Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-29
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Former Vice President Lien Chan will make suitable comments about

the World War II victory over Japan, an aide said after criticism from President Ma Ying-jeou.

Lien’s plans to attend China’s September 3 parade to mark the defeat of Japan in the Second World War have riled many in Taiwan because of the Communist Party’s claim it won the war.

President Ma explicitly told reporters Saturday morning that the government stance was that Lien should not attend the parade, echoing earlier statements from government departments and from Kuomintang Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin.

In a response to the president’s words, Lien aide Chang Jung-kung said the main aim of the former vice president’s latest China visit was to promote cross-straits peace and regional stability, and that he would make appropriate comments about the historical truth.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/29
By: C.W. Cheng and Lillian Lin

Taipei, Aug. 29 (CNA) Veteran radio presenter and renowned essayist Luo Lan (羅蘭), whose real name is Chin Pei-fen (靳佩芬), died Saturday at the age of 96 in a hospital in Taipei.

Narrating the life experiences of people from all walks of life in her radio programs and compiling the stories into inspiring essays, Luo Lan was one of the most popular radio presenters in Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s when radio was a main source of entertainment.

She published her first book in 1963 when she was already in her 40s, and in the next 30 years, her works in print, including essays, short stories and travel stories, were seen in books, magazines and newspapers.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-29
By: CNA

Taiwanese former vice president Lien Chan’s planned attendance at a military parade in

Beijing on Sept. 3 has drawn heavy criticism, and many politicians who once worked with Lien in government have shied away from commenting on the issue.

Lien and many retired generals have been invited by Beijing to attend events marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, with the Sept. 3 military parade considered to be the highlight of the festivities.

The Republic of China (Taiwan) has been adamant that the Communists did little to resist Japanese aggression during the 1937-1945 Sino-Japanese War and that the events being held by Beijing are distorting the historical record.

Former vice president Vincent Siew and two former secretary-generals of the National Security Council — Su Chi and Hu Wei-chen –- declined to comment when asked about Lien’s planned presence at the military parade.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-28
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Kuomintang presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu would finish third

if the January 16 presidential election were held now, according to an opinion poll by Taiwan Indicators Survey Research released Friday.

The survey’s results were similar to some other recent polls, which put Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen far ahead in first place with People First Party Chairman James Soong, who only announced his candidacy earlier this month, in second place.

Hung would receive 12.7 percent of the vote, Soong 19.1 percent and Tsai 37.3 percent, according to the TISR survey. A total of 11.9 percent had already decided not to go or to cast an invalid ballot, while 19 percent had not given a clear opinion.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/28
By: Chieh Yi Cheng and Lillian Lin

Rome, Aug. 27 (CNA) An Italian professor of medieval art has suggested that a controversial

painting on display in Taipei had a style more typical of Mario Nuzzi than his 17th century Italian counterpart Paolo Porpora.

When asked by CNA for her opinion on the painting of flowers in a vase, Stefania Macioce of Sapienza University of Rome said the work showed the influence of the Flemish painting style, representative of Nuzzi (1603-1673), rather than Porpora’s more Baroque touch.

The painting, identified at “The Face of Leonardo, Images of a Genius” exhibition as “Flowers” by Paolo Porpora (1617-1673), gained worldwide attention after a young boy tripped and accidently punched a hole in it on Sunday.

As the painting was being restored, questions about the painting’s origins were raised when a picture of it from a catalogue of Italian auction house Casa d’Aste Della Rocca showed it as the work of Nuzzi.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-28
By: CNA

None of the active party officials of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT), including members of

the Central Standing Committee, will attend the World War II commemorative activities in Beijing whether they are invited or not, according to Lin Yi-hua, chair of the KMT’s Culture and Communications Committee.

The historical fact is that the KMT government of the Republic of China led the resistance against Japan during World War II, Lin added.

Former premier and chief of the General Staff of Taiwan’s military Hau Pei-tsun said Thursday that he has not been invited to the parade on Sept. 3 and that he would not attend even if he had been invited.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 29, 2015

Students from Songshan Senior High School in Taipei organized a service team to go to

Xinghua Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sanjhih District and hold a four-day, three-night “Running Kids educational and recreational camp.” The teacher in charge, Kuo Ching-ching, says that this camp was planned around the themes of science and environmental protection, in the hope of using interesting science games and DIY lessons to let children from a school in an outlying area gain an easy understanding of scientific knowledge. With a smile, Kuo says that all the lessons were planned by the students, who did everything by themselves, from the initial planning and conception through to surveying the location and making improvements.

After getting confirmation of which colleges have accepted them in May and June, the 29 students who took part in this project planned the activities on their own initiative, hoping to use experiments and playacting as ways of interacting with the children, so as to let them easily get an understanding of scientific knowledge and the importance of environmental protection.     [FULL  STORY]

‘LIES’:The TSU said questions remain over KMT ownership over 21 properties, which include seven that a National Audit Office report said the KMT was illegally occupying

Taipei Times
Date: , Aug 28, 2015
By: Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus yesterday panned Chinese Nationalist Party

(KMT) Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) claim that he has resolved the issue of the party’s controversial assets, calling it a lie.

Chu said at the KMT’s weekly Central Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday that he has finished taking care of all of the party’s controversial assets, declaring that they are now all legal.

However, the TSU asserted that there are still at least 21 questionable properties.

“Questions remain about KMT ownership of land or buildings used by 21 of its local chapters across the nation. These include the seven that the National Audit Office has designated in its annual report as being illegally occupied [by the KMT],” TSU caucus whip Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) told a press conference.     [FULL  STORY]