7,427 Taiwanese back proposed amendment to allow married women to seek abortion without spousal consent

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/10
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Health Promotion Administration (HPA) on Wednesday (Dec. 9) announced that it will propose the elimination of a law that requires women to receive permission from their spouse to have an abortion.

Article 9 of the Genetic Health Act (優生保健法) states that if a married woman wishes to undergo an abortion, she must first receive consent from her spouse. However, a petition to rescind the law on the Public Policy Proposal Platform received 7,441 signatures, exceeding the minimum number of 5,000 needed to require a government department to issue a response.

On Wednesday, HPA Deputy Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) announced that in order to comply with the UN's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and after consulting with various groups in the community, the department is planning to amend the Genetic Health Act to meet the expectations of the public and achieves the greatest consensus, reported CNA. Wu said more discussions will be held internally and a draft of the new legislation will be announced in March 2021.

Some who signed the petition pointed out that since pregnancy affects an individual woman's body, she should be granted the power to terminate the pregnancy. They argued that there should be no difference whether or not a woman is married. However, those opposed to changing the law argue that it is a matter that affects both members of a married couple and that both parties should decide whether or not to go through with the pregnancy.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 09 December, 2020
By: Paula Chao

President Tsai Ing-wen has once again made Forbes magazine’s list of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.” Forbes released its 2020 list on Tuesday. President Tsai ranked 37th.

Forbes said, “Tsai became the first female leader of Taiwan and the first unmarried president when she was elected in 2016. Since taking office she has broken protocol by making overtures to the U.S., creating tensions with mainland China. Tsai won reelection in 2020 with more than 57% of the popular vote. Her victory was seen as a rebuke to Beijing's efforts to control the island.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan may be acquiring U.S.-built MQ-9 Reaper drones according to a U.S. State Department Congressional notification, a move which could massively improve Taiwan’s electronic eyes on vital areas of the Chinese coastline and waters between them and the mainland.

The National Interest
Date: December 9, 2020
By: Kris Osborn

Given China’s consistent insistence upon preparing for an amphibious assault on Taiwan with drills and combat preparation operations in waters nearby, and the Chinese government’s escalating language about possible forcible reunification with the island, it comes as no surprise that the United States is authorizing the sale of MQ-9 Reaper drones to the country. 

Taiwan may be acquiring U.S.-built MQ-9 Reaper drones according to a U.S. State Department Congressional notification, a move which could massively improve Taiwan’s electronic eyes on vital areas of the Chinese coastline and waters between them and the mainland. The proposed sale is in part due to an interesting policy shift regarding the export of drones to foreign allies which increased the volume and ease with which the United States can offer unmanned systems to partners around the globe. 

“Most partners who are seeking it, and two that you just mentioned, are looking at it from a maritime domain awareness, border integrity, border-protection capability.  It's not a strategic tool, it's a tactical operational tool,” Clarke Cooper, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs told reporters, according to a Pentagon transcript.

In July of 2020, the Trump administration updated the United States policy on the export of unmanned aerial systems, Cooper explained.     [FULL  STORY]

Adventure of the Ring' will be released on Dec. 13

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/09
By: Lyla Liu, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – HBO Asia's latest TV show, "Adventure of the Ring," which features stories set in Taiwan, will be released on Dec. 13.

The series is directed by Kitamura Toyoharu and adapted from the mathematician and author Lai I-Wei's (賴以威) novel "Ring of the Day," according to Warner Media. Taiwanese actors Chris Wang(王宥勝) and Allison Lin (林予晞) are the leads, while Denny Huang (黃柏鈞) and Amber Fang (方季惟) play supporting roles.

The story begins with Wang, an actuary, losing the ring with which he planned to propose to Lin, a flight attendant, on the Taipei metro. The show is composed of eight romantic episodes of this sort, according to the Taipei Film Commission.

Wang visited many actuaries to capture the role. "I went to talk with them in their offices,” he said. “Then I got to know more about their love lives and work situations. Then I discovered that their thought processes are different from ours, which proved helpful for my performance.”
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/09/2020
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) The European Union's top envoy to Taiwan on Wednesday lauded the cooperation between the EU and Taiwan on human rights but said there was still room for improvement.

"The EU and Taiwan have long-standing cooperation in the field of human rights, which includes an annual human rights dialogue launched in 2018 and regular contact with Taiwanese NGOs," Filip Grzegorzewski, chief of the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) said at a Human Rights Day reception in Taipei.

"Our dialogues are an opportunity to take stock of the advances made on both sides, as well as to identify the issues where there is still progress to be made, such as the death penalty and the rights of migrant workers," he added.

Grzegorzewski said that while Taiwan's human rights record is among the best in Asia, the presence of the many human rights activists and NGOs at the reception were a reminder that there were still many issues to be addressed.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 10, 2020
By: Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter

The Formosa Cancer Foundation on Tuesday launched a Web site for cancer patients to borrow wigs online, after it found that transportation and other considerations prevented many people from visiting its centers in person.

In addition to providing cancer patients with support in their treatment and care, the foundation’s centers in Taipei and Kaohsiung offer a wig loan service, it said.

To give cancer patients ample time to select and try on the wigs, the centers take appointments for the service by telephone, it said.

However, the foundation discovered that last year, about 30 percent of people were unable to keep their appointments, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 08 December, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

As Chinese warplanes have crossed the median line across the Taiwan Strait at unprecedented rates lately, the prospect of cross-strait talks was brought up at the legislature on Tuesday. 

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Chiu Chi-wei asked Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chen Ming-tong about the possibility of dialogue between Taiwan and China. He said President Tsai Ing-wen had mentioned the principles of “peace, parity, democracy and dialogue” regarding cross-strait relations in her inaugural speech.     [FULL  STORY]