The News Lens
Date: 2016/11/04
By: Hsu Chia-yu

What’s on this weekend in Taiwan.

Movies

■ Trolls (魔髮精靈) / Fantasy, Comedy, Musical / G / Trailer
The Trolls are small creatures who live in an almost perpetual state of happiness, singing, dancing and hugging all day long. However, when they are discovered by the Bergens, the Troll Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and the worrywart Branch (Justin Timberlake) must rescue their friends.

“Trolls” is a 3D computer-animated musical film based on the dolls of the same name by Thomas Dam. The film is directed by Mike Mitchell, starring the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Russell Brand, James Corden and Gwen Stefani.

■ Free State of Jones (烈火邊境) / War, History, Action, Drama / PG-15 / Trailer
After surviving the 1862 Battle of Corinth, Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey), a poor farmer from Jones County serving as a battlefield medic in the Confederate Army, deserts and returns to his farm and his wife, Serena (Keri Russell). After his return, Newton organizes the deserters and runaway slaves into a militia and leads an armed rebellion against the Confederacy.

The film is inspired by the true story of Newton Knight and his armed rebellion against the Confederacy in Jones County, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. Written and directed by Gary Ross, the film stars Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali and Keri Russell.    [FULL  STORY]

It will be the largest full moon since 1948, and the closest and brightest supermoon of 2016.

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/11/04
By: Wendy Lee , Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The biggest full moon in almost seven decades will appear in the sky on the eve of November 14,

scientists said.

It will be the largest full moon since 1948, and the closest and brightest supermoon of 2016.

“The full moon of November 14 is not only the closest full moon of 2016 but also the closest full moon to date in the 21st century,” as NASA said.

It is also one of the largest full moons that can be seen from Taipei in nearly a hundred years, said Taipei Astronomical Museum on Friday.

The next time a full moon is as close to Earth will be on November, 25, 2034, according to scientists, which is nearly two decades from now.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/04
By: Claudia Liu and Elaine Hou

Taipei, Nov. 4 (CNA) The Taiwan government said Friday it is planning to ease regulations on the

residency of children of foreign nationals working here, after a German who has worked in Taiwan for 18 years complained his children cannot apply for permanent residency in Taiwan.

Ralph Jensen, a German who works as a software engineer in Kaohsiung, said in a letter to the United Daily News on Thursday that he has permanent residency in Taiwan but that his children could not apply for it after the age of 20 despite being born in Taiwan.

Thus, Jensen said, his children had to leave Taiwan and work in another country after they reached the age of 20, forcing the family to be apart.

In response to the case, the Ministry of the Interior explained that children of foreign nationals working in Taiwan can apply for an extension of residency after the age of 20, if they meet the requirements.    [FULL  STORY]

‘JUST ADJUDICATION’:The KMT praised the court for its ‘bravery,’ while calling on Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee Director Wellington Koo to step down

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 05, 2016
By: Jason Pan and Alison Hsiao / Staff reporters

The Taipei High Administrative Court yesterday ruled against action taken by the Ill-gotten Party Assets

Settlement Committee to freeze bank accounts belonging to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

The ruling came after the KMT last month applied to the court to lift the freeze, which the party said led to financial difficulties and forced it to borrow money to pay the salaries of nearly 800 party employees for September and last month.

The committee was set up by the Cabinet after the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例) cleared the legislature in July and took effect in August.

The committee in September froze a KMT bank account over the issuance of 10 checks worth a collective NT$520 million (US$16.52 million) immediately after the legislation — which prohibits political parties from disposing of assets presumed to have been obtained illegally — was promulgated.

Yesterday’s ruling said there were questions about the legality of the administrative injunction, as it lacked some of the legal requirements needed to freeze the KMT’s bank accounts, and therefore the committee’s action might have violated provisions in Article 9 of the act.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 5, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Seven labor representatives began a hunger strike in protest of a controversial

workweek bill on Friday.

The government is seeking to make revisions to the Labor Standards Act in order to implement two mandatory days off per week.

But the reforms would also see the elimination of seven statutory public holidays, a development that has drawn the ire of student and labor representatives.

