest tremor, registering 4 on Taiwan’s 1-7 intensity scale, was felt in Yilan, followed by a scale of 3 in Hualien. Locations registering a scale of 2 included other areas of Hualien, northern Taitung, Greater Taipei, Nantou County, Taichung City, Taoyuan City, and Hsinchu County.
[FULL  STORY]

China starting fires in the Caribbean: Foreign minister

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-03-07

China is attempting to disrupt Taiwan’s relations with its diplomatic allies in the

Foreign minister David Lee says China is attempting to disrupt Taiwan’s relations with its diplomatic allies in the Caribbean. (CNA file photo)

Caribbean. That’s according to the foreign minister, David Lee.

Lee said Tuesday at the Legislature that Beijing has been “starting fires” everywhere in the region. He admitted that there are warning signs of instability regarding Taiwan’s Caribbean allies.

One nation that has been a focus of concern has been Saint Lucia. Taiwan re-established ties with Saint Lucia in 2007. But the country’s prime minister, Allen Chastanet, has sought closer economic ties with China since he took office last year. This has prompted speculation that the country could again break off ties with Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]