Action comes less than a week before same-sex marriage vote at Legislative Yuan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/11
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Male students at the New Taipei Municipal Banqiao Senior High School (板橋高中) marked the 73rd anniversary of their school Saturday (May 11) with a week-long activity during which they wore skirts to break gender stereotypes and underline the personal freedom of choice.

Even President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), addressing students at another school, commented on the event with the question “Don’t the Scots wear skirts too?”

At the garden party Saturday, male students wore skirts, earrings, and T-shirts in favor of marriage equality, the Central News Agency reported. The Legislative Yuan is expected to vote on three different proposals for and against the introduction of same-sex marriage on May 17, a week before a deadline set by the Constitutional Court two years before.

Three male students walked around the high school grounds Saturday dressed in the blue school uniform shirts but in combination with dark blue skirts, telling reporters that at least 10 of their classmates were also taking part in the event, which started on May 6.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/11
By: Worthy Shen and Chi Jo-yao

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) Multiple relics from different historical periods, including a Qing Dynasty blue and white porcelain medicine bottle, have been unearthed in Keelung during an excavation to find a city built by the Spaniards nearly 400 years ago.

The discovery was part of a joint project between Taiwanese and Spanish research teams which kicked off in early May at Heping Island in the northeastern Taiwanese city of Keelung.

It is aimed at locating a city named San Salvador constructed during Spain’s brief occupation of northern Taiwan from 1626-1642.

The relics uncovered on Friday included bone and shell tools dating back to the Neolithic period. Researchers also found cord-impressed ceramic tiles from the Iron Age, similar to those excavated at the Shihsanhang archaeological site located at the estuary of Tamsui River in northern Taiwan, according to Keelung’s Cultural Affairs Bureau.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 12, 2019
By: Sean Lin and Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporters

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday reiterated that travelers from Hong Kong and

Macau, as well as Taiwanese returning home from the two areas, are to have their carry-on and check-in luggage fully checked at customs.

Su made the remarks on Facebook after a case of African swine fever was reported at a Hong Kong slaughterhouse on Friday.

Su said the government has since Jan. 16 been inspecting carry-on luggage of passengers arriving from China, Hong Kong and Macau, and has since purchased X-ray scanners, which are deployed at customs and ports nationwide.

He called on people to be on the lookout so that minced pork rice, a quintessential Taiwanese street food, would be protected.

Separately yesterday, Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城) said that the case in Hong Kong could have been expected, given that the region imports most of its pork from China, and is near China’s Guangdong and Fujian provinces, which reported infection cases last year.    [FULL  STORY]

 Radio Taiwan Internatial
Date: 10 May, 2019
By: Paula Chao

President Tsai Ing-wen says “Taiwan’s self-made democracy still needs US partnership.” Tsai made the statement in an article published by Foreign Policy on Thursday.

In the article, Tsai wrote “against the backdrop of the Cold War, no one could have imagined that Taiwan would emerge as a beacon of democracy in Asia.”

Tsai also said the Taiwan Relations Act, enacted by the US government in 1979, provides a legal framework for exchanges between the two sides while assuring that Taiwan has “adequate defense capabilities to be free from coercion.”

Tsai wrote that with firm support from the US, Taiwanese people “transformed an authoritarian regime into a vibrant democracy” and held Taiwan’s first direct presidential election by popular vote in 1996.    [FULL  STORY]

Reuters 
Date: Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday that China has stepped

up efforts to infiltrate and gain influence in the self-ruled and democratic island, and asked national security agencies to counter the campaign.

Tsai, speaking to reporters after a national security meeting, said China’s influence operations included attempts to interfere with elections and fake news campaigns. Taiwan holds presidential elections next January.

She did not give details of specific incidents but said Taiwan’s national security agencies would be finding ways to tackle China’s moves.

Tsai also said Taiwan would deter military aggression in the Taiwan Strait, vowing to boost defence capabilities, including upgrading military equipment and a recently launched programme to build submarines.

