Austrian Airlines Launches Flight Service to Manchester,Wie het

At Outrigger Mauritius Beach
Resort, Children Eat and Stay
Free This Summer
Special offer for families this summer at Outrigger Mauritius
Beach Resort: for every booking of a family room (half board
or full board basis), up to three children can eat and stay
for free.
PHUKET, THAILAND – At the Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort, for every
booking of a family room (half board or full board basis), up to three
children can eat and stay for free. The ‘Kids Stay Free’ offer is valid
for a minimum of a three-night stay, any time up to 30 September 2015.
Located on an idyllic sandy beach in the south of Mauritius and protected
by a coral lagoon, the Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort offers many
options and facilities for a memorable family getaway.
Guests taking advantage of the offer can stay in a Deluxe Family Seaview
room that has been designed specifically for families. Each room
accommodates two adults and three children up to 17 years old. The room
configuration offers flexibility and privacy for both generations, with a
connecting room featuring bunk beds and a TV for the kids.
Near the beachfront, the Coral Kids Club also offers a range of fully
supervised activities for children up to 12 years old, including treasure
hunts, Mauritian Creole language lessons, fun cooking sessions, and even
spa* treatments.
Kids using the club have access to a shallow kid’s pool, and water slide.
Baby sitting services are also available at the club, which is open 10am
to 10pm.
Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort also has aspecial buffet for children in
Mercado, the main interactive dining restaurant. During the buffet the
kids are supervised by Coral Kids Club hosts. The kids can make new
friends while, separately, parents dine quietly together.
At breakfast time, Coral Kids Club hosts are also there to feed and
supervise the young children.
For
more
information
or
bookings
visit
outriggermauritius.com.
Email [email protected]. Call +230 623 5000.
* For kids’ spa treatments and baby sitting, additional charges apply.
Taiwan not ready to abolish
death penalty: president
Taipei, May 31 (CNA) Taiwan’s
government is currently unable to abolish capital punishment
because society still needs time to reach a consensus on the
issue, presidential spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) cited
President Ma Ying-jeou as saying Sunday.
Chen’s remark came after some interpreted a comment by Ma a
day earlier as a sign that his administration might be
considering abolishing the death penalty.
When asked by a reporter on his view of rising calls against
the scrapping of the death penalty following the recent murder
of an eight-year-old girl in a school bathroom, Ma said two
opposing views have been in the debate for quite some time —
some people believe that capital punishment is unable to
provide a deterrent, while others believe that abolishing the
punishment will actually encourage crime.
“I think we better observe this for some more time,” Ma said.
On Sunday, Chen cited Ma as saying that the government is
unable to scrap capital punishment at the moment, but will
continue to work toward reducing its use.
When meeting recently with a British all-party parliamentary
group in favor of the abolition of the death penalty, Ma noted
that the majority of the people in Taiwan are against
abolishing capital punishment, Chen said.
The president also cited a Ministry of Justice poll in 2012
showing that 76.7 percent of the respondents are against
scrapping the death penalty, while over 85 percent believe
that abolishing the death penalty would affect public
security, Chen said.
(By Liu Li-jung and Christie Chen)
ENDITEM/J
Taiwan’s technical consumer
goods market gains slightly
in Q1: GfK
Taipei, May 31 (CNA) Taiwan’s
technical consumer goods market grew 0.6 percent year-on-year
to achieve NT$54 billion (US$1.75 billion) in the first three
months of 2015, according to German market research and
advisory firm GfK Group.
The
three
growth
sectors
during
the
quarter
were
telecommunications, small domestic appliances and major
domestic appliances, offsetting the double-digit declines
experienced by the remaining three of four sectors —
information technology, photography and consumer electronics,
GfK said in a May 27 report.
The Taiwanese telecommunications sector recorded a strong
performance in the first quarter of 2015, rising by 27.9
percent over the same quarter of last year to attain more than
NT$17 billion.
The main factor driving the sector increase was strong
replacement for two-year contract renewal, with sales for
smartphones and mobile handsets surging by 48.8 percent from a
year earlier, GfK said.
The small domestic appliances sector also increased 11.4
percent year-on-year to NT$4.4 billion in the January-March
period, while the major domestic appliances sector grew 7.2
percent to NT$6.6 billion.
On the flip side, sales in the information technology sector
plunged 16.2 percent to NT$14 billion in the first quarter,
with the photography sector declining 16.3 percent to NT$2.8
billion and the consumer electronics sector contracting 10.9
percent to NT$8.5 billion, GfK figures revealed.
Although Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.37
percent in the first quarter, the 2015 full-year GDP has been
revised down by the government to 3.28 percent due to a
decline in the export index between January and March, GfK
noted.
