Su, Yu deny New Taipei candidacy replacement rumors

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and the party’s New Taipei City mayoral candidate, former premier Yu Shyi-kun, yesterday reiterated that reports of Su replacing Yu in the November race were groundless.

A report on Storm Media, an online news Web site, said last week that if Su lost in his re-election bid in the chairman race in May, the chairman might seek to replace Yu in the New Taipei City mayoral election to prolong his political career.

DPP tackles low birthrate in new education policy

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Thu, Feb 27, 2014 - Page 3

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday unveiled a new education policy focused on tackling the challenges of the nation’s low birthrate, the imbalanced development of secondary education, and the supervision and management of private universities.

Education is one of the most important policy areas with regard to Taiwan’s competitiveness, especially since the nation has one of the lowest birthrates in the world, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told a press conference.

DPP condemns premier’s ‘midnight ambush’

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) caucus yesterday condemned what it called the Cabinet’s “hasty and surprising” reshuffle for disrepecting the legislature, as it demanded suspending the ongoing interpellation of Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) because the ministerial changes rendered it meaningless.

The DPP caucus said the reshuffle late on Tuesday night was “another midnight ambush” by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.

Recognition of two further indigenous populations sought

UNIQUE:The two groups’ cultures and languages have been proven different from that of the Tsou group, under which they now are identified, a lawmaker said
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan could recognize its 15th and 16th indigenous groups — the Hla’alua and the Kanakanvu — a government official in charge of Aboriginal affairs said yesterday.

“My ministry is optimistic that the two groups, currently recognized as part of the Tsou group of Greater Kaohsiung, would be recognized separately very soon once a territory issue is resolved,” Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Mayaw Dongi (林江義) told a Legislative Yuan plenary session.

Peng, Koo build ‘submarine’ legal team

WARCRAFT:The non-KMT ‘submarine’ legal team will combat Sean Lien’s ‘aircraft carrier’ team, defending people sued by Lien in the election, Neil Peng said
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Two Taipei mayoral hopefuls have united to assemble a voluntary legal team in preparation for potential legal battles against former Taipei EasyCard Co chairman Sean Lien (連勝文).

Lien, who is a son of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Taipei mayoral hopeful, boasted a strong legal team as part of his campaign office.

Lawmaker calls for executions

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) yesterday demanded the execution of 45 death row inmates, saying that Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) should step down if she failed to see it done.

“All expenditure for death row inmates is illegally allocated budget, and 45 of the 52 inmates — seven were awaiting rulings from their extraordinary appeals — could be executed right after this session,” Wu said in a plenary session of the Legislative Yuan.

EDITORIAL: Avoid outrageous religious rhetoric

There have been several different divisions and tensions during the six decades since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime lost the Chinese Civil War and fled to Taiwan — ethnic tensions between Taiwanese and Mainlanders, and ideological tensions between independence and unification, to name two — with some remaining to this day.

Fortunately, it appeared that religious tensions had never been among them.

In Taiwan, where people are predominantly followers of Taoism and Buddhism, seeing a church sitting right next to a temple on the same street is so common that people do not find anything strange about it. Believers of different faiths usually get along without any problem.

Sean Lien has to address ‘princeling’ status: DPP

LIEN LEGACY:While being rich is not a sin, Sean Lien cannot avoid public scrutiny of the source of his family’s wealth and their alleged close ties to China
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文) will have to address the public’s biggest doubt about his Taipei mayoral bid — his “princeling” status — despite a pledge to donate all his salary to charity to ease those concerns, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its mayoral contenders said yesterday.

The DPP will do whatever it takes to end the “princeling regime” in the nation’s capital, party spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said in response to Lien’s announcement yesterday morning.

Show host questions Lien family’s financial dealings

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文), who yesterday announced his bid for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral primary, and his family members may have benefited from insider trading, political pundit Clara Chou (周玉蔻) said yesterday.

Chou, a News 98 radio show host, aired her allegations at a news conference in Taipei about half an hour before Lien’s own press conference to confirm his bid.

Over 300 officials violate China travel rules: TSU

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

More than 300 public servants traveled to China between 2006 and this year, posing a serious risk to national security, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus told a news conference yesterday.

Citing data provided by various government agencies, the TSU caucus said 366 officials, including those from the military, police and the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau, had traveled illegally to China during the past seven years.

DPP aspirant mayor touts closing Songshan airport

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

A revolutionary plan to transform the Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) into a “grand central park area” will create a “green lung” in the city and revitalize the city’s old and dilapidated west side, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) said yesterday.

