Beijing Official Promises More Exchanges With Taiwanese

By

-

27 June 2014, 15:23

China's top Taiwan policy maker Zhang Zhijun (L) shakes hand with Taiwan's top China policy maker Wang Yu-chi (R), at the Taoyuan International Airport hotel outside Taipei, Taiwan, 25 June 2014 [DPA]

TAIPEI (DPA) — More exchanges should take place between mainland China and people from Taiwan's diverse backgrounds, Beijing's top official on Taiwan affairs said Friday, on the third day of his first visit to the island.

"To seek mutual benefits, we will promote more exchanges with Taiwanese people with diverse local, political, and religious background," Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Zhang Zhijun said.

His comments come after many Taiwanese have expressed frustration that their concerns were not being taken into account in Taipei's rapprochement with the mainland government since President Ma Ying-jeou came to power in 2008.

Zhang was speaking while visiting the more rural south of the island, where such resistance is strongest, after meeting his counterpart in a suburb of the capital this week.

Zhang said he now understood that the Taiwanese people treasure their current social systems, values and lifestyle, which are different from the people across the Taiwan Strait.

"In addition to the geological distance, we know there's cultural distance as well," Zhang said to reporters in the island's second-largest city of Kaohsiung, following a meeting with Mayor Chen Chu.

Chen, a member of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said she told Zhang that the Taiwanese perspective deserves more understanding and respect.

"I clearly told Zhang that neither the people nor the government in Taiwan agree with TAO's remarks in early June," Chen said.

TAO spokeswoman Fan Liqing said on June 11 that Taiwan's future must be decided by all Chinese people, not just by Taiwan residents.

Zhang's arrival at Kaohsiung train station sparked the largest protests to date. Some displayed banners to welcome him but more booed and threw plastic bottles.

On a tour of an amusement park on reclaimed wetland, demonstrators shouted "One country on each side," referring to each side of the Taiwan Strait, and "Taiwan's future should be decided by Taiwanese people."

Others showed him football-style red cards, the Apple Daily reported.

Zhang was to return to Beijing on Saturday.

"Independent Agencies" Continue to Probe Deposed PM

By

Khaosod English

-

27 June 2014, 14:46

Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra is heckled by an anti-government protester as she tours Phitsanulok province on 24 December 2013.

BANGKOK — Thailand’s “independent agencies” continue to investigate former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra a month after her government was deposed in a military coup.

Today, Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said the Election Commission (EC) is investigating a claim that Ms. Yingluck misused the state's apparatus by appearing on national television to defend the government's rice-pledging scheme after she had already dissolved Parliament.

The EC is also probing Ms. Yingluck for visiting supporters in northern and northeastern Thailand prior to the national election on 2 February, Mr. Somchai said. According to the allegation, Ms. Yingluck inappropriately used her position as acting Prime Minister to campaign for her party.

Mr. Somchai said the EC was unable to collect relevant documents to supplement their investigations while anti-government protesters were laying siege to governmental buildings during their six-month campaign to oust Ms. Yingluck.

Now that the anti-government protests are over, thanks to the 22 May military coup, the EC has successfully collected all the documents, Mr. Somchai said.

"Now we only need to interview some witnesses in the provinces outside Bangkok," he added.

The EC is also working on a separate case concerning 19 politicians from Ms. Yinglucks’s Pheu Thai Party that appeared on state-owned Channel 11 in the pre-election period, which the EC says is a violation of election laws.

"The EC will swiftly complete the three cases, because they are of great interest to the people," Mr. Somchai said. "I believe all of the cases could reach a verdict by August."

The 2 Feb election was ultimately nullified in a court ruling because voting did not take place everywhere in the country on the same day after anti-government protesters stormed candidate registration venues, seized ballot boxes, shut down polling stations, and intimidated voters in an attempt to scuttle the election. The protesters argued that unspecified national reforms must be completed before any election could be held.

The EC has not taken any action against the anti-election protesters.

Yingluck's assets revealed

Earlier today the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), who is still investigating Ms. Yingluck over allegations of corruption in connection with her government's rice-pledging policy, released details of the assets held by Ms. Yingluck and nine Cabinet members who were ousted in a court ruling on 7 May.

The NACC routinely publishes the assets of ministers in power, but has said it will not conduct an investigation into the assets of the military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). A deputy secretary of the NACC claimed there was no legal basis for the NACC to do so.

According to the NACC, Ms Yingluck and her partner Anusorn Amornchat own assets worth 574 million baht, with a debt of 28 million baht.

