The head of the Taiwan Railways Service has offered a verbal resignation
after yesterday's train derailment.

TRA Director-general Lu Jie-shen confirms that he gave verbal notice to
Transport Minister Wu Hong-moh, indicating his desire to leave the position
last night.

News outlets had reported that Lu was prepared to resign once affairs
relating to the Puyuma express derailment, which left 18 dead, were settled.

Lu says the MOTC head did not agree, and says he will first focus on handling
the immediate aftermath of the accident.

(NS)

An actor has lost an appeal over an election violation.

Yang Lie was fined $500 thousand NT by the National Communications Commission
for posting a message on Facebook on election day two years ago urging people
to vote for then-candidate Tsai Ing-wen.

Laws bar any campaign activities from taking place on election day.

Yang appealed the penalty, but it has been shot down by the high court,
saying he clearly broke the law with his post.

The case can still be appealed.

(EG)

The vice president is thanking Taiwan's Youth Olympic team for its efforts at
the recently concluded games.

Chen Jian-ren represented both President Tsai Ying-wen and the Taiwanese
people in congratulating the team for its fine showing at the event in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, winning 1 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze.

He also commended some of the players, who at such a young age have also
previously represented the country at the Asia Games.

Chen says the Youth Olympics are special because they allow young athletes
from around the world to get to know people from other countries through
competition, and he says he's sure the athletes have all made a lot of new
friends.

He also spoke on behalf of President Tsai, thanking the Chinese Taipei team
for helping to show Taiwan to the world.

Tsai herself was orginally scheduled to appear at the event held in the
athletes' honor today, but had to ask Chen to take over for her as she
attended to the disaster in Yilan, where a Puyuma train derailed yesterday
afternoon.

Chen has expressed his condolences to the family of those killed in the
accident, and says he hopes those injured make a swift recovery.

(PB)

Premier William Lai has formed a government taskforce to look into last
night's deadly train crash.

Executive Yuan officials say the task-force is a high-level working group
meant to find out the cause of the derailment as quickly as possible.

Foreign experts will also be brought in to aid in the investigation.

They will also be looking into whether there are safety concerns about the
train cars themselves, and if there are, the entire Puyuma fleet could be
retired.

Another factor to be examined is the curve where the accident happened, and
if speeds should be reduced when trains go through that area.

The taskforce will also be responsible for checking up on the status of
victims of the crash, and working with local governments to ensure that they
are getting the treatment and assistance they need.

(EG)

The Ministry of Labor is playing down the chances of overwork being the cause
of yesterday's deadly train accident.

Some people have raised concerns that operator fatigue may have been behind
the derailment.

In response, labor officials say that is unlikely to be the cause, with the
Taiwan Railways Administration saying that the driver had a day off just a
day before.

The MOL adds that it has carried out 60 labor inspections on the rail
operator this year, and found only three overtime violations, none of which
involved train drivers.

Labor officials will still be looking into the driver's service record to see
if he had been overworked.

(EG)

The NCC could fine media outlets for overstepping their bounds when covering
the train crash.

Some reporters allegedly trespassed into cordoned-off areas or moved objects
at the site of the accident in their attempts to report on the incident.

The National Communications Commission says it respects the freedom of the
press, but reporters need to follow the law.

If outlets are found to have violated the law, the NCC says it has not ruled
out financial penalties.

It also reminds media that if they publish wrong information, it is their
responsibility to fix it as soon as possible, and not cause a public panic.

The NCC further says that reports cannot entire victims hospital rooms to
interview them without first getting the patients' permission, and should not
broadcast any footage of child victims that could negatively impact them.


(EG)

The official casualty count from yesterday's train crash has been revised
upwards.

The Taiwan Railways Administration now says 190 people were injured in the
derailing, up from the previous official number of 187.

Rescue and recovery efforts at the scene of the crash have officially
concluded.

The dead and injured have been sent to over a dozen hospitals across the
country.

(EG)

Many countries have expressed their condolences to Taiwan following the
deadly train crash.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says they received messages from the
representative offices from the United States, European Union, England,
Belgium, and Haiti last night after the accident occurred.

Another seven offices have expressed their sympathies today.

MOFA officials are expressing gratitute for these shows of concern, saying
Taiwan is thankful for the warmth and friendship from the international
community.

(EG)

There's been a large increase in blood donors following yesterday's train
crash.

Hundreds of people have rushed to give blood this morning after learning of
the deadly accident, which left 18 people dead and 190 wounded.

Donors say they want to do what they can to help the injured.

Local bloodbanks have already handed over their stockpiles for emergency
treatment of the victims, with other areas sending blood to assist as well.

Bloodbank officials note that even with the sudden spike in donations, blood
can't be kept indefinitely, and they are urging donors to regularly
contribute.

(EG)

Authorities are looking into reports that local government candidates have
received donations from China.

Media reports indicate that Chinese money has gone to certain political
hopefuls to back their campaigns.

