Page Two

School event row sparks debate on Taiwanese history

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 27, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

A cosplay event at a school in Hsinchu City has sparked debate about Taiwan’s past, with politicians saying that the Republic of China (ROC) national flag and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s praise of the Japanese colonial era are manifestations of the “Nazi spirit.”

The legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday convened a meeting to examine Sao Tome and Principe’s decision to cut its 19-year diplomatic ties with Taipei, but it was briefly overshadowed by the widely criticized campus event featuring a group of Hsinchu Kuang Fu High School students dressed as Nazis on Saturday.

Controversy about the school event has snowballed with Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) attributing the students’ actions to ignorance about history.

“If the education system had fully incorporated history about the state violence that occurred in Taiwan, young students would naturally be critical of Germany’s Nazi regime,” Shieh said on Facebook on Saturday. “Instead, certain political parties still boycott the revelation of historical truth and continue treating the [ROC] national flag as a special symbol.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei rolls out same-sex partnership certificates

The China Post
Date: December 27, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI — The Taipei City government began Monday to issue newly implemented same-sex partnership

A Taipei City government official holds two same-sex partnership certificates on Monday, Dec. 26. (CNA)

certificates that allow same-sex couples to apply for family care leave and sign surgical or medical treatment consent forms for each other.

The certificate evolved from an official A4-sized document of a same-sex relationship that the Department of Civil Affairs of the Taipei City government began to issue June 17, 26015, when it began allowing same-sex couples to register their partnerships.

However, some people complained that the size of a document is inconvenient to carry, so it developed a “same-sex partnership certificate” that is the same size as a personal ID card, the department said.   [FULL  STORY]

Smoking to be banned at all Taipei City bus stops and waiting kiosks from 2017

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/26
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Department of Health of Taipei City announced Monday that starting from Jan 1, 2017, smoking at the 932 bus stops and 1,150 waiting kiosks in the city will be banned, and fines will begin to be imposed starting Mar 1, 2017.

A fine from NT$2,000 to NT$10,000 will be imposed on violators according to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, the department said.

Health department official Lin Meng-hui said the department had teamed up with the city’s transportation and environmental protection departments to conduct a survey and 95 percent of those surveyed support the idea of banning smoking at bus stops and waiting areas.

Lin said the ban will take effect from Jan 1, 2017 and a promulgation period will last until Feb 28, adding that starting Mar 1 fines will be imposed.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to fully enter new era of Internet of Things (IOT): Tsai

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2016-12-25

President Tsai Ing-wen lauded Sunday’s launch of the Asian Silicon Valley Development Agency

Vice President Chen was in Taoyuan for Sunday’s launch of the Asian Silicon Valley Development Agency (ASVDA). (CNA photo)

(ASVDA). Her comments in a Facebook post said that by bringing together hardware manufacturing and innovative applications, and by connecting Asia with Silicon Valley, Taiwan was poised to fully enter a new era of the Internet of Things (IOT).

Vice President Chen Chien-jen was in Taoyuan City, northern Taiwan, for the opening ceremony for the new agency on Sunday. He said that the establishment of the new agency showed that the administration is both proactive and efficient.

Chen said he hoped that both government and industry can work together to enable the agency to spark the future development of Taiwanese businesses.   [SOURCE]

Top New Year’s Eve celebrations in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/25 15:26
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Check out a few wonderful places and events around Taiwan to celebrate the New Year, including concerts, fireworks displays, and gatherings at scenic spots to view the first sunrise of 2017.

Keelung City

Keelung City’s New Year’s Eve countdown party will take place at the Keelung Harbor, featuring band performances, sounds of ships’ horns at the harbor, and the fireworks display at Mountain Huzi at the side of the harbor where the landmark “KEELUNG” is located.

Taipei City

Taipei New Year’s Eve Countdown Party will take place in front of Taipei City Hall, featuring hip hop group 911, Taiwanese singer Wu Bai, and many other bands and well-known entertainers.

The fireworks display at Taipei 101, which is close to the concert site, will combine fireworks and a light show for the first time. The fireworks and light show will last 238 seconds as last years, but the total fireworks shells fired will be cut in half, Taipei 101 spokesman Michael Liu said.   [FULL  STORY]

Warm Christmas forecast, before cold front sets in

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/25
By: Wang Shu-fenand Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 25 (CNA) Taiwan is expected to see dry and warm weather throughout Christmas Day on Sunday before a cold air mass approaches on Tuesday, causing temperatures to plummet, the Central Weather Bureau said.

