But is it true?   Key point: North Korea has some decent submarine technology that Taiwan wants to buy.

The National Interest
Date: October 1, 2019  
By: Charlie Gao

Submarines are a critical asset for Taiwan’s Navy, the Republic of China Navy (ROCN). They provide critical intelligence gathering, patrol, and deterrence capabilities in the Taiwan Strait. However, they are few in number. The ROCN only operates four submarines, only two of which are used operationally.

Pressure by the People’s Republic of China on would-be exporters has prevented Taiwan from buying full submarines abroad, so Taiwan has started its own indigenous submarine program. This program has attracted the usual European and American partnerships, but some other nations appear to have thrown their hat into the ring.

Surprisingly, North Korea is one of these nations. It was recently reported in various Taiwanese media outlets that North Korea and Taiwan discussed the transfer of North Korean submarine technology to Taiwan. According to one account, the attempted transfer was facilitated by the North Korean Central Military Commission. The commission asked senior figures in North Korea if export was acceptable. Leadership concluded that Taiwan was not actively hostile towards North Korea and relations were cordial enough, so the export was approved.

North Korea then provided materials and data on three of North Korea’s designs, the coastal Sang-O-class submarine and the midget Yugo-class and Yono-class submarines to their Taiwanese contact. North Korea even indicated that it was willing to license the production of these submarines to Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Gay rights group: Foreigners whose own country bans same-sex marriage should be accepted

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A couple was refused registration for a same-sex marriage in Taipei Tuesday October 1. (By Central News Agency)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – When the Legislative Yuan approved same-sex marriage in a historic vote last May, activists drew attention Tuesday (Oct. 1) to the fact that many marriages between a Taiwanese and a foreign partner are still not allowed.

The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) accompanied a couple to register at a government office in Taipei City Tuesday, but as they were turned away, the group said it would launch a legal process to appeal the rejection.

According to the legal amendments approved earlier this year, a foreign citizen can only marry a Taiwanese national of the same sex if his own country also allows gay marriage.

Any ban on a same-sex marriage between a Taiwanese and a foreign citizen violated constitutional equal rights, activists said. The added that following four months of study, they had decided to take the issue to court, according to CNA.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/01
By: William Yen

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) The Taiwanese psychological horror film "Detention" led the nominations for this

year's Golden Horse Awards — the Chinese-speaking world's version of the Oscars — with a total of 12 nods Tuesday.

The movie, which features vengeful spirits and ghosts, has been nominated for the awards Best Narrative Feature, Best Leading Actress, Best New Director, Best New Performer, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction.

The film was also nominated for Best Action Choreography, Best Original Film Score, Best Original Film Song, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Effects.

The movie is set in the 1960s during the country's White Terror period and is an adaptation of a survival horror adventure video game developed by Taiwanese game developer Red Candle Games.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 02, 2019
By: Cheng Wei-chi and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Yesterday’s collapse of the Nanfangao Bridge (南方澳橋) in Yilan County might have been due to rusted

anchoring points, Taipei Technology College of Engineering dean Sung Yu-chi (宋裕祺) said.

Video footage showed that the vertical cable at the center of the bridge’s steel arch was the first to snap, Sung said.

However, the bridge is suspended by 10 or more steel cables and theoretically, the other cables should have been capable of evenly distributing the weight the broken cable had borne, he said.

However, it looks like the snapping of the vertical cable caused a domino effect, Sung said.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 30 September, 2019
By: Leslie Liao

The hit Taiwanese film “Detention” made over NT$130 million within nine days of its September 20 release. The spooky horror film has raised the profile of Taiwanese psychological terror films. But what’s most unsettling about “Detention” is the fact that it’s based on a true story.

The new hit Taiwanese film “Detention” is an adaptation of the 2017 video game of the same name. The film follows student Fang Ray Shin through a period of Taiwan’s history called the White Terror, a time beginning in the years after WWII when military suppression and censorship were rampant in the country.

The story is based on true events, specifically the 1947 Keelung Senior High School Incident. During the incident, many students circulated underground communist publications. The government arrested those involved, and the incident culminated with the execution of 32-year-old writer Lan Ming-gu. Lan Ming-gu’s daughter hasn’t been able to make sense of the incident, until now.
[FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2019/09/29
By: Darice D. Chang

Darice is a writer, artist, and educator-activist based in Taiwan. She speaks three languages and is usually getting paid to use one of them. In her spare time she enjoys the local music scene and promoting healthy ethical living.

