Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 17 May, 2019
By: Paula Chao

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu has expressed strong criticism of Beijing for blocking Taiwan from technical meetings organized by the WHO.

At a press conference Friday, Wu said China has claimed that it has taken proper care of the health needs of Taiwan’s 23 million people. However, Wu said that the Chinese government has never had any jurisdiction over Taiwan. Wu said that because of pressure from China, up to 70% of Taiwan’s applications to attend WHO technical meetings between 2009 and 2018 were rejected.    [FULL  STORY]

South China Morning Post
Date: 17 May, 2019 
By: Ralph Jennings

• Next tariffs, which could take effect in July, include up to 25 per cent on electronic products assembled in China
• Taiwanese firms supply 90 per cent of components for laptop PCs made for the three biggest American PC brands, and assemble most PCs in China

The next round of trade tariffs that the US may impose this summer as part of the escalation of its trade war with China threatens to hurt Taiwan more than other Asian countries because computers and consumer electronics will be targeted for the first time.
The new tariffs, which could be implemented as soon as July, could cut Taiwanese growth this year in half to just over 1 per cent, analysts said.

The tariffs of up to 25 per cent on electronic products assembled in China – including PCs and smartphones – will reduce orders from top brand vendors in the US and so cut demand for products and components from Taiwanese firms in Taiwan and mainland China.

The top three American PC brands depend on Taiwanese firms for 90 per cent of their parts and for assembly on the mainland of the finished product.    [FULL  STORY]

A total of 254 same-sex couples had made reservations at household registration offices

Taiwan News  
Date: 2019/05/17
By:  Central News Agency

More than 250 same-sex couples are waiting in line to be registered as spouses at government household affairs agencies around Taiwan after it became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) started updating its household registration system in response to the passage of the law Friday afternoon, Deputy Interior Minister Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) said at a news conference.

A total of 254 same-sex couples had made their reservations at different household registration offices to register their marriage as of May 7, prior to the bill’s passage, Chen said, in anticipation that they would be allow to go ahead with the process on May 24.

Regardless of the outcome of Friday’s vote, a Constitutional Court ruling on May 24, 2017 that declared the prohibition of same-sex marriage unconstitutional required legislation to be passed within two years to guarantee same-sex couples the right to marriage equality.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/17
By Lee Hsin-Yin, CNA staff reporter

[Editor’s note: Taiwan’s Legislature became the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage following a vote on May 17. CNA recently interviewed three same-sex couples who have faced different ordeals leading to this day. This is the story of the second couple.]

The first wedding between Wang Yu-jhen and Chu Pei-yi, a lesbian couple who have

been together for 22 years, was inspired by a funeral.

While the ceremony in 2012 was a mere formality because same-sex marriages in Taiwan had yet to be legalized, Wang said it meant a lot to them, particularly after the sudden death of Chu’s brother the previous year when he fell while cleaning the exterior of a new building.

“It was a shock to realize that a person could vanish just like that after an accident, leaving survivors with so much unsaid,” Wang said. “We wanted to make a commitment to each other, no matter how bizarre the wedding may have appeared.”    [FULL  STORY]

CHRONIC CONDITION: A study showed that people with chronic hepatitis C were 1.3 times more likely to develop acute coronary syndrome or have an ischemic stroke

Taipei Times
Date: May 18, 2019
By: Wu Liang-yi and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Doctors at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei on Thursday warned that people with

chronic hepatitis B or C should watch for signs of cardiovascular disease, especially heart attacks.

Cardiologist Wu Chien-chia (吳健嘉) said that the hospital admitted a 62-year-old man surnamed Chang (張) who complained of sweating at night and chronic chest pain.

Chang had no medical history of the “three hypers” — hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and hypertension — but is a carrier of hepatitis C, Wu said.

Evidence shows that chronic hepatitis can lead to a heart attack from atherosclerosis, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan ,Internatinal
Date: 16 May, 2019
By: Paula Chao

A survey released by a child safety foundation shows that 40% of day care centers in six municipalities around Taiwan are unsafe. The foundation is calling on the government to pay more attention to fire safety in particular.

At a day care center, both adults and children participate in a fire drill. The teachers look calm and their pupils are cooperative. But if a fire were to break out, would everything really go smoothly?

A survey by a child safety foundation shows that 57% of day care centers are located on either the second or third floor of their buildings. 40% of these buildings do not have a balcony or terrace. This means that everyone would have to escape through the windows. Nearly 43% only have one exit. And in many of the buildings, the stairs are so narrow that they only allow one adult to pass through at a time.

