Kinmen turning fortified islet into tourism destination

Taoyuan airport planning for
expected growth in passenger
traffic
Taipei,
Sept.
24
(CNA)
Taiwan
Taoyuan International Airport is planning to introduce several
new procedures that are likely to expand its capacity to 45
million passengers per year by 2018, as it seeks to deal with
an estimated 10 percent annual growth in passenger traffic,
the airport operator said Thursday.
The focus will be mainly on improving boarding efficiency by
installing more self-service facilities for passenger check-in
processing and bag drops, said Fei Hourng-jiun (費鴻鈞), chief
executive officer of Taoyuan Airport Corp.
For instance, up to 10 bag drop kiosks could be installed at
Taipei Main Station when the new MRT line between Taipei and
the Taoyuan airport opens next March, he said.
That would allow passengers to check their luggage even before
they arrive at the airport, and has the potential to increase
the airport’s annual capacity by 1 million passengers, Fei
said.
“We hope to increase use of the automatic boarding process to
about 20 percent of the total number of passengers by 2018,”
Fei said.
Currently, about 95 percent of the passengers at the Taoyuan
airport rely on ground staff to process their luggage, he
said.
At present, the airport’s Terminal 1 is capable of handling 15
million passengers a year, while the capacity of Terminal 2 is
17 million, statistics show.
The plan is to increase capacity to around 45 million
passengers a year by 2018, Fei said.
He said there were 35 million arrivals and departures at the
airport last year, and the annual number is likely to grow to
100 million by 2042, which is why the airport must plan ahead.
The plans include expanding Terminal 2, building two more
terminals, creating more shopping areas and adding another
5,000 parking spaces, he said.
Passenger arrivals and departures at the country’s main
gateway are estimated to grow about 10 percent per year as a
result of increased tourism since the launch of direct flights
between Taiwan and China and the visa-free treatment granted
to Taiwan nationals by an increasing number of countries, the
airport operator said.
(By Lee Hsin-Yin)
ENDITEM/pc
How to celebrate Mid-Autumn
Festival in Taiwan
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) The annual
Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) celebration of the harvest moon in
the Chinese lunar calendar is a time when families reunite to
worship the moon and the coming of fall, and those in the
Western Hemisphere will have the added bonus of a rare super
blood moon this year.
The moon festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month in
the lunar calendar, which this year is Sept. 27, and there
will be a three-day national holiday in Taiwan to celebrate
the festival from Sept. 26-28.
●Moon gazing spots
The harvest moon is often, but not always, the largest full
moon of the year, and for those in the Western Hemisphere,
Europe, and Africa this year it’s a super moon, which means it
most closely coincides with perigee — the moon’s closest point
to Earth in its orbit.
The Western Hemisphere, Europe, and Africa will also be
treated with a blood moon, meaning that there will be a full
lunar eclipse, giving it a deep red hue.
Unfortunately, at the time of the
super moon and eclipse during the evening of Sept. 27 in the
Eastern U.S., it will be too low on the horizon to be observed
in Taiwan, where it will be daylight.
In Taipei, the most picturesque spots to view the full moon in
the evening of Sept. 27 include Yangmingshan, Daan Park,
Danshui Fisherman’s Wharf and Maokong.
Other good viewing spots around the island include Wuling Farm
in Taichung, Alishan in Chiayi County, Anping in Tainan, Sizhi
Bay in Kaohsiung, Nanwan in Pingtung, and Dongshan River Water
Park in Yilan.
●Activities
In Taiwan, the celebration consists mainly of eating moon
cakes, pomelos, and BBQ. In recent years, the most popular way
for people to mark the occasion is to gather with friends and
relatives and barbecue on the sidewalk in front of one’s house
or business, in public parks, and along riverside parks.
During the moon festival holiday, the Taipei city government
will open up a total of 20 riverside parks to allow public
barbecuing. One of the most popular is Dajia Riverside Park,
which is in sight of Dazhi Bridge and the Grand Hotel.
On the south side of the city next to Huazhong Bridge is the
Huazhong Riverside Park, the country’s largest riverside
campsite, able to accommodate 800 campers.
If you’re looking for free food and entertainment, check out
your community park, because chances are they will have some
free food such as barbecued wild boar and offer live musical
performances and the chance to sing Taiwanese KTV songs. The
details about public park festivities will be listed on your
neighborhood and apartment complex bulletin boards.
