DEMOCRACY?The former vice president said that amending the Civil Code to please a minority would disrupt the lives of the majority and the ethical order

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 02, 2017
By: Chen Yun, Lin Yan-tung and Chung Li-hua / Staff reporters

Former vice president Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) call for the government to hit the brakes on amending the

Civil Code for the sake of “an extremely small minority with a different sexual orientation” has drawn fire, with critics saying it showed a poor understanding of democracy.

Wu, a candidate in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) chairperson election on May 20, made the comments on Tuesday during a visit to several military dependents’ villages in Taoyuan’s Yangmei (楊梅), Jhongli (中壢) and Gueishan (龜山) districts.

When a supporter in Jhongli stopped him and urged him to pay more attention to the issue of same-sex marriage, Wu said that society needs to show respect to people who have a different sexual orientation by giving them space, but he does not support amending the Civil Code just for this minority.

The nation can work on legislating a specific act regulating same-sex marriages, he said, adding that amending the Civil Code would disrupt the lives of the majority and an ethical order that has been in place for centuries.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: February 2, 2017
By: Stephanie Chao

Taiwan has scored higher than the U.S. in Freedom House’s latest report on global

freedom released Tuesday, with the nation listed in the “most free” category for the first time in the past 10 years.

The nonprofit’s Freedom in the World 2017 has called populists and autocrats threats to the global order and named democracies like Taiwan vulnerable”orphaned democrats” under the populist and authoritarian trend.

Under the aggregated score category, Taiwan scored 91 out of 100, higher than the U.S.’ 89 points. Compared to the 2016 scores, Taiwan continued to rank 1 (equaling to most free as compared to the score 7, which mean least free) in terms of political rights.

Taiwan improved in civil liberties, going up from 2 to 1 in ratings. Freedom House named media independence and academic freedom as two critical factors in this category.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/01/31
By: Timothy S. Rich

Taking stock of the DPP a year after it swept through the general election in Taiwan.

A year has passed since the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) historic victory in the presidential and legislative elections. How should we evaluate their performance and what challenges lie ahead in 2017?

Media in Taiwan and abroad have pointed to Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) declining approval ratings as a sign that the high hope are already over. Taiwan Indicators Survey Research for example reports Tsai’s approval ratings have fallen from 70 percent in May, the month of her inauguration, to 45.5 percent in August. Other surveys since have shown approval rates largely in the 20s and 30s (see here, here, and here). What accounts for Tsai’s falling approval ratings?

Pundits will look for a simple cause that fits within a sound bite, but the truth is seldom so concise. Meanwhile, declining numbers fuel (Kuomintang) KMT hopes of electoral opportunities in the 2018 local elections and Chinese media has jumped at another opportunity to criticize the Tsai administration, claiming a buyer’s remorse among those that voted for the DPP. It helps to view this decline in a broader context. From the U.S. to France to Mexico, presidential approval rates commonly decline within months of taking office. Candidates frequently make campaign pledges that are difficult to implement once in office. Just as even the best hitter in baseball failed to get on base in even half of his at-bats, no administration, however well intended, will be able to meet all of its campaign pledges. The public also accrues greater information about the stances and actions of the president and the party over time.    [FULL  STORY]

No injuries as incident happened before passengers were allowed to board

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/31
By Matthew Strong,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A train derailed near Taitung Tuesday morning, but nobody

was reported injured as the incident happened before passengers boarded.

Nevertheless, the accident caused delays for several other trains, affecting 860 passengers while workers did their utmost to clear the tracks by 6:30 p.m., the Taiwan Railways Administration said.

The Chu-Kuang Express train No.704 was preparing to set out from Taitung to New Zuoying in Kaohsiung City and was being maneuvered on a track used to wash trains when a wagon left the rails, reports said. As a result, the main route into and out of the train depot in Taitung was blocked.

Nobody was injured in the accident, which happened around 12:17 p.m., but it would take more than six hours to clear the scene, the TRA said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/31
By: Han Ting-ting and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Jan. 31 (CNA) Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) reported on Tuesday that

it carried 252,250 passengers the previous day, the third day of the Lunar New Year, its highest ever ridership on a single day.

