The toys we had when we were young (5/5) 我們小時候玩的玩具（五）
A: And then later, when we were teenagers, we put away the toys and played with games consoles instead. B: Ah yes, simplistic game scenarios and block graphics, with low quality audio and visual effects. A: That’s right. And they came on tapes that wore out after a couple of months because we played the games every night after school. B: They’re not a fraction of the quality or sophistication of the current generation of computer games, but I used to love playing those. A: It was just the generation we were in, I guess. B: That’s right. And if you had been born into this generation, you would be staring intently at your mobile phone. Like those two over there. A: 然後我們變成青少年以後，就把玩具丟掉，開始玩遊戲機了。 B: 喔，對呀，那種遊戲場景非常簡單，圖形解析度超低，聲音和視覺效果的品質都很差。 A: 沒錯，而且這些遊戲是用錄音帶輸入，卡帶兩個月就壞了，因為我們放學回家每天晚上都在玩。 B: 它們無論是品質或是精緻度，都遠遠比不上現在的遊戲，可是我那時候好愛玩那些遊戲喔。 A: 我猜這只是因為我們是處在那個世代吧。 B: 沒錯。如果你是生在這個世代，你現在就會聚精會神地看著手機，就像那邊那兩位一樣。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A: Some toys were cool, some were badly conceived and some were toxic. B: Toxic? What do you mean? A: I had a collection of cartoon figurines. They were part of a promotion from a gas station. It turns out there was lead in the paint used on them. They had to be withdrawn. Lead paint is toxic. B: I remember those. They later reintroduced them with non-toxic paint, didn’t they? And the ones with the safe paint had a little blue spot on the base of the foot to distinguish them from the poisonous ones. A: That’s right. So I built up a second collection. I came home from school one day to find my younger brother had used them to enact a battle scene, and had stained them with red paint to represent blood. That was another set ruined. B: Well, your brother was using his imagination. I thought you just said that was a good thing. A: 有些玩具很酷，有些設計得不好，也有些有毒。 B: 有毒？這是什麼意思？ A: 我收集了一些小的卡通人物模型，這是一家加油站的促銷活動送的。結果後來發現這些模型用的塗料含有鉛，他們只好把這些模型召回。含有鉛的油漆是有毒的。 B: 我記得這件事。後來他們又開始送使用無鉛塗料的玩具，對吧？這些使用安全塗料的玩具底座就有一個藍色的點，用來跟那些有毒的玩具做區別。 A: 沒錯。所以我就收集了第二套。有一天我放學回家，發現我弟用這些模型來扮演戰爭的場面，在上面灑了紅色油漆來代表血。所以我第二套收集也毀了。 B: 嗯，你弟弟是在運用他的想像力啊。你剛剛不是說運用想像力是件好事嗎？ （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A: My elder brother had a toy soldier called “Man of War.” It had a button on the back of the head. When you slid the button left and right, it would change the direction the soldier was looking. B: We had one of those, too. And I had a monster called “Stretch-o” made of green rubber covering a malleable material: you could stretch its limbs out really far, but they would always slowly return to the original shape and length. A: That sounds cool. I would have liked one of those, too. B: It wasn’t great, to be honest. It was supposed to be a formidable foe, but the material was so malleable the legs couldn’t take the weight of the body. If you stood it up straight, it would gradually slink down to the floor. A: That doesn’t sound very formidable to me. If it ever attacked you in a dark alley, you could just wait for it to fall over. A: 我哥有一個叫做「戰士」的玩具兵，頭的後面有一個開關，把它左右滑動，就可以控制眼睛看的方向。 B: 我也有這類玩具耶。我有一個怪物叫做變形怪，外面是綠色塑膠，裡面包著延展性的材質，所以你可以把它的手腳拉得很長，不過最後都還是會慢慢回復到原來的形狀和長度。 A: 這聽起來還蠻酷的嘛，我也會想要這種玩具。 B: 其實也沒多好啦，它的角色應該是頑強的敵人，可是這個材質可塑性太高了，所以它的腿沒辦法承受身體的重量。你如果讓它站直，它就會慢慢倒下去。 A: 所以這個頑強的敵人也不太可怕嘛！如果它在暗巷裡攻擊你，你大可以就等著它倒下去。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times / 台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
