■ Politics
NTU activists continue sit-in
Lecturers and students from National Taiwan University continued a sit-in yesterday to express their opposition to Beijing's of the "Anti-Secession" Law targeting Taiwan. The sit-in began March 15 at noon, one day after China's rubber stamp National People's Congress passed the legislation in which Beijing gives itself the authority to use "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan should the nation seek formal independence. NTU students and some professors have been taking turns sitting in front of the NTU campus on Roosevelt Road in Taipei, to make known their opposition to the law. As their sit-in proceeded into its fourth day, more students from National Chengchi University joined the group. According to Yeh Hung-ling (葉紘麟), a graduate student at the NTU Institute of Political Science, the sit-in will go on until March 26 when a nationwide rally is expected to draw 1 million people to protest against the Anti-Secession Law.
■ Politics
Washington protest planned
Taiwanese expatriates in the US are scheduled to stage a demonstration in Washington on March 26 against China's "Anti-Secession" Law, organizers said on Thursday. The members from at least 13 Taiwanese groups led by the pro-independence Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) will protest to the Chinese embassy in Washington and gather on Capitol Hill to express their opposition to the law, which legalizes the use of force against Taiwan, FAPA officials said. They said the protesters will also urge the EU not to lift its arms embargo against China in light of Beijing's military threat against Taiwan.
■ UN Bid
Hsieh names top monikers
Taiwan and the Republic of China (ROC) are "top priority choices" for the name under which Taiwan should bid for its re-entry into the UN, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday. Hsieh made the remarks during an interpellation session at the legislature when Legislator Huang Hsih-cho (黃適卓) of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) asked if it is possible for the government to make its bid under the name of "Taiwan" after past bids under the name of the "ROC" have failed for 12 consecutive years. The premier said that both "Taiwan" and the "ROC" are top priority choices, adding that the name does not necessarily have to conform with the official name. The name of "Taiwan" can be used to join international organizations, while other names are equally acceptable if difficulties are encountered. Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) also said it will be very difficult for the government to promote a return to the UN under the name of the Republic of China and said it is mulling a new mindset to promote the bid, although the name issue is yet to be finalized.
■ Culture
Group readies for US festival
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lin Cheng-erh (林正二) formed a preparatory group yesterday for Taiwan's participation in an Asian festival that will take place in Los Angeles and San Francisco in May. Lin, who is a lawmaker for Taiwan's aborigines, said the US set May aside as Asian Month in America in 1998. Many US cities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, have since used the month to celebrate Asian cultural traditions, promote the understanding of Asia and Asian communities in America, and establish a strong bond between the Asian and non-Asian communities.
‘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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