Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 02 November, 2018
By: Jake Chen

Lawmakers from the majority Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have struck down a proposal to discuss a Civil Code amendment to legalize same-sex marriage.

At the Legislature on Friday, members of the minority New Power Party proposed to discuss the amendment of the Civil Code in order to accelerate the legalization process. The DPP block the proposal with their superior number of lawmakers.

A deadline is approaching for lawmakers to create legislation for same-sex marriage, in line with a high court ruling in 2017. Among ten referenda scheduled for November 24, the same day of the local elections, five concern the legalization of same-sex marriage. Two are in support of the cause, the other three against.    [SOURCE]

The News Lens
Date: 2018/11/02
By: By Tim Heberlein

Taiwan should embrace technology that will convert food waste to energy and fuel the circular economy, writes Tim Heberlein, founder of TS Edgewater Consultants.

Taiwan generates an estimated 16.5 million tons of food waste a year. That’s enough to fill 182 Olympic-size swimming pools every day all year, year-in and year-out. For most people, it’s out-of-sight, out-of-mind – at worst, someone else’s problem.

In reality, food waste costs Taiwan taxpayers billions of dollars a year. It is a significant source of air and water pollution and Taiwan’s already oversized greenhouse gas emissions. Soil contamination from food waste reduces our limited farmland every year.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right technology, converting food waste to energy epitomizes the circular economy. More to the point, it could provide Taiwan much more electricity than it now gets from nuclear power and provide a practical, low-cost / high-return incentive for inbound foreign investment and the retention of local manufacturing.

Taiwan truly is a global leader in solid waste recycling. Only Korea and Sweden do it better. However, when it comes to handling food waste, Taiwan punches well below its weight class.    [FULL  STORY]

Measure designed to combat the aging of society

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Trains will have to provide priority seats to pregnant women and to families with children, according to an amendment passed by the Legislative Yuan Friday.

The measure forms part of government efforts to encourage a rise in the birthrate amid fears over a rapidly aging society, the Central News Agency reported.

Lawmakers felt that trains on long-range journeys were not family-friendly enough, as they often did not provide carriages suitable to children’s needs. The absence of such facilities made travel for young families highly inconvenient and uncomfortable, reports said.

In the future, when the Ministry of Transportation buys new train carriages, it will also have to be make sure they are multifunctional and with the interests of families and children being a large part of these improvements, according to CNA.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/02
By: Chen Wei-ting and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 2 (CNA) The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has decided not to use

in the national vaccination program two batches of influenza vaccine with the same lot numbers as two flawed doses found over the past week.

The decision was made during an MOHW meeting on flu control Thursday, in which discussions were conducted about the two discolored doses reported Oct. 24 and Oct. 29, respectively.

The flawed products consisted of one dose of Vaxigrip flu vaccine made by French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur and a dose of children’s flu vaccine manufactured by Taiwan-based vaccine maker Adimmune Corp.

Upon the discovery, the MOHW ordered an immediate suspension of all the vaccine doses with the same lot numbers as the problematic ones and launched checks on them in conjunction with the manufacturers involved.    [FULL  STORY]

DEADLY ERROR? Nippon Sharyo found a design flaw in the Puyuma Express trains it sold to Taiwan that stops the alert system from being able to contact the control station

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 03, 2018
By: Su Fun-her and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

Minister of Transportation and Communications Wu Hong-mo (吳宏謀) yesterday said that

the ministry would investigate the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) procurement and evaluation process and whether it could seek compensation from the Japanese manufacturer of a train that derailed last month.

The remarks came after the TRA on Thursday said it had asked the company, Nippon Sharyo, to explain a design flaw in all 19 Puyuma trains it sold to Taiwan.

Puyuma Express No. 6432 derailed on Oct. 21, killing 18 people and injuring 215.

If the company finds that the flaw can be fixed immediately, the ministry will ask for improvements and related system upgrades at once, Wu added.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei has big plans to bring the circular economy into residents’ daily lives.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/11/01
By: Jules Quartly

The development of smart housing – utilizing Taiwan’s strengths in the ICT (information and communications technology) sector – is central to the Taipei City government’s blueprint for the future. The plan also matches the national government’s objective under its 5+2 Innovative Industries initiative to promote a circular economy in which waste is reduced to the absolute minimum.

The goal is for the capital city to become a “living lab” taking into account such functions as communications, energy management, mobility, education, medical care, i-voting, and environmental improvements.

This urban regeneration plan, part of the Taipei 2050 Vision Project, calls for the use of big data and GIS (geographic information system) tools to improve the city’s housing stock, amenities, and public welfare. At the heart of the initiative is a NT$95 billion (US$1.1 billion) program designed to benefit the less well-off by building social housing.

The initiative is also expected to spur private-sector activity and urban renewal, as the city’s aging and somewhat ram-shackle housing stock is replaced by smarter buildings.
[FULL  STORY]

KMT assets have been an issue for decades: Committee spokesperson

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/11/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Ill-Gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee on Thursday

accused former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of misleading the public over the sale of Kuomintang (KMT) media companies.

Ma appeared in court Wednesday to face allegations of breach of trust in the 2005 sale of China Television (CTV), radio company Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) and its movie group Central Motion Pictures Corporation (CMPC) at a reported loss of NT$7.3 billion (US$236 million) when he chaired the KMT.

The former president said Wednesday he had sold off the companies to speed up the case of party assets so they could no longer form a target of criticism during elections.

However, the Ill-Gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee accused Ma of misrepresenting the issue, as the KMT’s assets problem had been already around for decades.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/01
By Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, Nov.1 (CNA) A group of Taiwanese scientists led by Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) attended the opening ceremony of a three-day dialogue on quantum mechanics in Buddhism with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India Thursday.

Having discussed similar issues with scientists from the West and India on various occasions over the decades, the Dalai Lama in his opening remarks said this would be the first time he has engaged in such a dialogue with scientists mainly from the Chinese community.

The Dalai Lama went on to say that he hoped the dialogue would serve two purposes — expand the field of scientific research to include the study of the inner mind and promote the role of compassion, which some scientists believe is basic human nature, in the development of scientific research.

All religions carry the message of love, forgiveness, tolerance, and self-discipline, but religion has limited impact in promoting the inner values of humanity, partly because it is often used to create division or to justify killing, the Dalai Lama said.    [FULL  STORY]

EVIDENCE OF MANIPULATION: More money is being sent from overseas to subsidize candidates’ campaign expenses than ever before, the deputy minister of justice said

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 02, 2018
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Premier William Lai (賴清德) and lawmakers yesterday said that the Nov 24 nine-in-one

elections are being undermined and national security is under threat, because of China’s spread of disinformation, financial support of certain candidates and sponsoring of television and radio programs, as well as cyberattacks.

Presiding over a cross-ministerial meeting at the Executive Yuan, Lai said that the judiciary has launched investigations into candidates suspected of receiving large amounts of money from Chinese sources, which contravenes the nation’s election laws.

“We have evidence to show there have been massive injections of money from outside Taiwan to influence the election outcome, along with the dissemination of disinformation through mass media and social media,” Lai said.

“Evidence also points to outside funding being given to criminal syndicates masquerading as political parties, so that they can destabilize our society by creating disturbances, and using violence and intimidation,” he said.
[FULL  STORY]