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Parents of ‘Rape of Nanking’ author recount Japan WW II atrocities

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/27
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) The parents of the author of “The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten 201508270035t0001Holocaust of World War II”on Thursday recalled wartime brutalities committed by Japan, during their visit to Taiwan to attend events marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.

During a press event in Taipei, Chang Ying-ying (張盈盈) and Chang Shau-jin (張紹進), the mother and father of Chinese-American author Iris Chang, recalled the bombings and atrocities by the Japanese troops during their aggression into China, when they were still children in China.

Chang Ying-ying, who had moved to Taiwan from China at age 9, said that she was born in 1940 in Chongqing, and had encountered several bombings by Japan at the time. Although the hospital where her mother and herself stayed was one of the targets in the bombings, nurses were able to move them to an air raid shelter in a timely manner, so that they survived, she said.     [FULL  STORY]

KMT pans EasyCard marketing

TWISTED MORALS:Lawyer Lu Chiu-yuan said that the public appears to be far more lenient toward corrupt and inept politicians who have spent eight years lying to them

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 28, 2015
By: Chen Yen-ting and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus yesterday panned Taipei

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Lee Yen-hsiu, left, and KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Yu-min call on Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je to issue a public apology over Taipei EasyCard Corp’s decision to feature images of Japanese adult video actress Yui Hatano on a special-edition card series, at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Lee Yen-hsiu, left, and KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Yu-min call on Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je to issue a public apology over Taipei EasyCard Corp’s decision to feature images of Japanese adult video actress Yui Hatano on a special-edition card series, at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

EasyCard Corp for using images of Japanese adult video actress Yui Hatano to promote sales, calling for an immediate halt to plans to sell cards featuring Hatano’s portrait, and for Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to tender a public apology.

The Taipei City Government, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp, Taipei Fubon Bank and 12 bus companies in Taipei are the major shareholders of EasyCard Corp, and the chairman is appointed by the mayor.

The city government and EasyCard have been criticized for announcing plans to sell 15,000 sets of EasyCards displaying images of Hatano starting on Tuesday, in an attempt to achieve Ko’s demand for a 100 percent increase in sales.

KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Yu-min (王育敏) said such actions are absurd and that EasyCards should be suitable for all ages, adding that such marketing tactics are clearly targeting the adult male demographic.     [FULL  STORY]

Fujian promises to begin supplying water to Kinmen soon

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-26
By: By Zep Hu and Elizabeth Hsu, Central News Agency

Fuzhou, China, Aug. 26 (CNA) The head of Fujian province on Wednesday said his province would do its best to complete a project to supply water to Kinmen ahead of schedule after Taiwan requested that the timetable be moved forward.

Taiwan’s top negotiator with China, Lin Join-sane , brought up the request during a meeting with Fujian Governor Su Shulin on Wednesday. Thanking Fujian to agree to sell water to Kinmen, a Taiwan-held island group just kilometers off China’s southeastern coast that is often short of fresh water, Lin said he hoped water could be supplied before 2017 when the project is expected to be completed.

Work on the project began this year, “but the supply of water will not take place until 2017 under current plans. (I) hope the deadline can be moved ahead,” Lin said. Su replied that the Fujian side will do its utmost to complete the water supply project and begin pumping water to Kinmen as soon as possible. Apart from water, Kinmen has also asked Fujian to supply electricity and natural gas and build a bridge connecting Kinmen and China, Su said.     [FULL  STORY]

Consumer protection personnel visit controversial exhibition

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/26
By: Yang Shu-min and Christie Chen

Taipei, Aug. 26 (CNA) The Cabinet-level Department of Consumer Protection on 201508260035t0001Wednesday sent personnel to “The Face of Leonardo, Images of a Genius” exhibition in Taipei to check the venue and advertisements, amid a series of controversies surrounding the exhibition.

The department said it needed to carry out some checks before it could determine whether the organizers of the exhibition had violated the law on false advertising.

Wu Cheng-hsueh (吳政學), deputy head of the department, said the organizers may be in violation of Article 22 of the Consumer Protection Act, if it is found that they are making false claims about the authenticity of the items on display.     [FULL  STORY]

Mass foot-washing event planned for Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-26
By: CNA

A mass foot-washing event that drew 20,000 participants last year will be staged in The foot-washing event in front of the Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, Oct. 12, 2014. (File photo/Wang Chin-ho)

The foot-washing event in front of the Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, Oct. 12, 2014. (File photo/Wang Chin-ho)

The foot-washing event in front of the Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, Oct. 12, 2014. (File photo/Wang Chin-ho)

Taiwan’s Presidential Office plaza and Ketagalan Boulevard in October to highlight the traditional family value of filial piety, organizers said Tuesday.

