Welcome to the Daily Bloom! The Daily Bloom will be a daily shortform blog with updates on the day’s political going-ons. If something particularly exciting happening in Taiwan, we will be providing live updates on our Facebook page and Twitter account. At the end of the day, we will compile the live updates to provide a chronological timeline of the day’s events. If not, we will simply report on what happened that day, or what might be of note that happened. If you have news tips about what would be interesting to cover, send to [email protected]!
July 29, 2014
Premier Jiang Yi-Huah to appear to in Taipei District Court on murder accusations by Sunflower activists. The suit in question was filed in regards to the attempted occupation of the Executive Yuan on March 23rd, five days after the occupation of the Legislative Yuan by student activists that began the Sunflower movement. This is the first time in Taiwanese history the premier has been accused of murder charges in court and the suit was filed by 23 injured protestors. Zhongzheng First Police Precinct Chief Fang Yang-ning, who resigned during the movement in an incident when over one thousand protestors surrounded the Zhongzheng First Police Precinct, is one of Jiang’s co-defendants.
National Immigration Agency says Wang Dan must follow regulations if he is to reenter Taiwan. Wang was denied the possibility of being an exception to the rules and was informed he had to obtain a reentry permit first in order to reenter. Wang, who was previously hoping to enter with a Taiwan entry permit and his Green Card, and is hoping to reenter Taiwan because of health reasons, expressed disappointment. He said he will turn to the US government for assistance next. Some have criticized Wang’s actions as seeking special privilege.
Army Major General Li Hsien-sheng removed from position as head of Taiwanese defense in the US. Li was removed after failing polygraph tests and making “unauthorized contacts” in the US. Li has since been replaced with Rear Admiral Yang Ta-wei of the Taiwanese navy. Li’s position was a sensitive one because of the need to negotiate with the American military regarding cross-straits defense, purchases of weaponry, and so forth, but also fears of Chinese spying, corruption, and the leaking of military secrets.