According to the bureau, highs of 24-26 degrees Celsius can be expected Sunday in northern Taiwan, and 26-28 degrees in central and southern Taiwan as well as Hualien and Taitung in the east.

With weakening northeasterly seasonal winds, the mercury is expected to rebound to above 25 degrees around Taiwan on Sunday and further rise to 28 degrees on Monday as warm southeasterly winds set in, according to Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), a meteorologist and adjunct associate professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University.

However, with the arrival of a cold front,the mercury will fall sharply on Tuesday and the effects of the cold air mass will continue until Dec. 31 morning, Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]

Nazi cosplay event stuns educators

SYTEMIC PROBLEM:Taiwanese educational practices directly contradict modern principles by consolidating authority through unreasonable discipline, a critic said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 26, 2016
By: Lin Hsiao-yun and Jonathan Chin
Students who dressed as Nazis at a campus cosplay event demonstrated the failure of the nation’s education system and national ignorance about history, Academics and education groups yesterday said.

Over the weekend, images shared on social media of students marching in Nazi costumes at a school function held by the Hsinchu Kuang Fu High School on Friday sparked a public outcry, and a statement from the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei described the incident as “deplorable and shocking.”

“We feel that we have not worked hard enough, and have allowed this absurd, ignorant and indifferent attitude toward the universal value of human rights to spread and become an international joke,” said a joint statement issued by Our Story Alliance of History Teachers and Action Coalition of Civics Teacher.

“The students’ lack of empathy to the historical trauma suffered by others shows that Taiwanese history and civic education is in crisis,” said National Taiwan University history professor Hua Yih-fen (花亦芬), who recently published a book entitled Rebirth from the Wounds of History: Germany’s Path to Transitional Justice.    [FULL  STORY]

Military says it’s ‘closely monitoring’ China’s Liaoning carrier near Taiwan

The China Post
Date: December 26, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh

The military on Sunday said it was closely monitoring the movements of a Chinese naval fleet near

China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, is seen in this undated file photograph. (CNA)

Taiwan in the western Pacific, warning it would “launch responsive measures if necessary.”

Military spokesman Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said they had been watching the People’s Liberation Army Navy fleet — led by the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier — “very closely” as it headed for the western Pacific for an open-sea training exercise.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said it was paying particular attention to the Liaoning and the accompanying fleet of guided-missile destroyers, frigates and supply ships. The ministry said it would be observing whether they are headed to the South China Sea via Bashi Channel to join with the South China Sea fleet at the conclusion of the exercise.

In doing so, the fleet is expected to skirt the south of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), the MND said.    [FULL  STORY]

ICRT launches ‘New Southbound’ show

The China Post
Date: December 25, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) has announced the arrival of a weekly

Looking South host Eric Gau interviews Australia Office, Taipei Representative Catherine Raper about how Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy will boost bilateral ties. (Photo courtesy ICRT)

news program exploring the government’s “New Southbound Policy.”

In cooperation with the Bureau of Foreign Trade, “Looking South” will delve into what the policy means both for Taiwan and its partners in Southeast Asia. The show it scheduled to air Monday, Dec. 26.

The “New Southbound Policy” is an ambitious government-initiated international outreach program launched this year by Taiwan. “Looking South” will examine the policy from various perspectives including economics, culture, travel, education and much more.

The debut show on Monday will feature a talk with Dr. Chen-Sheng Ho, director of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research Department of International Affairs, who provide listeners with an introduction to the “New Southbound Policy.”

As Dr. Ho says, “our friendship with the countries in the Asia-Pacific region will certainly advance.”    [FULL  STORY]

Former Ma aide plans run for mayor of Taipei

Election expected in late 2018

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/24
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Lo Chih-chiang, a close ally of former President Ma Ying-jeou, said Saturday

(By: Central News Agency)

he was embarking on a three-stage strategy to run for mayor of Taipei City in 2018.

Incumbent Mayor Ko Wen-je only reaches the midpoint of his first four-year term on Sunday, but speculation has been mounting about his future due to recently sliding opinion poll performances.

In an interview published Friday, Ko said he was considering another term, while the opposition Kuomintang presented a poll showing that 50 percent of the capital’s citizens did not want him re-elected.

Lo, a former deputy secretary-general at the Presidential Office during Ma’s rule, said he would run for mayor if he succeeded in winning 1 million followers on his Facebook page by the end of 2017.    [FULL  STORY]