Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/04
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) A fiery A-mei (張惠妹) kicked off her “Utopia” concert marathon in Taipei on Saturday, captivating fans with a spellbinding audio and visual feast.

The concert opened with A-mei giving a heated performance of her new song “Freak Show” while sitting on a chair on a platform that is suspended in the air.

The pop diva, a member of Taiwan’s indigenous Puyuma tribe, wore a gigantic antler-shaped headpiece as she descended onto the stage. The red headpiece symbolizes the spirits of god, ancestors and fairies in the Puyuma culture.     [FULL  STORY]

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

Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je’s statement in a recent interview is in accordance with the 1992

Consensus and the One China Policy, said an expert familiar with Taiwan’s affairs, reports our sister paper Want Daily.

The Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of China’s State Council said they recognized and welcomed Ko’s remark. The unnamed expert said that China has held a firm stance that the 1992 Consensus is the political foundation for a peaceful cross-Strait relationship and that Ko is well aware of this.

After a 10-minute press conference for mainland Chinese media on Monday, China’s state newswires such as Xinhua, China Central Television and the China Review quoted Ko as saying, “In the world today, no one considers that there are two Chinas. Therefore, there is no problem with one China.”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/03
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, April 3 (CNA) Despite speculation that the emergency landing of two U.S. F-18 fighters at a Taiwanese air force base on April 1 was a “political message” being sent by the Pentagon to Beijing, some Taiwanese analysts saw the speculation as far-fetched.

It was an “unintended incident,” said Alexander Huang (黃介正), an assistant professor in Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies in New Taipei.

“As far as I know, the U.S. military or the U.S. government would not take such action to send a message to China, Taiwan or any other country in the region,” said Huang, a specialist on U.S. defense and foreign policy and East Asian international relations.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-03
By: CNA

A US military spokesperson said Thursday that the reason for landing two F-18 fighters in

Taiwan was based on proximity and weather conditions, downplaying speculation that the landing was a “political message to China.”

“The reason for selecting Taiwan as a landing site was based on proximity and weather conducive to landing,” said Major Paul L. Greenberg, a public affairs officer for the US Marine Corps. He said that safety is always a top priority in a flight operation.

“Our pilots have the responsibility for diverting their aircraft to the nearest approved airfield if they experience an in-flight condition which they deem unsafe,” he said. “This is done in order to protect the pilots, crew and the aircraft.”     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-02
By: Staff Reporter

Air Asia, a company based in Tainan in southern Taiwan which has provided maintenance,

repair and overhaul services to military and civilian aircraft of the United States and its regional partners since the Cold War proved that it is still functional when two F/A-18C jets from the VMFA-323 of the US Marine Corps made an emergency landing at an air base near the city on April 1, reports our sister paper Want Daily.

The company, not to be confused with the airline with the same Chinese and English name, was created from Civil Air Transport, a civilian airline established in mainland China by Claire Lee Chennault, the leader of the legendary Flying Tigers in World War II. After the retreat of the Kuomintang government to Taiwan, the CIA purchased the airline and used it in various covert operations targeting Communist regimes in the Far East. It was then expanded into Pacific Corporation in the 1950s.     [FULL  STORY]