“In addition, most manufacturers were holding a conservative
attitude toward market performance for the following three
quarters. Thus, we should keep a closer eye on the influence
on Taiwan’s technical consumer market in the coming months,”
said Winnie Kung (龔文穎), a senior analyst at GfK’s Taiwan
branch.
(By Jeffrey Wu)
ENDITEM/J
DPP chair discusses ‘status
quo’ with U.S. academics
Los Angeles, May 30 (CNA) Tsai Ingwen (蔡英文), chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) and the party’s 2016 presidential
candidate, held a closed-door forum with U.S. academics in Los
Angeles Saturday on maintaining the cross-Taiwan Strait status
quo.
After listening to her ideas, most of those present said they
make sense, said Clayton Dube, director of the U.S-China
Institute at the University of South California Annenberg
Journalism School.
However, Dube declined to elaborate on what Tsai discussed at
the forum, as DPP Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told
reporters that “what was discussed will not be made public.”
Asked about the U.S. view of the so-called “1992 consensus,” a
tacit understanding between Taipei and Beijing in which the
two sides accept the idea of “one China,” but retain their own
very different interpretations, Dube said the U.S. accepts
whatever is agreed upon and conducted in peaceful means
between Taiwan and China.
Eight scholars attended the forum with Tsai, including Stanley
Rosen, a political science professor at USC who is also a
member of the U.S-China Institute, and Feng Wang, a sociology
professor at the University of California at Irvine.
On May 8 in Taipei, Tsai said that maintaining the crossstrait status quo means maintaining peace so that both sides
can pursue opportunities for future development under the
premise of peace and stability.
Tsai has declined to support the “1992 consensus,” saying that
the term only became popular in 2000 and noting that even
those who participated in the Hong Kong negotiations in 1992
have expressed different views about the process, including
former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
On May 27, Beijing demanded that Tsai clarify what she means
by “maintaining the status quo” in cross-strait relations if
she is elected president next year.
On May 21, Susan Thornton, deputy U.S. assistant secretary of
state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said in Washington
that regardless of who is elected president next year, the
U.S. “hopes to continue our close cooperation and it must be
said that an important ingredient of that close cooperation in
recent years has been the stable management of cross-strait
ties.”
“We encourage the authorities in both Beijing and Taipei to
continue their constructive dialogue on the basis of dignity
and respect,” Thornton added.
Asked how the U.S. views the “1992 consensus,” Thornton said
that Washington “believes that a firm basis has been
established for that dialogue and interaction to be continued
and I think as far as how to name its foundation and what its
content is, that is something that has to be fleshed out by
Taiwan and mainland China.”
Tsai arrived in Los Angeles Friday on the first leg of a sixcity U.S. tour.
She met with U.S. Representative Ted Lieu (劉雲平) Saturday and
the two discussed labor-related issues and Trans-Pacific
Partnership negotiations. Lieu was born in Taipei and his
grandparents still live in Taiwan.
During a dinner party given by Taiwanese expats welcoming her,
Tsai said the focus of her cross-strait policy is to maintain
the status quo, emphasizing that maintaining the peaceful and
stable development of cross-strait relations will be the main
goal of her administration if she’s elected president next
year.
Tsai told the Taiwanese expatriates that “I am not here for an
interview,” adding that the common language between Taiwan and
the U.S. is “democracy, democracy and democracy” and that the
DPP, if it becomes Taiwan’s ruling party again in 2016, will
make every effort to maintain a stable cross-strait
relationship.
(By Sophia Yeh, Oscar Wu and Kuo Chung-han)
ENDITEM/J
KMT to hold opinion polls on
Hung by end-June
Taipei, May 30 (CNA) The ruling
Kuomintang (KMT) will complete opinion polls on Deputy
Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) by the end of June as
part of its presidential primary process, KMT Vice Chairman
Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said Saturday.
Prior to the polls, the KMT will also organize presentations
all over Taiwan for Hung to voice her campaign promises, Hau,
who heads the party’s nomination screening committee, said
after a meeting with Hung.
Hung is the only candidate who has qualified for the KMT’s
presidential primary. According to KMT rules, if Hung fails to
win 30 percent of support in opinion polls, the KMT can decide
not to nominate her and can draft another candidate.
Hau said he will have further discussions with Hung on the
questions to be asked in the polls.
Also during the meeting, Hung expressed hope that the polls
will focus on her support rating alone rather than comparing
her support rating with those of other candidates, according
to Hau.
In a TVBS poll conducted May 20 and 21, in a three-way race
between Hung, opposition Democratic Progressive Party
Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen — the hot favorite in the 2016
presidential race — and independent candidate Shih Ming-teh, a
former DPP chairman, Hung got 17 percent support compared with
46 percent for Tsai and 6 percent for Shih.