The bill passed a preliminary review by the Legislature’s Health and Welfare Committee on Oct. 5, triggering month-long protests from civic organizations.

The hunger strike comes with fears lawmakers will process the disputed bill on the floor of the legislature on Nov. 8, with the one-month period for cross-party negotiations set to expire over the weekend.

It is still possible the bill could sit through another month under review by the cross-party negotiation mechanism, before being put to a vote on the floor of the legislature.    [FULL  STORY]

Two police officers were injured, one critically, after their patrol car hit a roadside tree during a car chase involving a DUI suspect on Wednesday night

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/11/03
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Two police officers were injured, one critically, after their patrol car hit a roadside tree during a car chase involving a DUI suspect on Wednesday night, Guishan Precinct, Taoyuan Police Department said.

Police said that officers Tu Yi-hsiu and Chen Ming-hui found a car obviously wavering along near an intersection in Taoyuan’s Guishan District on Wednesday night. The two officers suspected it was a DUI case and pulled up to check, but the driver accelerated and sped up to escape, police said.

The officers immediately turned on the sirens and chased the runaway car, while using a microphone to ask the driver to stop, police said. The driver didn’t listen and kept speeding to engage police in a high speed pursuit, police said. Both cars ended up hitting roadside trees in separate accidents, police added. Tu, who drove the patrol car, broke his left hipbone, and Chen Ming-hui suffered from intracranial hemorrhage and was in a coma, police said. Both officers were rushed to a hospital.

The driver who initiated the car chase later tested positively for alcohol and was referred to prosecutors on suspicions of offenses against public safety    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/03
By: Chu Tse-wei and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei City government started to demolish Terminal B of Taipei West Bus Station on Nov. 1 and is set to demolish Terminal A on Nov. 15, in accordance with an urban renewal plan for the western area of Taiwan’s capital.

Kuo-kuang Motor Transport employees in uniform got together to take commemorative pictures on Oct. 29, prior to the moving of the transport company’s services to nearby locations the following day.

A foreign backpacker was seen asking for directions for where to take a bus in Taipei West Bus Station on Oct. 30.

The West Bus Station was first set up for passenger service in 1953, four years after the Republic of China government was defeated by Mao Zedong’s Communist Party of China and moved its capital from Nanjing to Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]

CONSENSUS:Lin Yu-fang said the participants generally supported the idea of a cross-strait peace accord, as relations are a ‘mixture of peace and belligerence’

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 04, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu and Shih Hsiao-kuang / Staff reporters, TAIPEI and BEIJING

This year’s Cross-strait Peaceful Development Forum between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and

the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has created a new political outlook, as the two sides have initiated cross-strait political communications, one of the forum’s organizers said as the event concluded in Beijing yesterday.

In his remarks at the two-day forum’s closing ceremony, KMT-sponsored National Policy Foundation vice executive director Sun Yang-ming (孫揚明) said the most important tasks ahead are furthering the so-called “1992 consensus,” exploring the possibility of ending cross-strait hostilities with a peace accord and institutionalizing cross-strait peace.

“Discussions of such issues rely on a forum like this, as they can be explored through various kinds of communications, which in turn holds the promise of a stable future and a peaceful environment for people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Sun said.

Differences in opinion are inevitable at the start of political communication, Sun said, urging people to open their minds to different views to facilitate discussions and help all parties understand other ideas.

Sun added that cross-strait political communication is not only necessary, but an unavoidable trend.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 4, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Kuomintang Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu wrapped up her trip in mainland China on

Thursday on the second and last day of the 11th annual meeting between Taiwan’s KMT and Chinese Communist Party.

The KMT chairwoman on Thursday concluded her five-day trip in mainland China and returned to Taiwan at 5:30 p.m.

Hung hailed the trip as a “bountiful harvest” and said she believed it would absolutely prove beneficial for the future of cross-strait affairs and peaceful development.

Speaking at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, she said she had felt the passion from the mainland Chinese people and the goodwill expressed by Chinese leadership.

Hung said the KMT would help Taiwan’s eight KMT-led local governments hold agricultural and tourism shows in mainland China by the end of the year.    [FULL  STORY]