“You may ask, if I want to wash my parents’ feet, why not just do it at home instead of so openly as in the Presidential Office plaza?” said Chang Chao-kuo, president of the Republic of China Sports Federation, which is organizing the annual event for the third year in a row.

Based on the records of the previous two events at the site, Chang said he saw many tearful “reunions” of parents and children–touching scenes that prove actions speak louder than words.

He stressed that parents are not the only targets of the foot-washing ritual. “You can do that for your elders, teachers, coaches and mentors,” Chang said, adding that the purpose is to “express our gratitude for those who have helped us with love and dedication.”     [FULL  STORY]

DPP pans KMT failure to end military conscription

’BOUNCED CHECKS’:The DPP said that to make serving in the military more attractive, young people should learn skills they can use after they have completed their service

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 27, 2015
By: Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over the government’s failure to fulfill its promise to end compulsory military service and replace it with an all-volunteer military.

Following an announcement by the Ministry of National Defense that the plan to terminate compulsory military service by the end of next year, and to exempt Taiwanese males born after 1993 from military duty would be postponed due to an insufficient number of recruits, the DPP said the government’s failure was due to its attempt to use the issue to win votes.

“There are pluses and minuses in all recruiting systems, so if the KMT wants an all-volunteer military, it must come up with a solution for the decline in the nation’s birthrate,” DPP spokesperson Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said at a press conference after the party’s weekly Central Standing Committee meeting.     [FULL  STORY]

U.S. remains committed to Taiwan’s self-defense: congressman

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/25
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) A visiting U.S. congressman reiterated Tuesday that the United States remains committed to helping Taiwan maintain its self-defense.

Steve Russell (R-OK) made his point at the Taiwan-U.S.-Japan Trilateral Security Dialogue in Taipei Tuesday, in response to concerns over the U.S. Congress’ weaker support for Taiwan.

The U.S. government has made it clear that it will continue to help Taiwan maintain its self-defense and the Congress has passed a resolution to reinforce the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), Russel said.

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

Taiwan and the South China Sea: More steps in the right direction

Brookings Institute
Opinion
Date: August 24, 2015
By: Lynn Kuok

In early May 2015, I published a report arguing that Taiwan’s position in the South China Sea was evolving. It had taken small but significant steps toward clarifying that its claims are from land and in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and international law. In addition, Taiwan had also adopted a more conciliatory position by advocating that its East China Sea Peace Initiative, which calls on parties to shelve disputes and promote joint exploration and development, be applied in the South China Sea as well.

Since then, Taiwan, one of the six claimants in the South China Sea dispute along with China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, has moved to take additional positive steps, most notably, officially launching a South China Sea Peace Initiative. In a climate where much of the news on the South China Sea has been negative and where the focus has largely been on deterrence, positive actions warrant highlighting. If the goal is a more stable and peaceful region, rewarding positive behavior is at least as important as deterring negative behavior.     [FULL  STORY]

Fresh graduates must submit 66 resumes to land a job: poll

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-24
By: By Tsai I-chu and Angela Huang, Central News Agency

Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) For those recent graduates who have successfully landed a job, an average of 66 resumes had to be sent out before receiving an offer, according to a survey released on Monday by an online human resource agency.

Among recent graduates, including those who have been discharged from mandatory military service this year, up to 60.6 percent are still looking for a job, while only 39.4 percent of the population has found a job, said yes123, which conducted the poll from Aug. 4-18.

Breaking down the numbers, it takes an average of 13.7 letters to get one job interview, and 4.8 interviews to finally be hired, hence 66 resumes submitted to employers on average. Though 70.1 percent of the recent graduates look for jobs related to their own major, 37.2 percent of the new job seekers actually had no clue in terms of what jobs to look for. The survey also showed that job hunting takes up approximately two hours (109.5 minutes) of their time each day.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan still in market for U.S. submarines: MND

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/24
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) A day after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that Taiwan is 201508240025t0001committed to building its own submarines, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry insisted on Monday that it had still not given up on the idea of buying submarines from the United States.

Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman Maj. Gen Luo Shou-he (羅紹和) said submarines are on the priority list of weapons Taiwan needs because they have a strong deterrent value and can help protect the safety of Taiwan’s marine territory.

Taiwan is pursuing the expansion of its submarine fleet through two channels: continuing to seek arms sales from the United States and building submarines on its own, Luo said.     [FULL  STORY]