The world finally says goodbye to 2020. To welcome the new year, CNN recently ran a report titled: “21 things to look forward to in 2021. . . if everything works out.” In the report, some highly-anticipated things worldwide include the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic but are now rescheduled for July this year. Oct. 1 will mark the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in Florida. A number of new TV shows and movies are scheduled for this year, such as the long-awaited “Friends” reunion special set to air in March, and the new 007 film “No Time to Die.” The extremely popular Eurovision Song Contest, which was postponed from last year, is likely to stage a comeback. Other highlights include: NASA’s “Perseverance” will land on Mars, widespread COVID-19 immunity, new climate policies and action, 6G technology, artificial intelligence and drone delivery. And, last but not least: hugs. Hopefully, people can start hugging each other again this year when the pandemic fades. (Eddy Chang, Taipei Times) 世界終於向去年道別！為了迎接新年，CNN近日刊出一則報導︰《二○二一年期待的二十一件事……如果一切都順利的話》。報導中，全球最值得期待的事包括因武漢肺炎（新冠病毒，COVID-19）延期的東京奧運，重新安排在七月登場。 美國佛羅里達州的迪士尼世界，十月一日將歡慶開幕五十週年。今年也將會有不少新的電視或電影強片上映，例如等待多時將在三月播出的《六人行》大團圓特別節目，和最新的007系列電影《生死交戰》。超熱門的歐洲歌唱大賽去年因疫情被迫延期，可望在今年捲土重來。 其它亮點包括︰美國太空總署「毅力號」終於將登上火星、新冠病毒的免疫力將更為普遍、新的氣候政策與行動、6G科技、人工智慧、無人機運送。排在最後但同等重要的是——擁抱，疫情在今年消散以後，期待人們能再次開始擁抱彼此。 （台北時報張聖恩）
B: What kind of toys did you have when you were young, then? A: I remember one year I got a ventriloquist’s dummy for my birthday. It had a grotesque face and a shock of red hair, with bushy eyebrows and googly eyes. B: I think that face would have given me nightmares. My sister had a doll with eyes that opened when she sat up and closed when you put her down to sleep. It spoke, too, saying things like, “Mom, I’m hungry.” A: My sister had one of those, too. When the doll got old, the eyes would flicker in the halfway position, neither open nor closed. It used to freak me out. Especially when it stared at you with those flickering eyes and told you it was hungry. B: 那你小時候是玩什麼玩具啊？ A: 我記得有一年生日我收到用來表演腹語的玩偶。那個玩偶有很詭異的臉和紅色的爆炸頭，眉毛很濃，眼睛還凸出來。 B: 我如果看到這張臉，會做惡夢耶。 我姊有一個洋娃娃，坐著的時候眼睛會張開，讓它躺著，眼睛就會閉起來。它也會講話喔！會說「媽，我餓了」之類的。 A: 我妹也有這種娃娃。那個娃娃後來舊了，眼睛就變成半開半閉，眼皮卡在中間抖個不停，把我嚇壞了，尤其是那個娃娃用半開半閉、不停顫動的眼睛看著你，跟你說它餓了的時候。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
Some key bus stops in Kaohsiung now let people waiting for a ride not just see their bus coming, but also “hear” it arriving. To make it easier for visually impaired people to travel by bus, Kaohsiung City Government’s Transportation Bureau said on Monday last week that it had finished installing 10 bus arrival audio announcement devices that can help city residents keep better track of their bus-waiting time and hail and board buses in good time, so that they can avoid missing the bus. The Transportation Bureau has installed 10 bus arrival time audio announcement devices at certain bus shelters where a large number of people pass through or where visually impaired people frequently board buses, namely Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Fongshan Bus Transfer Station, Kaohsiung Station, Fongshan Administration Center and the Kaoshiung Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Company. Transportation Bureau Director-General Chang Shu-chuan said that these 10 bus arrival time audio announcement devices have been installed since September last year. When a bus is about to arrive, the devices automatically announce the name of the bus route and provide prompt and accurate information about its location and expected arrival time, so that people can ride the bus with no worries. A visually impaired man surnamed Tsai said that when waiting for a bus in the past, he had to call the Transportation Bureau to ask for real-time information, but now that there are spoken announcements at bus stops, he knows when a bus on a particular route is approaching. In addition, to make it convenient for visually impaired people to use the Kaohsiung iBus mobile app, in October last year the bureau invited the Kaohsiung Chi-Ming Association, the Association of Blind Taiwan and delegates from the group for safeguarding and promoting the rights of people with disabilities to jointly evaluate the app. The