The Investigation Bureau says it has received reports about 33 such cases,
and is probing them now.

These cases involve candidates allegedly traveling to China to seek funds, or
having money given to them through intermediaries.

The IB says these cases may be hard to pursue, but they will spare no effort
in their investigations, and if irregularities are indeed found, offenders
will be prosecuted.

The Ministry of Justice has registered 1,628 suspected vote-buying cases so
far this election season, but they say it will be difficult to determine
whether any of these had the backing of China.

(EG)

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu says there are other options if a planned donation
to the WHO fails to go through.

Taiwan has been working for months to make a one million US dollar donation
to the World Health Organization, meant to help combat an Ebola outbreak in
western Africa.

However, despite months of effort, details on how the contribution will be
made have yet to be finalized.

Asked about what would happen if the donation were to fail, Wu says there are
a few options for the government.

They could decide to keep the money in national coffers, or find another
charitable organization to give the funds to.

MOFA officials stress that the WHO has not rejected the donation, and Taiwan
will do everything it can to make the contribution happen.

They add that there is no timetable for when the donation must take place,
though they note there is a certain sense of urgency to the matter.

(EG)

A woman who lost 9 family members and friends in the Puyuma accident hopes
the TRA will find the cause soon.

The woman, surnamed Dong, says 18 friends and family members, including
herself, yesterday attended her younger sister's wedding in New Taipei's
San-xia District.

When the wedding was over, Dong took the high-speed rail home to Kaohsiung
while the 17 other wedding guests all took the ill-fated Puyuma to Taitung.

Dong says of those 17 people, 9 were killed, 4 seriously injured, and one
suffered minor injuries; the remaining 3 were unharmed.

The younger Dong sister was not on the train, and upon hearing the news said
it's difficult to be a bride one day and in deep mourning the next.

The accident occured at 4:50pm yesterday when the southbound Puyuma went off
the rails at Xin-ma Station in Yilan, killing 18 people and injuring 187
more.

(PB)

Reports indicate that one foreigner was among those wounded in last night's
train accident.

CNN reports than an American woman was hurt in the Puyuma derailment, and is
being treated in hospital for contusions.

Bloomberg also indicates that stocks for the company that manufactured the
trains, Nippon Sharyo, have plummeted following the crash.

The outlet says the company's shares dropped 7.8 percent at the start of
today's trading, the biggest single-day fall since late April.

(EG)

Taiwan shares recovered from a morning dive, as markets all gained across
Asia, ending up 55 points at 9,974.

The total turnover was $100.7 billion NT.

The conductor who was operating a Puyuma train when it derailed yesterday is
conscious and able to talk.

The conductor, surnamed You, is being treated at St. Mary's Hospital in
Luodong following the accident, and hospital officials say his condition has
improved since yesterday and he is now able to communicate.

The officials say You suffered injuries to his skull, including some
fracturing, but he is recovering.

The accident occured at 4:50pm yesterday when a Puyuma train heading from New
Taipei's Shulin District to Taitung derailed at Xin-ma Station in Yilan,
killing 18 people and injuring 187 more, including conductor You.

(PB)

Insurance companies will be paying big for yesterday's Puyuma train
derailment.

Claims have been estimated at almost $120-million NT after 18 people were
confirmed dead and 187 others injured, some seriously.

According to the Financial Supervisory Commission, yesterday's accident is
being covered by the Mingtai Insurance Company with payments of $2.5-million
NT for every death and $400-thousand NT for medical bills up to a total of
$200-million NT.

Mingtai has reportedly already set up a task force to look after claimants
and process their payments.

Nan Shan Life Insurance and TransGlobe Life Insurance have also set up
support services.

Yesterday's derailment occured at 4:50pm in Yilan at Xin-ma Station.

Railway administration officials say the express train was on a curved
section of track at the time of the accident, but it remains unclear how fast
it was traveling when the accident occurred.

The train has been operational since 2011 and railway administration
officials say it underwent maintenance last year.

(PB)

President Tsai Ing-wen is visiting the site of Sunday's crash of a Puyuma
express train in Yilan.

Officials say Tsai is inspecting the site and being briefed by emergency
service personnel and officials from the Taiwan Railways Administration.

Speaking to briefly to reporters, Tsai thanked the emergency services, saying
search and rescue efforts began as soon as the accident occurred and the
different branches of the emergency services work seamlessly together to
carryout a very difficult operation.

Tsai is also visiting those injured in the accident, who are being treated at
several hospitals in the Yilan area and has expressed her condolences to
family members of the dead and injured.

According to Tsai, she hopes authorities will discover the cause of the
accident as soon as possible and different central and local government
agencies will work together to rectify any problems that may have caused the
derailment.

Officials say 18 people were killed when the express train derailed at Xin-Ma
Station, but have revised upwards the number of people injured to 187.

Ten passengers suffered seriously injuries.

