Tiananmen Anniversary: Local leaders mark ‘forgotten’ massacre
Tiananmen Anniversary: Local leaders mark ‘forgotten’ massacre‘HISTORICAL TRUTHS’: Figures from across the political spectrum touted Taiwan’s democratic values and urged China to face the ‘ghost of its past’ — Tiananmen SquareBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNALocal officials and public figures across party lines yesterday commemorated the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre while highlighting democratic values and the importance of learning from history. People observe a moment of silence at a candlelight vigil at Liberty Square in Taipei commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing. Causeway Bay Books manager Lam Wing-kei observes a moment of silence at a candlelight vigil at Liberty Square in Taipei yesterday commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing. In a radio interview yesterday, Hong Kong dissident and bookstore owner Lam Wing-kei (林榮基) said that he supports Taiwan’s stance of doing more than saying. Lam yesterday afternoon attended a news conference held by the New Power Party to mark the anniversary and its support for Hong Kong.
Source:Taipei Times
June 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
CCP must make amends for Tiananmen: council
CCP must make amends for Tiananmen: councilBy Chung Li-hua and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) human rights record has worsened since the Tiananmen Square Massacre 31 years ago, which it continues to cover up, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. On June 4, 1989, Beijing used military force to suppress a student demonstration calling for democratic reform in China, but the CCP still refuses to face the facts surrounding the massacre, the council said. The council called on Beijing to heed the calls of Chinese for democracy and to promptly reform its political system. Only then can the well-being of the Chinese public be improved and China effectively governed,” the council said. The council also called on China to release Taiwanese democracy activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who was imprisoned in China in 2017.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 16:00 UTC
Virus Outbreak: MOFA thanks Paraguay, US for evacuation help
Virus Outbreak: MOFA thanks Paraguay, US for evacuation helpBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the Paraguayan and US governments for helping arrange a charter flight to evacuate 21 Taiwanese who had been stranded in the nation due to border closings, who are expected to return home today. Paraguay on March 25 stopped accepting civilian flights, except for humanitarian charters, due to COVID-19 concerns, the Republic of China (ROC) embassy in Asuncion wrote on Facebook. Photo copied by Lu Yi-shuan, Taipei Times, from the Facebook page of the Republic of China embassy in ParaguayIt sent staff to Silvio Pettirossi International Airport to help with the evacuees with customs clearance and boarding, the ROC embassy said. In Miami, the Taiwanese would board a flight operated by a Taiwanese airline, and were expected to arrive home late tonight, she said. Taiwan’s new ambassador to Paraguay, Jose Han (韓志正) on Tuesday presented his letter of credence to Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez, the embassy said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Prosecutors probe 92 arrested in Montenegro for fraud
Prosecutors probe 92 arrested in Montenegro for fraudBy Chang Jui-chen and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office is investigating 92 fraud suspects arrested in Montenegro early this year, including one who is believed to have been forced into cooperating with the alleged scheme, prosecutors said yesterday. Prosecutors identified a woman “in her 20s” by the alias Hsiao Ping (小萍), who had been backpacking through Europe with her boyfriend when they ran out of money. An undated photograph shows Criminal Investigation Bureau personnel in Taipei escorting alleged members of a fraud ring who were extradited from Montenegro. Montenegrin investigators transfer evidence of alleged fraud by Taiwanese suspects to Criminal Investigation Bureau officials in an undated photograph. The members of the alleged fraud ring were arrested one day before they were to receive their pay for that month, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
5G drives up Chunghwa Precision sales
As the COVID-19 pandemic has not stalled the deployment of 5G, Chunghwa Precision has “a cautiously optimistic view about the outlook for the third quarter,” it said in a statement. Chunghwa Precision Test Technology Co president Scott Huang, left, and new chairman Lin Kuo-feng pose for a photograph after an annual general meeting in Taoyuan yesterday. Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei TimesFor the full year, Chunghwa Precision expects 5G applications and base stations to fuel demand for wafer testing services, given the complexity of 5G chips. As the pandemic is raising uncertainty about the global economy, Chunghwa Precision said it is closely monitoring how the disease would affect consumer demand. Chunghwa Precision president Scott Huang (黃水可) was re-elected and would take a seat on the board.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Health minister preaches precautions, prevention