A: I might sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but look at that mother with her child on the seat over there. B: With both of them staring intently at their mobile phones? A: That’s right. I can’t help thinking that the child is not getting much mental stimulation, and that the parent should be trying to engage him somehow. B: How do you know the child isn’t reading something intellectually stimulating, or studying? A: You do think I’m old-fashioned. I get it. I just think the toys we had when we were young expanded our imagination and gave us the chance to run around outside. A: 我知道我可能聽起來像個老古板啦，不過你看看坐在那邊的媽媽和小孩。 B: 你是說他們兩個都聚精會神地看手機嗎？ A: 沒錯。我忍不住去想，那個小孩在心智上沒有得到足夠的刺激，他媽媽應該要想辦法讓他做點別的事。 B: 你怎麼知道那個小孩不是在看一些很燒腦的東西，或是在讀書？ A: 你真的覺得我是老古板，我知道了。我只是覺得我們小時候玩的玩具可以激發想像力，而且讓我們有機會到外面跑來跑去。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many airlines have been getting very creative and have launched various kinds of simulated overseas trips to keep the money flowing. Business owners say that the pandemic has been with us for a year, but its impact on the aviation tourism industry is no less severe, so the tourism market is still expected to focus mainly on domestic travel this year. The Matsu pilgrimage craze in March is Taiwan’s grand annual religious event, attracting tens of thousands of believers every year. One travel agency that is aiming at business opportunities for simulated overseas flights plans to cooperate with Tigerair Taiwan and create a new in-flight attraction by launching an “airborne version” of the Matsu pilgrimage. Chung Hsing Travel Service chairman Lee Chi-yueh said that, having by chance become director-general of Taipei’s Shengxing Tianhou Temple, he came up with the fancy idea of collaborating with Tigerair Taiwan to launch Taiwan’s first aerial Matsu pil-grimage. He said the flight is due to launch in March as a warm-up for the grand event of Matsu pilgrimages around the island. According to the plan, the flight will take about two hours. A Taoist priest will be invited to pray at the airport before departure. Three statues — Matsu, her attendants Qianliyan (lit. eyes that see a thousand leagues) and Shunfenger (lit. ears that hear the wind) will be carried on the plane. Departing from Taipei, the flight will follow a route around eastern Taiwan to the islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu before flying above Japan’s Miyako Island. Blessings and chanting ceremonies will be held in the air, linking with Taiwan’s unique religious events and praying for the pandemic to disappear. (Translated by Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times) 疫情期間各家航空公司大搞創意，推出各式類出國行程，創造金流；業者透露，疫情海嘯已屆滿週年，但對航空旅遊業的衝擊不減，預估今 年旅遊市場還是以國旅為主。 三月瘋媽祖是台灣年度宗教盛事，每年都吸引成千上萬信徒跟隨，有旅遊業者瞄準類出國航班商機，規劃攜手台灣虎航推出「空中版」媽祖繞境，盼為類出國創造新噱頭。 創新旅行社董事長李奇嶽表示，自己因緣際會接下台北聖興天后宮總幹事一職，突發奇想找上台灣虎航希望推出全台首個空中媽祖繞境航班。他表示，空中媽祖繞境航班規劃今年三月啟航，為國內媽祖繞境活動提前暖身。 據規劃，該航班航程約兩小時，出發前會請道長在機場進行祈福儀式，並請媽祖、千里眼及順風耳三尊神像上機，從台北出發繞東台灣再飛往澎湖、金門、馬祖，接著飛往日本宮古島上方，空中將舉辦祈福、誦經儀式，結合台灣獨有的宗教盛事，祈求疫情退散。 （自由時報記者蕭玗欣）
Despite the temperature rising to a high of 23 degrees Celsius on Jan. 3, the cold snap continues to inflict heavy losses on Yunlin County’s milkfish farming industry. As of Jan. 3, the bitter weather had frozen to death or inflicted frostbite on more than 190,000 milkfish on the county’s fish farms, which accounts for 50 percent of the farms’ milkfish population. Yunlin County Agriculture Department Deputy Director Tsai Keng-yu said that, as of 4pm on Jan. 3, cold-damage data provided by the relevant public bodies showed that Taisi Township was the worst affected, with 700 hectares of farm affected and 140,000 fish