Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-02-27

Former President Ma Ying-jeou has paid tribute to the victims of the 228 Incident and their family

members.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the incident that refers to a series of mass protests ended by violent suppression by the newly arrived Nationalist (Kuomintang) government in 1947.

On Monday, the former president visited the 228 Peace Memorial Park and the 228 Memorial Museum.

Ma said he has spoken with victims’ families and the academic community. He said Taiwan should face history honestly and have empathy for the victims’ families.    [FULL  STORY]

With sultry Samba, romantic rhythms, and spicy sauces the inaugural ‘Latin Carnaval’ was a big hit in Taipei

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/28
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The inaugural “Latin Carnaval” kicked off today at the Expo Park in Taipei with a

spicy mix of Latin music, dance, food, drinks, games, and parades.

The festival featured live bands and performers on two stages from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. as well as 32 booths offering a plethora of foods, drinks, handicrafts, and activities representing numerous countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Foreign nationals and immigrants from countries such as Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Haiti, Argentina offered samples of cuisine from their motherland.

Aside from the hypnotic rhythms pulsating from the main stage, a big crowd-pleaser was the Kickpool area, where visitors could play an adaptation of pool with soccer balls.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/27
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Feb. 27 (CNA) The number of foreign domestic employees in Taiwan increased 5.77 percent last year, an annual growth number that was nearly triple that in the previous year, according to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

As of the end of 2016, there were 624,758 migrant workers in Taiwan, 237,291 of whom were employed as caregivers and home helpers, the data showed.

The number of domestic workers grew by an annual 1.97 percent, or 12,935, in 2015 to 224,356, then spiked last year by 5.77 percent, according to the MOL figures.

The number of foreign employees in the industrial sector also increased last year by 23,893, or 6.57 percent, to 387,477, the figures showed.    [FULL  STORY]

HEAD OF STATE:While Chiang Kai-shek played a role in the Incident, it is for future generations to determine the extent of his responsibility, the former president said

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 28, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday acknowledged Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) responsibility

in the 228 Incident and the ensuing White Terror era, but said it requires deliberative rather than hasty judgement “to determine what that responsibility was.”

Ma made the remarks after completing a series of activities in Taipei to commemorate in advance the 70th anniversary of the 228 Incident, which began with him paying a tribute to a monument in the 228 Peace Memorial Park before visiting the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum and the National 228 Memorial Museum.

He was responding to reporters’ questions about the Ministry of Culture’s plans to draft a bill to reinvent the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei and pull merchandise from stores in the hall that feature Chiang’s likeness.

To have a correct understanding of Chiang, one must look at both his mistakes and accomplishments, Ma said, adding that Chiang is an important figure in modern Chinese history who had made considerable contributions to recovering, defending and building Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY][

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/26
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News)–Taiwan’s TTV (Taiwan Television) channel will be showing the Oscars 2017 live in Taiwan, beginning at 8 a.m. on February 27 (Monday) Taiwan time.

TTV has acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast live Academy Awards presentation in Taiwan for the sixth consecutive year.

After the live broadcast of the Oscars red carpet and presentation on Monday morning, TTV will have a rebroadcast of the program with Chinese subtitles, beginning at 9 p.m. on Monday night.

Comedian and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will host the Hollywood’s biggest night, according to media reports. This will be the first time he has hosted the Academy Awards, reports said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/26
By: Charles Kang and Evelyn Kao

New Delhi, Feb. 26 (CNA) The Taiwanese film “Way Back Home,” directed by graduate student Cheng Tang-jung (程堂榮), has won second place for Best Short Fiction at the 4th Chennai International Short Film Festival (CISFF).

Li Chao-cheng (李朝成), the head of Taiwan’s representative office in Chennai, India accepted the award on behalf of the film at the awards ceremony that also brought the film festival to a close on Saturday.

“Way Back Home,” produced by Wu Hsiu-ching (吳秀菁) and Chiu Ding-hao (邱丁豪), was among 140 entries from 14 countries selected from 6,000 short film submissions around the world to vie for the festival’s top honors.    [FULL  STORY]

SEARCHING FOR TRUTHA stack of documents from government agencies towering 300m is being digitally archived in response to calls for transitional justice

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 27, 2017
By: Lee Hsin-fang / Staff reporter

The Executive Yuan has approved a request to collect and organize political documents

for use in researching historical truth for transitional justice, with the National Archives Administration (NAA) to have access to documents relating to the 228 Incident, the White Terror era and the Formosa Incident from all government agencies, sources said.

The administration has been given an additional NT$29 million (US$946,166) to digitize files on political victims, their relatives and other related matters for public perusal or research, the sources added.

Administration director-general Lin Chiu-yen (林秋燕) said her agency in June last year requested that all government agencies to sort their files and transfer them to the administration.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: February 27, 2017
By: The China Post

By Joseph Yeh — In the first major shake-up of the armed forces of Tsai Ing-wen’s

presidency, the Air Force will take command of the Air Defense Missile Command beginning next month.

Military sources told local media Sunday that a ceremony officially marking the change would be hosted by Air Force Commander General Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴) on March 1.

The command is currently an independent unit that answers directly the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

Brave Wind

The command’s three missile groups include the locally built Tien Kung-series surface-to-air missile system and the Hawk and Patriot PAC-3 missile system as well as a number of locally made Hsiung Feng (Brave Wind) II E missiles.    [FULL  STORY]