The Ministry of the Interior says it's now revised its same-sex marriage
certificate policy following criticism of the original version.

The first version of the marriage certificate titled "same-sex marriage
certificate" and that wording was criticized by scores of people online as
being "discriminatory."

Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung says the form released earlier this week was a
"default copy" and if couples want to fill it out themselves, leaving out the
term "same sex" they are free to do so.

Despite the wording on marriage certificates being criticized, Xu Xiu-wen, a
lawyer who argued for marriage-equality in front of the Constitutional Court,
says the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748 is a victory
for the people of Taiwan.

Hsu also says her greatest award for successfully persuading the court to
order lawmakers to revise the Civil Code is that she can now marry her
partner.


 

(Photo By Voice of America)

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu is dismissing claims that lawmakers in the Solomon
Islands are pushing for the government in Honiara to sever ties with Taiwan
in favor of Beijing.

According to Wu, such reports should be considered "fake news" and relations
between Taiwan and the Solomons are solid and stable.

Wu says officials from Taiwan's representatives in Honiara have held talks
with lawmakers there and they continue to back diplomatic ties with Taipei.

However, Wu says a small number of lawmakers in the Solomons does favor China
and is seeking to improve ties with Beijing.

The Solomons' newly appointed Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare was quoted
earlier this month as saying and Taiwan remains an "important partner."
 

(Photo By 總統府 - 11.05 總統由台南市長賴清德、立委葉宜津、黃偉哲等人一同參訪「大亞電纜公司」, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54831417)

Disputes over the DPP's presidential primary continued today with no solution
in sight.

President Tsai Ing-wen's camp rejects accusations that it's trying to delay
or hijack the primary process, saying it's former premier William Lai who is
attempting to change the rules when the deadline for that has already passed.

Her spokesman insists on including cell phones and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-zhe in
the public polls, saying that would better represent the real situation ahead
of the 2020 Presidential election.

He also criticizes DPP chairman Zhuo Rong-tai as being partial to Lai by
intentionally blocking the Central Executive Committee's decision yesterday.

Lai's camp, on the other hand, says everybody can see that Lai is at
disadvantage at the moment compared with the incumbent.

His spokesman says Lai has already shown his good-will by proposing that he
would withdraw if his popularity rating is found to be lower than that of
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Guo-yu or if Tsai's popularity rating is higher than
Han's.

He says Lai only wishes that the primary will be conducted soon.

(JL)
 

(Photo By United States Department of Defense, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1052956)

The Pentagon will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more
troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential
Iranian threats.

The officials said no final decision has been made yet, and it's not clear if
the White House would approve sending all or just some of the requested
forces.

Officials said the move is not in response to any new threat from Iran but is
aimed at reinforcing security in the region.

They said the troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions include
additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships and increased efforts to
monitor Iran.
 

(Photo By 由 davidreid - https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidonformosa/2298627590/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24903401)

Former president Chen Shui-bian was relatively quiet at a book signing today.

He was granted permission to attend the event by the Taichung Prison as it
was not open to the public.

At the event, he interacted with supporters and shook hands or hugged many of
them, but he did not speak to the media.

A Chiayi city councilor who accompanied Chen to the event told fans that
Chen's condition was poor and his hands were shaking quite a bit, so he could
only sign his own name, and could not personalize it for attendees.

Aside from books, some supporters brought clothes or artworks for Chen to
sign.

(EG)
 

China is seeking support from some of its Asian neighbors and Russia in its
escalating tariff fight with the U.S.

Speaking Wednesday at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in
Kyrgyzstan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said representatives of the eight-nation
grouping had expressed "broad support'' for China's position.

Wang reiterated China's stance that it would never accept unequal trading
arrangements. He said Beijing will match "extreme pressure'' from the U.S.
with its own measures.

Beijing has already responded to Trump's tariff hikes on $250 billion of
Chinese imports by slapping penalties on $110 billion of American goods.

Based on last year's trade, that leaves about $45 billion in imports from the
U.S.

That includes semiconductors and other critical inputs needed by Chinese tech
industries.
 

Calm has returned to the streets of the Indonesian capital today after a
second night of clashes between security forces and protesters.

They were angry about the outcome of last month’s election, which handed
President Joko Widodo a second term.

Downtown areas of the capital became a battlefield with tear gas, rubber
bullets, rocks and firecrackers overnight.

The unrest followed an announcement by the General Election Commission
confirming that Widodo had beaten his challenger in the April 17 poll.

The violence began Tuesday night when six people were killed. Two more were
killed last night.

 

Transport minister Lin Chia-lung says retired Taiwan Railways Administration
director-general Frank Fan will be removed from his current post following
revisions to penalties over last year's deadly Puyuma Express derailment.

Fan currently serves as head of the C-R Classification Society.

And the transport minister says Fan will be removed from that post because he
deserves a heavier penalty over the deadly train crash in October of last
year, which left 18 people dead and 200 others injured.

According to Lin, Fan should bear greater responsibility for the derailment
and no longer be allowed to serve as chairman of the non-profit
non-governmental technical organization under the Maritime and Port Bureau.

Fan received one demerit as T-R-A director-general and was among 20 people
disciplined over the accident following publication of the initial report
into the incident.