T-R-A officials say it hopes to complete its investigation into the cause of
the accident as soon as possible and will instruct relevant agencies to carry
out measures to improve safety in areas where such measures are deemed
needed.

Insurance claims related to yesterday's accident have been estimated at
almost 120-million N-T.

The Financial Supervisory Commission says compensation claims are being
handled by the Mingtai Insurance Company - and payments of 2.5-million N-T
will be paid the families of those killed.

While medical bills for those injured will be covered upto 400,000 N-T for
medical bills.

Mingtai Insurance has reportedly already set up a task force to look after
claims and process payments.

Lawmakers are calling on Transport Minister Wu Hong-mo to appear before a
legislative hearing this Wednesday to inform lawmakers of the latest
information about the derailment of the Puyuma express train in Yilan.

Wu had been scheduled to report to the legislative transport committee this
Wednesday to field questions about the Chunghwa Post Office, the Taoyuan
International Airport Corporation and the Taiwan Ports Authority.

However, legislative transport committee convener Lin Jun-xien says the
transport minister has now been requested to focus solely on Sunday's train
accident and brief lawmakers about the status of the investigation into its
cause.

And finally ...

For our weekly look at the latest news from the Chinese Professional Baseball
League w/ Clive Hsu of the CPBL English Website.


That was me in conversation w/ Clive Hsu of the CPBL English Website.

The Taiwan Railway Administration says it's stepping-up track inspections on
its east coast line following Sunday's deadly derailment of a Puyuma express
train in Yilan.

The administration says it's also carrying out full safety inspections on all
its Puyuma express trains.

According to the rail network, the train was carrying 366 passengers and
there were 205 casualties - with 18 people having been confirmed killed and
187 others injured.

Ten passengers suffered seriously injuries.

T-R-A officials say it hopes to complete its investigation into the cause of
the accident as soon as possible and will instruct relevant agencies to carry
out measures to improve safety in areas where such measures are deemed
needed.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs is requesting C-P-C file a full review of
how the quality of some of its 95 unleaded octane gasoline supplied by its
refinery in Taoyuan was found to be substandard.

Deputy Economics Minister Tseng Wen-sheng says C-P-C has until Friday to
release and answer questions on the report and the government will decide on
how to punish or penalize the state-refiner by next Monday.

The statement comes after C-P-C admitted that the quality of some of its 95
unleaded octane gasoline was substandard due to an unstable additive produced
at the refinery.

C-P-C says it has taken measures to control the damage, including suspending
sales and announcing provisions for compensation for affected customers.

The Tai-Ex opened down 47-points this morning from Friday's close, at 9,871
on turnover of 1.3-billion N-T.

The market minimized losses it's loses Friday, edging 0.35-per cent lower,
but ending above the 9,900-point mark.

Analysts say the slight decline was mainly due to a weakening Chinese yuan,
which also affected other Asian markets.

Meanwhile ..

The Taiwan Futures Exchange is currently trading at 9,825 . Trading
volume stands at 69,994 .

President Tsai Ing-wen is visiting the site of Sunday's crash of a Puyuma
express train in Yilan.

Officials say Tsai is inspecting the site and being briefed by emergency
service personnel and officials from the Taiwan Railways Administration.

Speaking to briefly to reporters, Tsai thanked the emergency services, saying
search and rescue efforts began as soon as the accident occurred and the
different branches of the emergency services work seamlessly together to
carryout a very difficult operation.

Tsai is also visiting those injured in the accident, who are being treated at
several hospitals in the Yilan area and has expressed her condolences to
family members of the dead and injured.

According to Tsai, she hopes authorities will discover the cause of the
accident as soon as possible and different central and local government
agencies will work together to rectify any problems that may have caused the
derailment.

Officials say 18 people were killed when the express train derailed at Xin-Ma
Station, but have revised upwards the number of people injured to 187.

The Central Weather Bureau says Tropical Storm Yutu is unlikely to impact
Taiwan.

The storm formed in waters near Guam overnight.

And according to the weather bureau, Yutu is moving in a west-northwesterly
direction at 17-kilometers-an-hour.

Yutu is packing sustained wind speeds of 64-kilometers-an-hour, with gusts of
up to 90-kilometers-an-hour.

Forecasters say if the storm continues on its current predicted path it will
move in a west-northwesterly until Thursday, when it will veer in a more
northerly direction, towards central Japan.

Yutu is the 26th tropical storm of this year's Pacific typhoon season.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Yilan District Procurators'
Office are collecting evidence and date from the site of Sunday's deadly
train crash at Xin-Ma Station.

Taiwan Railways Administration Director-General Jason Lu has apologized for
the derailment and says an emergency taskforce has been established to fully
investigate the accident.

While Premier William Lai has told reporters that outside railway accident
experts could be called in to help look into the causes of the deadly
derailment.

Officials say 18 people have now been confirmed killed in the accident and
175 others were injured.

