Lebanon's first parliamentary polls without heavy-handed Syrian meddling began yesterday, and loyalty to the former premier whose assassination catalyzed the turmoil that drove Syrian forces out was displayed at the capital's ballot boxes.
The family of slain Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri -- widow Nazek, sons Fahd and Ayman and daughter Hind -- led the voting, arriving within an hour of the opening of polls at 7am.
"I have high hopes today that we will uncover the truth of who planned and carried out the crime against my beloved husband, who in life built this country and in his martyrdom achieved national unity," Nazek Hariri told reporters after casting her ballot at a Verdun polling station before she headed to downtown Beirut to pray at her slain husband's grave.
Many observers expect the polls to sweep the anti-Syrian opposition to power and install a new parliament, removing the last of Syria's political control. Syrian forces withdrew last month, ending a 29-year military dominance, after mass demonstrations in Lebanon and relentless international pressure sparked by the February assassination.
More than 100 foreign observers from the EU and the UN were watching the vote for irregularities, the first time Lebanon has permitted foreign scrutiny. The organization of French-speaking countries also sent a delegation.
It was also the first election where Syrian or Lebanese intelligence agents or their allies did not appear to be influencing voters.
"There is no pressure," said Mohieddine Badran, a 57-year-old barber who said he voted for the Hariri ticket because "they are clean guys" who would carry out the slain leader's program.
The spiritual leader of Sunni Muslims, the sect to which the Hariris belong, joined in calling for people to go out and vote.
"Today is the day of gratitude for the great martyr Rafik Hariri," said Mohammed Rashid Kabbani, the Grand Mufti of the Republic, after voting. "Indifference could negatively affect the outcome."
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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