Vegan activists in Taipei participate in the third annual Animal Rights March, raising awareness of animal cruelty in Taiwan.

As the conversation surrounding climate change climaxed in Taipei with the Global Climate Strike on September 27, vegan activists were not far behind as the third annual Animal Rights March took place the following day and shared the former’s adverse rain conditions.

The march organizer Jack Chang estimated around 50 to 70 braved the heavy rainfall Saturday afternoon to take to the streets of Ximen. Activists and protesters arrived ahead of the 3 p.m. march schedule to put on face paint and temporary tattoos.    [FULL  STORY]

Man caught dousing Hong Kong Denise Ho in Taipei is chairman of White Wolf's Chinese Unity Promotion Party

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/30
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The suspect who allegedly tossed red paint on Hong Kong musician and activist Denise Ho (何韻詩) during a rally against the communist dictatorship of China on Sunday (Sept. 29) has been identified as the chairman of the Chinese Unity Promotion Party (CUPP, 統促黨) led by former gang leader Chang An-le (張安樂), aka the "White Wolf."

In Taipei, people organized a march on Sunday called the "929 March Against Totalitarianism" to show solidarity with the people of Hong Kong in their fight against the communist regime of China. On Sunday at 2:52 p.m. outside Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, Hong Kong musician and activist Denise Ho (何韻詩) was targeted by an unknown man who doused her with a small can of red paint.

Ho had just begun to give a statement to the press when a masked man, dressed like many protesters in Hong Kong, tossed the paint from behind Ho, splattering the back of her head with bright red paint. The assailant was reportedly surrounded by demonstrators, who blocked his escape from the scene, allowing police officers to seize him.

After taking the suspect in for questioning, police identified him as 44-year-old Hu Chih-wei (胡志偉), the chairman of both the CUPP and the Dachen Nostalgia Culture Association (大陳島鄉情文化促進會), reported the Liberty Times. Police also identified a 54-year-old accomplice named Liang Tai-fu (梁太富), a fellow member of the Dachen Nostalgia Culture Association, and took both men into custody.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/30
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) A train carrying Taiwanese youth and foreign participants departed Taipei Monday on a "democracy tour" of five cities, which will end with a forum on modern global democracy.

The special charter "Taiwan democracy train" will take the approximately 200 passengers to landmark sites in western Taiwan that are symbolic of the country's democratic development, according to Transport Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), who initiated the three-day tour.

The train will stop in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung cities, allowing the passengers to visit, for example a museum in Taichung that is dedicated to Taiwan democracy pioneers Lin Hsien-tang (林獻堂).

"Democracy can be as enjoyable as a tour, and tourism can involve many elements of democracy," Lin said at the launch ceremony.    [FULL  STORY]

‘THE RIGHT TIME’: The copresident of a global forum on democracy that is to be held in Taichung touted Taiwan’s progression from a military regime to a democratic society

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 01, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

A special train carrying foreign and Taiwanese passengers yesterday departed Taipei on a five-city

“democracy tour,” which is to culminate in a forum on modern global democracy.

The “Taiwan democracy train” is to take about 200 passengers to landmarks in western Taiwan that are important to the nation’s democratic development, said Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), who initiated the three-day tour.

The train is to stop in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, allowing the passengers to visit important locations, for example a museum in Taichung dedicated to Taiwan democracy pioneer Lin Hsien-tang (林獻堂).

“Democracy can be as enjoyable as a tour and tourism can involve many elements of democracy,” Lin Chia-lung said at the launch ceremony.    [FULL  STORY]

SBS News
Date: September 29, 2019

Thousands rallied in Sydney and Taipei to support Hong Kong democracy protesters on Sunday, kicking off a day of planned "anti-totalitarianism" demonstrations globally.

In one of the largest solidarity marches in Australia since Hong Kong's latest pro-democracy movement began in June, black-clad participants took to the streets chanting "Add oil", a protest slogan denoting encouragement.

Some Sydney protesters held signs that read "Save Hong Kong" and "Stop tyranny", while others carried yellow umbrellas or handed out paper cranes in scenes that played out in other major cities across the country on Sunday. 

"To the Chinese government and the Hong Kong government, I will use a quote from Winston Churchill from World War Two: that we shall never surrender," one protester told the crowd.
[FULL  STORY]