Page Two

T’Way Air plane hits business jet at Taipei airport

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-14
By: CNA

A plane operated by South Korean budget carrier T’way Air grazed a business

The T'way Air plane park at the Taipei Songshan Airport, May 13. (Photo/Tsai Wei-chi)

The T’way Air plane park at the Taipei Songshan Airport, May 13. (Photo/Tsai Wei-chi)

jet parked at Taipei Songshan Airport on Wednesday. Nobody was hurt in the accident.

The T’way Air plane, which arrived from Gimpo International Airport outside Seoul at around 12:40 pm, failed to taxi along the middle line of the runway, causing it to take a bad line when turning onto the airport’s apron, airport officials said.

The poor positioning resulted in the T’way jet’s left winglet grazing a static discharger on the tail of a plane operated by Executive Aviation Taiwan Corp, a local corporate jet operator, aircraft charter, and management company that was parked on the apron.     [FULL  STORY]

Committee amends law on detention of Chinese

Taipei Times
Date: May 15, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

The legislature’s Internal Administration Committee yesterday passed amendments to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) concerning the detention of Chinese citizens to bring the legislation in line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by the government in 2009.

The Council of Grand Justices’ Interpretation No. 710, announced in 2013, called for improvements to Article 18 of the act regulating the forced deportation and detention of Chinese citizens, to guarantee their rights to legal procedures and personal freedom.

The amendments reviewed and passed by the committee include making it clear that the enforcing authority is the Ministry of the Interior’s National Immigration Agency (rather than “police authorities”) granting those who are to be deported an opportunity to make their claims, and convening a review meeting for claims made by those whose permission for residence or for registered permanent residence has been revoked or repealed, as stipulated in the Immigration Act (出入國及移民法).     [FULL  STORY]

Beijing makes Belarus pledge opposition to Taiwan independence

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-13
By: Lin Yung-fu and Staff Reporter

President Xi Jinping of China made a joint statement with his Belarusian

Xi Jinping shakes hands with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, May 10. Photo/Xinhua)

Xi Jinping shakes hands with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, May 10. Photo/Xinhua)

counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on May 10 announcing the deepening of the strategic partnership between the two countries and joint opposition to Taiwan independence, according to our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

The third part of the statement concerned opposition to any form of Taiwan independence, a promise from the Belarusian government not to establish relations with Taiwan or interact with Taiwanese officials, to oppose Taiwan joining any international or regional organizations which limit members to sovereign nations and a promise not to sell arms to Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council responded to the statement on May 11, stating that the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) is a sovereign country and that the ROC government’s policy towards mainland China is to maintain the status quo of “no unification, no independence, no war” in cross-strait relations inasmuch as it conforms to the ROC Constitution and the will of the Taiwanese people. The MAC added that neither side across the Taiwan Strait is subordinate to the other, therefore statements or actions on the part of the PRC do not have any effect on the status of Taiwan as a sovereign country.     [FULL  STORY]

SEF lauds China’s decision to reinstate incentives for Taiwan firms

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/13
By: Chou Yi-ling and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Taiwan’s semi-official negotiating body expressed 201505130032t0001satisfaction Wednesday with a recent decision by China’s State Council to reinstate preferential treatment, including tax breaks, for Taiwan-invested companies in China.

Chou Jih-shine (周繼祥), vice chairman of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會), said the decision was an indication that China attaches great importance to Taiwanese businesses operating there.

Chou said, however, that he hopes China will communicate with the SEF on any new policies relating to the rights of Taiwanese companies, to allay concerns among these companies about increasing costs.     [FULL  STORY]

Expand rights protections in Constitution: advocates

UPDATED THINKING:A proposal specified clauses to increase protections against seizures of private property and to safeguard people’s rights to assemble in public

Taipei Times
Date:  May 14, 2015
By: Lii Wen  /  Staff reporter

Amid ongoing debate on proposed reforms to the Constitution, advocates and academics yesterday urged including more human rights issues in the Constitution at a conference held by the Taiwan Association of University Professors.

