The talks focused on promoting peace and nonviolence in the world and fostering understanding across faiths.

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/15
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The sixth Buddhist-Christian inter-religious dialogue, organized

by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (PCID) is taking place this week in New Taipei.

The colloquium event began on Monday Nov. 13 and will continue through Thursday Nov. 16. The theme of this year’s inter-religious dialogue is “Christians and Buddhists: Let’s walk together the way of Nonviolence.”

The PCID is an organization created by the Catholic church to promote dialogue and understanding between Catholics and people of other faiths.

The Secretary of the PCID, Bishop Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot presided over the opening of this year’s event. He noted that since the creation of the Dicastry under Pope Paul VI in 1964, that Catholics and Buddhists have been communicating formally for over 60 years.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/15
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Kuan-lin Liu 

Taipei, Nov. 15 (CNA) The Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Force announced on Wednesday that it has located a signal similar to that sent from the black box of a Mirage-2000 fighter jet, as the search for a fighter jet that went missing last Tuesday continues.

Two days after the Air Force reportedly detected a signal in the vicinity where the jet disappeared, it released a press statement Wednesday evening saying the location of the signal has been pinpointed at 145 kilometers north by northeast of Keelung.

According to an unnamed Air Fore official, Navy vessels are already conducting a search in the area.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 15, 2017
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Elizabeth Hsu

TAIPEI (CNA) – The Ministry of National Defense (MND, 國防部) made public Tuesday

key points in its proposed reform of military pensions, including setting a minimum monthly pension payment for retired military personnel of NT$32,160 (US$1,065), the same as for civil servants.

Other key points include calculating monthly pensions based on average monthly salary earned in the last 36 months before retirement. Those who served in the military for at least 20 years before retiring are to be entitled to a monthly pension equal to 50 percent of that baseline wage.

The percentage will be higher for those who served in the military longer than 20 years, the MND said, noting that for personnel at the rank of lieutenant-general or lower, the 50-percent pension payment replacement rate will be increased by 2.5 percent for every extra year of service beyond 20 years.

Generals will be entitled to a yearly hike of 2 percent, the MND said. The planned measure is being introduced to encourage military personnel to stay in the military as long as possible, the ministry explained.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s government claims that they eliminated electricity subsidies, but they really just hid them from public scrutiny.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/11/14
By: Nate Maynard

Taiwan plans to triple its renewable energy production to 20 percent by 2025 but

carefully hidden subsidies threaten to keep Taiwan tied to coal, oil and gas.

Bringing this much green power online is a tough ask, even discounting a parallel commitment to draw down nuclear energy to zero from the current 6 percent of Taiwan’s total energy consumption. While difficult under normal circumstances, this transition is even more challenging when new energy projects must compete with fossil fuel prices subsidized by the government.

Subsidized fire
Historically, Taiwan’s government has used various subsidies to lower manufacturing costs for exports. This created country-wide economic benefits by stimulating industries, providing employment and boosting exports. Exports make up around 70 percent of Taiwan’s GDP.

台中火力發電廠。Photo Credit: 阿爾特斯via 維基共享資源 CC BY 3.0Taipower’s coal-fired power plant in Taichung is the largest in the world.
However, they create dependence and often cause fierce protest upon removal or reduction. While energy subsidies are often necessary for young industries to help establish sectors and pushes innovation, they make little sense in the modern world and can actively cause harm.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. (TRTC) General Manager Yen Pang-chieh (顏邦傑) said Tuesday that Taipei schoolchildren will enjoy a 40% fare discount on Taipei Metro, starting Jan. 1 next year.

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/14
By: George Liao,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. (TRTC) General Manager Yen Pang-

chieh (顏邦傑) said Tuesday that Taipei schoolchildren will enjoy a 40% fare discount on Taipei Metro, starting Jan. 1 next year.

During a council meeting on Tuesday, Taipei City Councilor Wang Hsin-yi (王欣儀) asked whether Taipei Metro will be able to make preferential fares available to children aged 6–12 years who reside in Taipei as a measure to comply to the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act as she had pleaded for in the last council session.