Emergency service and military personnel carried out search and rescue
operations through the night.

Railway administration officials say the express train was on a curved
section of track at the time of the accident, but it remains unclear how fast
it was traveling when the accident occurred.

The train has been operational since 2011 and railway administration
officials say it underwent maintenance last year.

Derailment

Premier William Lai says outside railway accident experts could be called in
to help investigate Sunday' s deadly derailment of a Puyuma express train in
Yilan.

According to Lai officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Yilan
District Procurators' Office are now still collecting evidence from the crash
site.

Officials say 18 people have now been confirmed killed in the accident and
175 others were injured.

The train departed from New Taipei bound for Taitung and was carrying 366
passengers.

The Taiwan Railway Administration says the train derailed at Xin-Ma Station
and all eight passenger cars jumped the tracks and five overturned.

Emergency service and military personnel carried out search and rescue
operations through the night.

Taiwan Railways Administration Director-General Jason Lu has apologized for
the derailment and says an emergency taskforce has been established to
investigate the accident.

Lu says the Puyuma express was on a curved section at the time of the
accident, but it remains unclear how fast the train was traveling when the
accident took place.

The injured passengers are being treated at the St Mary's and Bo-Ai hospitals
in Luo-Dong, the Su-Ao Branch of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital and the
Lan-Yang Branch of National Yang-Ming University Hospital.

The train has been operational since 2011 and railway administration
officials say it underwent maintenance last year.

Meanwhile ...

Local media is quoting a survivor of Sunday's fatal train derailment in Yilan
County as saying the driver of the train applied emergency brakes multiple
times in the moments before the accident.

According to the passenger, he heard strange sounds and saw abnormal signs on
the information screen system before the train arrived in Yilan.

And that passenger says the accident occurred not long after the train went
past Luo-Dong and started to pick up speed.

Another passenger says that many passengers were asleep when the accident
occurred and were unable to react to the situation quickly.

Uni Air says it will operate additional flights over the next two days to
help meet travel demand between Taipei and Hualien.

And ....

The Taiwan Railways Administration says power was restored to the east coast
line at 5 o'clock this morning and a single track traffic is now operating on
the line.

And this morning's south bound and north bound express train services from
Nan-Ao to Shu-Lin and from Yilan to Hualien are operating.

But train speeds have been reduced to 40-kilometers-an-hour.

The Wall Street Journal says the U-S is considering sending naval vessels
through the Taiwan Strait to send a message to China about the U-S military's
right to travel those and any other international waters.

The move comes after two U-S Navy ships sailed through the strait in July and
after U-S Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with regional defense chiefs in
Singapore at the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus.

Mattis then said that the "U-S will fly, sail and operate wherever
international law allows, and encourages all nations to confidently exercise
their right to do the same."

Mattis also met with his Chinese counterpart Wei Feng-he in Singapore - in
what he called an effort at resetting an increasingly strained military
relationship between the two countries.

The Wall Street Journal is citing U-S officials as saying the operation is
currently in the planning stage, but will include at least two ships on a
multi-day mission.

C-P-C says the quality of some of its 95 unleaded octane gasoline supplied by
its refinery in Taoyuan is substandard.

According to the staterefiner, measures have been taken to control the
damage, including the suspension of sales and provisions for compensation for
affected customers.

C-P-C says gasoline supplied by the Taoyuan refinery to three pumps in
northern Taiwan failed to pass quality tests during the company's irregular
spot checks at its gas stations around the country October 16.

And an investigation found that the substandard gasoline was the result of an
unstable additive produced at the refinery.

The same refinery also discovered an output problem earlier this month.

The Taoyuan refinery supply chain covers C-P-C-run and franchise gas stations
in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli.

C-P-C says quality checks were carried out at all the gas stations in those
areas and stations found to be selling substandard 95 unleaded have been
ordered to stop sales and to replace the faulty fuel.

And finally ......

The design and production of biodegradable straws made from sugarcane fiber
by a Taiwanese company has won a gold medal at an international invention
fair in France.

The sugarcane straws have been developed by Ju-Tian Eco-Materials, which was
founded by Huang Qian-chong - the inventor of sugarcane straws.

The straws won a gold medal and a special jury prize at the event in
Montpellier.

The organizers of the fair praised the company for developing the product
with zero waste by applying the concept of circular economy, low carbon
emissions and low energy consumption.

Derailment

Premier William Lai says outside railway accident experts could be called in
to help investigate Sunday' s deadly derailment of a Puyuma express train in
Yilan.

Officials say 18 people have now been confirmed killed in the accident and
175 others were injured.

The train departed from New Taipei bound for Taitung and was carrying 366
passengers.

The Taiwan Railway Administration says the train derailed at Xin-Ma Station
and all eight passenger cars jumped the tracks and five overturned.

Emergency service and military personnel carried out search and rescue
operations through the night.

Taiwan Railways Administration Director-General Jason Lu has apologized for
the derailment and says an emergency taskforce has been established to
investigate the accident.

