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Magnitude 5.1 quake rattles Hualien, shock waves felt across Taiwan

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake shakes Hualien, tremors felt across Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/09
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

CWB map of tonight’s quake in Hualien.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A magnitude 5.1 earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County at 11:15 p.m. this evening, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the temblor was 11.7 kilometers west-northwest of Hualien County Hall at a shallow depth of 19.2 kilometers, based on CBW data.

The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, registered a 5 on Taiwan’s 7-tiered intensity scale in Hualien County, a 4 in Nantou County and Taichung City, and 3 in Yilan County. An intensity level of 2 was recorded Taoyuan City, Hsinchu County, Changhua County, Yunlin County, Taitung County, and New Taipei City, while an intensity level of 1 was felt in Chiayi County, Hsinchu City, Taipei City, Miaoli County, and Kaohsiung City.

Located along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, Taiwan uses an intensity scale of 1 to 7, which gauges the degree to which a quake is felt in a specific location.    [FULL  STORY]

3,951 same-sex couples registered as partners in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/09
By: Liu Li-jung, Liu Kuan-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) A total of 3,951 same-sex couples have registered as partners over the past three years since same-sex partnership recording began in Taiwan in 2015, with the largest numbers recorded in Taipei, New Taipei and Taichung, according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of the Interior.

Since Kaohsiung became the first city in Taiwan to allow same-sex couples to register their partnerships at household registration offices on May 20, 2015, 18 of the country’s 22 cities and counties have introduced a partnership registration scheme for such couples and have also begun to accept applications from other localities.

This year as of November, 1,061 same-sex couples had registered their partnerships nationwide, while 1,201 registered in 2017, and 1,417 in 2016 and 2015, bringing the total cumulative number to 3,951.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Democratic Model

The government writes that its voters cherish the right to vote.

The New York Times
Date: Dec. 6, 2018 

The new American Institute in Taiwan under construction in Taipei in May.CreditCreditIsaac Lawrence for The New York Times

To the Editor:

Yi-Zheng Lian sounds a cautionary note in “China Preys on Taiwan’s Openness” (Op-Ed, Nov. 29), worrying that if Taiwan falls to the Chinese Communists, Hong Kong “could be next.”

It may have escaped Mr. Lian’s notice, but Hong Kong’s fate was sealed in 1997 when it was handed over to the Chinese Communists, and notwithstanding the promises made to allow the colony some degree of autonomy, Beijing’s heavy hand has continued every year to close into a fist, breaking those promises, bit by bit, almost since the handover itself.

Taiwan’s voters are pragmatic, and their hard-earned democracy allows them to vote incumbents failing to serve their interests out of office. The right to vote is also something that Taiwanese people deeply cherish and are willing to defend.

Taiwan recognizes the threat of disinformation campaigns and is developing countermeasures to strengthen transparency. To think that Taiwan would so easily let go of its freedom is a mistake.    [FULL  LETTER]

Taiwan director Doze Niu accused of sexual assault

Director Doze Niu became famous when “Monga” won two Golden Horse Awards in 2010 and took TW$ 59.32 million (US$1.85 million) at the box office AFP/JUNG YEON-JE

Channel News Asia
Date: 07 Dec 2018

TAIPEI: Acclaimed Taiwanese director Doze Niu has been accused of sexually assaulting

Taiwan director Doze Niu accused of sexual assault

a female crew member working on his latest film, “Pao Ma”.

The alleged assault happened following a meeting at Niu’s home in Taipei when other guests had left, according to Taiwan’s United Daily News.

A friend accompanied the woman to a hospital after the alleged assault in November and a police report was filed on Wednesday (Dec 5).

Niu, who appeared at a Taipei police station for questioning on Friday, said he would cooperate with the investigation.    [FULL  STORY]

US-China tension could become confrontation as pressure builds in South China Sea, Taiwan Strait

Washington and Beijing look set to remain at odds over Taiwan, observers say, but opinions differ on where the flashpoint will be
 
South China Morning Post
Date: 08 December, 2018
By: Laura Zhou

US-China tension could become confrontation as pressure builds in South China Sea, Taiwan Strait

The risk of confrontation between mainland China and the United States over Taiwan is likely to grow next year as the self-ruled island leans ever closer to Washington in a bid to counter Beijing’s rise, observers said.

Speaking at a forum in Beijing, Chinese experts on military and diplomatic issues said they expected the South China Sea to continue to be the focus of the geopolitical conflict between China and the US, but that tensions could extend into the Taiwan Strait.

“There is a possibility that the United States will use tactics regarding Taiwan to counter China that it has never used since the establishment of China-US relations,” said Wu Xinbo, director of the Centre for American Studies at Fudan University.