In response, Yen said children in Taipei aged 6-12 years will enjoy a 40% discount on any Taipei Metro ride, and the measure is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 next year. However, in order to identify eligible children, a digital EasyCard with a registered student will be required for the children to enjoy the reduced fares. Yen added that a budget of NT$115 million a year will be appropriated for the measure by Taipei Department of Social Welfare.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/14
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) Gay rights pioneer Chi Chia-wei (祁家威), one of the recipients of

the Presidential Cultural Awards this year, on Tuesday received a round of applause at a Taipei ceremony to honor the recipients, when he urged the government and lawmakers to legalize same-sex marriage in Taiwan.

“In the pursuit of marriage equality, we want an amendment to the Civil Code. We do not want a special law,” said Chi, who has pushed for the legalization of same-sex marriage for 30 years, during his speech at the Taipei Zhongshan Hall.

“A special law is the product of the last century and it is outdated,” said Chi, who won the award in the category of social reform.

The 59-year-old long-time activist said, only when same-sex marriage is legalized can there be talk of social unity.    [FULL  STORY]

‘LAST RESORT’:The KMT fully supports the protesting pensioners, who are trying to fill their stomachs and protect their dignity, KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih said

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 15, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday called on

President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to ensure the dignity and financial security of retired public servants, as the government unveiled a proposed pension reform bill for veterans.

Accompanied by KMT lawmakers, Wu yesterday morning visited public-sector retirees who have been camping outside the Legislative Yuan building for more than 250 days to protest against the government’s pension reforms targeting public servants, public-school teachers and veterans.

Reform plans for the first two groups cleared the legislative floor in June. The government decided to deal with the pension schemes of veterans in the final phase of reform due to the nature of military jobs.

“Under the rule of law and in a democratic nation, taking to the streets in protest is a desperate last resort. Although the KMT is in the minority at the legislature, it will throw its full support behind the people who are protesting in a legal manner to safeguard their dignity and fill their stomach,” Wu said on the sidelines of his visit.    [FULL  STORY]

A natural gas receiving terminal has been postponed due to the potential impact on a coral reef.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/11/13
By: Tim Ferry

Citing the need for further study of the rare coral reefs that lie nearby beneath the

waters off Taoyuan County, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on October 26 called for further postponement of a project to build Taiwan’s third liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in Guantang, adjacent to the Datan natural-gas power plant on the Taoyuan coast. The NT$60 billion (US$2 billion) project to accommodate increased imports of LNG is considered vital to the government’s plans to transform the energy mix away from nuclear power and coal and towards cleaner natural gas and renewable energy.

Standing in the way of immediate implementation of the project are concerns that it would damage two endemic species of coral and two species of crustose coralline algae. In what scientists are calling an unprecedented discovery, the coral and algae have formed a collaborative reef, estimated to be 7,500 years old, which provides a habitat for a number of marine species, many of them valuable to Taiwan’s fisheries.
[FULL  STORY]

Thousands of people gathering on a street in Taiwan’s southern port city of Kaohsiung looking forward to catch a glimpse of a wonderful sunset similar to Manhattanhenge were disappointed at the ‘no-show’ by the sun

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/13
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Thousands of people gathering on a street in Taiwan’s southern

port city of Kaohsiung looking forward to catch a glimpse of a wonderful sunset similar to Manhattanhenge were disappointed at the ‘no-show’ by the sun on Sunday evening.

There are two days in a year when people in Kaohsiung have a good chance of viewing the glowing sun setting between two lines of buildings on Cingnian Road (青年路). As a result of media reporting and word of mouth, the two occasions to view spectacular sunsets that no one seemed to care about before have become incredibly photogenic events in recent years, attracting crowds of people to the street.

The city government even activated partial traffic control on a certain section of the street to accommodate crowds of people showing up to appreciate or shoot the much expected spectacle. Many photography enthusiasts had been there since noon in order to occupy good positions for shooting photos, a large group of journalists was there too waiting for the celestial body to show up, and even SNG vans from TV stations came to line up the street, in spite of a very negative weather forecast.

However, the overcast skies with no signs of the sun didn’t clear up, and it even began to drizzle as dusk approached.    [FULL  STORY]