National Health Research Institute president Liang Kung-yee yesterday talks to reporters about research on COVID-19 vaccines during the Central Epidemic Command Center’s daily news conference in Taipei. Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei TimesWhile disease prevention regulations are to be eased on Sunday, that does not mean doing away with all protective measures before an effective vaccine or medication is developed, Chen said. The center encourages people to visit restaurants and businesses that implement disease prevention measures, he added. The institute is cooperating with three local biotechnology firms on the development of four vaccines, and Academia Sinica is working with two others on two more vaccines, Liang said. Such research can be conducted for academic purposes and must be carefully reviewed, although the results would likely have very limited impact on the government’s disease prevention or control policies, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Stimulus coupon program a ‘triple deception’: KMT
Virus Outbreak: Stimulus coupon program a ‘triple deception’: KMTBy Lin Liang-sheng and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerA Ministry of Economic Affairs estimate of the economic benefits created by a stimulus coupon program is unrealistic, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers said yesterday, calling it an attempt to scam the public and self-delusion by the government. The program is unbecoming, as the government seems to be offering the world when it is only providing NT$2,000 in stimulus coupons, for which NT$1,000 must first be spent, he said. KMT Legislator Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) called the policy a triple deception: a deception of the public and officials deceiving themselves after deceiving deities. Tseng said that as the program has not resolved the potential problem of the substitution effect, the policy’s efficacy is dubious. The KMT finding faults with the coupon program is an admission that there is a possibility people would fail to use cash handouts or that cash handouts would trigger the substitution effect, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
DPP urges Kaohsiung residents to vote
DPP urges Kaohsiung residents to voteDEMOCRACY IN ACTION: The resolution urges everyone to exercise their right to vote, which is the best expression of civil rights and enshrined in the ConstitutionBy Yang Chun-hui / Staff reporterThe Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Central Standing Committee yesterday unanimously passed a resolution urging Kaohsiung voters to exercise their right to vote in Saturday’s recall election of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜). Regardless of whether they support or oppose the recall, Kaohsiung residents should vote this weekend, the resolution says. Thanks to the hard work of Kaohsiung’s residents, a recall proposal surpassed a signature threshold and led to the first-ever recall vote of a mayor or county commissioner, it says. All Kaohsiung residents should vote, regardless of the outcome they support, so that they can express their opinion, he said. Asked to which side he is inclined to vote, Chen said that the opinions of the city’s residents should be respected.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Green Party begins signature drive for referendum request
Green Party begins signature drive for referendum requestBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Green Party Taiwan has begun gathering signatures for a petition to hold a referendum on whether lawmakers should amend the Additional Articles of the Constitution to better reflect the “current needs” of the nation. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei TimesTaiwan should “cut its legal relationship with China,” Green Party Taiwan convener Yu Hsiao-ching (余筱菁) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “This Constitution has never applied to Taiwan’s current situation.”The young generation needs a new constitution, Green Party Taiwan Secretary-General Rita Jhang (張竹芩) said. Yu said that the Green Party Taiwan supported Tsai in the election and could understand the president’s “more conservative” view on the matter. However, the party still believes that Taiwan should draw a clear line regarding its relationship with China, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Blackface rears its ugly face in Taiwan
Instead, he showed them videos about the racist origins of blackface and slavery in America, and they agreed to drop the makeup. “[I told them] about the history [behind blackface] and [said] you decide whether you want to do it.”These Instagram screenshots show popular YouTuber group Wackyboys performing the coffin dance in blackface. Photo: ScreenshotAlthough the crew decided not to do the skit, other Taiwanese groups have drawn fire for performing it in blackface. This follows popular dance group Luxy Boyz’ performance of the same dance in blackface last month at popular night club Omni. After complaints, the club and crew removed the videos and refrained from wearing blackface in subsequent acts.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
