英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) The visiting U.S. deputy secretary of energy said Wednesday after a visit to a nuclear plant the previous day that he is impressed by Taiwan's efforts to maintain nuclear safety and promote carbon-free energy solutions. Daniel Poneman said after a meeting with Foreign Minister Timothy Yang that Taiwan's preventive measures to minimize the nuclear threat both before and after the Fukushima incident in Japan earlier this year are especially impressive. In addition to the country's nuclear plant safety, he applauded the strong cooperation between the United States and Taiwan in the field of nuclear security. The establishment of nuclear detectors at large ports, for example, can successfully intercept radioactive materials and ensure a safer society, he said. Poneman is the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit Taiwan in over a decade. He has been in Taipei since Dec. 12, meeting senior government officials and business leaders as well as giving an address at National Taiwan University on energy cooperation. Poneman described the meetings he attended during his three-day trip as "robust, productive and fruitful" and he emphasized the importance of Taiwan's participation in more multilateral organizations and institutions. He was scheduled to leave for Japan later Wednesday to discuss nuclear energy and safety issues with officials there. Meanwhile, Yang told the media that Poneman's trip not only highlights the solidity of Taiwan-U.S. relations, but also demonstrates the great steps taken by both sides in bilateral collaboration over the years. His visit exhibits Taiwan's significant role in the Asia-Pacific region, said Yang, as he referred to a statement made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Hawaii last month, which stressed Taiwan was the U.S.'s important partner in economic issues and regional security. Although he did not reveal the details of the discussion, the minister said that both parties exchanged views on "important issues," citing subjects such as green energy and radioactive detection measures at sea ports. (By Nancy Liu)

Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) The United States has agreed to review the content of an agreement that grants Taiwanese diplomats immunity privileges, Foreign Minister Timothy Yang said Wednesday, one month after a Taiwanese diplomat was detained in Kansas City on labor fraud charges. Yang said the detention highlighted the incompleteness of the agreement and noted that the U.S. authorities have agreed to discuss what needs to be added with their Taiwanese counterparts soon. The Agreement on Privileges, Exemptions and Immunities between Taiwan's Coordination Council for North American Affairs and the American Institute in Taiwan was signed Oct. 2, 1980. Jacqueline Liu, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas City, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Nov. 11 and charged with underpaying and overworking her Filipina housekeeper. She remains in detention in Kansas City, despite her diplomatic status. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formed an ad-hoc investigative team to look into the controversial case and an initial report has been filed, Yang said. Asked by the local media whether Liu is being paid a regular diplomatic salary while in custody, the minister said yes but the department of personnel will discuss relevant issues with her in the future. U.S. District Judge David Gregory Kays, the judge hearing Liu's case, delayed ruling on a plea bargain agreement before Thanksgiving and the Taiwanese diplomat might have to wait months before her release. Kays said he needed more time to consider the plea agreement, and an investigation report by probation officials is to be completed before the next hearing, which could take as long as 72 days, according to Liu's lawyer James Wirken. Yang updated the media on the issue, saying that a probation officer report has been published by the U.S. and that both Kays and Wirken have obtained a copy. (By Nancy Liu)

Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against five people, including the head of the nation's top economic planning agency, for forgery and violating the election law by attempting to hurt the chances of its presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen in the Jan. 14 election. The DPP threatened a day earlier to sue Christina Liu, minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), if she didn't apologize for implicating Tsai in connection with a government decision to invest in the biotech company TaiMed Inc. while Tsai was vice premier in 2007. The DPP went ahead with the lawsuit despite Liu's statement Tuesday night that she was sorry for causing a controversy over the date of a meeting regarding the establishment of TaiMed in cooperation with the U.S. firm Genentech. The DPP said that the CEPD file given to lawmakers showed that Tsai was among the initiators of the TaiMed company when a meeting to raise capital was held March 31, 2007. However, the meeting actually took place in August that year, and the file was dated Aug. 31, but Tsai had already left the Cabinet in May, the DPP said. Liu explained Tuesday that the mistake was due to her staff having had to sort through many files within a short period of time. The three ruling Kuomintang legislators named in the suit are Chiu Yi, Hsieh Kuo-liang and Lin Yi-shih. Chiu was sued for saying that Tsai had abused her position and lied, and for alleging that Tsai had not put her family's money into the company, but rather had used state funds to help finance TaiMed. Both Lin and Hsieh were sued for citing incorrect information provided by Liu. Tsai Ling-yi, wife of Premier Wu Den-yih, was also named as a defendant for alleging in a campaign rally in the outlying island of Penghu Sunday that Tsai Ing-wen had channeled NT$1.1 billion of government fund into her "family's company" and that "it's dumb to donate piggy banks to them," referring to the DPP's campaign fundraising. Tsai Huang-liang, DPP legislative whip, said at a news conference earlier in the day that Liu knew Tsai Ing-wen was not among the major leaders of TaiMed but had deliberately forged a document to try to incriminate her and hurt her chances of winning the presidential election. "Liu should step down and prosecutors should take the initiative to investigate the matter," said Tsai Huang-liang. In response, Liu issued a statement Wednesday, dismissing the DPP allegation that she had acted as a Tsai-basher for the ruling party in the runup to the presidential election. Liu said she had not touched the information previously and had only sorted through it at the request of the Legislature to clarify Tsai Ing-wen's role in the birth of the company. "I wish the public would not politicize the issue, as I've not compromised my administrative neutrality," Liu said. KMT lawmaker Chiu said "this is an old gambit by the DPP to try to shift focus of the case." Lin and Hsieh also said that it is time for Tsai Ing-wen to honestly explain why she had quit the vice premier job to become TaiMed chairwoman. Meanwhile, Premier Wu said his wife's remarks were not groundless, as the government investment in TaiMed was even bigger than she had said. Four days before the March 22, 2008 election, the DPP administration approved an investment of NT$875 million in the company, but the money was not appropriated after the KMT administration took over, Wu said. (By Lin Sheng-hsu, Wen Kuei-hsiang and Lilian Wu)

Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) The local cultural community on Wednesday unveiled some of the major issues such as the budget and cultural diplomacy that it plans to raise in a question-and-answer session with the three presidential candidates Thursday. The questions will touch on 12 topics, including cultural and economic development, the cultural and creative industry and improvement of native language teaching, said the preparatory office for the Foundation of the Inaugural Year for Culture. The list of questions has been submitted to the candidates -- incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou of the ruling Kuomintang, Tsai Ing-wen of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and James Soong of the People First Party (PFP). Other topics to be raised will include the lack of professional venues for culture and the arts, the promotion of arts and cultural education, and public television service. The candidates will take questions from several artists and other people from the community, including directors, a poet, independent curators and university faculty members, in three separate one-hour sessions at Shih Hsin University in Taipei. The 12 questions were compiled from discussions in the community and online platforms, according to the non-governmental organization. The event, the first of its kind in Taiwan, will give the candidates the opportunity to elaborate on their cultural policies and communicate with the cultural community directly. The office was launched in late November after "Dreamers," a musical that was part of the Republic of China's centenary celebrations, sparked a huge controversy over its NT$200 million (US$6,599,400) budget, which the cultural community said was exorbitant. More than 1,000 arts and cultural workers signed a letter later to support the foundation, saying the current cultural policies are empty and identifying nine areas in which they want to see improvement. (By Sabine Cheng and Kendra Lin)

Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) More than 100 Japanese expats and local government officials, including Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng and Foreign Minister Timothy Yang, gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the 78th birthday of Japan's Emperor Akihito. In a speech delivered at the event, Tadashi Imai, Japan's representative to Taiwan, noted the closeness of bilateral ties and thanked Taiwan for its generous support in the aftermath of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. "With great gratitude, Japan is now fully committed to post-disaster reconstruction," Imai addressed the audience. With the revitalization of Japan's economy and social infrastructure, Taiwanese businesses are urged to make more investments and tourists more trips to the country, he said. Describing Taiwan-Japan relations as "growing stably," Imai cited exchanges and cooperation in various fields over the past year, including an open skies agreement signed by both parties this November and the establishment of a master program on Japanese studies in August. Yang agreed with Imai that bilateral relations have always been friendly, recalling how Japan helped Taiwan with disaster relief operations after the 921 Earthquake in 1999 and Typhoon Morakot in 2009. "We hope that our relations can move to a higher level in the coming years," said Yang. (By Nancy Liu)