The data shows that Ms. Yingluck was the second-richest person in her Cabinet; the richest Minister was former Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, who reportedly owns more than 970 million baht in assets.

The NACC says it is now investigating Ms. Yingluck for allegedly failing to notify the Commission about the existence of her 2.5 million baht luxury watch.

The NACC reportedly intends summon Ms. Yingluck for further questioning concerning the watch.

For comments, or corrections to this article please contact: [email protected]

You can also find Khaosod English on Twitter and Facebook
http://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish
http://www.facebook.com/KhaosodEnglish

NCPO To Clarify New Press Censorship Measures With Media Bosses

By

Khaosod English

-

26 June 2014, 20:08

Gen. Udomdet Sittabutr says the military junta will respect the media if the media respects the junta.

BANGKOK — The Thai military junta will convene a meeting with directors of news agencies to clarify its heightened measure to monitor the media, said a leading member of the junta.

Gen. Udomdet Sittabutr said he has been personally tasked by junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha to meet with the media representatives and "create understanding."

The junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) annouced yesterday that it has formed five special committees to monitor national and international news coverage across different types of media.

According to Pol.Gen. Adul Saengsingkaew, chief of the Royal Thai Police and NCPO's deputy chairman, TV and radio media will be monitored by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC), print media by the Special Branch Police, online media by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and foreign media by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Pol.Gen. Adul claimed the measure is needed to suppress "false information" and news reports that insult the monarchy.

"If the media respects the NCPO, the NCPO will respect the media in return," said NCPO sec-gen Gen. Udomdet at a "happiness" concert held today at Siam Paragon shopping mall. The concert was one of many free events organized by the NCPO over the past few weeks in the name of "promoting happiness and reconciliation" among the Thai people.

Yesterday's announcement of increased censorship measures came amid reports that soldiers were dispatched to the headquarters of a Bangkok newspaper after it printed news about an anti-coup organisation set up in exile by two fugitive politicians.

Manop Thip-osot, spokesperson and vice president of the Thai Journalist Association (TJA), said today that the visit was meant to discourage the news agency from publishing any stories about anti-coup movements. He said the TJA is greatly concerned by the incident and that the Association has already discussed the issue with the NCPO.

Gen. Udomdet, the NCPO's sec-gen, did not say when the meeting with media representatives will take place, but promises that it will be an opportunity for the press to freely pose questions to the military.

The NCPO will also use the opportunity to inform media about what it has accomplished over the past month as the country's administrative regime.

"I am satisfied by the NCPO's works in the past month. We will continue to do our best," Gen. Udomdet told reporters.

Since staging the coup against the elected government on 22 May, the NCPO has banned public protests against the regime, detained scores of activists, and censored the media — mostly by warning them not to publish any criticism about the NCPO or its missions.

For comments, or corrections to this article please contact: [email protected]

You can also find Khaosod English on Twitter and Facebook
http://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish
http://www.facebook.com/KhaosodEnglish

NCPO To Clarify New Press Censorship Measures With Media Bosses

By

Khaosod English

-

26 June 2014, 20:08

BANGKOK — The Thai military junta will convene a meeting with directors of news agencies to clarify its heightened measure to monitor the media, said a leading member of the junta.

Gen. Udomdet Sittabutr said he has been personally tasked by junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha to meet with the media representatives and "create understanding."

The junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) annouced yesterday that it has formed five special committees to monitor national and international news coverage across different types of media.

According to Pol.Gen. Adul Saengsingkaew, chief of the Royal Thai Police and NCPO's deputy chairman, TV and radio media will be monitored by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC), print media by the Special Branch Police, online media by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and foreign media by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Pol.Gen. Adul claimed the measure is needed to suppress "false information" and news reports that insult the monarchy.

"If the media respects the NCPO, the NCPO will respect the media in return," said NCPO sec-gen Gen. Udomdet at a "happiness" concert held today at Siam Paragon shopping mall. The concert was one of many free events organized by the NCPO over the past few weeks in the name of "promoting happiness and reconciliation" among the Thai people.

Yesterday's announcement of increased censorship measures came amid reports that soldiers were dispatched to the headquarters of a Bangkok newspaper after it printed news about an anti-coup organisation set up in exile by two fugitive politicians.

Manop Thip-osot, spokesperson and vice president of the Thai Journalist Association (TJA), said today that the visit was meant to discourage the news agency from publishing any stories about anti-coup movements. He said the TJA is greatly concerned by the incident and that the Association has already discussed the issue with the NCPO.

Gen. Udomdet, the NCPO's sec-gen, did not say when the meeting with media representatives will take place, but promises that it will be an opportunity for the press to freely pose questions to the military.

