Page Two

Hung running mate to come from South or Center: Chu

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-25
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Kuomintang presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu’s running mate

Hung running mate to come from South, Center. Taiwan News

Hung running mate to come from South, Center. Taiwan News

will come from Southern or Central Taiwan, party chairman Eric Liluan Chu said Friday.

Hung has been performing poorly in most polls for the January 16 election, and one of her perceived weaknesses has been her lack of appeal in Southern Taiwan.

The choice for a KMT vice-presidential candidate was on the way with contenders being interviewed, but no final decision had been reached, Chu said. In principle, the running mate would come from Southern or Central Taiwan, he added.

The ruling party leader denied that he would resign as mayor of New Taipei City in order to join the ticket himself. After a devastating KMT defeat in local elections last November, Chu declared as bid for party chairman, but at the same time insisted he would not run for president. Because of Hung’s low poll ratings, rumors have been rife that she might be replaced as the KMT candidate, possibly by Chu.     [FULL  STORY]

Typhoon Dujuan to veer toward Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/26
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) Typhoon Dujuan could move closer to Taiwan than previously 2015092600051predicted and might pass the waters north of Taiwan or skirt its northeastern tip, according to the Central Weather Bureau Saturday.

As of 8 a.m., Dujuan was centered 960 kilometers east-southeast of Hualien in eastern Taiwan, moving at a speed of 14 kilometers per hour in a northwesterly direction, bureau data showed.

With a radius of 200 kilometers, the storm’s maximum sustained winds were estimated at 126 kph, with gusts of up to 162 kph, bureau data showed.

Chances of rain could increase Saturday in northern and eastern Taiwan as Dujuan nears, while those in southern Taiwan and mountainous areas in central Taiwan could see thunderstorms in the afternoon, the bureau warned.

A sea warning is likely on the Mid-Autumn Festival Sunday, forecasters said, adding that it remains uncertain if a land warning will be issued.     [FULL  STORY]

Obama’s remarks show US commitment to Taiwan security: Taipei

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-26
By: CNA

US president Barack Obama’s mentioning of the Taiwan Relations Act during a joint press

Xi Jinping, left, and Barack Obama at the joint news conference, Sept. 25. (Photo/Xinhua)

Xi Jinping, left, and Barack Obama at the joint news conference, Sept. 25. (Photo/Xinhua)

conference with Chinese president Xi Jinping reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Taiwan’s security, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday.

Obama reiterated his “strong commitment” to Washington’s One-China policy based on the three joint communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) during his meeting with Xi at the White House.

The TRA was enacted in 1979 to maintain commercial, cultural and other unofficial relations between the US and Taiwan after Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The act also requires the US “to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character.”

At the joint news conference held Friday in the White House Rose Garden after the meeting between the two presidents, Obama said that he mentioned the TRA while discussing with Xi security in the Asia Pacific, one of the main topics they discussed.     [FULL  STORY]

US issues China invasion report

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 26, 2015
By: William Lowther  /  Staff reporter, in Washington

An invasion of Taiwan would be a “daunting undertaking” for China, a new US Congressional report released on Thursday said.

Prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the 34-page report titled “The Chinese Military: Overview and Issues for Congress” was realeased as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) arrived in Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama.

“Over the past two decades, the main focus of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military planning and short-term operational readiness has been a potential conflict over Taiwan,” the report said.

It said that China has vowed to unify with Taiwan, using force if necessary.

In an unusual footnote, the report said that Beijing “contends” that Taiwan is a province that was seized from it by Japan during a time of Chinese weakness and that Taiwan must eventually reunify with the mainland.     [FULL  STORY]

Ko worries about MeHAS City payments

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-26
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je expressed concern Saturday about

Ko worries about MeHAS City payments. Central News Agency

Ko worries about MeHAS City payments. Central News Agency

the size of the eventual compensation payments after the Council of Grand Justices ruled expropriations for the MeHAS City project unconstitutional.

Landowners took the city to court because after 239 plots of land in Xindian, New Taipei City, were expropriated for the Mass Rapid Transit system in 1991, it used some of them for a joint commercial project with Radium Life Tech Co., Ltd. known as MeHAS City.

After previous verdicts against the landowners, the Council of Grand Justices on Friday ruled in their favor, saying it was unconstitutional to expropriate private land for a public purpose and then use it in a joined commercial development.

As a result of the ruling, the city could now face major compensation claims from the landowners, totaling as much as NT$22.8 billion (US$688 million), according to some reports.     [FULL  STORY]

Gender equality survey reveals patriarchal values still prevalent in Taiwan

Asia One
Date: Sep 25, 2015
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI – A survey regarding gender equality issues revealed that at least half of Taiwanese citizens still maintain the ideals that men have higher statuses than women in the society, announced the National Development Council (NDC).

