Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Land seizure comes under fire

Taipei Times

In the wake of the Miaoli County Government’s forced seizure of farmland in Jhunan Township’s (竹南) Dapu Borough (大埔), residents of Taipei County’s Gongliao Township (貢寮) are worried about the possible ecological impact of a plan to take over wetlands in Tianliaoyang Village (田寮洋) and turn the area into a housing complex.

According to a plan initiated by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) in March, a total of 688.5 hectares of land in Gongliao would be expropriated to sell to major corporations to build hotels or housing complexes.

Passing the buck on responsiblity

Lu I-ming 呂一銘

Former Judicial Yuan president Lai In-jaw (賴英照) is widely considered to be knowledgeable and honest. Many were surprised when he tendered his resignation in the wake of allegations of corruption among Taiwan High Court judges, a decision that met with much public displeasure.

Reflecting this surprise, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said: “If the Judicial Yuan president had to resign to take responsibility for [alleged] corruption among his subordinates, then why didn’t National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) have to resign for police corruption [in Taichung City]?”

Rights groups condemn Beijing after Uighur journalist jailed for 15 years

Taipei Times

Human rights groups yesterday condemned China’s jailing of an ethnic Uighur journalist who spoke to foreign journalists about last year’s deadly riots in Xinjiang.

A court in Urumqi, capital of the far-western region, sentenced Gheyret Niyaz to 15 years in jail for endangering state security, the Uighurbiz.net Web site reported on Friday.

Aboriginal activist denies claim petition was rejected

Taipei Times

Pingpu Aboriginal activist Jason Pan (潘紀揚) yesterday denied a statement by the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) that the UN has rejected a petition he filed to sue the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government for not recognizing Pingpu Aborigines’ Aboriginal status.

Pan, director of the Taiwan Association for Rights Advancements for Pingpu Plains Aborigines, made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei held following his recent return from UN headquarters in Geneva.

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