KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen accuses MND of blocking trip to Pratas Islands
KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen accuses MND of blocking trip to Pratas IslandsBy Aaron Tu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAA Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker yesterday accused the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of blocking a planned trip by lawmakers to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), but a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker said that the fault lay with the trip’s organizer. Chen yesterday accused the ministry of obstructing the trip by exploiting a technicality. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen in Taipei yesterday accuses the Ministry of National Defense of blocking a planned trip by lawmakers to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands) in the South China Sea. DPP Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) disputed Chen’s timeframe claims, writing on Facebook that she had not submitted her request to the ministry until Tuesday. He had asked the ministry about Chen’s trip request and was told that the air force had only received the request on Tuesday, so it had to decline the visit due to insufficient preparation time, Wang said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Coalition urges funding for Lee library
Coalition urges funding for Lee libraryTAIWANESE IDENTITY: A presidential library and museum would preserve Lee’s legacy and contributions in Taiwan’s transition into a democracy, groups saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterLeaders of pro-Taiwan civic organizations and independence advocates yesterday called for government funding to establish a Lee Teng-hui presidential library and museum, saying that it would be the best way to commemorate the former president’s achievements and preserve his legacy. Representatives of pro-Taiwan organizations at the National Taiwan University Alumni Center in Taipei yesterday call for government assistance in establishing the proposed Lee Teng-hui presidential library and museum. “It is also the wish of [former] president Lee. The project would require state funding and the power of the government to see through its completion, Taiwan Society chairman Li Chuan-hsin (李川信) said. “Lee is recognized around the world as Mr Democracy, and our society recognizes him as the first president for Taiwanese people.
Source:Taipei Times
August 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Manufacturers’ output falls to NT$2.94 trillion
The petrochemical industry reported production value contracted by 54.7 percent year-on-year, while output among automakers and in the automotive parts industry fell 22.1 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said. In the metal manufacturing industry, production value fell 18.7 percent and in the machinery industry it was down 13.8 percent year-on-year, it said. Computer electronics and optoelectronics components posted output growth of 7.6 percent year-on-year, while the electronics components industry grew 10.6 percent, ministry data showed. Industrial production increased 4.7 percent year-on-year, the third quarter of growth and the highest for the quarter on record, the data showed. However, production value is calculated by multiplying production by price, and a slide in prices means that even with increased output, production value is trending down, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Charity auction to raise more than NT$150,000
Charity auction to raise more than NT$150,000By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterA Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) charity auction of paintings created by celebrities is expected to raise more than NT$150,000 for disadvantaged children. The paintings were exhibited at a Kingstone bookstore branch on Tingzhou Road (汀州路) in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正) from Monday last week to yesterday. Chloe, Chen Yu-chen, Mornin Chen, Kuai-kuai, Ku Yao-wei, Tang Hsin, Sheng Ya, Yang Hsiao-fan and Bu Ting (left to right) yesterday in Taipei hold up artworks they painted for the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families’ charity auction of paintings by celebrities. Hopefully this will also spread to disadvantaged children, Ku said. All proceeds from the auction would go to the organization’s anti-poverty program to help fund the education of disadvantaged children, the TFCF said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Reporter’s Notebook: Some KMT supporters wonder if bell tolls for Chiang
Reporter’s Notebook: Some KMT supporters wonder if bell tolls for ChiangBy Shih Hsiao-kuang / Staff reporterFormer vice premier Chen Chi-mai’s (陳其邁) landslide victory on Saturday in the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election shows troubled waters lie ahead for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣). Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang speaks at an event in Kaohsiung on Aug. 2. Political watchers think former KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) is interested in regaining the party’s top seat, with an eye on the 2024 presidential election, while Han’s camp has said that he also hopes to run for party chairman next year. Some observers see Chiang’s situation akin to that faced by former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who also led the KMT just after a presidential election defeat, and who faced an internal power struggle. Chiang must solidify his internal support before the end of the year, or he could become a lame duck if KMT members begin to see his chances of being re-elected are slim.
Source:Taipei Times
August 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Memorial to Yin Hai-kuang facing financial problems
Memorial to Yin Hai-kuang facing financial problemsBy Kuo An-chia / Staff reporterA financial crisis has hit Liberalism Yin Hai-kuang, the foundation responsible for the upkeep of the residence of Yin Hai-kuang (殷海光), a famed National Taiwan University (NTU) philosophy professor, after major donors stopped their contributions. Yin is considered a pioneering liberalist in Taiwan. The entrance to the Taipei residence of Yin Hai-kuang, a National Taiwan University philosophy professor, is pictured on July 25, 2017. The foundation late last year wrote to then-Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu (陳菊), but never heard back, she added. Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs Director-General Tsai Tsung-hsiung (蔡宗雄) on Saturday told reporters that Yin’s residence is owned by the university, which would provide support.
Source:Taipei Times
August 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT caucus whip says Han wave’s time is over
KMT caucus whip says Han wave’s time is overBy Lin Liang-sheng / Staff reporterIt is time to say goodbye to the “Han wave,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said yesterday, following the party’s defeat in the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election on Saturday. The “Han wave” refers to former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) sudden rise in popularity during the 2018 nine-in-one elections. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times“Treat it [the Han wave] as a legend,” Lin wrote, adding that the KMT should make changes and work hard to regain the public’s trust. The “Han wave” had been the KMT mainstream, but that was no longer the case, he said. The KMT could not even hold on to its base, proof that the “Han wave” could no longer be seen as the KMT’s “savior,” Lin said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Final day of Lee memorial draws record-high crowd
Final day of Lee memorial draws record-high crowdBy Chen Yu-fu, Lu Yi-hsuan and Dennis Xie / Staff reporters, with staff writerMore than 40,000 people visited the memorial to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at the Taipei Guest House before it closed yesterday. The 16-day memorial ended as Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) led the entire staff overseeing the memorial in bowing three times before a portrait of Lee, who died on July 30 at the age of 97. Presidential Office statistics showed a total of 43,067 visitors, with 3,899 showing up yesterday, a daily high. Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei TimesMeanwhile, sources said a public memorial service for Lee is being planned for the Grand Chapel of Aletheia University in New Taipei City, perhaps on Sept. 19. Members of the Lee funeral committee are to meet on Wednesday to discuss the details.
