President Ma Ying-jeou filed a lawsuit against outspoken commentator and TV talk show host Clara Chou on December 30, alleging defamation over her repeated public accusations that he had received illegal campaign donations. In an open letter to Ma posted on her Facebook account in early December, Chou related information she said she had been…
Unemployment down, consumer confidence up. Low oil prices are spurring growth, but concerns for Taiwan economy arise due to China slowdown. Taiwan moved up three places in the annual world Economic Freedom Index [see the Editorial in this issue] by the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, to be ranked the 14th freest economy in the…
Minister of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) Yeh Kuang-shih tendered his resignation on January 7 to accept responsibility for the failure of the Legislative Yuan to approve his plan to rescue the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) from bankruptcy. Yeh, who had held the office since February 2013, said that without the restructuring plan in…
Former president Chen Shui-bian, serving an 18-year-plus prison term after having been convicted of corruption, was released on medical parole on January 5, following a determination by the evaluation council of the Ministry of Justice’s Correction Agency that his health condition had deteriorated. On that basis, the Taichung District Prosecutors Office, which has jurisdiction over…
AFTER THE FALL — An immobilized Ah-he at the side of the road. The hippo was dead by the next morning, and the entire incident raised questions about the competence of Taiwan’s private zoos. Photo: CNA The gruesome death of An-he, an 18-year-old hippopotamus and the star attraction at privately owned Skyzoo, from injuries sustained…
PASSING THE TORCH — President Ma Ying-jeou congratulates his successor as KMT chairman, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu. The KMT elected Eric Chu, the recently reelected mayor of New Taipei City, as its new chairman on January 17. Elections were held following Ma Ying-jeou’s resignation as party head last December to take responsibility for…
