■ Diplomacy
Clinton to visit on Sunday
Former US president Bill Clinton will meet President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) during a whirlwind visit to Taipei on Sunday that could annoy China. Clinton will arrive in Taipei at the invitation of the government and deliver a speech on democracy and security, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶隆). Lu said a dinner meeting between Clinton and Chen was being arranged for Sunday. Clinton visited China this week where he praised Beijing's efforts to combat AIDS and pledged his foundation would donate drugs and offer training to doctors. As president, Clinton sent two aircraft carrier groups to waters near Taiwan in 1996 to cool tensions after Beijing test-fired missiles in an attempt to sway voters in Taiwan's first direct presidential election that year.
■ Diplomacy
Lu to visit Latin America
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) announced Wednesday that she will be heading a business delegation to visit El Salvador and Guatemala next month in a bid to cement Taiwan's relations with the two Latin American countries. Among the issues to be discussed will be proposals to build a "Taiwan Park" industrial zone in El Salvador, and to establish a vocational training center called the Taiwan Institute for Development. The visit comes amid speculation that China is making investment overtures to some or all of Taiwan's 25 diplomatic allies in the region, urging them to recognize Beijing rather than Taipei. Guatemalan Economics Minister Marcio Cuevas plans to visit China in April, prompting Taipei to worry that Taiwan-Guatemala ties are shaky. Lu's visit will begin March 12.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
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