Like all important events in the lunar calendar, the pious
visit temples and offer prayers during this time, but there
are not many special temple fairs or other events in the
temples on the island in comparison with other times of year
such as the Lunar New Year or Ghost Month.
Unlike other parts of the world that observe the lunar
calendar, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan does not have much in the
way of major lantern displays during the Moon Festival. The
best times to catch a glimpse of lanterns in Taiwan are on the
15th day of first month of the lunar year (元宵節, Chinese
Lantern Festival), when you can see the sky lanterns in Pingxi
in New Taipei, and during the Ghost Festival (中元節) on the 15th
day of the 7th lunar month, when you can see the water
lanterns in Keelung.
●Moon cakes
There are conflicting theories over the origin of moon cakes.
Many attribute them to the moon goddess Chang’e (嫦娥) , who
legend has it took an immortality elixir and floated to the
moon. The other theory is that the moon cakes were distributed
to all Han Chinese with a hidden message telling them to rebel
against the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
In addition to the moon, the round shape of the cake also
symbolizes unity for Chinese families and the mid-Autumn
Festival is a time for relatives to gather together.
Five kernel and roast pork is the most traditional flavor,
with a mixture of five types of nuts and seeds and pork. Those
with a red bean paste are a sweeter variety. Lotus seed paste
is also common, often with the added surprise of a duck egg
filling. Another sweet variety is jujube paste, which is made
with red dates and has a dark red hue. Egg yolk moon cakes are
another traditional variety, and are filled with a whole,
salted egg yolk, which is placed in the center to symbolize
the moon.
Modern variants of moon cakes now have an ever-changing
plethora of flavors to suit modern tastes, such as green tea,
chocolate, cream cheese, durian and various flavors of ice
cream.
(By Keoni Everington)
ENDITEM/J
Skype co-founder looking to
invest in Taiwanese startup
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) Geoffrey
Prentice, co-founder of the online phone and video chat
service Skype, said Wednesday that he expects to find his next
investment target in Taiwan as he is now funding Asian
startups with growth potential.
Prentice, a managing partner at Oriente Holdings in Hong Kong
and former chief strategy officer at Skype, said that Oriente
Holdings has agreed to invest in four startups mainly in Asia,
putting US$5 million to US$250 million into each of them.
The next target will be a Taiwanese startup that will be
selected in the next few days after evaluating the candidates’
operations, possible market reception, and communication
channels, said Prentice, who is in Taiwan for one week.
He is expected to visit several Taiwanese startups and four
major local incubators, including AppWorks Ventures (之初創投),
Garage+ (時代育成計畫), InnoSquare (新北創力坊) and Taiwan Startup
Stadium (TSS, 台灣新創競技場).
Taiwan has a lot of “soft power” after 40 years of innovation
and its startup industry has matured with the help of the
government and the private sector, Prentice said at a press
briefing.
Prentice is known for his efforts in 2004 to create the
current partnership between Skype and Taiwanese Web portal
PChome Online Inc. (網路家庭).
(By Chen Cheng-wei and Jeffrey Wu)
ENDITEM/pc
Speculations about ‘comfort
women’ uncivilized: Ma
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) President Ma
Ying-jeou (馬英九) said Thursday that it is uncivilized to
speculate about whether the “comfort women” who provided sex
services to Japanese servicemen during World War II had done
so voluntarily.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has classified
“comfort women” as military sex slaves, therefore, it is only
takes commonsense to understand that they had not been serving
voluntarily, the president said.
Many countries have passed resolutions condemning Japan’s
practice of forcing tens of thousands of Asian women into
prostitution during the war and have demanded an apology from
Japan, Ma pointed out.
Under such circumstances, how can anyone speculate about
whether those women had been providing voluntary services, he
said.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII but
the comfort women issue is still being debated, Ma said.
“If we continue to speculate on the issue, how would other
people look at us? We would be no different from an
uncivilized country,” the president said.
Regarding the issue of whether Taiwan was colonized by Japan
during the war, Ma said it is an indisputable historical fact.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Aug. 14 issued a
“heartfelt apology” for Japan’s “aggression” and “colonial
rule” in Asia, Ma said, during an award ceremony for
outstanding educators.
He also urged people in the education sector not to spread
false historical information.
(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Evelyn Kao)
Enditem/pc
Documentary
on
fishermen
premieres on ship in southern
Taiwan
Taipei,
Sept.
23
(CNA)
A
documentary film that records the lives of fishermen working
aboard Taiwanese ocean-going vessels premiered Tuesday on a
ship at the Chienchen Fishing Port (前鎮漁港) in Kaohsiung,
southern Taiwan.
