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Academics slam cross-strait regulations

Academics yesterday criticized a proposed amendment to the Regulations Governing the Approval and Administration of Direct Cross-Strait Sea Transport between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區海運直航許可管理辦法), saying that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is threatening national security by allowing “all kinds of Chinese ships to navigate freely in the waters around Taiwan.”

The Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) states that no Chinese vessels may enter restricted or prohibited waters in Taiwan’s territory unless permitted by the relevant authorities.

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Sunflower lessons go wanting: groups


Civic groups protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday against the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposed amendment that would make it more difficult for voters to recall legislators.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposal to tighten rules for recalling legislators may face strong resistance from the public, civic groups said yesterday.

“On March 18, hundreds of people broke into the Legislative Yuan complex and took control of the legislative floor for nearly a month because we believed that our representative democracy is not working properly,” said Chen Wei-chen (陳韋辰), a member of the Black Island Nation Youth Front (黑色島國青年聯盟), one of the central groups that took part in the Sunflower movement.

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Newsflash

The odds of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) being re-elected in 2012 yesterday fell below 50 percent for the first time since May, according to a university prediction market.

Prediction markets are speculative exchanges, with the value of an asset meant to reflect the likelihood of a future event.

On a scale from NT$0 to NT$100, the probability of Ma winning a re-election bid was, according to bidders, NT$48.40, the Center for Prediction Market at National Chengchi University said.

The center has market predictions on topics including politics, the economy, international affairs, sports and entertainment. Members can tender virtual bids on the events, with the bidding price meant to reflect probability.

The re-election market had attracted 860,000 trading entries as of yesterday. It was launched in April.

The center said the figure slipped 2.3 percentage points yesterday from a day earlier, when Ma conceded that his party did not fare as well as hoped in the “three-in-one” elections.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won 12 of Saturday’s 17 mayor and commissioner elections, but its total percentage of votes fell 2 percentage points from 2005 to 47.88 percent of votes nationwide.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won just four of the races, but received 45.32 percent of the ballots, or a 7.2 percentage-point increase from 2005.

Since the center opened the trading on Ma’s re-election chances on April 11, prices have largely hovered around NT$60, but jumped to NT$70 in mid-June. The figure then fell to NT$51.80 in August after Typhoon Morakot lashed Taiwan, killing hundreds.

After then-premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) resigned in September, the price returned to NT$63.2 and remained at around NT$60 for the following two months, the center said.

Since Ma took over as KMT chairman, the center said the number had steadily declined from NT$58 on Nov. 18 to NT$50.80 on Dec. 5. After Saturday’s elections, the figure fell below NT$50.

The center said the outcome yesterday would likely affect next year’s elections for the five special municipalities, as well as the next presidential election.

It also said the probability of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) winning re-election was 72 percent, while the chances of Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) winning again were 20 percent.

Source: Taipei Times 2009/12/07