Page Three

Marriage equality in Taiwan is a landmark move for the rest of the world

An LGBT rights supporter attends a mass wedding ceremony for same-sex couples in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 25. (Ritchie B Tongo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The Washington Post
Date: June 14, 2019
By: Editorial Board

An LGBT rights supporter attends a mass wedding ceremony for same-sex couples in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 25. (Ritchie B Tongo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

THE UNITED STATES’ cultural shift on same-sex marriage has been so pronounced, it is easy to forget that the centuries of discrimination, decades of activism and years of litigation that led to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling concluded not so long ago. It is also easy to take for granted that LGBTQ people have achieved a basic level of social acceptance, when there is still more work to be done in this country — and far more abroad. The greatest civil rights fight of this century is not over.

In Asia, the world’s most populous continent, life remains difficult for the LGBTQ community, as national leaders keep its members and other minorities officially marginalized out of concern about maintaining “social harmony” or “Asian values.” That is why Taiwan’s step to legalize same-sex marriage is so significant. Just as the island has for years put lie to the notion that democracy does not work in East Asian societies, it continues to show by example that liberal values and institutions are, in fact, universally applicable.

As is often the case in a liberal democracy, the process was tortuous but bent toward justice. Taiwan’s supreme court in 2017 ordered the country’s government to legalize same-sex marriage within two years. A vote subsequently indicated the idea did not yet command majority support. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party nevertheless ran and won on a platform that included approving same-sex marriage. Taiwan’s legislature considered three bills — two offered by conservatives and one, the most far-reaching, backed by the government. The government’s bill passed May 17, to the cheers of rainbow-flag-waving activists outside.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s CPC sees little impact after tanker attacked in Middle East

Reuters
Date: June 14, 2019
By: Yimou Lee; Editing by Tom Hogu

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s state oil refiner CPC Corp said on Friday it was still accessing the damage to a tanker it had charted to carry fuel from the Middle East that was suspected to have been attacked, while the company expected little impact to its supplies.

Tanker Front Altair was one of the two ships that was attacked in the Gulf of Oman. The United States blamed Iran for attacks that drove up oil prices and raised concerns about a new U.S.-Iranian confrontation.

Tehran bluntly denied the allegations that it was involved.

Front Altair was carrying 75,000 tonnes of naphtha, a petrochemical feedstock, when it was suspected of being hit by a torpedo, CPC said.

CPC’s vice president, Chiu Chia-shou, told reporters in Taipei on Friday that the company was still accessing the damage to the tanker. The vessel was still afloat in the Gulf of Oman, according to shipping data on Refinitiv Eikon.    [FULL  STORY]

Drivers have 31% likelihood of traffic delay in Taiwan’s large cities: global Traffic Index

TomTom Traffic Index reports highest traffic globally found in Mumbai, India, Kahsiung and Taipei rank 57 and 58

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/14
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei traffic (Photo by Unsplash user Tommy)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – This week, the GPS manufacturer TomTom released the results of its annual survey of automobile traffic congestion in 403 cities around the globe, which reveals which cities suffer from the worst traffic conditions.

The TomTom Traffic Index reports that the most inconvenient city to drive in is Mumbai, India where 65% of car trips deal with delays due to traffic congestion.

According to the data collected over the year 2018, Taiwan’s major cities by contrast only deal with about half as much traffic congestion on average. Coming in right next to each other, Kaohsiung and Taipei ranked 57th and 58th globally for their rate of traffic congestion.

The Traffic Index interestingly reports that Kaohsiung has the worst traffic in Taiwan, as Taipei’s rate of traffic congestion dropped 2 percent over the previous year, while Kaohsiung’s stayed the same. However both cities average about the same rate of congestion.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan mulls relaxing residency law for divorced Chinese spouses

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/14
By: Yu Hsiang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, June 14 (CNA) The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) has drafted an amendment bill that will allow Chinese nationals who divorce Taiwanese spouses, but are denied custody of their children, to remain in Taiwan.

The bill is being proposed as a revision of the "Regulations Governing the Residency, Long-term Residency or Residency for Naturalization of the People of the Mainland China Area Living with a Relative in the Taiwan Area" and seeks to strengthen the rights of Chinese spouses married to Taiwanese citizens, the ministry said Friday.

Under existing law, Chinese nationals are not permitted to stay in Taiwan after a divorce if they are denied custody of children who are registered as ROC citizens.

MOI officials said the law-revision, if approved by the Executive Yuan and then the Legislature, will enable divorced Chinese spouses to remain in Taiwan even when they do not have custody of their children under the following conditions:    [FULL  STORY]

Expanded Pride Month to celebrate marriage equality

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 15, 2019
By: Yang Mien-chieh and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

This year’s Gay Pride Parade on Oct. 26 is to be bigger than ever to celebrate Taiwan becoming the first nation in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association said on Thursday.

The association said it plans to hold multiple events throughout October, which is Taiwan’s LGBT Pride Month.

“The results we enjoy today are not just due to the efforts of the LGBT community and rights supporters, but also because there are many straight friends who are willing to support us,” the association said.

