■ Medical
Chen's son-in-law promoted
President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) son-in-law Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘) will be promoted to doctor-in-charge in the Taipei Hospital's Department of Orthopedics, a senior doctor at National Taiwan University Hospital said yesterday. Chao's training at the university hospital terminated yesterday and he has formally started his career at Taipei Hospital. Han I-hsiung (韓毅雄), a professor of orthopedics at the university hospital and matchmaker for Chao and the president's daughter, said Chao, having received sound training in the university hospital, is ready to see outpatients independently.
■ Foreign labor
MECO registers voters
All qualified Filipinos are encouraged to register with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) by Sept. 30 for absentee ballots for next May's elections. MECO's headquarters in Taipei as well as its extension offices in Taichung and Kaohsiung began accepting applications yesterday. Edgardo Espinosa, resident representative and managing director of MECO, was the first to register at the MECO in Taipei, the office said. Inquiries about voting applications can be made by calling (02) 2778-6511 in Taipei, (04) 2205-1306 in Taichung or (07) 331-7752 in Kaohsiung, MECO said.
■ Politics
PFP urges action on islands
Legislators yesterday urged the government to adopt measures to protect the rights of Taiwanese fishermen operating around the Tungsha (Pratas) islands. PFP Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said that the waters around Tungsha are rich in marine resources and are the traditional fishing grounds of Taiwanese fishermen. He suggested that the government demarcate its economic territory and claim sovereignty over Tungsha to ensure the rights of Taiwanese fishermen. Lu said that the natural beauty of the coral atoll of Tungsha has yet to be tapped and it could be a great contribution to tourism. He suggested the government plan a national "marine park" for Tungsha.
■ National Security
Council hires more staff
The National Security Council has recruited 19 new research fellows, including 10 doctoral-degree holders and nine master's degree holders, a spokesman said yesterday. Spokesman Su Chin-chiang (蘇進強) said the new recruits were selected from more than 200 hopefuls. They will begin pre-job training next week. This is the first time that the council has recruited research staffers since the Legislative Yuan passed revisions allowing for recruitment of more staff members to enhance the council's functions.
■ Diplomacy
US denies reports about Lu
Not only did the US not deny Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) a transit visa to New York, it was unaware that Lu was even making a trip, a Department of State official said yesterday. The official, who requested anonymity, said it is Washington's long-standing policy to allow Taiwanese leaders to make transit stopovers in the US and afford them safety, comfort, convenience and treat them with dignity. This policy will continue, he said. The official made the comment after State Department spokesman Richard Boucher brushed aside journalists' questions regarding Lu's trip at a regular news briefing. Boucher referred journalists to the Taipei authorities for the itinerary of Lu's Latin America trip, saying his department was unaware of it.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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