At least 54 per cent of the interviewees believed that men hold higher status in the society than women, showing that the traditional value of “men are superior than women” still exists today, Deputy Director Wu Hsiu-chen of the Gender Equality Bureau of the Executive Yuan stated.

At least 30 per cent of the surveyed believe in gender equality, Wu stated. From a political issue standpoint, Taiwan’s women in politics stand at 33.9 per cent, which is much higher compared to numbers in countries such as the US, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Wu admitted that Taiwan still has room for improvement, compared to Sweden and Denmark’s 40 per cent.

On gender issues regarding employment and family responsibilities, 33.2 per cent did not agree that men’s responsibility is to earn money, while women should concentrate on taking care of the family.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan poll finds most identify with Chinese ethnicity

Taiwan Today
Date: September 25, 2015

Taiwan poll finds most identify with Chinese ethnicityOver 83 percent of people in Taiwan

Over 83 percent of people in Taiwan strongly identify with Chinese ethnicity as confirmed by the results of a recent TCF survey. (CNA)

Over 83 percent of people in Taiwan strongly identify with Chinese ethnicity as confirmed by the results of a recent TCF survey. (CNA)

strongly identify with Chinese ethnicity as confirmed by the results of a recent TCF survey. (CNA)

The majority of people in Taiwan consider themselves ethnically Chinese, according to a survey released Sept. 23 by nongovernmental organization Taiwan Competitiveness Forum.

Conducted quarterly, the poll found 83.6 percent of respondents see themselves part of the ethnic Chinese community on the basis of shared cultural heritage, ethnicity, history and language.

Hsieh Ming-hui, CEO of Taipei City-based TCF, said the number has topped 80 percent in recent surveys. “This cultural identification remains highly stable in the run up to the ROC presidential election in January next year.”

Of the three leading candidates for the ROC’s top job, the survey found Hung Hsiu-chu of the ruling Kuomintang won 19.1 percent support for her cross-strait policy. James Soong of the People First Party and Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party garnered 10.8 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively.     [FULL  STORY]

AT-3 search focuses on 6 locations

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-09-25
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The search for the missing AT-3 training plane with two Air Force officers on board will focus on six locations in a remote mountainous part of Central Taiwan, reports said Friday.

The jet took off from an Air Force base in Kaohsiung just before noon Tuesday and disappeared half an hour later with instructor Major Wang Ching-chun, 32, and First Lieutenant Huang Chun-jung, 23, on board. The rescue effort has been extremely complicated because of the rough and remote terrain in the area where the training jet vanished off the radar.

Based on an analysis of the incident, the Air Force had reportedly identified six locations where the AT-3 might have come down, reports said Friday. Rescue teams would continue to make their way to the areas over land, including two groups totaling 49 people, but a total of 19 aircraft of various types would also be mobilized Friday afternoon, reports said.

The six areas were located in deep forest, but there were signs that there might have recently been fires or crashes, according to the Air Force Academy in Kaohsiung City, where Wang served. Helicopters had already approached the locations but had not found any signs of life. A thick cloud cover was still making reconnaissance in some areas difficult, the military said.     [FULL  STORY]

Two wanted men hiding in China repatriated back to Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/25
By: Liu Chien-pang and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) Two Taiwanese fugitives who were wanted for drug-related offenses and who had taken refuge in China have been repatriated back to Taiwan, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said Friday.

One of the men, surnamed Tsai, was found to have possessed and smoked heroin in August 1992. He was sentenced to a jail term of three years and two months, but later fled to China. He was put on a wanted list in April 2014.

Tsai was also found to have bought unauthorized embronic injection solution for reselling to gain a profit.

Another man, surnamed Hsieh, tried to sneak heroin into Taiwan via Macau in July 2009.

Hsieh hid the heroin in a toilet and asked a maintenance worker from the Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways to retrieve it for him. He was indicted in September 2009.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to pay close attention to US-China leaders’ summit

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-25
By: CNA

Taiwan is following the state visit by Chinese president Xi Jinping to the United States and

Barack Obama, left, and Xi Jinping at the White House, Sept. 25. (Photo/Xinhua)

Barack Obama, left, and Xi Jinping at the White House, Sept. 25. (Photo/Xinhua)

his meeting with US president Barack Obama closely, a Taiwanese foreign affairs official said Thursday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set up a task force to monitor Xi’s visit and collect related information, said deputy foreign minister Bruce Linghu, in response to reporters’ questions.

Taiwan and the US have been conducting close communication on the Obama-Xi meeting and the US will brief Taiwan after the meeting is held, he said on the sidelines of a reception celebrating his promotion to deputy minister. His most recent post was as Taiwan’s representative to Canada.

Washington has reiterated the US commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and its policy will not be changed, Linghu said. “We’ve also expressed our stance to the US that Taiwan’s interests cannot be undermined by US engagement with China.”     [FULL  STORY]