Court upholds right to change gender on registrationSTANDARDS MET: The court ruled that a transgender woman met the qualifications to change her gender in her household registration without undergoing surgeryBy Wen Yu-te and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a transgender woman in mandating that a household registration office in Taoyuan process her request to be registered as female. The plaintiff, surnamed Chiang (江), filed with the Dasi Household Registration Office in October 2019 to change her registered gender from male to female, but the office denied the request. It cited a Ministry of the Interior notice that said that Chiang failed to meet two prerequisites to change her gender: be diagnosed by two psychiatrists as identifying with the gender to which they wish to change and undergo surgery to remove genitalia of their birth gender. The court ruling said that in accordance with previous Council of Grand Justices interpretations, the rights of personality, health, privacy and body are all protected by the Constitution. The court recommended that the legislature pass new legislation to ensure that the right to gender identification is protected, as the ministry directive could be applied by other household registration offices when dealing with similar cases in the future.

Thousands of student files lost in errorCOSTLY TECH FAILURE: More than 25,000 files for nearly 8,000 students from 81 schools were lost when system administrators updated a server, the Ministry of Education saidBy Rachel Lin and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe academic records of 7,854 high-school students have been lost due to a hard-drive failure, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The records were being stored at National Chi Nan University, which was commissioned by the ministry’s K-12 Education Administration to host a computer server of student portfolios that universities could access to evaluate their applications. An entrance to the Ministry of Education in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei TimesSystem administrators discovered that files were missing when rebooting the system, the ministry said, adding that 25,210 files for 7,854 students from 81 schools were lost. Students with their own copies of the missing files should re-upload them as soon as possible, he said.

US dollar climbs due to uncertainty about EvergrandeReuters, NEW YORKThe US dollar rose on Friday and posted its third straight week of gains against a basket of major currencies, as uncertainty over beleaguered property developer China Evergrande Group (恆大集團) helped the greenback bounce back from a sharp decline in the prior session. The offshore Chinese yuan weakened versus the greenback to yuan 6.4641 per dollar. The US dollar index rose 0.237 percent, with the euro down 0.2 percent at US$1.1713. NEW TAIWAN DOLLARThe New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.042 to close at NT$27.731, up a slight 0.02 percent from NT$27.736 a week earlier. The Japanese yen weakened 0.43 percent to ￥110.77 versus the greenback, while Sterling declined 0.36 percent to US$1.3676.

Oil advances for fifth straight weekBloombergOil rose for a fifth straight week with the global energy crunch set to boost demand for crude as stockpiles decline from the US to China. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery gained 0.93 percent to US$73.98 a barrel, up 2.79 percent from a week earlier. The surge in natural gas prices is expected to force some consumers to switch to oil, tightening the market further ahead of the northern hemisphere winter. Various underlying oil market gauges are also pointing to an improving market. Money managers increased their bullish ICE Brent bets positions to the most in six months, indicating many believe there is yet more room for crude prices to climb.

Dodgers keep pace in NL West raceGAME CHANGER: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that without the diving play of Chris Taylor in the outfield, ‘it’s a different inning and a different game’AP, PHOENIX, ArizonaA.J. Pollock on Friday hit a two-run homer, while Chris Taylor robbed a pair of potential extra-base hits on defense in the ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers kept pace in the National League West race by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2. Corey Seager, right, and Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers are congratulated by teammates following their win against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday. The Dodgers (99-55) remained one game behind the San Francisco Giants (100-54) with eight games left for both teams. Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder A.J.

Judge impeached on ethics countStaff writer, with CNAA Supreme Administrative Court judge has been impeached for failing to recuse himself from a case in which a company owned by a business acquaintance of his was the plaintiff in a contract dispute against the government. The Control Yuan said its members voted nine to two on Sept. 14 to impeach Judge Cheng Shiao-kang (鄭小康), who had presided over the case brought by businessman Wong Maw-jang’s (翁茂鍾) company I-Hwa Industrial Co in 2008. Investigators learned that Cheng had dined with Wong at least three times before the judge was assigned to the I-Hwa case, and he had accepted four shirts as gifts, the Control Yuan said. Following the Judicial Yuan investigation of Shih, the findings on Cheng’s involvement with Wong were provided in April to the government watchdog, the statement said. The impeachment case will next be sent to the Disciplinary Court, which in June began hearing Shih’s trial.

US soy meal export hub damage disrupts tradeBloombergShipments from a US west coast terminal that handles almost 20 percent of the nation’s soybean meal exports have been curbed while damage from a crane collapse earlier this month is repaired, marking the latest setback to global trade flows. Photo: ReutersOmaha, Nebraska-based Ag Processing declined to comment. The terminal in Grays Harbor handles the bulk of the US’ soy meal shipped to Asia from the west coast. “This will dramatically impede US soybean meal exports.”Soybean meal futures in Chicago have fallen 1.9 percent this month. “People hate to store meal,” O’Neil said.

