Taiwan News

TAIWAN on Tuesday partially lifted its decades-old ban on investment in the island by Chinese companies or individuals in a further sign of closer economic ties between the former bitter rivals.

In addition to the recent pieces offering shocked American views that China has not reduced its missiles aimed at Taiwan -- a clear signal that the US Establishment thinks it would be a really good idea that China do that -- there is also a mixed bag of articles looking at the Cross-Strait march toward Anschluss.

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and Taiwan Association for Human Rights(TAHR) have jointly called on Taiwan to respect and protect freedom of expression and freedom of assembly by dropping the charges against two prominent human rights defenders, and amending the Parade and Assembly Law in accordance to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified at the Legislative Yuan in March 2009.

Among the many anniversaries being commemorated in 2009, none evoke a stronger mix of political emotions among Chinese leaders, whatever their loyalties, than the historic dates associated with Taiwan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is studying how to approach Taiwan's bid for representation in the United Nations and, based on past experience, will make a decision on how best to proceed this year, a MOFA departmental chief said Thursday.

More than 30 social movements called on the public yesterday to tie yellow ribbons in support of jailed ex-President Chen Shui-bian. The activity served to underline the need for fair justice in the ex-president's case, organizers said.

National Secretary-General Su Chi rejected allegations of conflict of interest stemming from commercial activity by his wife and the acceptance of teaching posts by his younger brother in the authoritarian People`s Republic of China by declaring that ``Taiwan is a modern society and ...

The China Daily has filed an appeal after the Government Information Office decided to revoke the English-language paper's Taiwan publication license, which was due to be renewed on Tuesday, an official said.

National Communications Commission spokesman Lee Ta-sung said yesterday that the commission would consider the impact on the media market when issuing operation licenses for terrestrial TV services.

What a coincidence that just a few days before today s 28th anniversary of the death of Carnegie Mellon University Statistics professor Chen Wen-chen , new evidence about the case should suddenly come to light.

William A. Stanton, current deputy chief of mission at the United States Embassy in South Korea, has been appointed new director of the American Institute in Taiwan’s Taipei office, AIT headquarters in Washington announced July 1.

Taiwan citizens have ample cause to be anxious about the consequences of the "cross-strait agreement to jointly combat crime and provide mutual judicial assistance" which was signed in late April by Taipei's Strait Exchange Foundation and Beijing's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and took effect last Thursday.

Recession-hit Taiwan has begun to depend so heavily on economic powerhouse China that the island's leadership risks being seen as beholden to Beijing and will have to tread carefully so as not to upset its political rival.

The U.S. has released a $45.3 million sale of 171 Stinger air-to-air missiles to Taiwan.

Taiwanese need to fight to preserve Jing Mei Human Rights Park before the KMT turns it into a "culture park" to erase the KMT party's brutal and criminal human-rights-violating past.

In accordance with the government s announcement in February, the name plaque at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall will be removed by the end of this month and replaced with the old one bearing the name Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

WHITE TERROR: Authorities had said files related to professor Chen Wen-chen s case had disappeared, but an investigator found records in the National Archives.

A decade ago, the young party shocked Asia by riding to power on a wave of nationalist pride. But since mid-decade, its fortunes have reversed. As the governing Kuomintang improves economic ties with China, the DPP has been relegated to the sidelines, with too few seats in the legislature to have political heft.

None of the nine agreements signed in the three meetings between Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin since June last year have been reviewed by the legislature.

The majority of people in Taiwan view China as nothing more than a business partner, while most people in China see Taiwan as "kin, " according to the results of a survey released Tuesday.