Chaos on board vessel in the Indian Ocean, deadly brawl, crew members injured aboard, others jump ship

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/22
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – After a violent incident erupted on a Taiwanese fishing vessel early Feb. 20, there are reports that two men have died and that as many as six people may be missing as sea.

News reports paint a frantic and confusing picture of the situation happening in the Indian Ocean aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel, the Wen Peng (穩鵬號), which has reportedly been commandeered by a murderous chief officer.

On Feb. 21, the Central News Agency reported that one Filipino fisherman was killed and another seriously injured in a knife attack by the ship’s chief officer. A later report from Channel News Asia states that two people were killed.

Some crew members barricaded themselves in part of the ship, and others jumped into the ocean to get away from the attacker.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/22
By: Chen Chih-Chung, Liu Chien-pang, Matt Yu and Chung Yu-chen 

Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) National Chengchi University (NCCU) has decided to press charges after the leg of an equestrian statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) on campus was cut off early Friday, allegedly by university students unhappy with what they called “authoritarian symbols” on campuses.

NCCU Secretary-General Her Lai-jier (何賴傑) said that the school has decided to press charges and seek compensation against the individual or individuals who carried out the action.

Her said that while freedom of speech is guaranteed in the Constitution, the school does not support advocating such freedom through violence or illegal means.

According to the police, the statue was also splashed with red paint and had a banner tied to it that said “do not forget the 228 Incident.”    [FULL  STORY]

HISTORY LESSON: The premier cited the 1938 Munich Agreement as an example of a peace agreement that failed to keep its signatories from going to war with each other

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 23, 2019
By: Sean Lin and Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporters

Noting that a peace treaty between the UK and Germany in 1938 did not prevent the two from going to

war, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said that people should “heed history’s lessons and not repeat its mistakes.”

Su made the remark at the Legislative Yuan when asked for comment on the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) accusation on Thursday that by refusing to sign a cross-strait peace agreement, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is “courting war and rejecting peace.”

“The KMT’s tone resembled that of [former British prime minister Neville] Chamberlain before he flew to Berlin and signed the agreement with Adolf Hitler,” Su said. “[Chamberlain] proudly brandished the agreement as he disembarked his airplane, only to see Hitler wage a war later.”

Su was referring to the Munich Agreement spearheaded by Chamberlain in 1938 and signed by the UK, France, Italy and Nazi Germany, which pressed then-Czechoslovakia into ceding the Sudetenland.
[FULL  STORY]

Misunderstandings on both sides handicap a robust and coherent US-Taiwan dialogue, writes Milo Hsieh.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/20
By: Milo Hsieh

As discussion continues on issues such as a potential invitation for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress and an independence referendum for Taiwan, a culture-information gap between those based in Washington and in Taipei has emerged.

The vast difference in the cultures of politics and expression in the U.S. and Taiwan contributes to this, though distance is also an issue that serves as a gap between American and Taiwanese decision makers. The perception and information gap between Washington and Taipei is a problem in U.S.-Taiwan relations since it impedes effective communication and understanding.

In Washington, there is primarily a circle of American academics, mostly highly experienced experts with previous experience serving the U.S. government or working/living in Taiwan. While this group of scholars offers much needed insight, especially as they have personally spent time in Taiwan, the application of their experience on a constantly evolving, digital, and democratic Taiwan can sometimes appear rusty.

1996 was a landmark year for Taiwan. It was the year when the first popular presidential election was held. Despite the difference between authoritarian Taiwan and democratic Taiwan, longtime experts have frequently used their pre-1996 experiences in Taiwan as context for their analysis.    [FULL  STORY]

Many other migrant workers could be victims of sexual assault at abortion clinic in Taoyuan, Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/21
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A doctor has been caught on camera sexually assaulting a migrant worker while she was undergoing an abortion procedure at his clinic in Taoyuan, Taiwan, and he is suspected of abusing many more over the course of years, reported Liberty Times.

Lin Chin-jen (林勤人), a 61-year-old physician and owner of Doctor Altus Obstetrics and Gynecology in Taoyuan’s Zhongli District, has been accused using an excessive dosage of anesthetic on a female migrant worker before undergoing an abortion to first sexually assault her in April last year. Lin’s wife captured the doctor in the act of assaulting the victim with a concealed camera, and after being confronted by police, Lin confessed to the crime and was today charged with aggravated forcible sexual intercourse (強制性交罪).

Lin’s wife recently began to notice that her husband was suspiciously giving his patients an excessive amount of anesthetic, so she decided to set up a pinhole camera in the operating room to observe his behavior. At 11 a.m. on April 28, Lin prepared to perform an abortion on a 30-year-old patient.