However, Lin was unhappy with the administrative penalties meted out and he
called for heavier ones.
 

Health Minister Chen Shi-chong has signed a memorandum of understanding on
disaster and emergency medical collaboration with the Geneva University
Hospital.

The deal opens the doors for cooperation on emergency medical response and
regional disaster rescue efforts.

The agreement was signed in Geneva by Chen and the head of the hospital's
Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine Department.

According to Chen, the agreement will allow Taiwan to improve its disaster
response capacity and help save lives throughout the world when disaster
strikes.

The Ministry of Health says the M-O-U means Taiwan will be able to assemble
and train emergency medical teams in accordance with World Health
Organization standards and provide support in the areas of disaster medicine
and primary care.

The health minister is currently heading a delegation in Geneva, which is
taking part in events on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly to
highlight Taiwan's willingness to contribute to global health.
 

No damage or injuries are being reported following this morning's magnitude
4.6 earthquake that rattled much of the east coast and parts of the center.

The quake struck at 9:37 and was centered 3-kilometers southeast of Hualien
County Hall at a depth of 25-kilometers.

It was felt strongest in across coastal and central Hualien, northeastern
Nantou and northern Taichung - where it registered a magnitude 3 on the
Central Weather Bureau's intensity scale.

The earthquake registered a magnitude 2 in parts of Yilan, Changhua and
Yunlin counties.
 

(Photo By w:en:Presidential Office Building, Taiwan - https://www.flickr.com/photos/presidentialoffice/36641044280/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62228901)

Former Premier William Lai is urging in the D-P-P to adhere to its "moral
guidelines and party spirit" when finalizing it plans for the presidential
primary.

The call comes as the party's Central Executive Committee is meets this
afternoon to hammer out the format for the D-P-P's 2020 primary process.

According to Lai, he hopes committee members will opt for a fare and unbiased
format, as he is participating in the party's presidential primary because he
believes if the D-P-P continues to appeal to its grassroots base, it can
continue to be the ruling party.

The comments come amid speculation the party's Central Executive Committee
could seek to change the primary format.
 

(Photo By Presidential Communications Operations Office - Presidential Communications Operations Office (http://pcoo.gov.ph/photo12-070216/), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49858845)

Final results from the Philippines' midterm elections show the president's
allies won a majority of the 12 Senate seats being decided, giving President
Rodrigo Duterte a stronger grip on power.

Philippine elections officials are set to announce the winning Senate
candidates laterday after finishing the official count of the May 13
elections overnight.

The tally had been delayed by glitches in automated counting machines.

Eight of the candidates seeking seats in the 24-member Senate were backed by
Duterte.
 

(Photo By ليبي صح - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20550012)

The United Nations envoy for Libya is warning that the country "is on the
verge of descending into a civil war" that could threaten the security of its
neighbors and the wider Mediterranean region.

The official says Islamic State and al-Qaida extremists are already
exploiting the security vacuum sparked by the offensive to take the capital
Tripoli launched by the self-styled Libyan National Army.

And that "full civil war is not inevitable" -- but "it may occur by the will
of some parties, and by the inaction of others."

There have been calls for the Security Council to call for an immediate
ceasefire and return to a UN-led political process.
 

An author from Oman has won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize
for "Celestial Bodies" -- the story of three sisters and of a desert country
confronting its slave-owning past and a complex modern world.

Jokha Alharthi is the first Arabic-language writer to take the prize.

And she will split the 50,000 pound purse with her U-K-based translator,
Marilyn Booth.

"Celestial Bodies" beat five other finalists from Europe and South America.

The prize is a counterpart to the Man Booker Prize for English-language
novels and is open to books in any language that have been translated into
English.
 

(Photo By zhenghu feng from Tokyo, Japan - 柯文哲, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38515218)

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je says he'll make a final decision in August as to
whether or not he plans to run for the presidency in January's ballot.

Speaking during an online interview, Ko said he believes the United States
views him as an "acceptable" candidate, while China sees him as "tolerable."

Ko also made some rather rare comments about national defense issues.

Saying boosting defense spending and purchasing weapons systems from the U-S
is a tricky situation, as poor economic growth could stymie moves to increase
the defense budget to 3-per cent of the island's G-D-P.

Ko recently said he plans to hold several rallies outside of Taipei before
announcing a bid to run in next year's ballot in order to better gauge public
support outside of the capital for his possible presidency.
 

(Photo By SrDoritos - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65273207)

The Control Yuan has approved a proposed corrective measure on a settlement
agreement reached by the Fair Trade Commission and US-chip designer Qualcomm,
saying the deal was inappropriate.

According to the government watchdog, the settlement agreement took the F-T-C
only 10 months to reach and replaced an earlier decision that took two years
and eight to investigate.

The original October 2017 ruling by the commission saw Qualcomm fined a
record 23.4-billion N-T for violating Taiwan's anti-trust law.

However, the commission's revised ruling, which was made in August of last
year saw the fine slashed to 2.73-billion N-T.

The Control Yuan says it beleives the revised August 2018 settlement was
reached "too hastily and agreed on without transparency."

The Control Act is now urging the F-T-C to make improvements or take other
action within in two months or commission officials will be summoned for
questioning.