dead or injured, or approximately 60 percent of fish population lost. About 300 hectares of fish farms in Sihhu, Kouhu and Mailiao townships had been damaged, which equates to about 50,000 fish, or 30 percent of the local farms’ fish stocks. The entire county had lost 190,000 fish, but the death toll could rise further as some fish farmers had not yet finished dredging their ponds. A fish farmer surnamed Ting from Taisi Township said he was breeding approximately 1,500 milkfish on his fish farm and had been raising them for over one year. Ting said the cold snap had almost completely wiped out his fish. Furthermore, because milkfish are “working fish” reared within a clam pond polyculture, and are therefore not the fish farms’ primary breed species, it will be difficult to quantify the extent of the losses. However, what is certain is that without the assistance of the milkfish chomping through algae and other surface growth, farm owners would have to regularly carry out manual dredging of their ponds. As well as significantly increasing their workload, this could also result in a reduction of the water quality, which might kill the clams and cause more than NT$1
A: Do you want to hoover or mop? B: You get ready with the vacuum cleaner, I’m going to dust the shelves, window sills and all the surfaces first. When you’ve vacuumed, I’ll mop the floor. A: Grand. Fill the bucket with warm water. I think grandmama keeps the floor cleaning liquid in the cupboard under the stairs. Give it a quick mop and we’re done. B: We’re just about finished, but what are you going to do now? Your grandmother obviously cannot cope living here by herself. She’s allowed her apartment get in a real state. A: I’ll talk to the rest of the family. We’ll have to think about paying for a cleaner to come around every week. B: Good, because I’m not helping you next time. It was exhausting. A: 你要用吸塵器還是拖把？ B: 你把吸塵器準備好，我先把架子、窗臺，和所有東西表面上的的灰塵擦掉。你用吸塵器吸過以後，我再來拖地。 A: 讚。把水桶用溫水裝滿。奶奶好像是把地板清潔劑放在樓梯下面的櫃子裡。把地板快速地拖一下，就大功告成了。 B: 我們快做完了。那你以後要怎麼辦？很明顯你奶奶沒辦法自己一個人住在這裡。她讓自己的公寓變得一團糟。 A: 我會跟其他家人討論。我們得考慮請清潔工每個禮拜來打掃。 B: 很好。因為我下次不會幫你了。這累得要命。 (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯) English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A: Next, the bathroom. I’ve got some bathroom cleaner here. B: Since you did the difficult job removing the lichen from the balcony, I’ll volunteer to do the toilet bowl. Toilet brush: check. Plunger, if needed: check. Toilet cleaner…where’s the toilet cleaner? A: It’s sitting on the cistern. Remember to clean under the toilet rim and wipe the outside, too. I’m going for the shower cubicle. B: Yes, those tiles could do with a good wipe, especially near the floor. There’s black mold growing there. A: She’s my grandmother, so I should do this for her. It’s really nice of you to muck in. B: OK, let’s rinse it all down with the shower, and then tackle the bedroom. A: 現在要來打掃浴室。我這邊有一些浴廁清潔劑。 B: 因為陽台上的苔蘚是你清理的，這是苦差事，那我就自告奮勇來清馬桶吧。馬桶刷，有了；通馬桶的吸盤，有了；馬桶清潔劑……欸，馬桶清潔劑在哪裡啊？ A: 在水箱上。記得馬桶邊緣底下要清乾淨，外面也要擦。我來打掃淋浴間。 B: 很好，那邊的磁磚可以好好擦一下，尤其是靠近地上的部分，那邊發霉黑黑的。 A: 她是我奶奶，所以應該是我來做才對。你人真好，還願意一起出力。 B: OK，我們用蓮蓬頭把它沖乾淨，然後來打掃臥室。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A: Well, cleaning the balcony took longer than I’d anticipated, but let’s get on with inside the house. No rest for the wicked. B: Let’s do the kitchen next. The sink is full of dirty plates from last night. A: Fetch that washing up bowl. You’ll find some sponges next to the sink, and there’s a large bottle of washing up liquid in the cupboard under the sink. B: Roll up the sleeves and into the breach once more, my friend! I don’t like the look of this saucepan. I don’t think it’s going to be easy to budge these stains. A: Scrub it with some steel wool. That will get anything off in a jiffy. Meanwhile, I’m going to attack the oven. It’s caked with grease inside. A: 啊，打掃陽台花的時間比我預期的還要久。我們繼續來打掃房子裡面吧。真是一刻不得閒 。 B: 我們現在來清理廚房。洗碗槽裡有好多髒盤子，是從昨天晚上堆到現在的。 A: 把那個洗碗盆拿來。水槽旁邊有一些海綿，水槽底下的櫥櫃裡有很大一瓶洗碗精。 B: 我們挽起袖子再往前衝吧！朋友。你看這燉鍋這副德性，要把這些髒汙去掉不會是件容易的事。 A: 你用鋼刷來刷。什麼東西用鋼刷一刷，馬上就刷掉了。我來對付烤箱，那裡面有結成塊的油漬。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