European stocks slip as investors show hesitancyReutersEuropean stocks fell on Friday, as worries about troubled property developer China Evergrande Group (恆大集團) and weak German business confidence data prompted investors to book some profits after a mid-week rally. However, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in an interview aired on CNBC that many of the drivers of a recent spike in eurozone inflation are temporary and could fade in the next year. London’s FTSE 100 ended lower as concerns about a slowdown in global economic growth outweighed gains in healthcare and energy stocks. The FTSE 100 has gained nearly 9.5 percent so far this year on higher energy prices and accommodative central bank policies. However, it has significantly underperformed a 17 percent rise among its European peers.

DPP eyeing CPTPP legal reforms: sourceBy Lee Hsin-fang and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Executive Yuan is ready to propose amendments to the country’s patent, trademark and copyright laws to compete with China in the race to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a source said yesterday. Officials are considering amendments to the Patent Act that would allow a pharmaceutical company to sue for infringements during the evaluation and approval period for a new drug, the source said. Efforts to amend the law were stalled during the previous legislative session after DPP lawmakers expressed misgivings about the draft amendments, they said. Trademark laws would be changed to make counterfeiting trademarks on packaging material a crime, the source said. The source said that Cabinet officials feel more confident of being able to pass these amendments with Taiwan having applied for CPTPP membership.

Asian shares mixed on China developer, virus worriesAP, TOKYOAsian shares were mixed on Friday amid concerns over troubled Chinese real-estate developer China Evergrande Group (恆大集團) and the COVID-19 pandemic. For the week, the index lost 0.1 percent. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged 2.06 percent to 30,248.81 as investors returned from a midweek break, but was down 0.25 percent from a week earlier. South Korea’s KOSPI inched up 0.07 percent to 3,125.24, declining 0.49 percent from a week earlier, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.37 percent to 7,342.6, down 0.83 percent on the week. India’s SENSEX rose 0.27 percent to 60,048.47, up 1.75 percent from a week earlier.

Eric Chu wins race for KMT leadership‘FIGHT FOR VICTORY’: Eric Chu said his election victory would be the beginning of the DPP’s worries and that he would open all channels of communication with ChinaBy Shih Hsiao-kuang and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerFormer New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) was yesterday elected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman in a four-way race that included outgoing chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣). Newly elected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Eric Chu poses with supporters following his election in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Sam Yeh, AFPIn his victory speech yesterday, Chu said his election would be the start of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) worries. Outgoing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang, left, yesterday in Taipei announces arrangements for handing the party’s reins over to his successor Eric Chu. Although Chu won the election, the KMT would come under increasing pressure from unification supporters, he said.

Protesters holding pictures of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig call for their release outside the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, Canada, on March 6, 2019. About an hour after Meng’s plane left Canada for China, Trudeau revealed that Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were also on their way home. The men were arrested in China in December 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Meng on a US extradition request. “Michael Kovrig is free. To the inimitable, indefatigable and inspiring Michael Kovrig, welcome home!” Ero said in a statement.

“Free and open” has become code for expressing worry about swelling Chinese economic, diplomatic and military presence — including threats to vital international sea lanes. Biden, who often talks about democracies needing to prove their capability in an age of powerful autocracies in Russia and China, sought to show that the Quad was about action. India said it would export 8 million one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines by the end of next month. On another key priority for Biden, the Quad leaders said the four nations would all make “ambitious” announcements at the upcoming Glasgow climate summit with an aim of bringing the warming planet to net-zero emissions by 2050. US officials said they did not see the Quad as a military alliance even as they sought to broaden cooperation.

NGO grows medical cannabis despite strict Brazil rulesBy Eugenia Logiuratto / AFP, RIO DE JANEIROSurrounded by barbed wire and an electric fence, marijuana plants flourish under the bright sun on a farm in a mountainous area outside Rio de Janeiro. It belongs to a pioneering Brazilian nongovernmental organization (NGO) engaged in the production of medical cannabis to help people with seizures. Margarete Brito, a lawyer by training, first started growing cannabis several years ago to relieve the seizures of her daughter, Sofia, now 12, who has epilepsy. Cannabis plants grow at the Medical Cannabis Research and Patient Support Association production farm in Paty dos Alferes, Brazil, on Sept. 9. The police eventually realized the farm was a medical cannabis plantation, apologized and left, Brito said.

Police make arrests after Ligue 1 rocked by violenceAFP, PARISFrench police made arrests on Thursday and soccer authorities held an emergency meeting after a series of violent incidents involving supporters during midweek Ligue 1 matches. Another match on Wednesday between Angers SCO and Olympique de Marseille at Angers’ Stade Raymond Kopa was interrupted when supporters invaded the pitch and threw flares. At the final whistle of the 0-0 draw, a group of Marseille supporters left the area of the stadium reserved for visiting fans and tried to confront their Angers counterparts before stadium security staff regained control. Two Marseille supporters were arrested for their role in those incidents, prosecutors said. French Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, who also has overall responsibility for sports, described the incidents as the result of “unacceptable hooliganism” and called for tough action from Ligue 1.