Lu says the Puyuma express was on a curved section at the time of the
accident, but it remains unclear how fast the train was traveling when the
accident took place.

The injured passengers are being treated at the St Mary's and Bo-Ai hospitals
in Luo-Dong, the Su-Ao Branch of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital and the
Lan-Yang Branch of National Yang-Ming University Hospital.

The train has been operational since 2011 and railway administration
officials say it underwent maintenance last year.
 

There has been a deadly train accident.
18 people are dead and at least 30+ people wounded after a Puyuma train derailed while traveling between Shulin and Taidong.
Initial reports say a twisted piece of rail penetrated a train car, causing the accident.
Emergency personnel are on site, and Premier William Lai has ordered all necessary assistance for the victims.
All traffic has been stopped on the line while the accident is being cleared.

Employees of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's
largest contract chipmaker got some good news today.

The company announced in its annual sports day event that it will give about
NT$468 million (US$15.11 million) in bonuses to its employees.

In the sports day held in Hsinchu, where TSMC is headquartered, company
chairman Mark Liu said the chipmaker will dole out NT$12,000 in bonuses to
each of the approximately 39,000 employees who were formally employed by the
company as of May 31.

The total amount of bonuses, which are expected to be issued by the end of
November, will reach about NT$468 million.

Liu succeeded TSMC founder Morris Chang as the chairman following Chang's
retirement in June after serving the company for more than 30 years.

Legal experts say Taiwanese voters will vote on at least nine legally binding
referendums next month, but authorities have the leeway to keep the results
from ever being implemented.

The record number of referendums up for consideration on the same day as
local elections on Nov. 24 stems from an amendment to the Referendum Act in
December 2017 that significantly lowered the thresholds for bringing a
referendum question to a vote.

The questions cover a broad range of issues, from the definition of marriage
in the Civil Code and a ban on food imports from areas in Japan affected by
the Fukushima nuclear disaster to whether Taiwan should apply to compete in
the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and other big sporting events using the name
"Taiwan."

In the past, half of eligible voters had to vote on a referendum topic for
the result to be valid, a standard not met in referendum questions voted on
in 2004 and 2008.

But this year, a referendum's result will be valid if one quarter of eligible
voters approve it, increasing the likelihood of referendums passing. Whether
such votes will actually bring about change, however, is another question.

President Tsai Ing-wen met with United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State Scott Busby in Taipei Friday to share experiences and exchange views on
countering fake information, deepening democracy and promoting human rights,

In a press release issued by the Presidential Office that day, Tsai said the
current proliferation of fake information has become a challenge facing
democracies around the world that has the power to impact the stable
development of countries.

Tsai talked to Busby about Taiwan's experience with transitional justice
including passing the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice.

Vice President Chen Chien-jen repeated an invitation for Pope Francis to
visit Taiwan during a meeting with Frederic Fornos, international director of
the pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, in Taipei on Friday.

Chen, who returned to Taiwan on Tuesday from a four-day visit to the Vatican,
said he hoped the pope could personally visit Taiwan to feel the diverse and
unique vitality of the country.

The vice president first invited Pope Francis to visit Taiwan on behalf of
President Tsai Ing-wen in a meeting with him before a canonization ceremony
for Pope Paul VI and six others at the Vatican on Oct. 14.

That invitation was declined by the press office of the Holy See on Thursday
in a statement.

Taipei has teamed up with electric vehicle maker Tesla, Inc. to build a "new
creative energy base" that formally opened in the city Friday, with one new
startup already based there.

Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Chin-rong said the 1.46-hectare base located in
Neihu District was formerly a bus repair depot and was provided by the city
government to help foster new startups.

Lin said the base, which has enough space for eight more startups, will house
new companies focusing on new energy, new high-tech and energy-saving
technologies.

The deputy mayor said Tesla, a United States-based electric vehicle and
energy company, moved into the base in August and has since built a new
creative energy exhibition park, an electric vehicle (EV) experience center,
and workshops in which college and university students can gain hands-on
training.

Premier William Lai is blaming China for Taiwan's inability to attend next
month's Interpol meeting.

The International Criminal Police Organization has rejected Taiwan's request
to attend the general assembly in Dubai as an observer.

Lai claims that Beijing was behind the decision, and is urging people to see
China's true face and recognize that it will never stop trying to annex
Taiwan.

Lai criticizes China's suppression as "making no sense at all" because Taiwan
should not be excluded from global efforts to prevent such crimes as human
trafficking, drug smuggling and terrorism.

(EG)

The Ministry of Labor is shooting down reports of a draft labor law aimed
solely at southern Taiwan.

Online rumors claim the Ministry is working on a bill to strengthen labor
protections in the south, where labor standards are allegedly more lax.

Labor minister Xu Min-chun is denying those reports, saying nothing of the
sort is being planned.