The nation’s LGBT community has seen a historic amount of people willing to “come out” since referendums were held on the topic in November last year, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

Green Island Human Rights Art Festival to kick off June 15

Taiwan Today
Date: June 13, 2019

Filmmaker Wu De-chuen (left) and paper-cutting artist Johan Cheng spotlight their contribution to the Green Island Human Rights Art Festival running June 15 to Sept. 15 in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County. (CNA)

The Green Island Human Rights Art Festival is set to kick off June 15 at the Green Island White Terror Memorial Park in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County, shedding light on the lives and sacrifices of those detained at the former political prison.
 
Organized by the National Human Rights Museum, the three-month festival is themed Visiting No. 15 Liumagou, the former address of the jail. A total of 12 artists and groups have been invited to create new works exploring the history of the site through mediums spanning animation, film installation and modern dance.
 
Also featured is a June 16 screening of the documentary “Spring: The Story of Hsu Chin-yu” by local director Tseng Wen-chen, as well as 14 seminars and workshops.
 
Speaking at a news conference June 12, Deputy Culture Minister Hsiao Tsung-huang said the festival aims to deepen awareness and promote reflection on human rights violations during the period of authoritarian rule.
[FULL  STORY]

Netflix Buys Taiwan Drama ‘Cities of Last Things’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Variety
Date: June 13, 2019
By: Patrick Frater
By PATRICK FRATER

CREDIT: COURTESY OF CHANGHE FILMS

“Cities of Last Things,” an award-winning Taiwanese black drama where the story is told in reverse chronological order, has been acquired for streaming by global online giant Netflix. The film is expected to be available on the platform from July 11.

The film opens with images of a man hurling himself to his death off a multi-story apartment building. It goes on to reveal the man’s experience of three eras, three seasons, and three nights, compacted into one single night in the same city, and told in reverse chronological order.

Directed by Malaysian-born, New York-educated Ho Wi Ding, the film had its premiere at the Toronto festival in September last year. There it won the prize for best film in the experimental Platform section. Toronto festival director and CEO Piers Handling described the film as “a very twisting interior tale of a man trying to exorcise his demons.”

“Cities” has since played at numerous other festivals including Pingyao, The Golden Horse, Busan, Rotterdam, Seattle, Tokyo Filmex, Palm Springs and Brussels International Fantasy Film Festival. It has had commercial outings to date in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. “We are now very happy that with Netflix, this Asian Chinese-language film will reach a global audience,” said Ho.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Supreme Court strikes down death sentence for man who ran over estranged wife and her lawyer

The court ruled the man qualified for a commutation of his sentence because he confessed to his crime

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/13
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s Supreme Court. (Wikipedia photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Supreme Court struck down a death sentence for a man, surnamed Hung, who killed his estranged wife and her lawyer, China Times reported on Thursday (June 13).

The court did so because there should have been an investigation into whether the man was qualified for a commutation of his sentence for confessing to his crime, thereby sending back the case for a retrial.

The sentencing document said Hung filed a lawsuit to divorce his wife, surnamed Lee, and both parties went to Tainan District Court on July 17, 2017, to negotiate a settlement, according to China Times. Lee was accompanied by her lawyer Huang Cheng-hsiung (黃政雄), and after a divorce settlement was reached, Hung left the court in his minivan, the news outlet said.

Hung saw Lee and Huang walking and talking and it seemed to him that Huang was celebrating a victory, which enraged Hung, according to China Times. As a result, he ran both of them over, stopped the car, and emerged to make calls on his mobile.    [FULL  STORY]

FormoSat-7 launch postponed to June 24

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/13
By: Flor Wang and Claudia Liu

Model of FormoSat-7, CNA file photo

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) The launch date for FormoSat-7/COSMIC-2, the second satellite constellation jointly developed by Taiwan and the United States, has been put back until June 24 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

FormoSat-7 is now scheduled to be launched at 11:30 a.m. after its original launch date of June 22 was postponed, National Space Organization (NSPO) Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jen (余憲政) said Thursday.

Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) will be present at the center to witness the launch with about 400 people from Taiwan, including expatriates, Yu said, noting that the event will be simultaneously broadcast by the NSPO in Hsinchu City at 11:30 a.m. June 25 (local time).

Ninety-one minutes into the launch, FormoSat-7 will separate from the rocket that carries it and within six hours connect to the satellite signal station in Taiwan, according to Yu.    [FULL  STORY]

‘ROC area’ a slip of the tongue: Han6

CABINET MEETING: Han Kuo-yu attended his second Executive Yuan meeting since becoming mayor, and Premier Su Tseng-chang told him not to call the ROC an area

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 14, 2019
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday said he misspoke when he referred to the nation as the

Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu speaks to reporters yesterday in Taipei after attending a meeting of the Executive Yuan.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

“Republic of China [ROC] area” when talking about the protests this week in Hong Kong against a proposed extradition bill.

During an inspection tour of Tianliao District (田寮) on Wednesday, reporters asked Han for a comment and he replied: “Currently, for the Republic of China area, we absolutely cannot accept the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement used in Hong Kong and Macau.”

Asked yesterday to clarify his remarks, Han said it was “clearly a slip of tongue.”

The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) refers to the “mainland area” and the “Taiwan area,” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential hopeful told reporters in Taipei after attending his second Executive Yuan meeting.    [FULL  STORY]