Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/06/09
By: Chen Wei-ting, Yu Hsiao-han, Tsai Yi-chu and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, June 9 (CNA) Intense showers can be expected in Taiwan over the next week, forecasters

Taipei, June 9

said Thursday, with warning of possible flooding in some areas of the country.

Over the next two days, a stationary front in the Bashi Channel will gradually move toward Taiwan and then into the East China Sea, said Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), an adjunct associate professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University, citing data from the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

Although it is not a strong front, the warm moist air is likely to produce short intense showers, while a south wind will change to southwest, Wu said on the website of the Taipei-based Chinese Television System.

As the stationary front moves into the East China Sea north of Taiwan June 12-15, however, showers could be seen in central and southern Taiwan, said Wu.

EVASION:TFU executives suggested that Rebiya Kadeer could visit Taiwan to talk about democratization and Muslim issues instead of focusing on China issues

Taipei News
Date: Jun 10, 2016
By: Chiu Yen-ling / Staff reporter

Exiled World Uyghur Congress (WUC) president Rebiya Kadeer said in an exclusive interview with

World Uyghur Congress president Rebiya Kadeer is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Chang Mao-sen, Taipei Times

the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) at the end of last month that she wishes to visit Taiwan in August, a plan a Kadeer-friendly group in Taiwan suggested Kadeer defer.

Taiwan Friends of Uighurs (TFU) co-director Marie Yang (楊月清) said that Kadeer should give President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) six months to sort out cross-strait relations before she visits the nation.

Kadeer said that if the Taiwanese government would issue her a visa, she hopes to lead a WUC delegation to Taiwan to meet with Tsai.

Kadeer also said that the WUC has been in close contact with the TFU, founded by Paul Lin (林保華), and plans to create a WUC representative office in Taiwan and has sent an envoy to provide more information about East Turkestan to the Taiwanese.

Yang said that the TFU would suggest inviting Kadeer to attend a cultural or academic event in Taiwan “so that it would be less politically sensitive and Beijing would not have anything to protest.”

However, Yang said that the visit could be arranged for a later time, saying: “Do not put pressure on Tsai in July or August, because there is no rush.”     [FULL  STORY]

Why you need to know: If the reports are true, Beijing may have decided to ‘punish’ Taiwan and the DPP by barring young Chinese nationals from studying in Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: June 8, 2016
By: J. Michael Cole

According to recent reports, Chinese authorities may have decided to bar Chinese nationals from

Photo Credit：CORBIS/達志影像

enrolling in universities in Taiwan until President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) “revises” her cross-strait policies to better align them with Beijing’s. Although the move has yet to be confirmed, if true this would be further evidence that Beijing intends to “punish” the 23 million of Taiwan for the choices they make by democratic means. However, rather than punish Taiwan, Beijing’s retaliation could end up hurting young Chinese even more.

Rumors of a possible reversal of a policy implemented under the Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration emerged on Monday when the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported it had received a tip via a student based in China. According to the story, the Chinese student had been informed by his school in Jilin Province to “be prepared not to go to Taiwan this semester.”

“Due to changing circumstances across the [Taiwan] Strait, the Taiwan Affairs Office has issued an order for schools to stop processing all applications for study in Taiwan … pending further notification by the office,” the article wrote.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-06-08
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taipei City Government said Wednesday it was demanding that developer Farglory Group announce its intentions for the Taipei Dome within a month and improve the building within three months/

The issuing of the ultimatum was the latest shot in a war of words which has raged between the two camps since independent Ko Wen-je took office as mayor of Taipei City in December 2014.

A year ago, the city ordered all non-essential work on the 40,000-seat stadium complex stopped due to safety concerns, while the financial dealings of the developer also came under scrutiny.

There have been varying proposals as to what should happen to the Taipei Dome, ranging from a sale to another financial group to outright demolition.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/06/08
By: P.C. Tang and Flor Wang

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) Taiwan is mulling visa entry privileges for tourists from eight member states of

(CNA file photo)

the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in line with a “new southward policy” being broached by the government, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

In a report submitted to several legislative committees, MOFA said it has been working on the issue to promote the government’s “New Southbound Policy,” outlined by President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office May 20.

Visitors from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam will be granted entry privileges such as visa waivers, landing visas or e-visas, according to the report. Visitors from two other ASEAN member nations, Malaysia and Singapore, already enjoy visa exemptions for stays of up to 30 days in Taiwan.

As the “New Southbound Policy” aims to achieve an economic transformation for Taiwan and push a greater role for the country in foreign affairs and global issues, Southeast Asia forms a key segment that Taiwan must seize as part of its efforts to expand its domestic market with a “people-focused” strategy, the report says.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-06-06
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The 2016 Penghu Regatta Week will kick off a six-day event on June 21 at Anping, Tainan City,

Central News Agency – 2015 file photo

from where competing sailboats will set sail for Wangan Islet, one of the southern islets of the Penghu archipelago.

Chen Shuang-chuen, chairman of the event organizer Penghu Sailing Association, said at a press conference on Monday that this year’s Penghu Regatta Week has more than 100 participants hailing from nine countries, including Canada, U.S., France, Germany and Saint Christopher and Nevis.

This year’s sailing competition will take place around the southern islets of the Penghu Islands, including the competition from Anping in Tainan City across the Tropic of Caner to Wangan Islet (about 46 nautical miles), the competition from Wangan Islet to Cimei Islet via Cat-islet (about 23 nautical miles), and the competition around the Cimei Islet (about 8 nautical miles), according to the association.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/06/06
By: Sophia Yeh and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, June 6 (CNA) Taiwan’s government believes that claimants to territory in the South China Sea should justify their claims based on international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said Monday.

Huang reiterated the government’s stance when asked about Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan’s (馮世寬) comment earlier Monday that Taiwan will ship 40,000 rounds of ammunition for its guns on Taiping Island in the South China Sea sometime between late June and early July.

The spokesman said all claimants should uphold freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight in the South China Sea, and he urged the parties involved to settle their disputes by peaceful means.

“We propose that Taiwan should be included in a multilateral mechanism for peacefully settling disputes” in the South China Sea, Huang said.     [FULL  STORY]