Page Two

Mayor flunks ‘mid-term examination’

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 11, 2015
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Taipei City Councilor Ho Chih-wei, right, questions Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, left, during a city council meeting yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday flunked a “mid-term examination” on policies he proposed, only managing to give correct answers to five questions out of 20.

Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) presented Ko during a question-and-answer session with a “test paper” of 20 questions on “Ko P’s new policies,” which were proposed by the mayor during his election campaign last year.

Ko P is a nickname the mayor is known by.Ho asked Ko to write an “A” next to policies already implemented by the city government; “B” for those that are under way, but not yet completed; and “C” for the ones that have not been attended to.
After Ko finished answering all the questions, Ho graded the test paper using information provided by the Taipei Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, and found that Ko had only gotten five questions right, a failing grade of 25 percent.     [FULL  STORY]

MA-XI MEETING: ‘Wrathful’ Tsai slammed by Chinese newspaper

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 10, 2015
By: AFP, BEIJING

A state-run Chinese newspaper yesterday denounced Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as narrow-minded and selfish after she criticized the historic meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore on Saturday.

Ma and Xi shook hands and smiled for the media before entering a closed-door session at the Shangri-La Hotel on Saturday afternoon, marking a symbolic milestone in the cross-strait relationship since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

Tsai blasted Ma for “failing to stand up for democracy” and freedom, and for not describing Taiwan as the Republic of China.

In a post on her Facebook page on Sunday, Tsai accused Ma of trying to “limit Taiwan’s future… to achieve his own political status.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan and U.S. sign accord on lost and stolen passports

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/09
By: Tang Pei-chun and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) Taiwan and the United States signed an agreement on Nov. 4 to share information about lost and stolen passports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said Monday.

The signing of the accord, which was the culmination of a series of efforts made by the two sides for over a year, is aimed at bolstering security and combating crimes related to the illegal use of passports of the two nations, Wang said.

As of now, Taiwan has not joined the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and has no access to its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database, Wang indicated, adding that the Foreign Ministry has been seeking actively to sign similar agreements with other countries, aiming at strengthening the integrity of Taiwan passports.     [FULL  STORY]

Kishida says Japan to closely monitor Taiwan following historic Xi-Ma summit

Thw Japan Times
Date: Nov 9, 2015

Following Saturday’s historic summit between the leaders of China and Taiwan, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan will keep a close watch on Taiwanese public opinion regarding its presidential election in January.

“We will continue carefully monitoring whether a peaceful solution will be achieved” after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou met in Singapore, the first summit of its kind since the 1949 split, Kishida said on a political TV talk show.

On the “comfort women” issue, in which mainly Korean women were forced to serve as prostitutes for Japanese troops before and during World War II, Kishida said the Asian Women’s Fund was set up in the past to pay compensation to victims and past Japanese prime ministers have sent letters of apology to those involved.     [FULL  STORY]

Chen Chu says Ma-Xi meeting will not influence January elections

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-09
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu assured Monday that the Ma-Xi meeting last weekend will not

Chen Chu: Ma-Xi will not influence elections. Central News Agency

Chen Chu: Ma-Xi will not influence elections. Central News Agency

have an influence on the upcoming elections in January next year.

During a question-and-answer session at the legislature in Kaohsiung, Chu stressed that the Democratic Progressive Party has taken every variable into consideration and plans to continue to follow its original strategy.

“The summit will not hinder us from achieving our goal,” Chu said.

Commenting on whether President Ma Ying-jeou’s motive behind the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is just another attempt by Ma to “write history” to boost his own legacy, the Kaohsiung mayor said she is reluctant to answer on the president’s behalf, saying the most important strive was to maintain continued peace and stability across the strait.     [FULL  STORY]

2 Chinas, ‘1 China, 1 Taiwan,’ Taiwan independence unconstitutional: Ma

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/09
By: Flor Wang

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Monday President Ma 24873611Ying-jeou (馬英九) expressedly told Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore that the Republic of China’s Constitution bans “two Chinas,” “one China. one Taiwan,” and “Taiwan independence.”

The MAC unveiled the full text of Ma’s talks in his historic summit with Xi (習近平) held Nov.7 in Singapore to prove that Ma did indeed mention the latter part of the “1992 consensus” during the meeting — that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are free to interpret the meaning of “one China.”

Ma said that since 2008, the two sides have jointly built peace and stability across the strait, which has gained recognition from people on both sides and from the international community.     [FULL  STORY]

NPM to showcase Vatican treasures in 2016

Taiwan Today
Date: November 9, 2015

A total of 60 sets of historical and religious treasures from the Vatican will go on display at

National Palace Museum Director Fung Ming-chu (center) concludes an agreement Nov. 5 at the Vatican for some of the Holy See’s liturgical artifacts to be exhibited in Taiwan next year. (Courtesy of NPM)

National Palace Museum Director Fung Ming-chu (center) concludes an agreement Nov. 5 at the Vatican for some of the Holy See’s liturgical artifacts to be exhibited in Taiwan next year. (Courtesy of NPM)

Taipei City-based National Palace Museum starting February next year, the NPM said Nov. 6.

