■ Politics
DPP unveils nominations
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday recommended five delegates to the National Assembly as candidates for the body's executive committee: Senior Presidential Adviser Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), Presidential Adviser Lee Yuan-chen (李元貞), former legislator Chou Ching-yu (周清玉), attorney Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission Chairman Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄). The 11-member executive committee handles meeting procedures. Each political party can nominate a number of members based on the percentage of assembly seats won in the election. The DPP also announced that it would recommend Yeh Chun-jung (葉俊榮), the chairman of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, for the post of assembly secretary-general, DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said.
■ Society
Taichung fire kills nine
A pre-dawn fire engulfed a plastics factory in Taichung and killed at least nine people, police said yesterday. The victims included two families -- a mother and her 11-year-old daughter and a father and his 10-year-old son. They were sleeping on the second floor of the sheet-metal building when the fire broke out at around 4am. The cause of the fire is not known. "Most people died of suffocation as they tried to escape," a prosecutor at the scene told reporters. The factory owner said he did not know how many people stayed in the building on Monday night as it was open to employees, as well as their relatives and friends.
■ Society
Former WTO envoy honored
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) conferred the Order of the Brilliant Star on Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章), the former representative to the WTO, yesterday at the Presidential Office for his outstanding performance in the post. Chen hailed Yen's efforts in helping to explore foreign trade and international relations during his term of three years and three months as representative to the WTO. Yen said he was proud of his achievements and that Taiwan's delegation had received high praise from other countries as well.
■ Tourism
Democracy is a draw
Taiwan's vibrant democracy is one of its major attractions to prospective Chinese tourists, a Hong Kong newspaper reported yesterday. The Wen Hui Po said Chinese on the Internet have shown keen interest in things Taiwan since China announced last week that it will allow its citizens to make sightseeing trips here. According to the paper, 25 percent of the thousands of Internet surfers responding to a recent online poll said the most important reason for a visit to Taiwan is to get a taste of its political atmosphere. Meanwhile, 39 percent said they wanted to visit sightseeing spots such as Alishan and Sun Moon Lake, and 28 percent said they wanted to look into folk culture and customs.
■ Agriculture
COA repeats warning
Council of Agriculture Chairman Lee Chin-lung (李金龍) yesterday warned against building up an over-reliance on the Chinese market. Lee told a meeting of the Democratic Progressive Party's Central Standing Committee that opening Taiwan's exports to the China market will do little to relieve the imbalance of supply and demand. He said the government should ask for formal negotiations with China on the issue.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
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