Referring to global trends in human rights advocacy, participants said that the Constitution should not be limited to protecting personal liberties, but should also address what are known as second and third-generation rights, such as socioeconomic, cultural and environmental rights.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), the main proponent of what is now the only constitutional reform proposal to address human rights issues, launched yesterday’s discussions by outlining her thoughts on the proposals.     [FULL  STORY]

Three doctors suspected of taking kickbacks in central Taiwan

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-13
By: CNA

Three doctors from central Taiwan are being questioned for allegedly taking kickbacks from a medical equipment company, the Agency Against Corruption said Tuesday.

Investigators from the agency, along with prosecutors, raided 17 locations Tuesday and questioned 31 doctors and related personnel.

The agency was tipped off last year that a doctor surnamed Ou at Taichung Veterans General Hospital, a doctor surnamed Lin at Nantou Hospital and a former doctor surnamed Zhou from Changhua Hospital–the latter two hospitals are under the Ministry of Health and Welfare–were involved in collaborating with Shaw Hang Biomedical Group in medical equipment procurement since 2010.

Hsu Wan-hsiang, director of the agency’s regional office in central Taiwan, said the agency suspects that Shaw Hang delivered cash to the three doctors to obtain medical equipment procurement contracts from the hospitals.

The group is suspected of having paid bribes totaling nearly NT$3 million (US$98,000).

China-Japan Before China-Taiwan

nasdaq.com
Date: May 12, 2015
By: EconMatters

Some long time readers probably know I occasionally write about Asian geopolitics related to China and Taiwan.  Since Taiwan typically goes under the radar of major news media, I usually google browse both Chinese and English news about Taiwan.  Over the weekend, I came across one disturbing piece of article by Hugh White who’s a professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University in Canberra.  Excerpt below:

[T]he harsh reality is that no country is going to sacrifice its relations with China in order to help Taiwan…… China is simply too important economically, and too powerful militarily, for anyone to confront it on Taiwan’s behalf…….

Even more worryingly, this reality does not yet seem to have sunk in in Washington…. Any US effort to support Taiwan militarily against China would be almost certain to escalate into a full-scale US-China war and quite possibly a nuclear exchange. That would be a disaster for everyone….far worse than reunification [for the people of Taiwan itself]…….     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese director mistaken for Chinese at Cannes Film Festival

eTaiwan News
Date: 2015-05-12
By: By Emmmanuelle Tzeng and Evelyn Kao, Central News Agency

Taipei, May 12 (CNA) Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (???) was mistaken for a Chinese national by the organizer of the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival, which is scheduled to be held from Wednesday through May 24. Hou’s martial arts epic “The Assassin” (???) has been selected to be screened in the festival’s main competition section. In the festival brochure, Hou is listed as a Chinese national, while the Republic of China national flag has not been hung at the venue. In response, Michel Ching-long Lu (???), Taiwan’s representative to France, said his office has sent a letter to the event organizer demanding that a correction of Hou’s nationality be made and that the ROC national flag be hung.

President hits back at Taipei mayor over Taipei Dome controversy

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/12
By: Kelven Huang, Claudia Liu and S.C. Chang

Taipei, May 12 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou challenged Taipei Mayor Ko 201505120036t0002Wen-je Tuesday to refer him for judicial investigation if Ko thinks he should be prosecuted in connection with a simmering controversy over the Taipei Dome project.

Of course, said Ma’s spokesman Charles Chen, Ko would also have to take legal and political responsibility for any such action he might take.

A “clean government” task force formed under Ko’s City Hall has found what it calls irregularities in the Taipei Dome project and has accused Ma, a former mayor of the capital city, of making decisions that gave special favors to the builder of the Taipei Dome.     [FULL  STORY]

Ma seeks US help on Taiwan’s submarine program

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-12
By: CNA

Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou, urged the United States Monday to provide

Raymond Burghardt meets President Ma Ying-jeou at the Presidential Office in Taipei, May 11. (Photo/CNA)

Raymond Burghardt meets President Ma Ying-jeou at the Presidential Office in Taipei, May 11. (Photo/CNA)

further assistance with the country’s military submarine program, which has seen little progress in the past 11 years.

During a meeting with Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Ma expressed hope for help from the US as Taiwan continues to pursue its submarine program through a combination of indigenous development and imports.

Burghardt arrived in Taiwan a day earlier on a routine visit, his 17th trip to Taiwan. The AIT represents US interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties.     [FULL  STORY]