He knew that only 10 cc of anesthetic was need to anesthetize the patient, but he injected her with 13 cc. Once the victim lost consciousness, Lin told his daughter, who works at the clinic as a nurse, to leave the operating room.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/21
By: Yeh Su-ping, Ku Chuan, Liu Shih-yi and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Feb. 21 (CNA) The Cabinet’s draft bill to legalize same-sex marriage, which does not currently

include regulations governing such issues as marriage between Taiwanese and foreign nationals of the same sex, will be subject to further amendments, the Ministry of Justice said Thursday.

The Cabinet approved earlier in the day a draft bill that will serve as the basis for same-sex couples aged 18 and older to marry (though parental consent is required under the age of 20), which is expected to take effect May 24.

While the draft bill covers areas such as inheritance rights, medical rights, adoption of children and monogamy, commentators have asked why it does not address marriage between foreign nationals and Taiwanese of the same sex, or whether gay couples can use assisted reproduction through sperm or oocyte donation.

Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said the draft legislation does not cover all scenarios relating to transnational same-sex marriage.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 22, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

Thirteen people, including three Taiwanese, involved in a bloody conflict aboard a fishing vessel in the

Indian Ocean had been rescued as of yesterday evening, while rescue operations continued for the remaining crew, the Fisheries Agency said.

A conflict broke out aboard the Wen Peng at 1:44am on Wednesday about 1,582 nautical miles (2,930km) from the coast of Mauritius, the agency said.

A total of 24 people were aboard the vessel, including three Taiwanese, 10 Filipinos and 11 Indonesians, it said.

The Taiwanese on board were captain Chen Chen-mao (陳振茂), chief engineer Kao Hsin-kuang (高信光) and observer Yang Wen-pin (楊文斌), it added.
[FULL  STORY]

Misunderstandings on both sides handicap a robust and coherent US-Taiwan dialogue, writes Milo Hsieh.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/20
By: Milo Hsieh

As discussion continues on issues such as a potential invitation for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress and an independence referendum for Taiwan, a culture-information gap between those based in Washington and in Taipei has emerged.

The vast difference in the cultures of politics and expression in the U.S. and Taiwan contributes to this, though distance is also an issue that serves as a gap between American and Taiwanese decision makers. The perception and information gap between Washington and Taipei is a problem in U.S.-Taiwan relations since it impedes effective communication and understanding.

In Washington, there is primarily a circle of American academics, mostly highly experienced experts with previous experience serving the U.S. government or working/living in Taiwan. While this group of scholars offers much needed insight, especially as they have personally spent time in Taiwan, the application of their experience on a constantly evolving, digital, and democratic Taiwan can sometimes appear rusty.

1996 was a landmark year for Taiwan. It was the year when the first popular presidential election was held. Despite the difference between authoritarian Taiwan and democratic Taiwan, longtime experts have frequently used their pre-1996 experiences in Taiwan as context for their analysis.    [FULL  STORY]

Family of 4 found dead inside taxi in apparent murder-suicide in Taichung, Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/20
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A family of four was found dead inside a taxi in western Taiwan’s Taichung City on Monday (Feb. 18) after they apparently asphyxiated from inhaling charcoal smoke, reported Liberty Times.

On Monday morning, firefighters found the bodies of a 32-year-old man surnamed Wu (吳), his 34-year-old wife surnamed Peng (彭), the couple’s nine-year-old son, and their six-year-old daughter inside a taxi in Taichung City’s Taiping District. Police found that charcoal had been burned inside the vehicle and Peng’s hands had been bound with transparent tape, while the two children were found lying in the back seat.

Wu and Peng had reportedly been suffering martial conflict and had recently separated, with Peng moving in with her mother. On Sunday morning (Feb. 17), Peng left from her mother’s home and drove her scooter with their children to meet Wu to discuss their divorce, but she never returned. Peng’s family then reported to police that she was missing.

At 9 a.m. Monday morning, a member of the public found the taxi (owned by Wu’s father) parked in an open area next to Beitian Road in the Tou-Bian mountainous area of Taiping District. When they approached the vehicle, they found two people lying unconscious in the front with the windows and doors tightly sealed.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/20
By: Ku Chuan and William Yen

Taipei, Feb. 20 (CNA) Taiwan’s Cabinet on Wednesday released a draft bill that will serve as the basis for same-sex marriages after conservative groups scored a victory last year in a referendum against any amendments to the Civil Code to allow legalization of gay unions.

Cabinet spokesperson Kolas Yotaka said the draft bill covers issues such as inheritance rights, medical rights, adoption of children, and monogamy.

It also details penalties for adultery and bigamy, Kolas said, adding that there are people who are spreading false information that legalizing same-sex marriages will promote the idea of polygamy, bestiality and sexual promiscuity.

The draft bill, officially called “The Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748,” is the first in Taiwan to be named after a constitutional interpretation, and was so named to avoid causing disputes between supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, she said, citing a consensus reached between the Cabinet and ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.    [FULL  STORY]