Government urged to halt CPC project to save reefs
Government urged to halt CPC project to save reefsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterEnvironmental protection groups yesterday urged the government to halt a construction project by state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan in Taoyuan’s coastal Datan Village (大潭) to save algal reefs and to hold an official hearing on the issue. The formation of the shallow-water algal reefs began about 7,500 years ago and they stretch along 27km of Taoyuan’s coast, geological research have found. CPC’s plan to build the nation’s third liquefied natural gas terminal at the nearby Guantang Industrial Park could spell doom for the reefs, environmentalists have said. New Power Party Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said that the government should halt the project immediately and improve its sustainable energy policies by developing rooftop solar systems. “The government gives excuses, such as northern Taiwan having not enough sunlight to develop rooftop solar systems, but Japan, with its higher latitude, has many rooftop solar panels,” she said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 20, 2020 15:56 UTC
Lay judge system review begins
Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li attends a news conference held by the Judicial Yuan in Taipei yesterday on the results of its opinion poll on the introduction of a lay judge system. Photo: CNAEarlier yesterday, the Judicial Yuan released a survey that showed most people were in favor of a lay judge system. More than 94 percent of respondents said that in criminal trials using a lay judge system, the ruling should provide the reason for the verdict, while 97 percent said defendants should have the right to appeal rulings, he added. However, another survey released yesterday by a group of legal reform advocates showed that 81.9 percent were in favor of a jury system, 63.2 percent supported a lay judge system and 83.4 percent backed a “twin track” proposal. “Taiwanese have pursued a jury system for more than a century.
Source:Taipei Times
July 20, 2020 15:56 UTC
Mega says profitability at HK branch may decrease
Mega says profitability at HK branch may decreaseBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterState-run Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) yesterday said that profitability at its Hong Kong branch might decline this year due to conservative operations amid political uncertainty in the territory. Robert Tsai (蔡永義), president of the banking arm of Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控), said that the Hong Kong branch has turned conservative in lending operations after Beijing pushed through national security legislation for the territory. Profitability at the Hong Kong branch weakened 10 percent in the first half of this year, although it remains the most profitable among its overseas units, Tsai said on the sidelines of a public function in Taipei. Mega International Commercial Bank president Robert Tsai, second left, and Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun, second right, pose for a photograph with others at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The branch is seeking to close the gap by improving profit from its foreign-currency assets and foreign-exchange trading, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 20, 2020 15:56 UTC
INTERVIEW: Jury system backer outlines case against lay judges
INTERVIEW: Jury system backer outlines case against lay judgesTaiwan Jury Association founding chairman Jerry Cheng in an interview with ‘Taipei Times’ reporter Huang Tai-lin expounded on his belief that a jury system is a better remedy than the government’s proposed lay judge model to eradicate the judicial maladies that have plagued the nation’s judiciaryTaipei Times: Why do you believe Taiwan must push for a jury system? While it is no panacea, I believe a jury system could be a solution to most of the problems. However, after the employment of the lay judge system, the issue has not been solved. It adopted the jury system in 1845, but Article 46 of [Beijing’s recent] national security legislation removes the jury system, because the existence of juries means that authorities cannot employ heavy-handed means and beleaguer political opponents. TT: Be it a jury system or a lay judge model, do you think the nation’s judiciary is ready for public participation in trials?
Source:Taipei Times
July 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Kenting beaches packed with microplastic debris
Kenting beaches packed with microplastic debrisHEALTH RISK? The microplastics found in Kenting sand have an average density of 200 microplastic particles per kilogram, National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium deputy director Chen Te-hao (陳德豪) told reporters on Thursday, citing surveys conducted by the museum. The microplastics might become new channels for the transmission of pathogenic bacteria and antibody-resistant bacteria, he said. Nanwan Beach in Pingtung County’s Kenting area was packed with visitors yesterday. The concentration of microplastics in seawater was found to increase by five times when the Kuroshio current flowed by the coast of Taitung County, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Constitutional reform crucial: Tsai
Tsai made the remarks in a speech at the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) national congress in Taipei, which she presided over in her capacity as party chairperson. Tsai highlighted major missions for the party. Tsai also called on opposition parties, saying that all parties should cherish the “constitutional moment.”Second, the DPP should dedicate more resources to cultivating young talent for the nation, she said. The KMT would establish a constitutional amendment committee comprising party members and academics to discuss issues, including the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan, she said. New Power Party caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said his party would support constitutional reform, as it would address issues that have long been unresolved.