Yao, one of five hopefuls in the DPP’s primary for the Taipei mayoral election, told a press conference that his proposal would be “an urban revolution which is able to generate an output value of up to NT$10 trillion [US$329.3 billion].”

Sean Lien ‘must disclose his relations with Beijing’

ON THE ATTACK:Former vice president Annette Lu yesterday singled out Sean Lien and Ko Wen-je, like her Taipei mayoral aspirants, to explain their ties with China
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文), who is scheduled to announce his bid to run in the Taipei mayoral election today, should disclose his relations with Beijing and whether he holds foreign nationality, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday.

Lu is among five DPP contenders in the party’s primary for the election, scheduled for November this year, while Lien, one of the sons of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), is seen as the frontrunner among a number of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hopefuls.

DPP confirms participants, establishes deadline for Ko

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday confirmed that there would be five participants in its primary for the Taipei mayoral election, but independent hopeful Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) could be added as the sixth if he joined the DPP by Wednesday.

An exploratory panel for the Taipei primary completed its task yesterday with the final meeting and confirmed a five-person list that included former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Taipei City Council Deputy Speaker Chou Po-ya (周柏雅), lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and DPP lawmakers Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) and Pasuya Yao (姚文智).

DPP argues over Chinese influence on elections

‘RUDE’:Frank Hsieh said Tung Li-wen’s comments about Hsieh being a favorite of the Chinese were rude because he had left the meeting before Tung began his speech
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), longtime political rivals who could meet in the party’s chairmanship election in May, yesterday exchanged verbal jabs over reports of Chinese interference in the election.

In a keynote speech to the DPP’s Central Standing Committee on Wednesday, Taiwan Thinktank councilor Tung Li-wen (董立文) said Beijing’s planned to “eliminate Su” due to the chairman’s hawkish China policy.

US official vows reaffirmation of TRA

ANNIVERSARY:：A visiting delegation raised other issues including the nation’s defensive capabilities, its possible inclusion in the TPP and Chen Shui-bian’s health
By Shih Hsiu-chuan  /  Staff reporter
Fri, Feb 21, 2014 - Page 3

The head of a visiting US bipartisan congressional delegation has highlighted the importance of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and promised to work on deepening Taiwan-US relations.

US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce yesterday vowed to propose legislation to reaffirm the act in the House of Representatives before April 10, the date the law was enacted in 1979, to highlight the importance of the law to Taiwan-US relations.

DPP, activists sue MOE over curriculum changes

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators and pro-Taiwan advocates yesterday took the Ministry of Education (MOE) to court over its controversial changes to high-school textbook guidelines, filing a lawsuit against Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) for document forgery at the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office.

Lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said that Chiang on Jan. 27 convened a ministry meeting to review the proposed changes, at which it was concluded that a panel composed of high-school teachers and experts who had discussed the proposal earlier agreed with the “minor adjustments” to high-school textbook guidelines in the fields of language and social studies, which cover three disciplines: history, geography and civics.

Ma’s urgency over joining TPP has a ‘political agenda’

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent sense of urgency about joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and his deliberate linking of the TPP and the completion of the cross-strait service trade agreement had a political agenda behind them and Ma has completely “missed the point” of Taiwan’s pursuit of joining regional economic integration, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.

After saying two-and-a-half years ago that Taiwan would try to join the TPP in eight years, Ma has suddenly changed his tune on the issue, saying on Jan. 1 that Taiwan should join the agreement “as soon as possible” and organized a series of seminars for Taiwanese diplomats this week on the topic.

Xi’s comments against public opinion: DPP

NOT AN OPTION:The Chinese president in meeting with former vice president Lien Chan again proposed ‘one country, two systems,’ but Taiwanese do not accept it, the DPP said
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) comments that suggested using the longstanding Beijing cross-strait initiative of “one country, two systems (一國兩制)” in dealing with Taiwan violated mainstream public opinion in the nation and will not be accepted as an option in cross-strait relations, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.

In Xi’s meeting with former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) in Beijing on Tuesday, Xi was quoted by state-owned Xinhua news agency as saying that China “respects the social system and lifestyle that Taiwanese compatriots have chosen” and it “completely understands how Taiwan compatriots feel.”

Eric Chu’s family ties a cause for concern: TSU

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday accused New Taipei City (新北) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) of potential corruption and his wife of receiving benefits from illegal public bids involving companies owned by her father.