Shot by directors Kuo Chen-ti (郭珍弟) and Ko Neng-yuan (柯能源)
over a period of six years, the 112-minute film, titled
“Trapped at Sea, Lost in Time” (海上情書) documents the loneliness
and hardships of working on a blue-water vessel.
Fishermen on such vessels often work long hours in harsh
environments, and can be away from their homes and families
for years.
The film follows a vessel from the Chienchen Fishing Port to
places such as the Marshall Islands and Papua New Guinea.
“We hope audiences will go see the film because we hope to
facilitate people’s understanding of each other and bring them
closer to the ocean,” Kuo said.
The film will hit local theaters Oct. 23.
(By Christie Chen)
ENDITEM/J
Tsai
Ing-wen
reaffirms
position
that
Diaoyutais
belong to Taiwan
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) Tsai Ing-wen
(蔡英文), the opposition Democratic Progressive Party’s
chairwoman and presidential candidate, reaffirmed her position
Wednesday regarding the status of the Diaoyutai islands,
saying that “they belong to Taiwan.”
Tsai will lead a delegation to visit Japan Oct. 6-10, and the
local media raised the question of the Diaoyutais while she
was attending a Hakka cultural and tourism event in Taoyuan (桃
園).
Former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) claimed in late July while
visiting Japan that the Diaoyutai Islands in the East China
Sea belong to Japan. Lee’s remarks led to great controversy in
Taiwan and were severely criticized by some political leaders,
including President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Referring to questions about the possible impact of a
forthcoming visit to the United States by Chinese President Xi
Jinping (習近平), Tsai said the DPP has maintained constant
communications with concerned parties in the U.S. and is
monitoring developments closely.
Speaking on the DPP’s foreign policy, Tsai pointed out that
when she mentions the importance of Southeast Asia and India
in the party’s “southward policy,” it does not mean that the
DPP will neglect other markets.
Addressing the importance of Southeast Asia and India in
Asia’s economic development, Tsai said that in the past,
Taiwanese businesses have invested in these regions, and she
expressed hope that more cooperation projects, such as joint
venture projects and integrated and systematic exchanges, will
be realized in the future.
Both presidential spokesman Chen I-hsin (陳以信) and Foreign
Minister David Lin (林永樂) commented on Tsai’s “southward
policy,” describing it as “nothing new.”
Chen in particular even suggested that Tsai’s “new policy” is
actually cherry-picked fragments of the content of President
Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “viable diplomacy.”
(By S.P. Tsai, P.C. Tang and Lillian Lin)
ENDITEM/J
Blizzard Asia-Pacific finals
to be held in Taiwan for
first time
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) The AsiaPacific tournament finals of three games published by U.S.based Blizzard Entertainment Inc. that will determine the
regional qualifiers for the BlizzCon World Championship will
soon take place in Taiwan for the first time.
The Asia-Pacific Championship will be held Oct. 2-4 at the ATT
Show Box in Taipei’s Xinyi District and mainly feature teams
and players from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau that will compete
in the games World of Warcraft (魔獸世界), Hearthstone (爐石戰記) and
Heroes of the Storm (暴雪英霸).
The winners of the Asia-Pacific tournament will earn berths in
the World Championship of BlizzCon 2015, which will be held on
Nov. 6-7 in California.
Blizzard eSports Senior Manager Kim Phan told Taiwanese media
in a conference call Tuesday that Taiwan was chosen to host
the Asia-Pacific regional finals because of the country’s
passionate fans and skilled eSport players.
Asked about the possibility of organizing female-only eSports
tournaments, Phan said Blizzard had considered such
tournaments but was still “cautiously thinking” about the
project.
She said the company will try to better understand why women
are hesitant to become involved in eSports so that it can
create a more friendly environment for female players.
There have been incidents of verbal bullying of female players
in recent competitions, according to Phan.
(By Han Ting-ting and Jeffrey Wu)
ENDITEM/ls
Foreign minister: DPP head’s
‘southward policy’ in line
with policy
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has been working to promote ties with
Southeast Asian countries in recent years, and the “new
southward policy” proposed by opposition Democratic
Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is
in line with the ministry’s efforts, Foreign Minister David
Lin (林永樂) said Wednesday.
Lin said that “we’ve been making efforts to advance our ties
with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and India.”