With his new megahit “Mojito” and many other hits, Taiwanese “King of Pop” Jay Chou continues to dominate online music giant Spotify’s 2020 list, remaining the most-streamed artist in Taiwan last year. He was followed by Hong Kong singer G.E.M. and South Korean supergroup BTS at second and third spot. The most-streamed albums of 2020 included “Outta Body” by E.SO, a member of Taiwanese group MJ116, “#osnrap” by singer OSN and “City Zoo” by G.E.M. “Miss You 3,000,” the theme song of hit drama “Someday and One Day” by rock band 831, was named the most-streamed song, followed by OSN’s “Without You” and Eric Chou’s “What’s Wrong” on the list. Globally, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny was the biggest artist, amassing 8.3 billion streams last year, while his album “YHLQMDLG” was the biggest album worldwide. “Blinding Lights” by Canadian singer The Weeknd was the most popular song on Spotify’s 2020 list. (Eddy Chang, Taipei Times) 台灣流行天王周杰倫去年新歌《Mojito》爆紅，加上數十首熱門金曲，蟬聯線上音樂龍頭Spotify台灣最佳串流藝人寶座。而香港小天后鄧紫棋緊追在後，南韓天團防彈少年團高居第三。 頑童MJ116成員瘦子的個人專輯《靈魂出竅》，榮登去年專輯榜冠軍。高爾宣的《#osnrap》、鄧紫棋的《摩天動物園》分居亞軍、季軍。八三么樂團所演唱的神劇《想見你》主題曲《想見你想見你想見你》，是去年最佳串流歌曲。高爾宣的《Without You》、周興哲的《怎麼了》在榜上分居第二、第三。 在全球音樂串流方面，波多黎各饒舌歌手壞痞兔勇奪最佳串流藝人，去年累積多達八十三億次播放，同時他的專輯《YHLQMDLG》亦勇奪最佳串流專輯。加拿大歌手威肯所演唱的《Blinding Lights》，則是Spotify 最佳串流歌曲。 （台北時報張聖恩〉
A: OK, I’ve told grandma that we’re going to clean the place up for her. She was quite touched. B: Bless her. Let’s start with outside the house, since you said it was a deathtrap with the lichen on the tiles. A: Good plan. She’s my grandmother, so I’ll do the tiles. If you wouldn’t mind, could you get that broom over there and sweep up the leaves? B: Sure. I’ll use this dustpan, and I’ll grab a large plastic bag from inside. How are you going to clean the tiles? A: Actually, I’ve done this at my own house before. I’ve found the most effective way is to get a wide paint scraper and swipe it across the tiles. It’s back-breaking work. I’m not looking forward to this. A: OK，我跟我奶奶說我們要去幫她打掃。她還蠻感動的。 B: 她好有愛喔。我們從外面開始打掃吧，因為你說磁磚上的苔蘚是死亡陷阱。 A: 這個構想很好。她是我奶奶，所以我來清理磁磚。如果你不介意的話，可以請你把那邊的掃帚拿來掃樹葉嗎？ B: 沒問題，我可以用這個畚箕，我去裡面拿大塑膠袋。你要怎麼清理磁磚啊？ A: 其實我以前打掃家裡的時候做過，最有效率的做法是用寬的刮漆刀在磁磚上刮過去。這很費力，我並不期待去做這件事。（Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
French fries and hamburgers are popular with teenagers. Everyone knows that these high-calorie foods can lead to chronic illnesses such as heart disease and high blood pressure, but, according to a report published by Medical Xpress, a study led by the University of Queensland in Australia has found that eating too much junk food can also have an impact on teenagers’ sleep quality. According to the research results, teenagers who drink more than three soft drinks per day were 55 percent more likely to report sleep disturbance than those who only drink one cup per day. Males who ate fast foods on more than four days per week were 55 percent more likely to report sleep disturbance than those who ate them only once a week, while females were 49 percent more likely to do so. This global study examined unhealthy diets and stress-related sleep disturbance in high school students from 64 countries. The study found that 7.5 percent of adolescents reported having stress-related sleep disturbance, which was more common among females than males and increased with more frequent consumption of carbonated soft drinks, as did the occurrence of sleep problems. Because