Source:Taipei Times
July 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Commission takes people on tour of White Terror-era holding, torture sites
Commission takes people on tour of White Terror-era holding, torture sitesBy Chen Yu-fu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Transitional Justice Commission yesterday took members of the public on a guided tour of sites where political prisoners were held and tortured during the White Terror era. Among the sites visited was a facility where the government used to torture political prisoners to extract confessions from them. A woman during a tour led by the Transitional Justice Commission yesterday stands at a monitoring podium at a former Investigation Bureau detention center in Taipei to see how guards could watch all the prisoners at once. The Investigation Bureau appeared to have chosen the site of the facility — a one-story building — because of its location at the fringe of the city, he said. Another detention center at 28 Liangzhou St in Taipei was later demolished and replaced with a parking lot.
Source:Taipei Times
July 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
DPP ‘insistent about lay judge system’
DPP ‘insistent about lay judge system’TOO MUCH CHANGE: Sources said the DPP thought the jury system was ‘too risky,’ and rejected a proposal by civic groups to combine the jury and lay judge systemsBy Lee Hsin-fang / Staff reporterDespite six failed negotiations with civic groups, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration is adamant about pushing through its proposals for introducing a lay judge system, rather than a jury system, sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Lawmakers have failed to reach a consensus on at least 100 draft articles on the lay judge system, which are expected to be voted on during an extraordinary session this week. The DPP caucus insisted on a six-year trial of the proposed lay judge system, because of concerns about the higher costs of a jury system, they added. Separately, Northern Taiwan Society chairman Li Chuan-hsin (李川信) on Saturday called on the DPP to clarify its shift in support from a jury system to a lay judge system. He said he was concerned that a lay judge system would allow career judges to sway lay judges’ verdicts, adding that the DPP should wait and not allow itself to be hijacked by people working in the judiciary.
Source:Taipei Times
July 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
NTNU course offers VR smell help
NTNU course offers VR smell helpBy Wu Po-hsuan and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerNational Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) has designed a virtual reality (VR) course combined with aromatherapy to increase the well-being of elderly people, with the research results published in an international medical journal. The course allows people to play a game in which they can smell natural scents, Guo said, adding that the scents help stabilize emotions and ease discomfort. The course and research findings have been published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Guo said. PureAroma Healing Academy principal Cheng Ya-wen (鄭雅文), who collaborated with NTNU on the course, said that initially, scents were delivered manually. The upgraded version, dubbed the “VR 2.0 course,” uses a scent diffuser containing seven fragrances in front of the player.