Comprising mainly liturgical artifacts from the Vatican Sacristy, the exhibition will include special robes and objects used by popes in public services over the centuries. A highlight is the Mandylion of Edessa dating from the 3rd to 5th century, which is believed to bear the image of Jesus Christ.

NPM Director Fung Ming-chu said these objects are not just great works of art, but are imbued with a deep sacred significance. “They represent the quintessence of more than two millennia of Roman Catholic faith and liturgical culture, through which many continue to find reverence for God and spiritual consolation.”

Fung signed an agreement for the event with the Holy See Nov. 5 at the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff in the Vatican. She noted that many of the artifacts are going on public display for the very first time.

“This special exhibition is divided into five sections: the altar, the liturgical year, the pope and history, sacraments and sacred liturgy,” she said. “Together, they offer viewers a rare insight into the close relationship between Roman Catholic liturgy and the pope as well as the history of the church.”     [FULL  STORY]

Young Taiwanese filmmakers head to Japan 嘉商微電影「遇見」 將赴日參展

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 10, 2015

National Chiayi Senior Commercial Vocational School third-year students Liu Chuan-yu,

Students from National Chiayi Senior Commercial Vocational School pose for a group photo with their teachers in Chiayi County on Nov. 2. 嘉義高商綜合高中拍影片的學生們，十一月二日與老師們在嘉義縣合照。 Photo: Wang Shan-yan, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報記者王善嬿

Students from National Chiayi Senior Commercial Vocational School pose for a group photo with their teachers in Chiayi County on Nov. 2.
嘉義高商綜合高中拍影片的學生們，十一月二日與老師們在嘉義縣合照。
Photo: Wang Shan-yan, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者王善嬿

Chien Ling-yen and Chang Yung-chi borrowed their school’s DSLR camera to make their first ever production, Encounter. They have now been chosen as one of three groups to represent Taiwan, and on Nov. 23 they will travel to Japan to take part in the International Asian Youth Film Exhibition where they will go head to head with groups representing 16 other countries.

The theme of the exhibition is “The moment I feel happy” and the rules state that participants must shoot a three-minute film using only home-use film equipment; subtitles and voice-overs are not allowed.

Liu, who operated the camera, said they took approximately one month to shoot the film. According to Liu, inspiration for the film came from Chang — one of the group members — who doesn’t know how to ride a bicycle. The film’s story describes a female student who has little interaction with her classmates. She manages to overcome her fear of failure, tries once more to learn how to ride a bicycle and revives the friendship with her classmates.     [FULL  STORY]

Ma-Xi summit leaves many stones unturned

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-08
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou returned to Taiwan early Sunday after a historic meeting

Ma-Xi summit leaves many stones unturned. Taiwan News

Ma-Xi summit leaves many stones unturned. Taiwan News

with his Chinese counterpart and with some backlash awaiting him at home. Many public figures in Taiwan have expressed their regret or blatant disagreement over the meeting, including the opposition DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen.

This meeting, however, didn’t yield a substantial result but a mere dazzling group photo show between the two talking past each other. It speaks another political absurdity under the Ma administration.

“Most people in Taiwan will be disappointed at the outcome of the Ma-Xi summit,” Tsai said in her Facebook post Saturday evening reacting to the meeting.

The Ma-Xi meeting, which was held Saturday afternoon in Singapore, was the first-ever one between the leaders of Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China. Ma said in a post-meeting press conference that both of them agreed to continue the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties under the framework of the 1992 consensus, which is a policy of “one China with different interpretations.”     [FULL  STORY]

Nature of cross-strait ties unchanged after Ma-Xi meeting: scholar

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/08
By: Huang Chao-ping and Frances Huang

New York, Nov. 7 (CNA) Andrew Nathan, an East Asian studies professor at Columbia University, said Saturday that a meeting between Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has not created any changes in the nature of cross-strait relations.

Nathan, who specializes in Chinese politics, said that neither side has changed its position regarding the cross-strait relations.

“Beijing position is that Taiwan can benefit if it pursues cooperation with mainland China but the price of such a benefit is not to challenge the one China principle,” Nathan said.

On this, Xi spoke in a gentle fashion, but “nonetheless he was clear that refraining from such a challenge is the price of peace; a challenge to the one China principle would lead to a disruption of peace,” said the U.S. academic.     [FULL  STORY]