Taiwan holds its breath as it awaits the verdict of the Constitutional Court hearing on same-sex marriage tomorrow.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/23
By: ZiQing Low

Taiwan’s highest court is set to make a landmark ruling tomorrow on whether the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

The Constitutional Court, also known as the Council of Grand Justices, began public hearings on March 24, after cases were brought to the court by long-time LGBT rights activist Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) and the Taipei City Government.

Chi petitioned for the case to be heard when his attempt to register his marriage with his partner in 2013 was rejected. The Taipei City government presented a petition due to growing requests for same-sex marriage.

The hearing saw supporters and opponents debate whether Taiwan’s Civil Code allows same-sex marriage. Currently, Article 972 of the Civil Code states, “An agreement to marry shall be made by the male and the female parties in their own [con]cord.” Proponents of same-sex marriage argue that this article does not limit marriage to one male and one female.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/23
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–As the Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner, teams participating in this year’s dragon boat races have been seen training early mornings these days on waters under the Bitan Suspension Bridge in Xindian, New Taipei City.

As on Monday, more than 10 teams had been training hard since five and six o’clock in the morning when the day just broke. Some teams let out loud sounds as they paddled in unison. Many of the teams are composed of sport-loving white collar workers of both genders. They came together to form teams because they shared the same interest.

They sacrificed their sleeping time and were up before daybreak to arrive at the training site early. They fully utilized a couple of hours before going to work for the workout, and often they also came together after work for other trainings.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/23
By: Tang Pei-chun, Tai Ya-chen and Y.F. Low

Geneva, May 22 (CNA) The representatives of the United States, Germany, Australia and Burkina Faso spoke in support of uninvited Taiwan at the World Health Assembly (WHA) that opened in Geneva Monday.

Taking the floor during a general discussion session, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price expressed disappointment that Taiwan was not invited to this year’s meeting and said the United States “remains committed that Taiwan should not be excluded” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Australia’s representative said the WHO and the WHA should be more inclusive.

He said inviting Taiwan to attend the WHA as an observer over the past several years was an important sign that the WHO was interacting with Taiwan and that Australia supported the continuation of such interaction.    [FULL  STORY]

THREE TO A CAR:The bureau has decided to enforce high occupancy vehicle hours from 7am to 12pm on the Sun Yat-Sen Freeway and Formosa Freeway on Saturday

Taipei Times
Date: May 24, 2017
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

Armed with data collected during major holidays, Minister of Transportation and

Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) yesterday defended the ministry’s decision to shorten the duration of freeway toll-free hours during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival weekend, and said that motorists would not experience the severe traffic congestion typically seen on holidays.

Based on the National Freeway Bureau’s plan, the toll-free freeway hours during the four-day weekend are to be from 12am to 5am on Saturday and Tuesday next week and from 3am to 5am on Sunday and Monday.

Because the bureau estimated that southbound traffic volume would hit a historic high on the first day of the holiday, the bureau also decided to enforce high occupancy vehicle (HOV) hours from 7am to 12pm on both the Sun Yat-Sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) and Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) on Saturday.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: May 23, 2017
By: The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Imagine waiting for the subway on a busy weekday and seeing a gun

fall from another waiting bystander.

That’s what happened Monday morning on Taiwan’s busiest subway system, with a daily ridership of an estimated 1.8 million.

An eyewitness saw a gun fall from a man onto the floor of Taipei MRT’s Yongning station. The man immediately picked up the weapon and tucked it in his waistside, but not before an eyewitness alerted authorities, who later apprehended the man at Taipei Main Station.

The suspect, a 46-year-old surnamed Chen, maintained his innocence while police searched him, but they soon found the gun on him, along with bullets and a pair of handcuffs.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/22
By: James Baron

‘Most people are completely unaware that this is even an issue. I know this

because I have seen flagrant sniffers in the middle of busy thoroughfares, their heads buried in larger carrier bags as oblivious hordes jostled around them.’
If there’s a more accomplished flâneur in Taipei than my old pal Bede, I have yet to meet the person. Anchoring his perambulations around convenience-store pit stops, he literally stumbles upon scenes and characters that most Taipei natives would scarcely credit.

As with several revelations concerning the seedier aspects of the city’s underbelly, it was Bede who first alerted me to the issue of solvent abuse in Taipei.

“I can’t believe you’ve not come across them,” he said. “Once you know what to look for, you’ll see them everywhere.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/22
By: George Liao,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–The East Coast National Scenic Area (ECNSA) headquarters said Monday that the eight-arch bridge on Taiwan’s east coast that connects Sanxiantai with the mainland will be closed for three and a half months from June 1 to September 15 for repair and maintenance.

The foot bridge, about 400 meters long, is the landmark of Sanxiantai, one of the most popular sites on the east coast.

Sanxiantai is an area containing a beach, several islands, sea caves and coral reefs on the coast of Chenggong Township, Taitung County.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/22
By: Tang Pei-chun, Tai Ya-chen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 22 (CNA) The general committee of the 70th World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday ruled that a proposal on inviting Taiwan to participate in the WHA as an observer will not be included on the conference’s provisional agenda due to China’s strong opposition.

The proposal, which requested the WHA, the decision-making body of the World Heath Organization, to include the Taiwan-related issue on the agenda of the WHA meeting, was brought forth by 11 formal diplomatic allies of Taiwan.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Palau voiced support for Taiwan’s attempt to attend the annual WHA meeting, which kicked off Monday, but the proposal was rejected during the General Committee’s meeting after a debate, mainly due to opposition from China and Cuba.    [FULL  STORY]

GENERATIONAL SHIFT:People aged 65 or above have become Tsai’s most ardent supporters, replacing young voters, as her economic and cross-strait policies falter

Taipei Times
Date: May 23, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) scored an average of 52.41 points out of a possible

100 in a poll gauging her performance over the past year, with respondents expressing the highest levels of dissatisfaction with her economic performance, her handling of cross-strait affairs and Premier Lin Chuan’s (林全) Cabinet.

The poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation following Tsai’s first year in office assessed the public’s view on the president and her major policies.

Respondents were asked to grade Tsai’s first-year performance with a mark between zero and 100, with 60 being the passing score.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: May 22, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

Talk about injecting new blood.

Lee Tzu-han isn’t your typical Kuomintang politician. The 28-year-old model, who

has some 100,000 Facebook fans and is the outgoing KMT chairwoman’s goddaughter, was elected as a party delegate in Hsinchu City during party elections Saturday.

Photos of Lee have earned her hundreds of likes, among them a picture of her with Hung, who was voted out of office by challenger Wu Den-yih. By contrast, Lee’s current Facebook cover photo, showing her scantily clad and sprawled across a leather couch, has garnered close to 4,000 likes.

“Appearances aren’t enough. Oratory, wisdom, ability and a good sense of humor can overcome natural beauty,” Lee posted on Facebook.    [FULL  STORY]