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“The DPP could again play a critical role in facilitating changes in Taiwan only if it adjusts its outdated and rigid policies and creates a new dimension for party politics in Taiwan,” Tsai said in a speech to the Friends of Tsai Ing-wen, an organization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

Pasuya Yao joins DPP primary for mayoral election

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) yesterday announced his bid in the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) primary for the Taipei mayoral election, becoming the latest contender on an already crowded list of pan-green camp aspirant candidates.

Yao was the sixth pan-green aspirant to announce participation in the primary, with former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄), incumbent lawmaker Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財), Taipei City Council deputy speaker Chou Po-ya (周柏雅) as well as National Taiwan University Hospital physician Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), an independent, already in the mix.