Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-21
By: CNA

The popularity of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang’s presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu was

37.6%, 9.5 percentage points lower than that of her rival in the 2016 presidential elections, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party head Tsai Ing-wen, according to the results of a survey made public Monday.

Commissioned by the KMT, Trendgo, a local market and consultation firm, conducted the survey on Sunday night after Hung was officially nominated earlier that day as the ruling party’s presidential candidate.

The results of the survey showed that 15.2% of the polled abstained from expressing their preferences between the two presidential candidates.

Among the polled people, 90.2% of those who were supporters of the KMT said that they supported Hung, while 94.2% of DPP followers said that they were in favor of Tsai.

Among the political parties, 28.7% of the polled people were in favor of the DPP, while 28.6% were for the KMT, 17.4% for People First Party and 12.8% for the Taiwan Solidarity Union     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: , Jul 22, 2015
By: Aaron Tu and Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

In a gesture of support, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Monday sent former Chinese

Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Yang Shih-chiu (楊實秋) and Taipei City Councilor Lee Ching-yuan (李慶元) each a basket of flowers and bitter gourds after they — along with three other outspoken critics of the party — were expelled by the KMT on Thursday last week.

Yang praised Ko’s initiative on Facebook, saying: “We have seen the cold-bloodedness of politicians, but we have also seen a politician’s warmth.”

It was the second time Ko had sent ex-KMT members a gift after their expulsion: He sent a similar basket to former legislator-at-large Chi Kuo-tung (紀國棟) — who lost his status as a lawmaker as a result of his expulsion — on Friday last week.

Taipei City Government adviser Hung Chi-kune (洪智坤) on Monday published photographs of the baskets sent to the three on Facebook, with a comment saying: “Ko’s bitter gourd is detoxifying and fights the heat. After the bitter comes the sweet.”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/20
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 20 (CNA) Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), the first Taiwanese-born Nobel laureate, encouraged elementary and high school students Monday to choose college majors based on personal interests rather than salary expectations or outside influences.

Lee was talking about his research attitude and experience to a packed audience of students who participated in a science fair for elementary and high schools around the country, during a science research seminar titled “Dialogue With Masters” hosted by National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) President Su Huey-jen (蘇慧貞).

The winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986 said he spent a year persuading his parents to allow him to change his major from chemical engineering to chemistry, which led to his winning the Nobel Prize.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/19
By: Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, July 19 (CNA) Taiwan is expected to experience a rainy week starting Monday under the influence of a weather system from the southwest, the Central Weather Bureau said Sunday.

From Monday to Thursday (July 20-23), central and southern Taiwan will be hit by heavy showers and occasional thunderstorms, the bureau forecast.

Other parts of Taiwan will also see showers or thundershowers but on a smaller scale and for shorter periods, the bureau said.

The wet weather will bring temperatures down somewhat from a recent heat wave, when the mercury routinely rose as high as 36 degrees Celsius.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-19
By: CNA

President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday that he had always been concerned about Japan’s intent

to change its security laws and will stay tuned for the subsequent development after the approval of two controversial bills by the lower house of Japanese parliament earlier this week that would allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since the end of World War II.

Ma made the remarks when commenting on the approval of the controversial security-related bills by the Japanese House of Representatives on Thursday. The bills still need approval by the upper house.

The president arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday on his trip back to Taiwan after concluding visits to three Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in Central America and the Caribbean, namely the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Nicaragua.     [FULL  STORY]