carbonated drinks often contain caffeine and large amounts of sugar, while fast foods are high in energy but poor in nutrients, long-term consumption can cause nutritional imbalances. These data were collected from global health surveys conducted by the WHO between 2009 and 2016, which included about 170,000 students aged 12 to 15 years from 64 low, middle and high-income countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America and the eastern Mediterranean. The research team said that frequent intake of soft drinks and eating of fast foods is closely associated with sleep problems in teenagers, and that this phenomenon is particularly clear in high-income countries. The research team said that these findings are
A: I just went to visit my grandmother. She lives on the second floor, with outside stairs leading from the street up to her front door and balcony. B: That sounds nice. I wish I had a balcony outside my apartment. I could have barbecues in the summer. A: It’s not all roses. The tiles on the stairs and balcony are thick with lichen. I almost slipped and fell twice. It’s a virtual deathtrap. B: That’s not good, especially since your grandmother lives on her own up there. A: That’s not all. When I went inside, her house was a mess. She doesn’t have the strength to keep the place clean. B: Right. Let’s get a bucket and a mop and clean up for her. A: 我剛去看我奶奶。她住的地方在二樓，外面有樓梯從路面直通她家前門和陽台。 B: 這聽起來很不錯嘛。我希望我住的公寓也有陽台。這樣夏天我就可以烤肉了。 A: 住在這樣的地方並不都是好事。樓梯和陽台上的磁磚都長了厚厚的苔蘚，我有兩次差點滑倒了，這根本就是死亡陷阱。 B: 這樣很不好欸，而且你奶奶還是自己一個人住在樓上。 A: 還不光是這樣咧！我進去她屋裡，發現亂得要命。她沒有力氣去打掃乾淨。 B: 好吧，那我們一起帶水桶和拖把去幫她打掃。 (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
The Legislative Yuan “cleared its stocks” at the end of the year by passing several important bills. Among them, a bill to amend some articles of the Civil Code, along with the Enforcement Law for Part IV, Family Law of the Civil Code, was passed on Dec. 25, lowering the age of majority from 20 to 18. Meanwhile, for the sake of equality, the minimum age of marriage for both men and women will be the same — 18 years old, which is no change for men, but it had been 16 years old for women before the amendment. A buffer period was set before the amendments take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. This is the first major change of its kind in the Civil Code since its enactment and implementation in 1929. Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, who presided at the meeting, said afterwards on his Facebook page that this is a prelude to the major task of amending the constitution. It has been the consensus of the ruling and opposition parties to revise the age threshold for the exercise of civil rights to 18 years old. The UK, France, and Germany changed their civil rights age threshold to 18 years old back in the 1970s. Taiwan’s neighbor Japan also completed such youth movement reforms in 2018. On Dec. 30, the legislature also passed on its third reading an amendment to Article 1030-1 of the Civil Code, whereby, when filing for divorce, the interests or income through utilization of the property acquired by one party before the marriage relationship will not have to be distributed equally to both parties if the other party did not contribute to acquiring the assets or cooperate in their utilization. (Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times) 立法院年終大清倉，陸續通過了數項重要法案。其中包括十二月二十五日通過「民法部分條文」與「民法親屬編施行法」修正案，將成年年齡由二十歲下修為十八歲；同時，基於男女平等，最低結婚年齡由男十八歲、女十六歲，修正為男女均為十八歲，並設緩衝期，定於民國一一二年一月一日施行。這是民法自一九二九年制訂施行以來的首度重大變革。 主持院會的立法院長游錫堃會後在臉書發文表示，這是為接下來的修憲工程拉開序幕。下修公民權至十八歲已是朝野共識，英國、法國、德國早在一九七○年代就把公民權下修至十八歲，鄰近的日本也於二○一八年完成這樣的青年運動改革。 立法院亦於十二月三十日三讀通過民法第一○三○條之一修正草案，未來國人要是離婚，只要其中一方對婚前財產所生孳息及運用所得沒有貢獻或是協力，雙方就不必平均分配財產。 (台北時報林俐凱)
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