Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/26
By: Hsieh Chia-chen, Wen Kuei-hsiang, Wang Cheng-chung and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Feb. 26 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will make transit stops in cities in the central and western part of the United States during his visit to two of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in Central America in March, officials said Friday.

Ma will stop in Houston en route to Guatemala and Belize and in Los Angeles on his way back to Taiwan, Deputy Foreign Minister Javier Hou (侯清山) said in a news conference.

On his March 13-19 trip, Ma will meet with Guatemala’s new president, Jimmy Morales, and Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow.

He will also meet with the heads of three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Caribbean — Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harris, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, and Saint Lucia Prime Minister Kenny Anthony — though the plan released by the government did not say where.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: February 26, 2016

Taiwan is set to become a global aero components and parts production hub

on the back of local public and private sector efforts to carve out a bigger slice of the estimated annual US$5.2 trillion international aviation industry.

The Industrial Development Bureau under the ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs is setting the table in this regard. It has initiated collaboration between the local sector and global aviation firms to develop advanced machinery targeting such production.

A major MOEA-backed undertaking is the A-I-M technological alliance launched last December in Taichung City. Initiated by local industry leader Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. in conjunction with state-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute and several domestic universities, the alliance involves more than 20 firms from the aviation, market intelligence and machinery sectors.

IDB Deputy Director-General Leu Jang-hwa said the alliance is an extension of the Taiwan Productivity 4.0 Initiative aimed at enhancing the global competitiveness of Taiwan’s signature industrial sectors. Kicked off last September, the project is the government’s response to the fourth industrial revolution in major economies such as Germany, Japan and the U.S.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-25
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A draft act on supervision and management of party assets proposed by the Kuomintang (KMT), along with the versions from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is expected to be submitted to the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee for review on Friday, KMT legislative caucus whip Lin Te-fu said Thursday.

As bills related to the disposition of assets improperly obtained by political parties proposed by DPP legislators were boycotted by KMT legislators at the Procedure Committee on Feb. 19, the DPP caucus said they will propose the bills again on Friday, and will ask for a vote in case of another boycott to push the bills through the committee.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/25
By: Tag Pei-chun and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Feb. 25 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated Thursday

Taiwan’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea, insisting that based on all historical and geographic factors and international law, the islands form part of the Republic of China’s inherent territory.

“The Diaoyutai Archipelago is indisputably affiliated to Taiwan and an inherent part of ROC territory,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also said that it will keep a close eye on related developments following reports that Japan is completing the deployment of a special garrison force to defend the Diaoyutai Islands, known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: February 25, 2016

Enhancing the look and feel of Taipei’s designed urban environment is a top

priority for the local government as it transforms the city into one of the world’s most aesthetically pleasing metropolises.

An initiative capturing headlines is the demolition earlier this month of the concrete overpass to Zhongxiao Bridge and consequent uncovering of the city’s historic North Gate.

Constructed more than 130 years ago, Beimen has been effectively hidden for 39 years, robbing Taipei of a cultural asset and denying tourists the opportunity to see the city’s sole surviving gate from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).     [FULL  STORY]

228 Memorial Day Series

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-24
By: Jocylin FC, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

Transitional justice, a long overdue process which is a widespread consensus among all Taiwanese, is an ongoing process. It is more than a political slogan, especially for the victims of White Terror during the period from 1947 to 1987. The exhibition of director Pai Ko’s life at the National Human Rights Museum reminds the public of the importance of human rights and life values, which marks the upcoming 228 Memorial Day.

Director Pai Ko was born in Xiamen, China in 1914. He was going to be a teacher after he graduated from the Department of Education at Xiamen University but he left education for film. He was going to study at the Moscow Film School after he received a full scholarship from the government but he gave it up to join the nationalist army when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out. He walked the battlefields not with a weapon, but with a camera, documenting the impact of war.

Pai was considered the pioneer of Taiwan’s film industry. He came to Taiwan after the end of World War II and directed a documentary on the lives of Taiwanese people. He then established the Taiwan Film Culture Co. and continued shooting propaganda films for the Kuomintang government at first. Pai then left Taiwan Film Culture Co. after he finished his first Taiwanese-language movie, “Descendents of Huangdi”. He then joined the private film sector and directed a couple of Taiwanese-language films. He made 11 movies from 1956 to 1961. His films reflected the livelihood of commoners, social issues, cultural integration, and family dynamics. Unfortunately, he was arrested after he finished the widely popular film, “The Love of Longshan Temple.” Pai was arrested twice in his lifetime; however, he did not survive his second imprisonment.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/24
By: Tony Liao and Christie Chen

Washington, Feb. 23 (CNA) Continued arms sales to Taiwan help ensure its democratic government, the head of the United States Pacific Command said Tuesday.

“Free and fair democratic elections in January on the island of Taiwan reflect shared values with the U.S.,” Admiral Harry B. Harris said in written testimony for a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Korea.

In the testimony, he said the United States Pacific Command “will continue to fulfill U.S. commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act.”     [FULL  STORY]