■ Military Affairs
EU resolution lauded
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the European Parliament's fourth resolution in just over a year opposing the lifting of an EU arms embargo against China. The European Parliament -- the legislative arm of the EU -- passed the resolution in Strasburg, France, last week, said Wang Yu-yuan (王豫元), director of the ministry's Department of European Affairs. It was the fourth resolution on the matter since Dec. 18, 2003. The latest resolution stipulates that the EU should maintain its ban on arms sales to China until there is a satisfactory improvement in the country's human-rights record. Nevertheless, Wang said that the possibility of the EU lifting its arms embargo against China is increasing given recent developments.
■ Earthquakes
Moderate temblor hits
A moderate earthquake hit central Taiwan yesterday, but no injuries or serious damage were immediately reported, the Central Weather Bureau said. The 5.4-magnitude quake's epicenter was about 31km northeast of Tsaoshan, in a mountainous part of Chiayi County, the weather bureau said. The area is about 200km southwest of Taipei. The tremor was felt across most of central Taiwan, the weather bureau said.
■ Diplomacy
Chen hosts Chadian leader
Chadian President Idriss Deby will arrive in Taipei on Sunday for a three-day state visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. During his visit, Deby will discuss bilateral cooperative projects, African regional issues and the international situation with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the ministry said. The two leaders will sign a joint communique at the conclusion of Deby's visit, the statement said. Deby will travel to Kaohsiung to visit a marine base and Chinese Petroleum Corp's refinery. He will also visit major cultural and economic institutions in the north of the country and meet with local business and industry leaders. Ministry officials said relations with Chad have been cordial since the two countries resumed full diplomatic ties in 1997. Deby has on many occasions spoken out in support of Taiwan's bid to join the UN, the World Health Organization and other major international organizations, the officials said. Deby's trip will be his third to Taiwan.
■ Education
Plan divides universities
A proposal championed by the Ministry of Education's higher education department for universities to be classified into a number
of categories was the subject of heated debate yesterday during a national conference of university heads. Participants in the panel discussion, which was presided over by Mou Tsung-tsan (牟宗燦), chairman of
the Association of Private Universities and Colleges, were divided on the proposal, in which universities would be
divided into four categories -- teaching universities, research universities, professional universities and community universities. Due to a jump in the number of institutions, universities have shifted from providing an elite education to a universal education, which has resulted in financial pressure, lower quality graduates and low competitiveness, an departmental official said. To iron out these problems, the department proposed that universities be classified into the categories and that the government offer them funds based upon specific needs, the official said.
■ Foreign Affairs
Beijing pitches fit on stop
China reacted angrily yesterday to a planned stopover by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in the US territory of Guam, urging nations to be wary of Taiwanese attempts to use them in pushing for independence. "China has made it clear to the international community that the Taiwan authorities are taking advantage of all kinds of opportunities to push for independence," foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan (孔泉) told a regular briefing. "We want to make sure that other countries, particularly countries with diplomatic relations with China, will not let Taiwan authorities take such advantage," he said. Chen will visit the Pacific nations of Palau and the Solomon Islands later this month with a transit stop in Guam.
■ Disaster Relief
Charity walk launched
Several educational institutes and groups under the Buddhist Foguangshan Monastery launched a one-day nationwide fund-raiser yesterday for South Asian children orphaned in the tsunami disaster late last month. A total of 20 Fo Guang teams embarked on the fund-raising walk from 17 locations around the island at 9am yesterday, with the aim of raising at least US$50,000 by nightfall. The Foguangshan Monastery will use the money to establish a foundation for the building of orphanages in areas affected by the tsunami tragedy. In Chiayi City, a group of students and faculty members from Nanhua University, headed by university president Chen Miao-sheng (陳淼勝), embarked on the fund-raising walk from a temple located in the downtown area. They plan to walk at least 8 km around the city during the day.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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