Monday, February 16, 2015

Headline News Cross-Strait Relations took prison officials hostage, including the prison warden, broke St. Lucia planning to set Andrew Hsia named new into the prison armory and stole up embassy in the ROC Head of Mainland Affairs several firearms. The 14-hour On 10 February, ROC () Council confrontation ended in the suicide of President Ma Ying-jeou received Alva Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of National the hostage-takers. Their hostages Baptiste, St. Lucia's Minister of Defence, Andrew Hsia, replaced remained unharmed. External Affairs, International Trade Wang Yu-chi as Head of the Mainland and Civil Aviation, who was visiting Affairs Council (MAC) on 16 February. Domestic News Taiwan to look for a potential location On 10 February, Wang announced Book Fair focuses for an embassy. So far, St. Lucia only his resignation. 64-year-old Hsia has on Taiwan’s leading role has embassies in Canada, the UK been a career diplomat for 30 years. in the publishing industry and the US, as well as in the In turning from a diplomatic and During the opening ceremony of the European Union, a MOFA staff defence position to a post in 2015 Taipei International Book member said, adding that the ROC formulating mainland policy, he Exhibition on 11 February, ROC will be the first country in Asia in will immediately face the delicate President Ma Ying-jeou which St. Lucia will have an embassy. issue of 's planned 5 emphasized Taiwan's role in the March opening of new flight routes in global publishing industry. "This is the Taiwan Strait, which the ROC really a thriving industry in spite of objects to for safety and sovereignty challenges from electronic reading reasons. materials," the President said, citing statistics that put Taiwan's output of titles at 42,000 each year, or 1,800 titles per million people. That puts Taiwan on par with Slovenia, in second place globally for They made the decision in recent books-per-capita. Taiwan is also the months, as the country is aiming to most populous Chinese-speaking strengthen bilateral ties, attract society still using traditional foreign investment, promote tourism Domestic News characters, and "we hope to maintain and advance trade relations. Baptiste this tradition," Ma said. also visited officials at the Ministries President Ma demands of Foreign and Economic Affairs, the prison reform in wake of Environmental Protection hostage crisis Administration and the Taiwan On 12 February, ROC President Ma External Trade Development Council Ying-jeou said that the hostage crisis (TAITRA), Taiwan’s main trade at Kaohsiung Prison has exposed promotion body. loopholes in the country's prison management system, and he directed authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident. A former Minister for The annual fair, now in its 23rd year, Justice himself, Ma instructed the brings together 682 publishers from Ministry of Justice to present a prison 67 countries, and attracts over half a reform plan within a week for million visitors. Culture Minister Hung immediate implementation. Meng-chi said that in addition to this year's theme country, New Zealand, Ma's remarks were a response to an the fair also promotes Taiwan's incident that began the previous day publications and indigenous when 6 inmates in Kaohsiung Prison literature.

Editorial: Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium, Information Division Website: http://www.taiwanembassy.org/be/mp.asp?mp=102 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +32(0)2/517.17.24 or +32(0)2/517.17.23