The number broke the record of 250,423 passengers set on June 12 last year, the last day of the four-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday period, according to the company.

THSRC said it has carried 1.27 million passengers from Jan. 25-30. The breakdown of the figures being 191,036; 219,962; 183,656; 176,707; 246,391 and 252,250.

The 2017 Lunar New Year holiday ends on Wednesday, Feb. 1.   [FULL  STORY]

TRIALS PERIOD:The president said that people have been waiting two decades for the line and she urged agencies to make sure that all preparatory work is complete

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 01, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday urged government agencies to make sure

everything is in order with the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before it is launched next month to make the 20-year wait worthwhile.

Tsai made the remarks at Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station after riding an MRT train from the A1 stop at Taipei Main Station to the A13 Airport Terminal 2 Station and then continuing on to the high-speed rail station.

“The airport MRT line is the nation’s longest MRT system, spanning three special municipalities. It also connects the international airport with our high-speed rail, standard railway and Taipei MRT systems,” Tsai said.

With the airport line to start a trial run tomorrow before its official launch on March 2, Tsai said public transportation will reach a new milestone with the opening of the line, which brings Taoyuan into the MRT era.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 31, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A scandal involving allegations of domestic violence and infidelity

against Taipei City Councilor Tung Chung-yan took a fresh twist Tuesday, after reports Tung launched an online tirade against his former office director and alleged mistress Chiu Hui-mei.

A new report published by a local tabloid on Tuesday said Tung uploaded photos of Chiu together with a shirtless man to a Line group chat in which both were members.

He then reportedly railed against his former office director, claiming to be the “most foolish man alive,” adding that he had “more photos which could be used against Chiu.”

Chiu responded to the posts by announcing that she was “leaving Tung,” before removing herself from the group chat.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/01/30
By: Scott Weaver

Applications are surging in Taiwan for halal (清真) certification – assurance that a restaurant’s food

preparation strictly follows Muslim law. This growth likely helped Taiwan achieve its ranking as the world’s seventh-most Muslim-friendly travel destination among non-Muslim countries, according to the “Global Muslim Travel Index 2016” survey published by Mastercard-CrescentRating. Taiwan’s rating was up from 10th place in the 2015 survey.

Given the continuing efforts of the Taiwan government to promote tourism from countries with large Muslim populations, this ranking may well move even higher. The number of restaurants, hotels, and other venues in Taiwan certified either as halal or the equivalent “Muslim-friendly” designation increased to 92 at the end of October 2016, according to Jeff Tsai, Halal Specialist for the Chinese Muslim Association (CMA), which is responsible for the certification process. The figure was up 21% from the 76 at the end of 2015, and a steep increase from the mere 11 at the end of 2011. Tsai expressed hope that the number of certified establishments will soon reach 100.

This program has transformed Taiwan from a place with very limited halal food availability to a locale offering many choices from among many different types of cuisine. The CMA office, located within the Taipei Grand Mosque at 62 XinSheng S. Rd., Sec. 2, can provide visitors with a list of Taiwan’s halal-certified restaurants.    [FULL  STORY]

ROC Navy has released an animated video showing a future destroyer in combat employing numerous weapons

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/30
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

 

Taipei (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) has released an animated video of a future guided-missile destroyer being designed for the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy in a simulated battle.

The video appears to show the warship outfitted with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar arrays likely for air and missile defense systems. There also seems to be a second set of radar arrays on a smaller mast on the aft of the vessel, which the website Navy Recognition believes could be X-band radar.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/30
By: Sunrise Huang, Yang Sze-jui and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Jan. 30 (CNA) A contracted mechanic on Pengjia Islet off Keelung in northern Taiwan was

reported missing after falling into the sea Monday, while six people from a capsized sailboat were rescued off Anping, Tainan in southern Taiwan.

Coast Guard Administration officials said two ships have been sent to search for the mechanic, surnamed Chuang, who was reported drifting northwesterly after falling into water. As of press time, Chuang was still listed as missing.

In Tainan, coast guardsmen said an unmotorized sailboat with six people on board capsized on its way from Kaohsiung to Tainan and all of them were rescued by people on a yacht that happened to be passing by. [FULL  STORY]