The direction of Tsai’s proposal is in line with the
ministry’s efforts to promote ties with Southeast Asian
countries, he said in response to reporters’ questions on the
issue.
On Tuesday, Tsai said that ASEAN and India will soon become
major economies in the world and that “it is a natural choice
for us to step up overall relations with ASEAN and India” as
Taiwan seeks to diversify its trade.
“In the future, we will establish a task force to actively
execute the goals of the policy,” she said.
Tsai, the front runner in the Jan. 16, 2016 presidential
election, made the remarks at a cocktail party for foreign
envoys in Taiwan as the DPP celebrated its 29th founding
anniversary.
The easing of tension across the Taiwan Strait has also helped
improve Taiwan’s international relations over the past few
years, Lin said, adding that Taiwan’s investment in Southeast
Asia has increased over the past two years.
(By Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/J
Taiwan, U.S. to hold latest
round of TIFA talks in early
October
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) The latest
round of talks between Taiwan and the United States under the
bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) is
scheduled for early October, Foreign Minister David Lin (林永樂)
said Wednesday.
“The talks are set to take place Oct. 1 in Taipei,” Lin said
during a hearing at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and
National Defense Committee, in response to a lawmaker’s
questions.
Reiterating remarks by Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng
(鄧振中) earlier this month, Lin said the issue of U.S. pork
imports will not be included on the formal agenda of the
upcoming talks.
But he did not rule out the possibility that the U.S. will
bring the issue up during the major trade talks between the
two countries.
Although the U.S. pork issue is not listed on the agenda of
the talks, Deng has said that both sides have continued to
communicate with each other on the issue, albeit on a small
scale.
Taiwan maintains a ban on imports of U.S. pork that contains
traces of ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing drug that is
banned in Taiwan.
It is understood that the U.S. side wants to place the issue
of access of its agricultural products to Taiwan as a top
priority on the agenda, while Taiwan wants to discuss issues
related to its bid to join the U.S.-proposed Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) and the inking of a bilateral investment
agreement (BIA) between the two sides.
Taiwan previously prohibited imports of beef containing
ractopamine, but lifted the ban in July 2012, setting the
stage for the resumption of TIFA talks in March 2013. The
talks, originally set to take place in April this year, were
delayed because the U.S. was focusing its trade negotiation
efforts on issues such as finalizing negotiations on the TPP.
The TIFA was signed in 1994 as a framework for Taiwan-U.S.
dialogue on trade-related issues. The last TIFA talks were
held in Washington in April 2014.
(By Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/J
U.S. will not accede to
China’s
demands
easily:
scholar
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) A senior
U.S. official’s remarks on cross-Taiwan Strait issues ahead of
a meeting between leaders of the U.S. and China have shown
that Washington will not work with the demands of China
easily, a Taiwanese scholar said Tuesday.
Chen Yi-hsin (陳一新), a professor at Tamkang University, noted
that U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said earlier
that day that the longstanding U.S. position remains
unchanged.
“We remain committed to our ‘one China’ policy based on the
three joint communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act,” Rice
said.
“Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable crossstrait relations, and we oppose unilateral changes to the
status quo by either side,” she added.
According to Chen, Rice’s remarks ahead of the Obama-Xi
meeting mean that the U.S. will not work with the demands of
China, including not forcing Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), presidential
candidate of Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP), to accept the “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus,” as understood by the ruling Kuomintang,
refers to a tacit agreement reached between Taiwan and China
in 1992 that there is only one China, with each side free to
interpret the meaning of the term. The DPP says the consensus
does not, and has never, existed.
Chen noted that the U.S. has reached a consensus with China
previously that it will not interfere in the Taiwan Strait and
will not interfere with the Jan. 16 presidential election next
year.
Chen said that the U.S. will continue to maintain the Taiwan
Relations Act on cross-strait issues, as well as the six
assurances made by the Reagan administration in 1982, which
include not setting a date for ending U.S. arms sales to
Taiwan and not pressuring Taiwan into negotiations with China.
The U.S. will not work with China unless China makes big
concessions, Chen assessed.
But Chen said he did not “see such signs right now.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) arrived in Seattle Tuesday
for his first state visit to the United States, during which
the issue of Taiwan is expected to come up.
Xi will have a working dinner at the White House with Obama
Sept. 24 and will be greeted with a 21-gun salute and hold a
joint news conference with Obama a day later.
According to Rice, the two leaders will exchange views on
human rights, cyber security and the South China Sea dispute.
(By Ying Chun-chieh and Lilian Wu)
ENDITEM/J