She says southern Taiwan is just as concerned about protecting workers'
rights as other parts of the country, pointing to higher-than-average labor
inspections carried out in Kaohsiung this year.

She says she does not know where the perception that southern Taiwan has
worse labor standards comes from, but it is untrue, and there will not be
different legal standards for different parts of the country.

(EG)

A US naval research vessel has left Kaohsiung a day later than scheduled.

The Thomas G. Thompson was originally set to leave the port yesterday after
porting to resupply and change personnel earlier this week.

The departure was delayed allegedly due to an issue with the ship's cargo
hold.

Port authorities say the vessel will be charged per regulations for the extra
time spent in port.

The Thomas G. Thompson is now on its way to Australia.

This was the fourth time this year that the vessel has stopped in Kaohsiung.

(EG)

CPC Corporation says gas prices could go lower, despite the current price
freeze.

CPC has frozen gasoline prices through the end of the year, out of concerns
the impact rising gas prices could have on consumer prices.

However, CPC says that if international prices were to go down, the
corporation would lower what it charges as well.

The CPC notes that it is projected to run a revenue surplus of $1.35 billion
NT this year, and they will definitely not overcharge drivers if prices fall.

(EG)

A Hualien earthquake relief thank-you banquet could have been funded
illegally.

Acting-Magistrate Cai Bi-zhong says the more than $3.5-million NT price tag
was covered with public money instead of donations, which potentially
violates government procurement laws.

Thank-you packages for donors also totalled over $8.2-million NT, which Cai
says was also paid for by government funds from the emergency response
budget.

Cai also says a report will be released in December on exactly how much money
was donated, used, and leftover from the February 6th earthquake that toppled
a building and caused widespread damage in Hualien.

(PB)

Gay rights groups are gearing up for this year's Pride Parade.

The parade will take place in Taipei, and three routes are planned this year.

The event is set to kick off from Ketagalan Boulevard next Saturday, and pass
by areas like the Ministry of Education, legislature, Ximending, and the
Huashan Cultural Park.

Organizers say during the parade, they will encourage voters to cast their
ballots in favor of referendums that support marriage equality.

(EG)

Election officials have drawn ballot numbers for next month's polls.

In Kaohsiung, the KMT's Han Guo-yu drew number 1, while the DPP candidate,
Chen Qi-mai, claimed number 2.

Three and four went to independents Yan Mei-feng and Su Ying-gui
respectively.

In the Taichung race, independent Song Yuan-tong drew number 1.

Incumbent mayor Lin Jia-long received number 2, and the KMT's candidate, Lu
Xiu-yan, got number 3.

(EG)

A local think-tank has raised its economic growth forecast for the year.

The Chung-hwa Institute of Economic Research has upped its GDP growth
prediction for 2018 to 2.61 percent.

That's up .13 percentage points from its previous forecast in July.

CIER says the increase is partially due to the continuing trade tensions
between the US and China, which has actually proved beneficial to Taiwan's
exports in the second half of the year.

It has also spurred more overseas Taiwanese businesses to bring their
operations back to Taiwan, increasing domestic investment.

However, CIER warns that the US-China situation could become more unstable
early next year, with greater changes that businesses will have to contend
with.

It is currently projecting 2.18 percent growth for 2019, down .43 percentage
points from its 2018 prediction.

(EG)

The Environmental Protection Agency has given preliminary approval for the
Kaohsiung section of the Southern Taiwan Science Park.

The EPA has conditionally passed the project's environmental impact
assessment.

The Agency is requiring further documentation, as well as adjustments to the
park's traffic and parking plans.

The EPA wants more information on how businesses will be selected to set up
shop in the park, and how their pollution and emission levels will be
controlled.

The proposal had already been modified eight times before being approved.
(EG)

Taiwan shares couldn't recover from big morning losses today, dropping 34
points to 9,919 as markets in Asia were mixed.

The total turnover was $124.4 billion NT.

The ballot numbers for next month's local elections have been drawn.

In the Taipei City mayoral race, independent candidate Wu E-yang drew number
one.

Number two went to the KMT's Ding Shou-zhong, while number 3 went to the
DPP's Yao Wen-zhi.

Incumbent Taipei city mayor Ke Wen-zhe got number 4, and number 5 is held by
Lee Si-kun, an independent.

Meanwhile, in New Taipei's smaller field, the DPP's Su Zhen-chang drew number
1, while the KMT's Ho Yo-yi drew number 2.

(EG)

MOFA says Pope Francis is always welcome to visit Taiwan.

The Holy See has indicated that Francis currently has no plans to travel to
the country, following an invitation to do so extended by vice president Chen
Jian-ren last week.

In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that Taiwan will continue
to invite the pontiff to visit, in the hopes that such arrangements can be
made in the future.

MOFA says it hopes Francis can come to Taiwan and witness for himself the
country's democracy and diversity, as well as its efforts to promote
inter-religious dialogue.

