SOCIETY
Cabinet passes alimony bill
The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft bill to ease restrictions on alimony claims. Under the current law, which has not been changed since 1931, a divorced person can only compel their spouse to pay alimony if they have been “reduced to difficulties in livelihood” after the divorce, are considered an “innocent party” and if the divorce is finalized by a judge. The bill seeks to strike the latter two requirements, changing the law to, “when a party in a marriage is reduced to difficulties in livelihood after a divorce, he or she can require the other party to pay alimony.” The amount of alimony would be negotiated by the couple, or by a judge, if the couple cannot reach an agreement, based on how much the person receiving alimony needs and how much the person paying can reasonably afford, the ministry said in a statement. The proposed amendments are in line with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which was introduced by the UN in 1979 and adopted by Taiwan in 2012, it said. The draft bill is to be sent to the Judicial Yuan, which is expected to co-sign it, and then to the Legislative Yuan for review.
ARTS
Tango opera at Weiwuying
The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) on Tuesday said that it would stage Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires next month to mark the birth centennial of the Argentine composer. The tango opera is to be directed by Hong Kong choreographer Helen Lai (黎海寧), with Taiwanese soprano Jeannie Chiang (蔣啟真) in the title role of Maria, the center said in a statement. It is also to feature baritone Yeh Chan-yu (葉展毓) as Cantor, Argentina-born Italian Ricardo Canzio as the narrator and a 12-member dance group, it said. Weiwuying said that one of its venues would be “transformed into a tiny South American tavern” to stage the opera. Weiwuying general and artistic director Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) is to conduct the Circo Ensemble, one of the few music groups in Taiwan that have a bandoneon, an instrument used in most tango ensembles. The opera is to be staged at Weiwuying’s Playhouse from Sept. 17 to 19, and tickets are available through the OpenTix ticketing service. It is to be performed in Spanish, with subtitles in Chinese and English.
LABOR
Work accident rate rises
The nation’s occupational accident rate per 1,000 workers climbed last year for the first time in 10 years, an annual report published by the Ministry of Labor showed. There were 26,778 occupational accidents last year, which translate into an occupational accident rate of 2.549 per 1,000, up from 2.496 a year earlier and the first increase since 2010, the labor inspection report published on the ministry’s Web site said. The occupational injury and illness rate per 1,000 workers also rose to 2.390 from 2.333 in 2019. However, the rate of disability caused by an injury at work per 1,000 employees fell to 0.135 from 1.40 in 2019, while the fatal work injury rate per 1,000 workers remained the same at 0.023, said Hsu Li-ying (許莉瑩), a section chief at the ministry’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The increase in accidents came mainly from the construction and agricultural sectors, she said, without elaborating. The ministry is stepping up labor inspections targeting the construction, food and beverage, and transportation and logistics sectors to reduce workplace accidents this year, Hsu said.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
Starting next month, people who signed up for the TPass 2.0 program can receive a 15 percent rebate for trips on mid to long-distance freeway buses or on buses headed to the east coast twice every month, the Highway Bureau said. Bureau Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said the government started TPass 2.0 to offer rebates to frequent riders of public transportation, or people who use city buses, highway buses, trains or MRTs at least 11 times per month. As of Nov. 12, 265,000 people have registered for TPass 2.0, and about 16.56 million trips between February and September qualified for
The year 2027 is regarded as the year China would likely gain the capability to invade Taiwan, not the year it would launch an invasion, Taiwanese defense experts said yesterday. The experts made the remarks after President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference on Wednesday that his administration would introduce a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.8 billion) special defense budget bill to boost Taiwan’s overall defense posture over the next eight years. Lai said that Beijing aims for military unification of Taiwan by 2027. The Presidential Office later clarified that what Lai meant was that China’s goal is to “prepare for military unification
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
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