(By Lee Shu-hua and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/J
EU
launches
probe
into
Taiwan’s
exporters
solar
product
Taipei, May 30 (CNA) The European
Union (EU) has launched an investigation into solar product
exporters from Taiwan and Malaysia to determine whether China
has been using the two countries to skirt the financial
penalties imposed by the EU against dumping and subsidies,
according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
The probe was requested by German solar panel maker Solarworld
AG on April 15. The company said that it has presented
sufficient evidence to the EU to show that China’s solar panel
makers shipped their panels through Taiwan and Malaysia to
evade EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.
After the investigation was launched, Taiwanese and Malaysian
exporters of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and
modules will have to register their sales in the EU, and if
the probe determines they did violate the EU rules, the EU
will impose punitive tariffs on the companies dating back to
the date of registration.
However, the MOEA said that Taiwanese solar product exporters
are allowed to present evidence to the EU within 37 days to
clarify that they have not violated anti-dumping and antisubsidy regulations in the continent and have not been
involved in alleged illegal transshipments by China.
The MOEA said that Taiwanese firms will be able to apply for
immunity from being investigated, while presenting evidence to
dispute the allegations.
The ministry said that solar panel export firms and related
groups are urged to present written documents to the EU to
defend themselves, while Taiwanese firms have been advised to
seek investigation immunity as soon as possible.
The MOEA said that the Bureau of Foreign Trade will provide
necessary information and assistance to Taiwanese exporters to
help them go through the difficult time.
The investigation, launched on Friday, is expected to be
completed in nine months.
According to a Bloomberg report, the EU’s decision to launch
an investigation dealt a blow to a 2013 EU-China agreement
aimed at curbing European imports of Chinese solar panels.
The 2013 agreement imposed a minimum price and a volume limit
on European imports of the renewable-energy technology until
the end of this year, the report said, adding that Chinese
manufacturers which opted to take part in the pact are spared
the EU’s financial burdens resulting from anti-dumping and
anti-subsidy rules.
(By Huang Chiao-wen and Frances Huang)
Enditem/cs
Taiwan Navy admiral attends
U.S. Pacific command handover
Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Taiwan’s Navy
Commander Adm. Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) was invited to attend a
combined change of command ceremony for U.S. Pacific Fleet and
U.S. Pacific Command held in Hawaii earlier this week.
Although Taiwan and the United States do not have official
relations, military exchanges between the two countries have
been increasing in recent years.
Lee was invited to the ceremony held at Pearl Harbor May 27,
according to a photo posted on U.S. Chief of Naval Operations
Adm. Jonathan Greenert’s Facebook page. Greenert was among the
senior American military officers present at the ceremony.
In a photo album titled “PACFLT/PACOM Change of Command,”
there is a photo of Greenert talking with Lee after the
ceremony was held. In the photo, Lee wore a black suit and a
white shirt, along with a pin in the shape of the Republic of
China national flag.
Lee’s invitation to the ceremony showed America’s goodwill, a
Taiwanese Navy official said, noting that there has been an
increase in military exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S. in
recent years.
During the joint ceremony, Adm. Harry Harris Jr. took over
U.S. Pacific Command, becoming the first Japanese-American to
head the command. Scott Swift assumed command of U.S. Pacific
Fleet (PACFLT) from Harris.
Lee’s presence at the ceremony, which caught the Taiwanese
media’s attention, followed Taiwan’s participation in the
first amphibious leaders symposium hosted by the U.S. Pacific
Command in Hawaii earlier this month, which brought together
representatives from more than 20 countries.
(By Lu Hsin-hui and Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/ke
DPP
mistaken
comment
as
support
from
U.S.:
KMT
mainland affairs head
Taipei, May 29 (CNA) A notable
Kuomintang (KMT) figure on Friday said that “someone” had
mistaken a comment by a U.S. State Department official as a
gesture supporting the opposition Democratic Progressive
Party.
Such a huge misunderstanding could be problematic, said Kao
Koong-lian (高孔廉), a former deputy chairman of the Straits
Exchange Foundation (SEF), who also serves as a special
consultant to KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and the director of
the KMT’s Department of Mainland Affairs.
At a Brookings Institute speaking event titled “Taiwan: A
vital partner in East Asia” held May 21 in Washington D.C.,
Susan A. Thornton, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S.
State Department’s Bureau of East Asian Pacific Affairs,
commended the firm foundation of dialogue and exchange that
has been established between Taiwan and China, and that
Taiwan, China and even the U.S. have benefited from warming
relations across the strait.
She said that the U.S. supports stable and positive
interactions continuing across the strait. However, Thornton
emphasized that the naming and defining of the content of that
foundation is not “something that the U.S. is in the business
of elaborating.”
