Tue, Apr 20, 2004 page3

• Taiwan Quick Take

  • STAFF WRITER WITH AGENCIES
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  ■ Diplomacy
  Academic denies HK posting

  National Chi Nan University political science professor Byron Weng (翁松燃) denied yesterday that he had been appointed as Taiwan's new representative to Hong Kong. Weng, formerly a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and currently an adviser to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), denied a report carried in the Hong Kong Economic Journal yesterday that he had been appointed to replace Chang Liang-jen (張良任), managing director of the Chung Hwa Travel Service, Taiwan's de facto consulate in Hong Kong. In a telephone interview, Weng emphatically denied there was any truth to the report, saying, "There is absolutely no such thing [taking place]." Chang also denied the report, describing it as a fabrication. The Chung Hwa Travel Service is an agency under the control of the Mainland Affairs Council.

  ■ Health

  Not too late to quit

  Some may joke that it's never too late to start smoking, but for 89-year-old Huang He-ping (黃和平), it's never too late to quit. Huang is the oldest participant in Taipei's "quit and win" competition aimed at getting people to stop smoking. Huang said yesterday that as a smoker for the past 73 years, "I've quit smoking more than 300 times, but haven't succeeded yet in really stopping." He said that this time might be the one, given that there is a big cash prize as an incentive. Huang, who worked as a reporter and police officer when he was young, said the high pressure of the two jobs started him smoking. He used to smoke a pack and half of a day, and still smokes around a dozen cigarettes daily. "Quitting smoking is like writing an article, and one has to undergo some excruciating trials," Huang said, adding that the best way to quit smoking is to go to public places where you can't bother others with your habit. But the urge to smoke surfaces later, he added, when you get back home or go outdoors.

  ■ Foreign affairs

  Caution urged in Philippines

  Taiwan's representative to the Philippines, Wu Shin-hsing (吳新興), warned Taiwanese yesterday to avoid the Philippines following an attack on a building in Manila in which a foreign oil firm is located. Wu made the comment after suspected communist guerrillas fired a rocket-propelled grenade a day earlier at a building in the Makati business district in which oil firm Philipinas Shell Petroleum Corp is housed. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Manila is just a few meters from the building. Wu warned people not to visit the Philippines in the run-up to its May 10 presidential and general elections, saying that the political situation and public order have become increasingly unstable. Meanwhile, security measures in the buildings in which the Taiwan representative office and private staff residences are accommodated have been strengthened, he added.

  ■ Library science

  Team visits Vatican

  Council for Cultural Affairs Vice Chairman Wu Mi-cha (吳密察) and other officials visited the Vatican Museums and the Italian Culture Department yesterday to observe its documentation storage procedures. Wu and his group arrived in Rome on Saturday for a four-day visit. They will visit the Holy See's library to exchange views on secret filing before leaving for Germany today.
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