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Vice presidential policy presentations open 8pm tomorrow

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-03
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s only vice presidential policy presentations organized by the Central

Vice presidential presentations open tomorrow.

Vice presidential presentations open tomorrow.

Election Commission will take place at 8 PM local time on Monday (January 4). The presentations will be broadcast live on TV and the Internet.

The three vice presidential candidates, ruling KMT’s Jeniffer Wang, opposition Democratic Progressive Party’s Chen Chien-jen and the third party’s Hsu Hsin-ying previously took part in the only televised debate on December 26.

The three will present their political views and policy proposals in the meeting held by the Public Television Service station. Each candidate will have three rounds to talk with each lasting 10 minutes each.

The presentations will be broadcast live by the PTS and many other TV stations. Viewers can also tune in to CEC’s official YouTube channel and on many other media platforms on the Internet for the live debate.     [FULL  STORY]

Hundreds of worshippers pack temple with stools

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/03
By: Yu Kai-hsiang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) Once a year, a line of over 1,000 plastic stools and deck

Guang Ming lamps in a temple. (CNA file photo)

Guang Ming lamps in a temple. (CNA file photo)

chairs forms outside Longshan Temple (龍山寺) in Taipei’s oldest district of Wanhua, keeping the places of people eager to have a lamp lit on their behalf to improve their fortunes in the new year.

This year has been no exception, with the line forming in the plaza outside the temple since New Year’s Eve, and with good reason.

Getting on line early means a lower number card and earlier registration of the type of lamp they want lit to get the blessings of the gods for the year.

There are several lamps to choose from, including the Guang Ming (brightness, 光明) Lamp, the Ping An (peace, 平安) Lamp, the Tsai Shen (god of fortune, 財神) Lamp, and the Yao Shih (buddha of medicine, 藥師) Lamp.

A total of 180,000 lamps are being offered at the temple this year, but only 20,000 of the highly popular Yao Shih Lamps for people praying for good health will be available.     [FULL  STORY]

President’s Office slams Tsai proposal

HOTLINE:In a lengthy statement, the Presidential Office said the proposal to establish a communication channel with China would “set cross-strait ties back 10,000 steps”

Taipei Times
Date:  Jan 04, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Presidential Office yesterday issued a statement saying Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) proposal to merely establish a communication channel with China would “set cross-strait ties back by 10,000 steps.”

Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) — in a statement that is about 2,000 words long — criticized the policies Tsai mentioned in her closing remarks at Saturday’s televised presidential debate as “preposterous” and “indicative of the DPP chairperson’s unawareness of where and in what year she was in.”

Tsai on Saturday said that she would push for reforms and national unity by establishing four mechanisms, including one that would serve as a communication channel through which Taiwan could forge mutual understanding with China and other nations.

The other three mechanisms would be facilitate cross-party negotiations, industrial adjustments and pension reforms, Tsai said.     [FULL  STORY]

Candidates battle over US pork

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The three presidential candidates traded barbs and

Candidates battle over US pork.

Candidates battle over US pork.

accusations about the eventual import of pork with ractopamine residue from the United States during their final debate Saturday.

President Ma Ying-jeou’s opening of the Taiwan market to US beef in 2012 has generally been seen as the start of his steep descent in the opinion polls, but pressure from Washington is likely to force the country to open up its market to US pork as well.

Kuomintang candidate Eric Liluan Chu launched into an attack on Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen during the debate, accusing her of having made a U-turn from demanding zero ractopamine levels to not being opposed to the import of US pork.     [FULL  STORY]

18 political parties vying for 34 at-large legislative seats: CEC

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/02
By: Lilian Wu

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) A surge of political parties taking part in the legislative 201601020025t0001elections have made the ballot for choosing political parties as long as 73 cm long and 15 cm wide, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has said.

The CEC said the 18 political parties vying for 34 at-large seats this year are the most since the “single constituency, two vote” system was first implemented in 2008.

There were 12 political parties vying for at-large seats in 2008 and 11 in 2012.

In the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, each voter will receive three ballots at their polling station, one ballot to vote for president, one to choose a legislator to represent their constituency and a third to choose a political party, which determines how the at-large seats are distributed.     [FULL  STORY]

ELECTIONS: Candidates answer netizens’ questions

WELL-CONNECTED:All the candidates touted their strong advocacy of Internet access, with the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen saying that ‘broadband Internet service is a basic civil right’

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 03, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Questions ranging from technology, the judicial system, the pension system,

The presidential candidates from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Eric Chu, the People First Party, James Soong, and the Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, left to right, stand behind their podiums during yesterday’s televised debate in Taipei. Photo provided by the organizers of the debate

The presidential candidates from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Eric Chu, the People First Party, James Soong, and the Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, left to right, stand behind their podiums during yesterday’s televised debate in Taipei. Photo provided by the organizers of the debate

monetary policy and workers’ rights from people online were put to the three candidates yesterday during the second and final presidential debate.

