Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-15
By: Jocylin FC, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Vietnam accuses China on October 15 of sinking one of its fishing boats

Vietnam accuses China of sinking its fishing boats. Associated Press

near Spratly Islands, a disputed group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea.

Phan Huy Hoang, an official in central Quang Ngai province where the fishermen came from, said a Chinese vessel slammed into the fishing boat with 10 fishermen on board near the Paracels islands on Sept. 29 and sank it. The fishermen were rescued by another Vietnamese fishing boat and the case was reported to authorities when the fishermen returned home two days ago, according to the Associated press. “Chinese actions against fishermen from Quang Ngai province have been more aggressive and brutal,” said Hoang. Vietnam authorities said formal protest will be made to China.

The captain of the boat reported that the Chinese vessel slammed the side of his boat and boarded his boat while he and nine crew members were sleeping. The Chinese were armed and they took away the boat’s navigation devices, fishing equipment and the fishermen’s catch. In the past year, over 20 Vietnamese fishing boats have been attacked by Chinese vessel.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/15
By: Liu Te-chan and Chloe Hsu

Taipei, Oct. 15 (CNA) The Taiwanese passport is 28th best in the world in terms of visa-free access to other countries around the world, according to the Henley & Partners 2015 Visa Restrictions Index.

The index, which ranks countries based on the travel freedom of their citizens, gave Taiwan a score of 129 in reflection of its visa regulations and the number of destinations its passport holders are permitted to enter without a visa.

Among the global countries and territories listed in the index, Taiwan was ranked 28th.

Germany and the United Kingdom, with a score of 173, topped the list, while Afghanistan was at the bottom with a score of 25.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-15
By: CNA

Taiwan will continue its efforts to acquire diesel-electric submarines to

One of the ROC Navy’s Hai Lung-class submarines takes part in the annual Han Kuang military drills, Sept. 17, 2014. (File photo/Wang Yuan-mao)

replace its aging subs and strengthen the country’s naval defense capabilities, the country’s Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.

During a hearing of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, defense minister Kao Kuang-chi also said that the ministry has allocated NT$98.2 billion (US$3.02 billion) to cover the procurement from the United States of UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, Perry-class frigates and the Patriot Advanced Capability missile system, as well as a retrofit program for its F-16A/B fighter jets and other weapons systems.

Meanwhile, the ministry will continue to make efforts to acquire diesel-electric submarines to replace the country’s aging sub fleet, Kao told lawmakers.

According to the defense budget for 2016 sent to the Legislative Yuan in August for approval, the ROC Navy is planning to launch the first phase of the project next year, starting with a design contract, and has proposed a budget of NT$500 million (US$15.45 million) for the first year of the project.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-13
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – People are more interested in changing the ruling

Changing parties more important: Tsai. Central News Agency

party next year, rather than in which candidate the Kuomintang wants to change, Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday.

The frontrunner in the January 16 presidential election was responding to the news that the KMT would hold a special congress on October 17, which was highly likely to result in the replacement of Legislative Vice Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu as its presidential candidate by party chairman Eric Liluan Chu.

Asked whether she was planning to adapt her campaign strategy in the face of Chu’s likely emergence, Tsai said the Taiwanese public probably did not care all that much what kind of candidate the KMT would present, since they were more concerned with changing the party in power early next year.

Conducting a campaign meant going along with the flow, and presenting the best possible team and the best possible policies to win the support of the public, Tsai said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/13
By: Romulo Huang

Taipei, Oct. 13 (CNA) An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 jolted Taiwan

From Central Weather Bureau website

at 7:49 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Central Weather Bureau.

The quake’s epicenter was located at sea, about 61.3 kilometers southeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 42.2 km, bureau officials said.

The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Changbin Township in the southeastern county of Taitung where an intensity of 4 was recorded, while Changhua City in central Taiwan recorded an intensity of 3.

It was also felt in Hualien City, Hehuanshan in Nantou County and Techi in Taichung, central Taiwan, Alishan in Chiayi County and Tauyuan District of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, as well as in Taitung City, where it had an intensity of 2, the bureau’s Seismology Center said.     [FULL  STORY]