The new accusations came one day after the TSU accused Chu and his father-in-law, Kao Yu-jen (高育仁), of violating the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest (公務人員利益衝突迴避法) because the Kao family had secured government projects worth almost NT$1.2 billion (US$40 million) over the past 12 years while Chu served as Taoyuan County commissioner, vice premier and New Taipei City mayor.

Concert held to commemorate DPP’s Chai Trong-rong

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

A memorial concert was held yesterday in Taipei to pay tribute to late independence movement pioneer and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) in honor of his dedication to the pursuit of freedom, democracy and independence in Taiwan.

Chai died of multiple organ failure on Jan. 11 at the age of 78. He had been hospitalized after a brain stem hemorrhage left him in a coma on Dec. 18 last year.

Ko says no rush to decide about DPP

DEADLINE:The DPP says it wants an answer from the doctor-turned-politician by Wednesday next week on whether he will join the party or stay independent
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Physician Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), frontrunner among the pan-green camp aspirants for the Taipei mayoral election, yesterday said he was caught in the dilemma over whether to join the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but he would not rush a decision.

“Joining the DPP and running as a DPP candidate in the election in November could drive away independent voters and, according to various polls, end up costing 5 percent of the total votes, which could be crucial to the election outcome,” Ko said on the sidelines of a campaign stop.

DPP gives Jiang poor report card in annual review

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) has performed miserably in his first year on the job, particularly with respect to the economy, and the future does not look bright because he has refused to reshuffle his poorly performing Cabinet, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.

“Unfortunately, we could only give him a low score after a comprehensive review of the Cabinet’s performance over the past year,” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) told a press conference in Taipei.

EDITORIAL: No need for more foreign names

Tue, Feb 18, 2014 - Page 8

The name of a street, a town or a location in Taiwan often has special meaning and reflects the nation’s complex history. For example, Roosevelt Road in Taipei was named in memory of former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt, while the Barclay Memorial Park in Greater Tainan was named after Reverend Thomas Barclay, a Briton, for his contribution to the city.

Greater Taichung’s Fengyuan District (豐原), with its name coming from the translation of Toyohara, was among numerous townships and cities that shared a history under the Japanese colonial period.

New Taipei City denies Chu-tied firm given projects

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The New Taipei City (新北市) Government yesterday denied the Taiwan Solidarity Union’s (TSU) accusation that New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) had given a company owned by Chu’s father-in-law government projects worth almost NT$1.2 billion (US$40 million) over the past 12 years.

FiberLogic Communications, a technology firm that Kao Yu-jen (高育仁), Chu’s father-in-law, established in 1999, has won 12 government bids, including five limited tenders, totaling NT$1.18 billion between 2001, when Chu served as Taoyuan County commissioner, and last year, the TSU caucus told a press conference yesterday morning.

Neil Peng announces Taipei mayoral bid

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Award-winning screenwriter and author Neil Peng announces his bid for the Taipei mayoral election at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Politics in Taiwan have been boring and full of meaningless rhetoric for far too long and it should be a combination of humor and seriousness, highlighting grassroot voices, award-winning writer Neil Peng (馮光遠) said yesterday at a press conference announcing his bid for the Taipei mayoral election.

Meeting shows Ma wants unification, groups claim

‘BETRAYAL’:A platform for cross-strait negotiation has now been established, meaning Ma has reneged on his promise to allow Taiwanese to decide their own future, critics say
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The first cross-strait government-to-government meeting has again reflected President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pro-unification stance and could jeopardize Taiwan’s future dealings with China because it had trapped Taipei in Beijing’s political agenda, pro-localization advocates said yesterday.

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi’s (王郁琦) failure to bring up the sovereignty issue and challenge Beijing’s anti-Taiwan independence claim in his meeting with Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) in Nanjing last week showed that Ma has always been a unification advocate who does not see the interests of the Taiwanese as his priority, Taiwan Society president Chang Yen-hsien (張炎憲) told a news conference in Taipei.

Neil Peng set to announce campaign for Taipei mayor

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Award-winning screenwriter and author Neil Peng (馮光遠) is set to officially announce his bid in the Taipei mayoral election today as an independent, further ensuring that the seven-in-one municipal elections in November are likely to be one of the most colorful campaigns in recent history.

Peng, 61, is known for political satire in his columns and blog posts, in particular against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), as well as his one-liners, but he said his campaign would be serious, in an effort to make Taipei a better city.

Taiwan Solidarity Union dismisses Wang’s efforts

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi’s (王郁琦) visit to China last week has hindered cross-strait relations, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said yesterday.