Firefighter Tseng Kuo-ching says teachers, parents and children must be familiar with the fire escape route in their buildings. He says fire safety equipment, signs, and emergency lighting are important, and that it’s best to hold a fire drill once every six months.
[FULL  STORY]

SXSW Grand Jury Prize winning film ‘The People’s Republic of Desire’ will open this year’s Urban Nomad with its disturbing Black Mirror-esque look at the world of live streaming in China.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/05/16
By: Cat Thomas

Live streaming seems to be here to stay with dedicated platforms, such as Live.me, Meerkat, Twitch and Twitter Periscope and options on mainstream social media, such as Facebook Live and Instagram Stories, gaining in popularity. The technology is not without controversy – live streams of suicides, murders, and crimes have attracted particularly bad press. However for many live streamers, whether the focus is e-sports, lifestyle, travel, or a mish-mash of variety show style entertainment, the medium offers a way to make a living with minimal extra investment in equipment. The opening film of the 2019 Urban Nomad Film Festival, The People’s Republic of Desire, takes a sharp look at one such platform in the PRC and, thanks to a fantastic job on the animation front, viewers are thrown headlong into both the virtual and real life of two streamers as they struggle to win the coveted title of most popular streamer on major China livestreaming platform YY.

American director Hao Wu has worked extensively both in the PRC and the US in the internet industry. His aim in making The People’s Republic of Desire was “to explore with this film how technology affects human relations, and how the seemingly easy riches enabled by technology change our sense of being, of happiness. Having a background in both the east and the west, I’m also lucky to be able to witness, first hand, the many ways that China has leaped ahead of the US in technology adoption. Live streaming, being China’s fastest-growing social medium and a growing phenomenon all over the world, is a prime example of the hyper evolution of the internet culture. It allows me to look into technology’s impact on its users, especially the young generation who have come of age with the internet.” While Wu has an established interest in exploring youth culture in the PRC – his last documentary The Road to Fame (2013) focused on drama students – this documentary takes the viewers far beyond the youthful presenters themselves, exploring the relationships between the extended families – and what the success of the youngsters mean to the family – the talent agents, platforms and patrons – both ludicrously rich and hopelessly impoverished.    [FULL  STORY]

8 out of 10 respondents disapprove of China’s military threats against Taiwan.

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/16
By:  Central News Agency

The number of Taiwanese opposed the “one country, two systems” framework proposed

by Beijing as a solution to cross-strait relations continues to grow, according to a latest survey commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).

The opinion poll conducted on May 10-12 indicates that 83.6 percent of respondents oppose the “one country, two systems” proposal, which sees Taiwan as a local government and special administrative region of China. The figure was 79 percent in a similar survey in March.

Only 5.6 percent of respondents supported the formula and another 10.9 percent were undecided.

The survey, which was conducted using telephone interviews, had an effective sample size of 1,088 Taiwanese citizens above 20 years of age and a confidence level of 95 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.97 percentage points.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/16
By Stacy Hsu, CNA staff reporter

[Editor’s note: Taiwan’s Legislature is scheduled to vote on three same-sex relationship bills on May 17 to legalize same-sex marriage before May 24, the deadline set by the Constitutional Court to amend the law to legalize same-sex marriage. CNA has interviewed three same-sex couples who plan to register to get married on May 24, regardless of the outcome of the legislation process. This is the story of the first couple. The two other stories will be published in the coming days.]

Lin Meng-huan (林孟寰) and Chou Chun-peng’s (周浚鵬) wedding had many things one would find at typical weddings. There were family, friends, laughter, tears and dancing, but it lacked an important element often heavily featured in weddings: public displays of affection.

Throughout the couple’s hours-long wedding in Taipei on May 5, they completely avoided kissing or hugging. The only time they had somewhat intimate physical contact was when Lin’s mentor forced them to briefly hold hands after they had exchanged wedding rings.

The absence of displays of affection at the ceremony may seem odd, but it was actually part of many “considerate arrangements” the couple had carefully planned to ensure that their wedding was suitable for both their progressive friends and conservative parents.
[FULL  STORY]

DIGITAL REVOLUTION: Once cardholders activate the features, their new ID cards would include their driver’s license and National Health Insurance information

Taipei Times
Date: May 17, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The government in October next year is expected to launch electronic identification cards

(eID) that combine the functions of existing national ID cards and Citizen Digital Certificates, which people use to file their taxes online, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.

The ministry is to complete the initial plan for issuing the cards in July and would share a more detailed plan, including the card’s design, in September, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.

The cards would integrate information from National Health Insurance cards and driver’s licenses, once cardholders activate the features, Hsu added.

The budget for establishing digital infrastructure and foundation services could require NT$4 billion (US$128.35 million), pending the Cabinet’s approval, the ministry said in a report submitted to the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday.    [FULL  STORY]