Source:Taipei Times
July 18, 2020 15:56 UTC
Files tie Chiang Ching-kuo to NTU surveillance
Files tie Chiang Ching-kuo to NTU surveillanceBy Chen Yu-fu and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerNewly declassified documents tie former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) to the political persecution of members of National Taiwan University’s (NTU) Department of Philosophy in the 1970s, the Transitional Justice Commission said. Chiang, who was premier at the time, should ultimately be considered responsible for the persecution, the commission said. The commission made the remarks after the National Security Bureau and the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau declassified intelligence files related to what is known as the NTU Department of Philosophy Incident. However, the National Security Bureau appeared to be more inclined to support Sun in his purge, the files show. The NTU Department of Philosophy Incident happened because Chiang could not make his judgements based on facts, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
July 18, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT undecided on fate of branches
KMT undecided on fate of branchesCALL FOR UNITY: Inside the KMT, debate remains about whether to abolish the Examination Yuan and Control Yuan, but the DPP says they should work togetherBy Shih Hsiao-kuang and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will not finalize its stance on the fate of the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan until after it holds intraparty discussions, KMT spokeswoman Hung Yu-chien (洪于茜) said yesterday. Possible scenarios for the two branches of government include temporarily freezing them, abolishing them or shifting their operations to a task-based model, Hung said. The KMT would hold more discussions after it establishes a constitutional amendment committee, which would be comprised of party members and academics, she said. The entrance to the Control Yuan is pictured in Taipei on June 17. Although the KMT has not formed a consensus on the matter, it is difficult for some party members to agree with KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲), who — along with a few other KMT lawmakers — has expressed a willingness to cooperate with the DPP on abolishing the two branches, they said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 18, 2020 15:56 UTC
At DPP congress, groups to vie for high-ranking seats
At DPP congress, groups to vie for high-ranking seatsBy Huang Shin-po and Jason Pan / Staff reportersGroups within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are expected to vie for high-level positions at the party’s national congress today in Taipei, while leading party figures are to stump for its Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁). On the agenda is the election of the party’s core power structure, which consists of the decisionmaking bodies of the Central Executive Committee and Central Standing Committee. The Democratic Progressive Party’s logo is displayed at the party’s headquarters in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo: Su Fun-her, Taipei TimesThe party’s charter stipulates that the congress must elect 30 members for the executive committee, from which party members would choose 10 to make up the standing committee. Another position of contention is chairperson of the DPP Central Review Committee, with Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) reportedly favored by Ing’s Clique while others are reportedly aligned to Kaohsiung City Councilor Kang Yu-cheng (康裕成), they added.
Source:Taipei Times
July 18, 2020 15:56 UTC
Changhua eyes tourist boom with bomb shelter plan
Changhua eyes tourist boom with bomb shelter planBy Chang Tsung-chiu and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Changhua County Government yesterday said it hopes to open a 69-year-old bomb shelter on Baguashan (八卦山) to visitors as part of a plan to turn the location into a military tourism hotspot. The bomb shelter — which is 98m long, 2.2m wide and 2.2m high — is near the Baguashan Silver Bridge, one of the most iconic tourist spots on Baguashan, but the shelter is only accessible to groups or institutions that have made a reservation, the county government said. Baguashan Silver Bridge is pictured in Changhua County yesterday. Changhua County Commissioner Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) said that the bomb shelter has the potential to become a tourist hotspot. The commissioner is considering whether to make the bomb shelter part of a military technology area that offers visitors an immersive experience, Tien said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 18, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taipei mayor holds 55 percent approval rating: poll
Taipei mayor holds 55 percent approval rating: pollBy Lee I-chia / Staff ReporterTaipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has a 55 percent approval rating among city residents, a survey released on Friday by the Taipei Research, Development and Evaluation Commission showed. Ko’s approval rating was the same as a poll conducted in December last year, and his disapproval rating was 2 perentage points lower. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, second right, Taiwan Tourism Interchange Association President Lai Pi-chen, left, and Taipei Hot Spring Association president Chou Shuei-mei, second left, attend the opening of the Taipei Summer Travel Expo on Friday. It collected valid responses from 1,083 city residents, while 1,075 people refused to take the survey. Both options would require a tunnel, the construction of which could affect the water quality at the Feitsui Reservoir (翡翠水庫), the main source of water for Taipei and New Taipei City, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 18, 2020 15:56 UTC
HK office in ‘one China’ standoff
HK office in ‘one China’ standoffBy Chung Li-hua and Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA and ReutersTaiwanese officials in Hong Kong have been told that their visas would not be renewed if they do not sign a document supporting Beijing’s claim to Taiwan under its “one China” principle, sources have said. The title and logo of the Mainland Affairs Council are pictured on a podium at the council’s offices in Taipei in an undated photograph. Our representatives in Hong Kong will hold fast to their position.”The Hong Kong Immigration Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chen made the remarks when asked about the Hong Kong government reportedly demanding that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong sign a document agreeing to Beijing’s “one China” principle before the visa of Acting Representative to Hong Kong Kao Ming-tsun (高銘村) would be renewed. The office has five divisions — consular affairs; news and culture; general; economy; and contact — and its officials are on three-year rotations.
Source:Taipei Times
July 17, 2020 16:00 UTC