Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-16
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

US Secretary of State John Kerry said recently that Washington will continue to step up

efforts to improve its relations with Taiwan, which is a key stakeholder of the US Asia-Pacific regional policy.

In answer to a written question from Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-Va) on the 36th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, Kerry described Taiwan as a fundamental element of the Obama administration’s “Asia Pivot” policy.

The United States will continue to expand and improve its solid and multi-sided unofficial relations with Taiwan, which is a crucial partner for Washington in terms of security and economics, he said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/16
By: Gu Chuan and Ted Chen

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Taipei Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-chi (鄧家基) on Thursday stated that there can be no compromises on safety requirements, and that the Taipei Dome will not be allowed to commence operations merely to accommodate the interests of its builder.

Teng’s announcement was made after Farglory Land Development Co. (遠雄), the builder of the multi-billion dollar project rejected the Taipei City Government’s demand to either tear down the adjacent commercial complex and underground parking lots accompanying the Taipei Dome, or have the main arena structure scuttled in favor of a public park, leaving the surrounding developments.

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that Taipei Dome’s builder had failed to take into consideration the severe consequences of insufficient safety measures at the 100,000 capacity venue in the event of fires or other disasters in the busy downtown area.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 17, 2015
By: Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) — who has been

nominated the party’s candidate for next year’s presidential election — yesterday said that if elected, her government would assist the public with good ideas and coordinate efforts to make the nation a better place to live.

Tsai made the remarks when attending the premiere of a documentary about a young man, Chiu Hsing-wei (邱星崴), who decided to return to his home village in Nanjhuang Township (南庄), Miaoli County, after graduating from university, instead of looking for a job in the city.

Chiu opened a hostel in a renovated historic house, Mountain Lodge (老寮), and attracted a group of young people to return to the village to run the hostel with him.

“In the last presidential election, I was surprised how fast the donations to run the campaign were received through the ‘Three Piglets’ movement,” Tsai told reporters. “So, after the election, I decided to travel around the nation to listen to what those who supported me had to say, as well as what those who didn’t vote for me.”     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-15
By: Staff Reporter

China has deployed a high-speed anti-ship cruise missile and is expanding an advanced

armada of guided-missile warships and submarines at a rapid rate, US news website the Washington Free Beacon reports.

According to an assessment on China’s navy recent published by the US Office of Naval Intelligence, the PLA Navy is now placing a new YJ-18 supersonic anti-ship cruise missile on warships and submarines. Analysts believe that it poses a major threat to US and its allied vessels.

China is also expanding rapidly its current naval force of 300 surface ships, submarines, amphibious ships and missile-armed patrol craft, says the report.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/15
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) Taiwan’s major source of water is rain, which falls in large volumes each year when tropical storms arrive, but the island can only store about 20 percent of its annual rainfall volume, an official of the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said Wednesday in Tainan.

WRA Chief Secretary Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) said that about 72 percent of the rainwater collected in Taiwan is used for agricultural purposes, 9 percent for industrial operations and 19 percent for domestic purposes.

In view of the fact that more frequent droughts are expected due to global climate change, Taiwan residents need to develop a habit of conserving water, Lai said at a conference on water and drought issues, held at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU).     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-15
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

The lead enjoyed by the chair of Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai

Ing-wen, over her strongest potential opponent from the rival Kuomintang in the 2016 presidential race is narrowing, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday.

The survey conducted by the KMT-leaning United Daily News had Tsai, who will represent the DPP in the election slated for early next year, beating KMT chair and New Taipei mayor Eric Chu by a 42%-34% margin.

Six percent of respondents said they did not support either of the two, and 18% said they were undecided.

The eight-point gap was down from the 14-point advantage Tsai held in a similar poll two months ago, when she received 47% support to 33% for Chu.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-14
By: Liao Pei-yu and Staff Reporter

The Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei came under fire at the beginning of April after

some of its staff published a video featuring surgery sessions for their fun and mutual encouragement, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

The video featured several members of the hospital’s medical staff, as well as footage and photos of patients lying on the operating table. The staff were shown sewing patients, holding bloody parts of patients’s bodies with one hand and giving a thumbs up with the other.

A spokesperson for Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation (THRF), an independent non-governmental organization that advocates on behalf of patient’s rights in Taiwan, said the staff should not make fun of patients and should respect their right to privacy.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/14
By: Rita Cheng, Chen Cheng-wei & Bear Lee

Washington, April. 14 (CNA) Taiwan will outperform the three other “Asian tigers” in economic growth in 2015 and 2016, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Thursday.

In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, the IMF maintains its previous economic growth forecast for Taiwan in 2015 at 3.8 percent and forecasts its 2016 growth at 4.1 percent, both higher than the global average growth of 3.5 percent (2015) and 3.8 percent (2016). The figures for Taiwan are highest among the four “Asian tigers”

— Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.     [FULL  STORY]