Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/19
By: Ta Ya-chen, Wang Shu-fen and Lilian Wu

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) A gay rights group on Tuesday criticized a Kaohsiung city government plan to accept lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) by marking their partners in city records, saying it is merely a measure to “make fun of” the community without having any substantive effect.

The city government, in a bid to show respect and goodwill toward a pluralistic culture, announced last week that it will start accepting the “sunshine marking” in its household registration and conscription information system.

Taiwan LGBT Rights Advocacy called a press conference at the Legislature Tuesday in which it said that the public might think the notation will allow the community to gain more respect legally and in city affairs, but that “this is not true.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 20, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

The Ministry of Education is a step below an “amoeba” for implementing plans

for the national 12 year education plan in the face of public opposition, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.

“Even an amoeba will change course if it is shocked,” Ko said, adding that the ministry should not be less “evolved” than an amoeba in adapting to public opposition to its 12-year education plan, urging it to allow for legal changes.

Complicated admission formulas and a lesser role for standardized testing have made implementation of the ministry’s plans controversial, resulting in a months-long standoff last year between the city government and the ministry.

Ko on Monday called for “special admissions” to be allowed before “exam-free admissions” for the school district that encompasses Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung, triggering renewed debate.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-19
By: CNA

The owner of a breakfast shop in northern Taiwan was found with severe stab

wounds in her car early Monday and died later in hospital.

The suspect in the incident is an Indonesian worker aged 32 and identified only as Amy, who used to work in the shop in Zhubei, Hsinchu but left late last year. She returned to the shop and had an argument with the woman, surnamed Lin, aged 46.

The suspect allegedly stabbed Lin in the chest when she tried to move her car.

Police arrested the former employee, who said Lin owed her back pay.

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/19
By: Kelven Huang and Lilian Wu

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) The Presidential Office expressed regret Tuesday over an incident earlier in the day in which a man set fire to himself close to the building, and called for the public to cherish their lives.

The incident took place at around 4:40 p.m. when the man, surnamed Huang (黃), 37, first doused himself with gasoline and then walked to Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office brandishing a knife. After being rebuked by military police on guard duty, he took out a lighter and ignited himself.

He was rushed to the nearby National Taiwan University Hospital with second-degree burns over 80 percent of his body, where he remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit.     [FULL  STORY]

AccuWeather.com
Date: May 18, 2015
By: Eric Leister, Meteorologist

A stalled out frontal boundary combined with abundant moisture will lead to widespread rain and thunderstorms from Indochina northeast through northern Vietnam, southeast China and Taiwan for much of the week ahead.

While much of this region has received only 60-90 percent of normal precipitation so far this year, the magnitude of rain expected over the next five to seven days will still result in an elevated flooding threat.

Despite the threat for flooding, the rain will be beneficial for most of Taiwan as rainfall shortages dating back to the start of 2014 have resulted in water rationing prior to last week’s heavy rain from former Typhoon Noul.     [FULL  STORY]

INAPPROPRIATE:Experts who reviewed the law in 2012 said children under five could be injured by the motion of motorcycles and said helmet size should not change

Taipei Times
Date: May 19, 2015
By: Huang Chung-shan, Chang Jui-chen and Kan Chih-chi  /  Staff reporters

A recent study conducted by a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker

revealed that there are no motorcycle helmets available in Taiwan for children under five which meet the necessary safety standards.

The study by DPP Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) was released just days after an accident in Taichung in which an allegedly drunk driver crashed into a motorcycle carrying a man surnamed Chen (陳) and his son, knocking the two-year-old onto the street, where he was killed by a wound from a bolt attaching a streetlight to the ground.

“Of all the helmets approved by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, the smallest one is designed for children with a head circumference of 50cm, which in an average child would mean they were five or older,” Huang’s office said.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-18
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou, held an informal gathering with the media on

Monday as part of events to mark the seventh anniversary of his ascendancy to the presidency on May 20. During the gathering, Ma responded to various issues of interest to the press.

Asked about progress of the military’s plan to acquire new submarines, Ma said submarines are a priority item on the military’s shopping list because the country’s existing submarine fleet is ageing fast. At present, the government is promoting an indigenous submarine program, while continuing to seek to purchase the vessels from abroad, he said.

Ma said the government will work toward the goal of finding a country that can supply submarines to Taiwan. Although submarines are unlikely to be obtained within the coming year, the final year of his presidency, his administration will make sure that the policy will become more complete during the remainder of his term, he said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/18
By Maubo Chang

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) All of the 13 Taiwanese people, whom the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs had been asked to help locate after the May 12 earthquake in Nepal, have been confirmed safe, said the ministry Monday.

After the magnitude 7.3 tremor rattled the South Asian country on May 12, the ministry received requests to help locate 13 Taiwanese who were there, and all of them have been confirmed safe by 3:30 p.m. Monday, it said.     [FULL  STORY]

‘FOCAL POINT’:President Ma Ying-jeou said he had mixed feelings about the DPP’s stance on maintaining the ‘status quo,’ as ‘the opposition usually appeals for change’

Taipei Times
Date: May 19, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Chinese concerns over Taiwan’s student movement have held up negotiations

to establish cross-strait representative offices, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.

“[China] is worried that any organization it establishes in Taiwan would become a focal point for the student movement,” Ma said, adding that the Chinese government might have been “frightened” by last year’s Sunflower movement, despite the Taiwanese government’s assurances of protection.

The concern was a “technical question” compared with deeper Chinese fears over the “political connotations” of setting up the offices, Ma said, reiterating his position that the offices would not amount to “foreign relations” and were necessitated by extensive cross-strait exchanges.     [FULL  STORY]

Castanet
Date: May 17, 2015
By: Bill Everitt

A suspicious package caused a scare at an airport in Taipei Saturday.

A Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Taipei, Taiwan, completed what appeared to be an uneventful flight with a safe landing in Taipei.

While unloading the aircraft a ground worker discovered a luggage container with a hand written label in Chinese indicating “Explosives! Handle with care!” and alerted security forces resulting in a massive deployment of police and firefighting forces including the bomb squad.

The aircraft was moved away from the terminal to the remote stand 605. The bomb squad subsequently examined the container and found no trace of explosives.     [FULL  STORY]