According to Kao, Thornton’s comments do not reflect the U.S.
stance on the 1992 consensus, and that the U.S. has no
interest taking an official position on the matter. While the
U.S. had long held a “one China” policy, it has never openly
talked about its “one China” principle, according to Kao.
The opposition party’s cross-strait relations platform of
maintaining the status quo is for Taiwan to steer clear of
unification with China, but also refrain from declaring
independence, said Kao.
While voices against unification are growing strident, Kao
questioned whether voices against declaring independence will
be stifled in the future.
Kao went on to praise the 1992 consensus as the foundation
that has enabled great leaps in cross-strait relations.
He also urged Taiwan’s government to uphold the existence of
the Republic of China, and focus more on stimulating economic
growth, and place less priority on politics.
Without the 1992 consensus, Taiwan will have little chance of
participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the cross-strait trade
in goods and trade in service agreements, said Kao.
Kao’s comments were made ahead of DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ingwen’s 12-day visit to the U.S. Tsai is set to depart for the
trip Friday night.
(By Liu Lih-rong and Ted Chen)
ENDITEM/cs
Taiwan-Japan tourism forecast
to top 5 million visitors in
2015
Yamagata, May 29 (CNA) The number
of visitors traveling between Japan and Taiwan is expected to
exceed 5 million this year as the two countries step up their
efforts to promote tourism, a Taiwanese official said Friday.
David Hsieh (謝謂君), director general of Taiwan’s Tourism
Bureau, said Taiwan and Japan are good at presenting their
culture, history and sports activities as tourist attractions.
Hsieh, who is in Yamagata for the first Taiwan-Japan tourism
forum, said that through further bilateral exchanges, the
number of visitors traveling between the two countries is
expected to rise from about 4.6 million last year to more than
5 million in 2015.
Taiwanese visitors to Japan accounted for 2.97 million of the
4.6 million, which indicated that one in eight Taiwanese
visited the neighboring country in 2014, Hsieh said.
He said that while Japan’s overall number of
travelers fell in 2014 by an annual 15 percent, the
Japanese visitors to Taiwan increased 3.3 percent
Taiwan has become one of top destinations for
tourists, Hsieh said.
outbound
number of
annually.
Japanese
At the tourism summit, Norio Yamaguchi, chairman of the Japan
Travel and Tourism Association, said he was grateful to the
large number of Taiwanese tourists who continue to visit his
country.
Last year, Taiwan was the top source of tourist arrivals to
Japan, according to the association.
Yamaguchi presented certificates of honor and gifts to Hsieh;
Janice Lai (賴瑟珍), head of the Taiwan Visitors Association
(TVA); and Taiwan’s representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯
淳), in a show of appreciation.
Hsieh said the tourism summit will help strengthen cooperation
between the two countries in the tourism industry though
exchanges, particularly among the younger generation.
As part of the exchanges, Taiwan will send a team of chefs to
Japan in July, with the assistance of the TVA, to promote
Taiwanese cuisine.
Also, a model of the landmark Taipei 101 skyscraper will go on
display in October in Tobu World Square, a popular tourist
spot in eastern Japan.
(By Yang Ming-chu and Frances Huang)
Enditem/pc
DPP chairwoman heads to U.S.
on six-city tour
Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Tsai Ing-wen
(蔡英文), chairwoman of the Opposition Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP), will depart Friday night for the United States,
where she will visit six cities in her capacity as the party’s
2016 presidential candidate.
During her 12-day visit, Tsai will meet with U.S. officials
and Taiwanese expatriates in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington
D.C., New York, Houston and San Francisco.
Tsai is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on the first leg of
the tour and will have dinner with Taiwanese expatriates and
Ed Royce, a Congressman from California and chairman of the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
On May 31, Tsai will travel to Chicago, where she will meet
with Taiwanese expatriates. She will be in Washington D.C.
June 1-5, calling on U.S. administration officials, members of
Congress and think tank experts.
One of the highlights of her trip will be a speech on June 3
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The
event will be hosted by Kurt Campbell, former U.S. assistant
secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. There
will be a reception on Capitol Hill that night for Tsai to
meet with members of Congress.
On June 4, Tsai will meet with former U.S. Deputy Secretary of
State Richard Armitage.
Tsai will take a boat cruise on the Potomac and a tour of Old
Town Alexandria on June 5 before traveling by train to New
York, where she will give a speech to the Taiwanese expatriate
community there.
She will arrive in Houston on June 6 and have a dinner with
Taiwanese expatriates.
The final leg of Tsai’s U.S. trip will be San Francisco, where
she will visit the headquarters of CISCO Systems Inc. and
Facebook Inc. and take part in a forum at Stanford University.
Tsai is scheduled to depart the U.S. on June 8 and arrive back
in Taiwan on June 9.
(By Sophia Yeh and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/pc