All three candidates agreed that free Internet access should be provided, along with fast, good-quality connections, and that the digital divide should be narrowed by the government.

People First Party (PFP) presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) said that Internet connection speed is one of the major projects in his development proposal that aims at “overtaking South Korea and catching up with Singapore” by 2030.

“I would transform Taiwan into one of the top 10 nations with the fastest Internet connection speeds in four years. It is currently ranked 33rd,” he said.

He said that while access to the Internet, with its devices needing basic maintenance, could not be free, it should be kept at a low price and the government would have to work on the security of the flow of information.     [FULL  STORY]

Ko supports DPP’s Ker for legislative speaker

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (far left) said Friday he supported senior DPP

Ko supports DPP’s Ker for legislative speaker. Central News Agency (2016-01-01 12:03:16)

Ko supports DPP’s Ker for legislative speaker. Central News Agency (2016-01-01 12:03:16)

lawmaker Ker Chien-ming to become the next legislative speaker.
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je said Friday he supported senior Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Ker Chien-ming to become the next legislative speaker.

The DPP is leading opinion polls for the January 16 presidential and legislative elections, leading pundits to speculate that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng’s 16-year run in office might soon be coming to an end.

Ko was present at a book presentation Friday by Ker, who is running for a legislative seat in Hsinchu City, the hometown of the Taipei mayor’s father.

Replying to a question from the host, Ko said a Legislative Yuan without Ker would find it hard to pass the necessary legislation and would be mired in a stalemate. The mayor said he would support Ker to become legislative speaker if the DPP and its allies won a majority at the 113-seat assembly.     [FULL  STORY]

New Year fireworks in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
2016/01/01 02:19:00
By: Sun Chung-ta, Chang Hsin-wei, Tung Chun-chih and Kay Liu

Taipei 101 held a 238-second firework display, the longest in its history,

Taiwan rang in 2016 with several countdown parties and firework displays, including that at Taipei 101 and E-Da World in Kaohsiung.

Taiwan rang in 2016 with several countdown parties and firework displays, including that at Taipei 101 and E-Da World in Kaohsiung.

setting off 30,000 rounds of fireworks at the stroke of midnight.

Themed “Nature is the Future,” the display showed images of fish and plants to raise environmental awareness.

E-Da World, meanwhile, put on the longest firework display in Taiwan, which lasted 888 seconds.

Eight is considered a lucky number in the Chinese culture, because it has similar pronunciation with Fa, which means wealth or fortune in Chinese.     [FULL  STORY]

Ma presses ‘comfort women’ issue

SEEKING JUSTICE:Following a deal between Seoul and Tokyo, President Ma Ying-jeou said that he will continue to demand compensation and apology for Taiwanese victims

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 02, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said that his administration would step up efforts to push for an official apology and compensation from Japan for forcing Taiwanese women to serve as “comfort women” during World War II.

“We need to pick up speed and solve the problem,” Ma said in his New Year’s Day address.

His administration will continue to demand that Japan deliver long overdue justice and restore the dignity of the victims, Ma said, adding that he has asked Taiwan’s representative in Japan to deal with the matter.

Ma’s comments followed Monday’s agreement between Japan and South Korea, in which Japan agreed to apologize for its actions regarding South Korean comfort women during the war and donate about ￥1 billion (US$8.29 million) to a foundation set up by the South Korean government to help former comfort women.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s major anxieties: democratic failure and economic hardship

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-12-31
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Chang Tieh-chih, a Taiwanese cultural critic published an article on Thursday

Taiwan’s major anxieties:.

Taiwan’s major anxieties:.

talking about the challenges that Taiwan is facing right now — the failure of democracy and the hardship of economic transformation.
Chang Tieh-chih, a Taiwanese cultural critic, published an article on Thursday talking about the challenges that Taiwan is facing right now — the failure of democracy and the hardship of economic transformation.

Chang mentioned the Sunflower movement as youth’s reflection for these challenges, which has led to social inequality and youth poverty.

Taiwan’s failure of democracy, Chang said, lies in that Taiwanese people see themselves as “voters” instead of “citizens” who have the rights and abilities to participate in public affairs, which as a result led to the ”hollowed out” of Taiwan’s democracy with a bunch of self-serving politicians.     [FULL  STORY]