House arrest urged for ex-president

CRITICAL SITUATION:As former president Chen’s health continues to worsen, concerned parties called for him to be cared for at home rather than confined to jail
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and a group of physicians and lawyers yesterday urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to put imprisoned former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) under house arrest, saying that Chen’s life is in danger because of health complications.

“Chen’s body, mind and spirit have been devastated by being locked up in prison for more than 1,500 days and by various illnesses. The best and the only way for him to fully heal is to give him a normal life, allowing him to go home and spend time with his family,” Lu told a press conference yesterday.

Legislators wonder about Ma’s silence

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday said they were speculating about why President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has stayed silent on the controversial Cabinet reshuffle, but instead has been vocal about how to handle drunk-driving violations.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) confirmed yesterday that Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, had telephoned him and said he hoped Hsieh would propose tighter regulations on drunk driving. The proposed new regulations would lower the allowable blood-alcohol limit from the current 0.55 milligrams of alcohol per liter to 0.25 milligrams, as detected in breath tests, and violators would be subject to preventive detention, Hsieh said.

Taiwan ‘should be a part of security’

REGIONAL DUTY:Taiwan should not be ignored and excluded from security plans for the Asia-Pacific region, a senior Japanese politician told the visiting DPP chairman
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan should not be excluded from the security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, former Japanese defense minister and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba reportedly told Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) during a meeting.

In an interview with Taiwanese media following his breakfast meeting with Su — who is in Tokyo on a five-day visit — yesterday morning, Nobuo Kishi, an LDP senator, provided details on Ishiba’s closed-door meeting with Su on Monday, the DPP said in a press release.

Lawmakers voice concerns over human rights review

By Chris Wang and Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter and staff writer, with CNA

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and human rights groups yesterday raised concerns over the government’s response to an upcoming review of Taiwan’s human rights report by a UN panel.

A group of international experts is scheduled to review Taiwan’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights between Feb. 25 and Feb. 27, almost four years after the nation ratified the covenants.

Lu proposes initiative for Diaoyutais

FISHY BUSINESS:Former vice president Annette Lu remained uncommitted about attempts by Taiwanese fishermen to sail to the Diaoyutais to assert their fishing rights
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday proposed an initiative to demilitarize the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and turn them into a protected marine zone.

At a press conference at her office in Taipei, Lu said that while Taiwan’s sovereignty of the islands — known in Japan as the Senkakus — is indisputable, the initiative advocates a three-step approach to resolve their status.

Taiwan, China and Japan all claim sovereignty over the islands, which are located in the East China Sea.

Visiting Su touts closer ties with Japan

COMMON VALUES:The DPP chairman stressed the affinities between the two nations, said protecting fishing rights should take priority in the Diaoyutais and took a swipe at Ma
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan-Japan relations could be strengthened to promote regional stability because both countries share the values of democracy, freedom and human rights, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said in Tokyo yesterday.

“The DPP hopes that Taiwan and Japan can strengthen their bilateral partnership as members of a democratic alliance, which would make the Asia-Pacific a region of security, stability and prosperity by promoting dialogue and closer engagement,” Su said on the second day of his five-day visit to Japan.

Su in Japan in first trip as DPP leader

TOKYO TIES:The DPP chairman, accompanied by a 30-strong delegation, is to meet Japanese lawmakers and academics during his trip to promote bilateral relations
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and a DPP delegation arrived in Tokyo yesterday for a five-day visit to promote closer bilateral ties with Japan.

Su delivered a speech to Taiwanese expatriates in Japan about the importance of bilateral ties between political parties, think tanks and lawmakers in the first stop of his visit, which is the first overseas trip he has made since he assumed the party leadership in May last year.

Vice premier lashes out at DPP pension reform plan

PREMIUM RATES:：Su Tseng-chang rebutted Jiang Yi-huah’s comments that the party’s proposal would increase the burden on workers and benefit capitalists
By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Chris Wang  /  Staff reporters
Fri, Feb 01, 2013 - Page 1

Following criticism over its proposed changes to the Labor Pension Fund, which would see higher premium payments and lower payouts for private-sector workers, the Cabinet yesterday countered that the opposition’s proposal would place workers at a greater disadvantage.

In an interview with Hit FM radio early yesterday, Vice Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), the architect behind the Cabinet’s reform proposal, said that he was “shocked” at the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) proposal, which he said would “double the premium burden on workers compared with the Cabinet’s proposal.”

Less support for independence: poll

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

An opinion poll released yesterday found that support for independence has fallen to its lowest level in three years, despite a majority of Taiwanese remaining opposed to unification with China.

Forty-four percent of respondents supported Taiwan’s eventual independence, the lowest figure since December 2009 and a drop of more than 10 percentage points from the 55.4 percent recorded in a poll conducted in August last year, according to Taiwan Indicators Survey Research (TISR).

Editorial: Denying the ‘China factor’

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 - Page 8

A fresh round of altercations over media monopolization broke out this week as a Macau-based professor and a media outlet accused a Taiwanese graduate student of having misled renowned US academic Noam Chomsky to gain the linguist’s endorsement for the movement against media monopolization and Chinese influence on Taiwan’s media.

An image of the 84-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor posing with a poster that read: “Anti-Media Monopoly. Say no to China’s black hands, defend press freedom. I am safeguarding Taiwan here in MIT,” was posted on Facebook, giving the local movement a morale boost.