It was a small victory hardly mentioned by the mainstream media, but in the opinion of Penghu residents, a giant step toward saving an important piece of history. On Dec. 23 last year, the Council for Cultural Affairs agreed to list a cluster of old coral-built houses in Chungshe Village (中社) on Penghu’s Wang’an Islet [...]

Local language preservation activists demonstrated outside the legislature yesterday, criticizing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for deleting a NT$40 million (US$1.1 million) budget for proficiency tests in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) earlier this month. “Hakka and Aboriginal languages are in a critical situation at this moment, and Hoklo is not far from it either [...]

Taipei, Feb.27 (CNA) The Taiwan High Court revoked Friday a lower court’s ruling keeping former President Chen Shui-bian in custody before and during his trial on corruption and money laundering charges and demanded that the lower court deliver a new ruling in the case. Chen, who has been detained since Dec. 30, appealed his case [...]

Taipei, Feb. 27 (CNA) The 16th round of fishery talks between Taiwan and Japan reached a consensus on several issues, including an agreement to set up an emergency notification mechanism to handle fishery disputes, an official of the quasi-official Association of East Asian Relations (AEAR) said Friday in Taipei. Tsai Ming-yao, AEAR secretary-general, made the [...]

Berlin, Feb. 27 (CNA) Germany and other Schengen Agreement countries are considering offering visa- free treatment to Taiwan passport holders now that the United Kingdom has decided to do so starting March 3, diplomatic sources said Friday. A Taiwanese official stationed in Germany told the Central News Agency that the German government is considering following [...]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday reiterated Taiwan’s claim of sovereignty over the Diaoyutai island chain. The MOFA statement came two days after Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said during a trip to the US that the island chain was included in a Japan-US security treaty. The US concurred with Japan, saying that because [...]

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday dismissed speculation over the existence of a DVD alleged to show Ma and former ICRT DJ Charles Mack having intimate relations, saying the media should disregard groundless rumors. “It’s incredible that media outlets allow themselves to be hoodwinked by such a ridiculous story. It’s a groundless rumor and there’s nothing [...]

Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou pleged Saturday to establish a national memorial museum that would continue to investigate the truth behind the 228 Incident because that would be the best way to commemorate the incident and mark the first step toward achieving social reconciliation. “Confronting history and discussing the issue, and facing victims’ [...]

Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) The top European Union (EU) representative in Taiwan said Britain’s decision to include Taiwan in its visa-waiver program will trigger a debate in the Schengen area over the possibility of granting a similar visa exemption. “What is clear is that the U.K. has granted a visa exemption for Taiwanese citizens and [...]

Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) Headed by members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP) , 1,246 people sat in silence and spelled out the Chinese characters for “Never Forget 228″ in Taipei’s Liberty Square to commemorate the 228 Incident of 1947. TAUP Chairman Chen Yi-sheng said the 228 Incident — a brutal crackdown of [...]