Regarding rumors that the rejection of the invitation means the Vatican is
getting closer to China, MOFA notes that the Holy See had earlier said that
there are no plans for Francis to travel to the mainland either.

(EG)

The director of the Taiwan Stock Exchange says investors shouldn't be worried
about the Taiwan market's recent volatility.

Xu Zheng-yao says there are many good stocks in Taiwan, and the fundamentals
of the local market are still strong enough that people shouldn't be scared
by the short-term volatility.

According to the data, Xu says the Taiex had consolidated yearly revenue
increases of 8.3 percent for the first three quarters of the year, with
increases in before-tax profits as well.

His encouragments come as the local market again lost ground in morning
trading today following big losses in the US markets.

(PB)

Police in New Taipei have detained and charged a fourth suspect as part of
their investigation into the August murder of a Canadian national.

Authorities say the suspect is a 46-year-old American male named Hobbie Jason
Eugene.

Eugene was questioned by prosecutors this morning in connection with the
murder and dismemberment of Ryan Ramgahan in the city's Yonghe District.

Media reports say police believe the suspect bought gasoline to help Bent and
another suspect, Oren Shlomo Mayer, destroy evidence related to the murder.

He says he bought the gasoline for a car that ran out of gas.

Eugene taught English at the same cram school as Ewart Odane Bent, who has
been detained since August in connection with the case.

And he is being held on a felony charge as an accomplice to murder, which
carries a prison sentence of five years or more.

Today is dreary and wet in Taipei.

That will continue for the rest of the day, but we have better weather to
look forward to in the upcoming days.

Weatherman Timmy Peng has more

The Tai-Ex opened down 74-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
9,879 on turnover of $1.9-billion N-T.

The market fell again Thursday amid lingering concerns that foreign
institutional investors will continue to withdraw funds from the local
bourse.

Meanwhile ..

The Taiwan Futures Exchange is currently trading at 9,850. Trading volume
stands at 68,640.

The Council of Agriculture says it plans to increase fines for people who
illegally bring meat products into Taiwan from overseas, especially from
China.

Officials say the maximum could be increased to 300,000 N-T from the current
maximum fine of 18,000 N-T.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Chen Ji-chong says the move is part of government
efforts to prevent African swine fever entering Taiwan from China.

Chen says his office will present a draft amendment to laws to the Cabinet as
soon as possible, in the hope that it will be approved by lawmakers within
one to two months.

China reported an outbreak of African swine fever in August and since then
the disease has spread to eight provinces.

And .....

Local hairdresser Tang Wei has won the Avant-garde category of the 2018
Visionary Award at the Alternative Hair Show in London.

Tang is the first Taiwanese national to receive the award.

Tang says his winning hairstyle design was based on the secret of life and
the delicate change of color representing the growth of cells.

A-H-S is one of the world's leading international hairdressing competitions
and founded by British hairdresser Tony Rizzo.

The Mainland Affairs Council says it will not repatriate two Chinese
nationals who have applied for political asylum here in Taiwan.

The two men applied for asylum on their arrival at Taoyuan International
Airport in September during a transit stop en route to China from Thailand.

Immigration officers have since confirmed that 43-year-old Yan Ke-fen and
63-year-old Liu Xing-lian both hold refugee certificates issued by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Officials say they allegedly suffered political persecution in China and
expressed the hope of seeking political asylum in Taiwan.

Although they both carry valid Chinese passports, they are still being held
in a restricted area at the airport because they lack travel documents
allowing them to enter Taiwan.

Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Qiu Chui-zheng says the government is
looking into the possibilty of transferring them to a third country.

News

Digital Minister Audrey Tang says the government needs to respond proactively
in order to counter the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

According to Tang, democratic institutions are being undermined through
disinformation and misinformation and more needs to be done to stem this
trend.

Speaking at a workshop on media literacy in Taipei, Tang said the government
is committed to adopting innovative ways to deal with misinformation
campaigns and threats of disinformation without compromising freedom of
information and speech.

According to Tang, if the government responds proactively to such situations,
it will make it less likely that misinformation will to grow into
disinformation and attempts to sow discord can be stopped.

Tang says the government is already working with independent fact-checking
mechanisms both at home and abroad to handle reports of misinformation, while
media literacy and fact-checking programs can make the public immune to
future disinformation campaigns.

The New Power Party has published a list of candidates running in the
November 24 election who are, or have been involved in criminal cases.

According to the N-P-P, most of the candidates on their list are running for
office in Pingtung County, where 18 of the would-be elected officials have
been involved in criminal cases.

The list includes 17 such candidates in Kaohsiung, 14 in Taoyuan and 13 in
new Taipei.

The candidates named in the list are facing or have faced a wide range of
criminal charges including corruption, election fraud, drunk driving,
influence peddling and extortion.

One candidate running in November's ballot has faced murder charges while
another has been questioned in connection with attempted murder.