“The Chinese Communist Party continues to demonstrate provocative actions in the Taiwan Strait, destroying the status quo across the Taiwan Strait,” Tsai said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese vigilantes smash woman’s home in Kaohsiung after video showing her beat dog goes viral

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/10
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vigilantes vandalized a woman’s home in Kaohsiung on Thursday (May 9) after a video surfaced on social media showing her mercilessly beating a stray dog with a broom.

On Wednesday (May 8), a woman surnamed Huang (黃) living in Kaohsiung’s Linyuan District complained to her neighbor, a woman surnamed Kuo (郭), that her dog had been damaging her potted plants and demanded compensation. However, Kuo denied that she was the owner of the dog and was reluctant to offer any payment.

Furious, Huang grabbed a broomstick and savagely beat the dog. Kuo shot videoof the beating and uploaded it to the Taiwanese Facebook group Baoyuan Commune (爆怨公社), where it quickly drew the ire of enraged dog lovers.

The Kaohsiung City Animal Protection Office was alerted to the video on Thursday (May 9) and brought Huang and Kuo into the Linyuan Precinct Police Station for questioning. Following a preliminary investigation, police believe that Huang violated the Animal Protection Act (動保法).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/10
By: Lin Chang-shun, Liu Shih-I, Chen Yi-hsuan and Emerson Lim

Taipei, May 10 (CNA) Taipei District Court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit from

Kuomintang (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) seeking to annul the result of last year’s Taipei mayoral election.

Ting was defeated by independent incumbent Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) by 3,254 votes in the election held on Nov. 24, 2018.

He requested a recount four days later and filed a case to have the result annulled when the recount did not go in his favor. However, Ting lost 303 votes as a result of the recount, leaving him with 3,567 fewer than Ko.

Ting can appeal the decision.    [FULL  STORY]

OPEN-ENDED: The amendments also exempt crimes that result in death from a 30-year statute of limitations for offenses punishable by death or at least 10-year terms

Taipei Times
Date: May 11, 2019
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Lawmakers yesterday amended the Criminal Code to include a provision stipulating a

prison term of at least 10 years — and a maximum of life imprisonment — for child abuse that results in death.

People who cause grievous bodily harm to minors face a prison term of five to 12 years, the amendment says.

Those who abuse minors to make a profit and cause their death face a prison term of 12 years to life, while those who inflict grievous bodily harm to minors in the pursuit of profit would receive a prison term of at least 10 years, it says.

The amended Criminal Code now also includes a definition of abuse: acts of violence, coercion or other inhumane treatment.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 09 May, 2019
By: Paula Chao

President Tsai Ing-wen says Taiwan is capable of building its own submarines. Tsai was speaking Thursday at the ground-breaking ceremony of a shipyard in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

Tsai said Taiwan now has four submarines in service. Two were transferred to Taiwan from the US in 1970. Both are now 70 years old. Taiwan purchased the other two submarines from the Netherlands. Both of these submarines are now 30 years old.

Tsai said the Netherlands no longer sells Taiwan submarines due to pressure from China, leaving Taiwan with no choice but to build its own submarines. The president said the government is determined to overcome difficulties in submarine development.
[FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2019/05/09
By: Nate Maynard

At a recent conference in Taipei, January’s controversy over feed-in tariffs did not dampen a sense of optimism over Taiwan’s wind energy future.

Did you know that, by 2025, Taiwan will be the 4th largest user of offshore wind power in the world? Few seem to realize the solid fundamentals that are driving Taiwan towards a wind energy future. Before last week’s Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) conference hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan’s Low Carbon Initiative (ECCT-LCI), I, too, did not appreciate the energy revolution taking place in this island.

Onshore benefits from offshore power
The day began with Lee Chun-li (李君禮), the acting head of Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy (BOE), announcing that Taiwan would increase its wind capacity by 5GW after 2026 on top of its initial plan. According to the BOE, they expect offshore wind to be a significant job generator with output value reaching NT$77.3 billion (US$2.5 billion) and total investment exceeding NT$1 trillion (around US$32 billion) by 2025. This benefit can be very real for local communities.

The mayor of Taoyuan, Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), had equally positive data to share: Wind power in Taoyuan has reduced CO2 emissions by 760,000 tons, generated US$2 billion in investment and created 400 direct jobs with many other indirect ones supporting the industry.    [FULL  STORY]