‘TAIWAN’ LANGUAGE:DPP Legislator Wang Ding-yu’s proposal to have government agencies use ‘Taiwan’ as often as possible passed after it was backed by Freddy Lim

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 27, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) yesterday dismissed speculation that the Vatican planned

to establish diplomatic ties with China as “reheated leftovers,” saying that the government remains confident in Taipei’s diplomatic relationship with the city-state, despite challenges.

“Regarding Radio France Internationale’s report yesterday [Sunday], the article is actually based on ‘reheated leftovers.’ Allow me to use four words to describe it: Run of the mill,” Lee said on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday.

Lee said more focus should be placed on the five-day Ninth Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives, which started yesterday in Beijing.

“The new leadership lineup to be announced after the conclusion of the assembly will provide us with more insights,” he said.1

The assembly is deemed to be the most authoritative meeting of China’s state-owned church.

According to local news media, the gathering is to bring together bishops recognized and not recognized by the Vatican, as well as those who are considered illegitimate.   [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 27, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI — The Yunlin County government on Monday unveiled the uniforms that will be provided for

receptionists for the 2017 Taiwan Lantern Festival and showed off the results of its training for workers responsible for foreign language docent services during the festival.

According to Yunlin Magistrate Lee Chin-yung, the reception and docent services will mainly be provided by students from three universities and several senior high schools in the county. Besides English, the docent services will also be available in Japanese, Malay, Vietnamese and Thai.

The uniform for female receptionists consists of a deep pink blouse and a purple skirt, while male receptionists will wear black suits. They were designed by Yunlin-born fashion designer Goji Lin.

The festival will take place Feb. 11-19 in the county’s Huwei and Beigang townships. It will cover a total area of 50 hectares and feature more than 3,000 lanterns.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 26, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

The China Post — The debate over the legalization of same-sex marriage has seen opinion broadly split

into “progressive” and “traditionalist” camps.

While some who support same-sex unions have called for full equality, others have backed the creation of a special set of laws for same-sex couples.

At the other extreme are those who have called for the decision to be handed over to the public through a nationwide referendum.

Those within the traditionalist camp who back the introduction of a set of LGBT-specific laws say this method would provide the least legislative hassle by avoiding a toilsome overhaul of the Civil Code.

But critics of such an approach maintain that it would codify discrimination against the LGBT community by granting them a “special status.”

Those of a more conservative tilt have called for a referendum to take place in the place of legislative amendments.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/25
By: Central News Agency

The teacher of a class of students that sparked outrage by dressing as Nazis at a campus cosplay

event expressed remorse over the incident on Saturday, and said he hopes the public will give his students another chance.

In a statement issued through the Hsinchu Kuang-Fu High School, Liu Hsi-cheng, a history teacher and homeroom teacher for the class, said his students deeply regret their actions and believe that the entire class should take the blame because they made a collective decision to dress as Nazis.

Liu said the students were asked to dress as historical figures for the cosplay event on Friday to celebrate the school’s founding anniversary, and when they voted to cosplay Adolf Hitler, he warned them that Hitler is a controversial figure and repeatedly asked if they really wanted to proceed with the Nazi theme.

But the Nazi theme got the most votes, so he decided to respect the students’ choice.   [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 26, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

A campaign to unseat New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) because

of his vocal support for marriage equality has collected enough signatures to submit a recall petition, while the New Taipei City legislator reaffirmed his stance on gay marriage.

An alliance founded by New Taipei City residents opposed to gay marriage organized a signature drive in Sijhih (汐止) on Saturday and announced that it collected 3,124 valid signatures, exceeding the amount required to file a petition for a recall vote.

At least 2,511 signatures are needed to submit a recall petition and 25,119 signatures to launch a recall vote in Huang’s constituency, New Taipei City’s 12th electoral district covering Jinshan (金山), Wanli (萬里), Sijhih and other districts.

Alliance director Sun Chi-cheng (孫繼正) said they would submit the recall petition and signatures on Feb. 1 — the anniversary of Huang’s inauguration — to the Central Election Commission to proceed to the next step of the recall procedure.

Sun criticized Huang for “cheating the voters by campaigning for gay marriage without trying to honor his election promises.”

“Sexual education materials are rampant on campuses, so is sexuality,” Sun said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 26, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

The China Post — “Maybe it’s because I know what’s it like to be ostracized, so I understand that the

debate over same-sex marriage needs to be resolved through empathy,” said 24-year-old Bluence He.

He, who was born in Yunlin, came out around three years ago.

He is a member of the younger generation of Taiwanese society, which largely supports marriage equality and believes being able to marry for love and to be protected by the law are basic human rights. By contrast, many opponents of same-sex marriage fear legalization would permanently upend traditional family values in Taiwan.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Yu Mei-nu has spearheaded a renewed effort to pass an amendment to the Civil Code that would legalize same-sex marriage. The bill has received widespread support from LGBT organizations.

Supporters of Yu’s bill maintain that it is the “simplest” solution to achieving marriage equality because it would not require widespread revisions. They also say that it would be more effective than other proposals in guaranteeing rights for same-sex couples.   [FULL  STORY]

Post office and future railway museum are also in the area

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/24
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei’s North Gate area was lit up for a festive Christmas Eve as Mayor Ko

Wen-je wanted to give citizens a new look at historic buildings Saturday.

The area a few blocks west from the Taipei Railway Station along Zhongxiao West Road features the red North Gate, built by the Qing Dynasty around 1884, the Beimen or North Gate Post Office completed by the Japanese authorities in 1930, and the future Railway Museum, also from the Japanese era.

While the gate and the post office will be lit up each evening, the museum will only be so on Christmas Eve, the city government said.

Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je said Saturday that his government did not have any Christmas presents for the citizens, but that he nevertheless hoped that the lights which showed off the historic buildings of the North Gate area would provide onlookers with a happy “silent night.”    [FULL  STORY]