The outcomes “paled in comparison” with the results of past bilateral engagements, TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said.

DPP’s mayoral hopefuls meet to discuss Ko issue

UNDECIDED:The aspirants for the DPP Taipei mayoral election primary did not reach a consensus on the inclusion of independent Ko Wen-je in the primary
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The five aspirants in the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) primary for the Taipei mayoral election met yesterday for discussions over independent Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) possible inclusion in the primary, but concluded the meeting without a consensus.

The meeting, convened by DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) at the party headquarters in Taipei, tried to resolve the issue of whether the DPP should tweak its regulations by allowing Ko in the primary as an independent, an issue that has been debated for months.

Wang, Ma administration made mistakes: opposition

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Sat, Feb 15, 2014 - Page 1

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration committed several fatal mistakes during Wang’s landmark visit to China, in particular the failure to reject the “one China” framework and China’s unilateral rhetoric of a consensus having been reached, the opposition parties said yesterday.

Wang returned to Taipei yesterday after a four-day trip to the Chinese cities of Nanjing and Shanghai, during which Taiwanese and Chinese government officials held historic, but “unofficial” direct talks for the first time in 65 years.

Hsieh unveils his DPP campaign platform

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday unveiled his campaign platform for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairmanship election in May, focusing on three key areas — a feasible China policy, party reform and central government reform.

“I believe that the ‘two constitutions, different interpretations’ (憲法各表) initiative I’ve been advocating for more than three years is a feasible China policy that should help the party cross ‘the last mile’ and return to power [in 2016],” Hsieh said during a meeting with reporters.

DPP, TSU want to grill MAC’s Wang

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The opposition yesterday demanded that Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) report to the legislature and offer clarification on the consensus that Beijing claimed has been reached in the historic government-to-government meeting after his scheduled return from a four-day visit to China today.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) recognizes the institutionalization of government-to-government communication, but is concerned about several issues with serious political implications, said Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), executive director of the party’s Policy Research Committee.

DPP chair hints at re-election bid

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday gave the strongest hint yet about a possible re-election bid, paving the way for a potential three-way race in the party’s chairmanship election in May.

Su, former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) are all expected to enter the race, but so far only Hsieh has publicly announced his bid.

Chiou to decide by month-end about running in Yilan

Staff writer, with CNA

Health and Promotion Administration Director-General Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) said yesterday she would decide by the end of the month whether to take part in the Yilan County commissioner election in November.

Chiou, who served as director of Taipei City’s Bureau of Health during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) stint as mayor of Taipei, said two reasons prompted her to consider running in the election.

Wang pays homage to ROC founder Sun

EMOTIONAL:：The Mainland Affairs Council minister said in a visit to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum that the ROC was the first democracy in Asia and ‘reality’ must be ‘faced’
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Thu, Feb 13, 2014 - Page 3

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday paid homage to Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), the founding father of the Republic of China (ROC), in a visit to Sun’s mausoleum in the Chinese city of Nanjing and mentioned the ROC in his remarks despite Chinese officials and media playing down the comments.

Wang yesterday became the first ROC official to visit the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in his official capacity, on the second day of his four-day visit to China.

MAC Minister Wang in historic meeting

NO SURPRISES:：The issue of a potential meeting between Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping at an APEC summit in Beijing was not raised at the meeting
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Wed, Feb 12, 2014 - Page 1

Taiwanese and Chinese officials yesterday held the first direct and the highest-level talks since 1949, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) fled to Taiwan following its defeat by the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War.

The historic meeting between Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and his counterpart, Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), in the Chinese city of Nanjing, which agreed to establish a communication channel for future engagement, marked the first time in 65 years that government representatives from across the Taiwan Strait had held talks in their official capacities, despite more than a dozen agreements having been signed during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) two terms in office.

DPP files complaint over history textbook changes

‘POLITICAL TOOL’:The party said it would ‘declare war’ with the Ministry of Education over its ‘political brainwashing’ and urged impeachment for its minister
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday filed a complaint with the Control Yuan over what it said was the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) administrative errors in its recent effort to change high-school history textbook outlines.

The ministry approved the adjusted outlines on Monday night despite strong public outcry over its perceived attempts at “de-Taiwanization and sinicization.”

Wellington Koo submits DPP primary proposal

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Wellington Koo (顧立雄), an aspirant in the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) primary for the Taipei mayoral election, yesterday submitted a proposal to resolve the longstanding dispute about the party’s nomination process.

Unveiling his “three-step” proposal at a press conference yesterday, Koo proposed that the DPP complete its primary, which would be conducted in the form of a public opinion poll, by the end of next month.