“China has to think whether to take pre-emptive action to stop the US, or take measures after the US action.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan has registered almost 4,000 same-sex couples

Taipei, New Taipei and Taichung have seen highest numbers

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/08
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan has registered almost 4,000 same-sex partnerships. (By Associated Press)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Despite the setback for same-sex marriage in last month’s referendums, a total of 3,951 same-sex couples have registered, according to the Ministry of Interior.

While the Constitutional Court ruled in May last year that same-sex couples should not be banned from marrying, five referenda on November 24 saw three questions submitted by opponents of same-sex marriage win while two from the gay rights movement were rejected.

Local registration of same-sex couples saw almost 4,000 partnerships realized, with Taipei, New Taipei and Taichung seeing the highest numbers respectively.

Kaohsiung was the first local government to launch the registrations, in May 2015, but among the six special municipalities, it had registered the lowest number of partnerships, 173 couples in all, the Central News Agency reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Cabinet to set up child welfare agency: Premier Lai

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/08
By: Chen Wei-ting and Ko Lin

Taipei, Dec. 8 (CNA) The government plans to establish a Cabinet-level commission that

Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德)

will be responsible for child welfare in Taiwan, Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Saturday.

Speaking in Taipei at an annual forum hosted by the Child Health Alliance Taiwan (CHAT), Lai said the relevant ministries and agencies will work together on the plan.

By next year, he said, the Cabinet expects to hold its first meeting that will include the new agency.

Although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, Lai said, Taiwan has been working to better protect the rights of children and people with special needs, in line with international standards.    [FULL  STORY]

Huawei CFO a flight risk, prosecutor says as arrest risks US-China detente

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 09, 2018
By: AP, VANCOUVER, British Columbia

A Canadian prosecutor on Friday urged a Vancouver court to deny bail to a Chinese

Reporters stand outside the Supreme Court of British Columbia ahead of a bail hearing for Huawei Technologies Co CFO Wanzhou Meng in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Friday.  Photo: Bloomberg

executive at the heart of a case that is shaking up US-China relations and worrying global financial markets.

Huawei Technologies Co (華為) chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟) was detained at the request of the US during a layover at Vancouver International Airport on Saturday last week — the same day US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) agreed over dinner to a 90-day ceasefire in a trade dispute that threatens to disrupt global commerce.

The US alleges that Huawei used a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment in Iran in violation of US sanctions.

It also says that Meng and Huawei misled US banks about its business dealings in Iran.
[FULL  STORY]

How Taiwan’s Experimental Schools Help Students Think for Themselves

A bevy of alternative schools in Taiwan take novel approaches to learning.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/07
By: Kathy Chen, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

Credit: Depositphotos

Lunchtime is approaching and 18-year-old Tsai Jia-hao and his classmates are cooking seafood noodles in the sleek, open kitchen. Jia-hao expertly tosses the pasta in the pan, while other students chop cabbage and carrots for stir-fry. Their teacher looks on, finishing off the noodles with a sprinkle of Thai basil.

Jia-hao, a lanky kid in T-shirt and baseball cap, slides the noodles into a serving bowl, and his classmates gather around to serve themselves. “I love to cook,” he says.

It’s all in a day’s classes at Taiwan’s Xue Xue Institute. Xue Xue isn’t a culinary institution, though, but rather an experimental school where teachers use cooking as a way to help students get in touch with their senses. It is also one of several dozen alternative schools that have opened on the island in recent years, as educators and parents seek to engage the younger generation in learning that will prepare them for the 21st century workplace.

Although Taiwan’s first alternative school was set up in 1990, the government didn’t codify its policy on experimental and home schools until 2014 when the Enforcement Act for School-based Experimental Education and two related laws were passed. An amendment last year paved the way for experimental education initiatives to be expanded from K-12 to include higher education.    [FULL  STORY]

Indonesian woman stabs ex-husband, daughter to death in western Taiwan

Indonesian woman stabs ex-husband, daughter to death after squabble over work broke out in Changhua County in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/07
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Indonesian woman (right). (Changhua Police Department image)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An Indonesian woman stabbed her ex-husband and daughter to death early this morning in western Taiwan, before confessing to the crime to police, reported Now News.

According to a police investigation, at 1 a.m. this morning in Changhua County’s Puxin Township, a 40-year-old Indonesian immigrant, surnamed Wang (王) got into a heated argument with her ex-husband, a 41-year-old Taiwanese man surnamed Wu (吳), over her current work situation. In a blind rage, Wang suddenly pulled out a fruit knife and stabbed Wu several times, inflicting multipe wounds to his body.

Next, as their 15-year-old daughter tried to intervene and protect her father, Wang also brutally stabbed her repeatedly. Covered in blood, Wang then walked over to the police station to confess her crime.

Wu was rushed by paramedics to the Ministry of Health and Welfare Hospital in Changhua, while their daughter was sent to Yuanlin Christian Hospital, however because the extent of their injuries were too severe, both died in the hospitals.    [FULL  STORY]