1) President Ma Ying-jeou unveiled a commemorative monument on Pengjia Islet in the East China Sea. Ma visited the islet Saturday afternoon. That was his second visit to the islet since 2012.The monument was dedicated to the president’s East China Sea Peace initiative. The initiative calls for all parties to disputes in the East China Sea to set aside their differences and work to jointly develop resources in the area
2) President Ma Ying-jeou says that he will consult with President-elect Tsai Ing-wen on important decisions in the run up to the May 20 inauguration.
Ma told a group of Hong Kong-based Taiwanese businessmen Thursday that he has met with Tsai. He said he will cooperate with Tsai in the final weeks before she takes office. Ma said that he will work to the very end of his term, saying that his administration will not act as a caretaker government.
3) Transport Minister Chen Jian-Yu says that the number of Chinese tourists coming to Taiwan has dropped. He told the Legislature Thursday that this month may see a drop of 30% compared with April last year.
Taiwan’s media has reported that Chinese authorities are restricting the number of tourists allowed to visit Taiwan. The reports say the move is designed to put pressure on President-elect Tsai Ing-wen. Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party is viewed as wary of Beijing.
Chen said that Beijing should not prevent Chinese tourists from coming to Taiwan and should not equate tourism with cross-strait relations.
4) Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford says Taiwan may launch an investigation into the Panama Papers for signs of tax evasion by Taiwanese nationals and organizations.
The leak of the 11 million plus documents has made global headlines. A keyword search of the leaked documents revealed 16,000 results for the word “Taiwan”. But Chang said that not all of these results indicate cases of tax evasion.
Chang said the finance ministry will contact the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the organization that published the leaked documents, to see if it needs any help in investigations.