Source:Taipei Times
August 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
TPP to review strategy in wake of Saturday’s loss
TPP to review strategy in wake of Saturday’s lossBy Chen Yun / Staff reporterThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) plans to hold a review meeting this week following its poor showing in Saturday’s Kaohsiung mayoral by-election, TPP Legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) said yesterday. The TPP candidate, Kaohsiung City Councilor Wu Yi-jheng (吳益政), received 38,960 votes (4.06 percent), or about 100,000 votes fewer than the party votes the TPP won in the Jan. 11 legislative elections. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, third left, yesterday talks to reporters in Taichung. The TPP would review and reconsider its strategy as it prepares for the 2022 local elections. “For parties that have very few resources, we can only use all we have to do the best we can,” he added.
Source:Taipei Times
August 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwan in Time: O City God, I have sinned
The yinyangsi is in charge of accepting the cangue-bearers’ spiritual petitions on behalf of the City God. Many of the earlier City God Temples in Taiwan were set up by Qing officials, who built them in the administrative center of each new district. At the end of Qing rule of Taiwan in 1895, there were 15 state-built City God Temples and 16 private ones. Today there are over 90 temples across Taiwan with the City God as main deity. According to the book Interaction Between Humans and Ghosts (人與鬼之交流) by Tsai Yi-hsin (蔡翊鑫), the Hsinchu City God Temple’s cangue ritual was first held in 1854.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Exhibition tells story of White Terror survivor
Exhibition tells story of White Terror survivorBy Chen Yu-hsun and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe story of Luku Incident (鹿窟事件) victim Pan Ping-hui (潘炳輝), one of hundreds arrested during the White Terror era, is the focus of an exhibition at a tea factory in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港). Pan Shih-hsien on Thursday looks at a poster that describes the story of his grandfather, Pan Ping-hui, a victim of the Luku Incident, at an exhibition in Taipei. Pan Shih-hsien (潘世賢) said his grandfather, Pan Ping-hui, never knew why he was arrested, and that his grandfather and father were reluctant to discuss it. Pan Ping-hui was held for eight years, and then he was afraid to interact with people and so moved to the mountains to live alone, Pan Shih-hsien said. Pan Shih-hsien said his grandfather always told him not to speak about the government or politics, which Pan Shih-hsien said showed just how much his grandfather’s experience had scarred him.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
US formalizes sale of new F-16 warplanes to Taiwan
US formalizes sale of new F-16 warplanes to Taiwan‘PARTNER NATIONS’: The fighter jets are being assembled at Lockheed Martin’s new plant in South Carolina and would feature state of-the-art fire-control radarBloombergThe government has formally signed an agreement to buy 66 of the latest model F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp. The nation’s purchase of the F-16s marks the first US sale of advanced fighter jets to Taiwan since then-US president George H.W. In addition to Taiwan, Morocco is buying 24 F-16s jets in the first tranche of 90 aircraft that the Pentagon said was valued at US$4.9 billion. The Pentagon announcement did not name Taiwan or Morocco, but they have been identified in a previous statement and were confirmed on Friday by a person familiar with the contract. “Taiwan and Morocco are expected to be the first two partner nations that will utilize this contract,” Brackens said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Groups condemn Cheng’s actions
Pro-Taiwan groups on Friday gathered outside the court demanding that Cheng apologize, and some engaged in shouting matches with pro-unification groups, who came to support Cheng. People line up to pay their respects to former president Lee Teng-hui at the Taipei Guest House yesterday. The Taiwan Solidarity Union yesterday issued a statement condemning Lisa Cheng’s. Lisa Cheng’s action has provoked anger, “as people see her heart as full of hatred,” the Taiwan Republic Office said in a statement. Lisa Cheng’s beliefs are a result of decades of brainwashing by the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime, which filled her mind with hatred, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
You gears up for Czech official’s visit
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu wears a mask made in Taiwan with the national flags of Taiwan and the Czech Republic printed on it. You said that he admired the Czech delegation for visiting Taiwan despite pressure from Beijing. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) was on Friday interviewed by Czech Television, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Asked about the significance of US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar’s visit last week, Wu said that Azar was the highest-level US official to visit Taiwan in 41 years and that his visit shows closer Taiwan-US ties. At the end of the interview, Wu showed a mask made for the Czech visitors that bears the national flags of Taiwan and the Czech Republic.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Chen Chi-mai wins Kaohsiung vote
Chen received 671,804 votes, or 70.03 percent, against 248,478, or 25.90 percent, for KMT Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁) and 38,960, or 4.06 percent, for Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Kaohsiung City Councilor Wu Yi-jheng (吳益政), according to the final vote tallies from the Kaohsiung City Election Commission. In his victory speech, Chen said that people’s support, regardless for whom, spelled the beginning of hope for Kaohsiung. Former vice premier Chen Chi-mai of the Democratic Progressive Party celebrates after winning the mayoral by-election in Kaohsiung yesterday. She congratulated Chen on his victory and called on her supporters to remain open-minded and give Chen a chance to lead Kaohsiung toward a better future. The turnout rate was 66 percent for the 2014 mayoral election, 73 percent for the 2018 mayoral election, and 74 percent for the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2020 15:56 UTC