EDITORIAL: Implications of independence polls

Tue, Feb 11, 2014 - Page 8

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 2008 presidential campaign was widely interpreted as evidence of Taiwanese disgust at the alleged corruption of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration and as a wish for better cross-strait ties with Beijing.

Ma’s 2012 re-election appeared to affirm that interpretation, at least to the international community and Taiwan’s major democratic allies, but only until the pro-unification Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) leaves office.

DPP must work with social forces: Tsai

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has to realize that it is no longer the sole driving force behind Taiwan’s progress and that it must collaborate with social forces to move the country forward, former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.

“The DPP could again play a critical role in facilitating changes in Taiwan only if it adjusts its outdated and rigid policies and creates a new dimension for party politics in Taiwan,” Tsai said in a speech to the Friends of Tsai Ing-wen, an organization established to strengthen her outreach to local communities.

New TSU legislators take oath of office in Taipei

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators Lai Cheng-chang (賴振昌) and Chou Ni-an (周倪安) were sworn in at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, with both promising to adhere to the party’s opposition to the cross-strait service trade agreement.

Lai and Chou took the seats of Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) and Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲), who finished their two-year terms.

Journalists, DPP condemn visa denial

CENSORSHIP:：An International Federation of Journalists official said there had been several examples recently of Beijing targeting journalists by refusing them visas
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Tue, Feb 11, 2014 - Page 3

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday condemned China for its refusal to issue visas to two Taiwanese journalists who had planned to cover Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi’s (王郁琦) visit to China.

The reporters from the Chinese-language Apple Daily and Radio Free Asia were among the 89 local journalists who had applied for visas to cover Wang’s four-day trip and the unprecedented meeting between the council and the Taiwan Affairs Office that begins today in Nanjing.

DPP denies Su wasting party funds

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday denied that Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had misused or wasted party funds by using the funding process to benefit his re-election campaign.

The Chinese-language China Times yesterday reported that the party had raised the allocation rate of DPP employees’ retirement reserve funds from 6 percent to 8 percent, adding NT$1.65 million (US$54,430) to the party’s annual expenses, even though it has been in the red since Su’s two-year term began in May 2012.

Tsai not ready to announce bid

ELECTION FUSS:The DPP chairmanship race is still wide open, while the party faces complaints about delays in finalizing the selection process for the Taipei mayoral poll
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) remained low-key about whether she would seek the party’s chairmanship again, even as discussions about possible contenders becomes more heated.

“I am still thinking about it and there is no timetable set for the official announcement of my decision. I hope that I can give it more thought,” Tsai said on the sidelines of the Taipei International Book Exhibition, where she took part in a forum.

DPP denies nomination reports

BACKING THE PHYSICIAN?：Storm Media reported that after Ko Wen-je visited Su Tseng-chang, the DPP had decided not to nominate a candidate in Taipei
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Fri, Feb 07, 2014 - Page 3

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday denied it had decided to support National Taiwan University Hospital physician Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) bid in the Taipei mayoral election as an independent in November and that it would not nominate its own candidate.

Storm Media, an online news Web site, reported yesterday that the DPP had decided it would not nominate its own candidate in the Taipei election to boost Ko’s chance of winning after the aspirant’s meeting with DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) during the Lunar New Year holidays.

DPP urges MOE to reveal decisionmaking process

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday again called for the Ministry of Education (MOE) to abolish its adjustment to the high-school curriculum and disclose the process of how the adjustment was made, as well as the complete list of members of the task force.

The party was referring to the ministry’s plan to revise the nation’s high-school curriculum. When the revisions are implemented in September next year at the beginning of the academic year, among the major changes will be the addition of the word “mainland” in references to China in Chinese-language history textbooks and the 50-year period of Japanese rule over Taiwan would be referred to as “Japanese colonial rule.”

FEATURE: German man’s case shows immigration law failings

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Wed, Feb 05, 2014 - Page 3

When Daniel Helmdach arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on March 8 last year, he was informed by National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials that he could not enter since he had been banned from entering Taiwan for three years in 2011 and was immediately sent back.

The ban, effective to July this year, prohibits the 22-year-old German from entering Taiwan — where he resided for a year in 2010 and 2011 as a volunteer for two non-profit organizations — and was given to him for participating in a peaceful anti-nuclear protest at Tainan Station on June 11, 2011.

According to immigration officials, Helmdach violated the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) by engaging in “activities or employment that is different from the purposes of their visit or residence.”