N-P-P Chairman Huang Guo-chang says the government and the Central Election
Commission need to disclose any information about candidates who have
criminal records as well as those who have been involved in criminal cases.

And finally ...

The government says political activities could soon be banned from being held
in national parks.

The announcement follows the publication of a photograph by a pro-unification
local government election candidate waving the Chinese flag and singing
China's national anthem while standing at the Peak of Jade Mountain.

Officials say activities promoting any political ideologies will likely now
be banned in the parks in order to ensure a safe and comfortable environment
for visitors.

And to ensure neutrality, national parks will not allow visitors with
political affiliations to fly or hang political banners or signs.

The government says it is now working on a proposed amendment to the National
Park Act that will ban such activities.

The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling against Former Nantou
County commissioner Lee Chao-qing for graft and corruption.

Lee was found guilty of violating the Anti-Corruption Act and the Government
Procurement Act.

Prosecutors say Lee accepted over 9-million N-T in bribes and kickbacks
during his tenure as county commissioner.

The court sentenced him to 14-years in prison term for one conviction and
12-years for each of the seven other convictions - meaning Lee will serve the
maximum 30 years.

The Supreme Court also sent 103 other corruption charges against Lee back to
the Taiwan High Court for a retrial.

Speaking after the court handed down its verdict, Lee described the trial as
"unfair" and claimed he was not allowed to fully explain his case.

The Supreme Court verdict is final and cannot be appealed.
 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is voicing regret over Interpol's refusal to
accept a request to allow Taiwan to attend its general assembly as an
observer next month in Dubai.

Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee says his office has received a reply from
Interpol's General Secretariat in which it refused to invite Taiwan to the
event, citing a 1984 resolution recognizing China as the sole representative
to Interpol.

According to Lee, the foreign office, has expressed its "strong
dissatisfaction and regret" about that decision, saying the refusal runs
counter to the group's stated goal of building a more secure world through
global police cooperation.

Lee says the request to attend the event has the support of like-minded
countries, including the U-S and Interpol should seek to make practical
arrangements for Taiwan to participate in its activities in order to help
avoid loopholes in the global security network.

The government will reportedly continue to seek backing to attend next
month's general assembly in the hope that Interpol's executive committee will
at least discuss the request at a meeting slated to be held in before the
assembly begins.

The Vatican says Pope Francis currently has no plans to visit Taiwan.

The statement comes only days after Vice President Chen Chien-jen returned to
Taiwan from a four-day visit to the Vatican and told reporters the Pope
responded "favorably" to an invitation to visit the island.

Chen had a brief meeting with Pope Francis before a canonization ceremony.

The statement by the Vatican comes as South Korea says the pope could visit
North Korea.

And the rejection is leading to renewed concerns the Vatican could be seeking
to establish formal diplomatic ties with China.

Vice Foreign Minister Jose Maria Liu says Taiwan and Paraguay will sign a
memorandum of understanding on cooperation later this year.

The statement comes after Foreign Minister Joseph Wu confirmed earlier this
week that the two countries are pushing for a 150-million U-S dollar
investment proposal.

That deal was first announced by Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benitez
during a state visit to Taiwan last week.

Speaking at a legislative hearing, Liu said the Paraguayan president wants to
deepen cooperation with Taiwan in terms of investment, economic, trade and
public infrastructure.

Liu also says the two sides will hopefully finalize and sign the deal by the
end of this year.

Police in New Taipei have detained a fourth suspect as part of their
investigation into the August murder of a Canadian national.

Authorities say the suspect is a 46-year-old American male.

And he is being questioned by prosecutors in connection with the murder and
dismemberment of Ryan Ramgahan in the city's Yonghe District.

Police say the suspect taught English at the same cram school as Ewart Odane
Bent, who has been detained since August in connection with the case.

Media reports say police believe the suspect bought gasoline to help Bent and
another suspect, Oren Shlomo Mayer, destroy evidence related to the murder.

Taiwan

A report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission says
Beijing's increasing engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean is aimed
at diplomatically isolating Taiwan.

The report by the commission, titled "China's Engagement with Latin America
and the Caribbean," describes how Beijing is stepping up efforts to
strengthen diplomatic, political and security cooperation in the region.

And it says in addition to securing its own economic interests, China's
efforts in the region also include attempts to reduce the influence of the
United States.

According to the report, Beijing is seeking to convince Taiwan's allies in
the region to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei and officially endorse
Beijing's "one China principle."

The National Taiwan Normal University has been ranked 15th for the subject of
education in the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings table.

The ranking is an improvement of seven places from last year.

The result is the best in Taiwan and second highest in Asia, after the
University of Hong Kong.

The ranking system uses 13 performance indicators in five areas, such as
teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and industry income to
evaluate the schools.

And the National Taiwan Normal University's performance improved in all five
areas this year.

The university's president says the school will continue to cultivate
interdisciplinary leaders and hopes to serve as a role model for students and
other universities.