The NCPO will also use the opportunity to inform media about what it has accomplished over the past month as the country's administrative regime.

"I am satisfied by the NCPO's works in the past month. We will continue to do our best," Gen. Udomdet told reporters.

Since staging the coup against the elected government on 22 May, the NCPO has banned public protests against the regime, detained scores of activists, and censored the media — mostly by warning them not to publish any criticism about the NCPO or its missions.

For comments, or corrections to this article please contact: [email protected]

You can also find Khaosod English on Twitter and Facebook
http://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish
http://www.facebook.com/KhaosodEnglish

Activist Monk Advises PCAD Leaders To 'Stay Quiet'

By

Khaosod English

-

26 June 2014, 18:55

Activist monk Buddha Issara blesses supporters who visited his home in Bangkok on 26 June, 2014.

BANGKOK — The militant monk who co-led the six-month protest campaign against the former government has called on fellow activists to "stay quiet" and allow the military junta to do its work.

Buddha Issara delivered the comments while giving blessings to a crowd of supporters, including some military and police officers, at his residence in northern Bangkok this morning.

"The atmosphere in the country is going well, they should not ruin the atmosphere," Buddha Issara said, referring to other leaders of the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD).

Buddha Issara said that unguarded comments from PCAD leaders may cause more trouble for the military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and obstruct its mission to reconcile Thailand’s divided society.

"If they are lonely or feeling unemployed, they should plant trees or clean rubbish in the river," the monk advised.

His comments came several days after PCAD leader Suthep Thaugsuban reportedly told supporters at an exclusive dinner party that he and the leader of the 22 May coup, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, had been plotting to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for years.

Mr. Suthep also claimed that Gen. Prayuth closely coordinated with the PCAD leaders throughout their six-month campaign to oust Ms. Yingluck. According to Mr. Suthep, Gen. Prayuth offered to stage the coup because PCAD protesters had become exhausted from their prolonged street protests.

Mr. Suthep’s revelation was swiftly denied by NCPO officials, who insisted that the army staged the coup to avoid further bloodshed and resolve the country’s political paralysis. Still, many Redshirt who supporters of the former government have interpreted Mr. Suthep’s comments as evidence of the suspected alliance between the military and the anti-government protesters prior to the coup.

Buddha Issara added that he is working on a petition to have his insurrection charges revoked. The monk was charged with the crime earlier this year for his role in the PCAD's disruptive protest activities, which included storming governmental buildings, blocking major roads, and intimidating the media.

The petition will inform officials that Buddha Issara does not believe his actions amount to insurrection, the monk said.

For comments, or corrections to this article please contact: [email protected]

You can also find Khaosod English on Twitter and Facebook
http://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish
http://www.facebook.com/KhaosodEnglish

MH370 Search Moves South As Officials Confident Autopilot Engaged

By

Khaosod English

-

26 June 2014, 18:06

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss shows the new search area in the Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370, at the Parliament House Canberra, 26 June 2014 (DPA).

By Frank Walker

SYDNEY (DPA) — Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may have crashed further south in the Indian Ocean than the latest search area, and was "highly likely" to have been on autopilot when it went down, Australian authorities said Thursday.

Following further analysis of flight data, the search would focus on a different point of an arc where the aircraft last communicated with satellites, said Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss

"We are now shifting our attention to an area further south along the arc based on these calculations," he told reporters.

It was "highly, highly likely" that the aircraft was on autopilot when it crashed, Truss was quoted as saying by Australian media, explaining that otherwise "it could not have followed the orderly path that has been identified through the satellite sightings."

"We are confident that the aircraft was operating on autopilot until it ran out of fuel," Australian Transport Safety Bureau boss Martin Dolan was reported as saying.

"The basic assumption would be that if the autopilot is operational it's because it's been switched on," he said.

The Boeing 777 with 239 passengers and crew disappeared on March 8 shortly after leaving Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

Mapping of the 6-kilometre-deep ocean floor will take another three months and a search of the sea floor is expected to begin in August and take up to 12 months.

Much of the area is covered by a flat plateau but if the plane sank into one of the deep trenches it could be very difficult to find.

Military Order Media Not to Report Anti-Coup Movement

By

Khaosod English

-

26 June 2014, 18:06

(Prachatai English)

On Tuesday 24 June, military officers reportedly visited a newsroom of a newspaper and instructed the editorial staff not to report about the establishment of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy (FTHD), an anti-coup group in exile.

Activist Monk Advises PCAD Leaders To 'Stay Quiet'

By

Khaosod English

-

26 June 2014, 16:55