More Taiwanese against China: poll
More Taiwanese against China: pollBy Chung Li-hua, Dennis Xie and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writersSeventy-three percent of Taiwanese do not consider the Chinese government a friend, a poll released on Tuesday by Academia Sinica showed — the highest figure since the poll started in 2012. The poll indicates that Taiwan is distancing itself from China, which is especially evident among the younger generation, researcher Wu Chieh-min (吳介民) said. Those who identify as both comprised 43 percent, the poll showed. Less than 30 percent of KMT supporters backed the protests, which garnered higher support from pan-green camp supporters, the poll found. The poll showed that Taiwanese support a free Hong Kong, as a majority of people agree with the mindset of “backing Hong Kong is supporting Taiwan,” Wu said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Groups mark massacre with warning
Groups mark massacre with warningTIANANMEN SQUARE: Taiwan should let the perpetrators of the massacre know that it remembers, as Hong Kong’s annual vigil has been banned, the DPP’s Fan Yun saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterHuman rights advocates yesterday cautioned the global community against China’s expanding totalitarianism in Hong Kong and elsewhere, as they marked the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The New School for Democracy held a forum attended by lawmakers, academics and human rights advocates. Remembering the massacre in Taiwan is meaningful, as it protects Taiwan’s democracy and resists China’s expanding totalitarianism, he said. While Beijing hopes that people will forget the atrocity, Taiwanese should continue to remind people that tanks ran over democracy activists, students and citizens in the massacre, Chen said. The Chinese Communist Party is now extending its violence to Hong Kong, he said, adding that this could also happen in other parts of the world.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
For a golden decade, cut PRC ties
For a golden decade, cut PRC tiesBy Huang Tien-lin 黃天麟I would really rather not use the expression “golden decade,” because it has been sullied by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who said that with the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China, Taiwan would experience a golden decade, but reality proved that to be a matter of political trickery. In the end, I still decided to use this expression here, because looking at the global economy today, Taiwan has a good chance of experiencing a golden decade in the next 20 years. They are opposed to distancing Taiwanese from the Chinese economy and are doing all they can to persuade the government to improve cross-strait relations. Taiwan has never been so close to a golden decade as it is today, but this opportunity could disappear in the blink of an eye. If the officials in charge of the economy continue to muddle along, led by the nose by China-based businesspeople trying to integrate Taiwan’s economy with China’s, there will be no golden decade.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2020 16:05 UTC
Carrefour snaps up Wellcome, Jasons
The France-based hypermarket chain reached an agreement with Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm International Holdings (牛奶國際控股), the pan-Asian retailer that launched Wellcome Taiwan in 1987. People enter a Wellcome supermarket in Taipei yesterday. The quality, prices and service offered to Taiwanese consumers would thus be improved,” Carrefour Taiwan said in a statement. Carrefour Taiwan posted net sales of 1,968 million euros, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 209 million euros and recurring operating income of 83 million euros, it said. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year, and Carrefour Taiwan plans to apply to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for approval soon, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2020 16:00 UTC
Sanatorium residents protest overpass
Sanatorium residents protest overpassBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterResidents of New Taipei City’s Losheng (Happy Life) Sanatorium yesterday protested outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei, demanding that the construction of an overpass near the entrance of the site’s original grounds be halted. However, the government did not engage in any real communication with sanatorium residents when planning the project, it said. The ramp, which would twist through 630 degrees, would be inaccessible by sanatorium residents, most of whom have disabilities, it said. Chang Yun-ming (張雲明), deputy chairwoman of the self-help association, said that in addition to the lack of an environmental impact assessment report, construction on the overpass began without the residents’ knowledge. Moving forward with the development plan for the sanatorium without going through proper environmental impact assessment procedures and addressing safety concerns could pose a risk to the residents and other structures in the area, she added.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2020 16:00 UTC