News

China to put 200 on trial in Xinjiang

Tuesday, 25 August 2009 07:28 Taipei Times

China will this week put more than 200 people on trial over last month’s deadly ethnic unrest in Xinjiang, with security tight because of fears of fresh violence, state media said yesterday.

The trials will take place at the Intermediate People’s Court in Urumqi, the capital of the mainly Muslim northwest region where, according to Beijing, violence early last month left at least 197 people dead, the China Daily reported, citing unnamed officials.

MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH: Ma, Liu approval ratings plummet in Morakot’s wake

Thursday, 20 August 2009 02:19 Taipei Times

President Ma Ying-jeou’s popularity has dropped to a record low of 16 percent in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, and his odds of winning the 2012 election have fallen to 50 percent, according to opinion polls released yesterday.

A survey conducted by the TVBS Poll Center on Monday and Tuesday found Ma’s approval rating had plummeted to 16 percent, while Premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s rating plunged to 13 percent.

MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH: Ma berated by victims on visit to Xiaolin Village

Thursday, 20 August 2009 02:14 Taipei Times

Twelve days after Typhoon Morakot lashed the nation, President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday visited Xiaolin Village, Kaohsiung County — one of the hardest hit areas.

Ma was confronted by angry relatives and friends of the approximately 400 people who are believed to have died when the village was destroyed by mudslides.

Taiwan town, fearing toxins, refuses China typhoon aid

Thursday, 20 August 2009 02:08 Reuters

TAIPEI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A Taiwan town where 700 people were displaced after the island's worst typhoon in 50 years has declined mobile homes from political rival China, fearing the they might contain toxic chemicals, officials said on Wednesday.

Chiatung Township refused 100 quick-assembly homes after Taiwan's notoriously anti-China county of Pingtung said that based on news reports in China, they might contain formalin, a chemical that can be hazardous in high doses, deputy county magistrate Chung Chia-pin said.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 02:18 ) Read more...

Should Taiwan's leader stand down over delays in aiding typhoon victims?

Tuesday, 18 August 2009 03:48 Taiwan News

Should Taiwan's leader stand down over delays in aiding typhoon victims?(Quickvote at CNN.com )

Yes 82% 12306

No 18% 2660

update:2009.08.17 16:45

MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH : MOFA sorry, but denies mistake over refusing aid

Saturday, 15 August 2009 06:46 Taipei Times

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday apologized for a leaked memo that instructed overseas representative offices to decline all offers of foreign aid and rescue workers except for cash donations, but Acting Minister Andrew Hsia insisted that the blunder was carelessness, not a “mistake” as reported by the media.

Hsia said the memo “neglected” to say that Taiwan was only ”temporarily” refusing foreign aid, adding that MOFA’s standing policy has always been that Taiwan would seek international assistance if needed.

MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH: Cabinet does about-face in rejection of foreign aid

Friday, 14 August 2009 07:59 Taipei Times

The government yesterday did an about-face, saying it would accept foreign aid after the public expressed indignation over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) decision to refuse all foreign assistance except for cash.

“We welcome all kinds of help from all countries. We will provide a detailed list of the items that we need very soon,” Executive Yuan spokesman Su Jun-pin told a press conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday. “The list could include personnel, aircraft and heavy machinery.”

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