■ Diplomacy
Cash payments denied
The government has denied claims that it donated cash to former Malawian president Bakili Muluzi amid rumors that he had received cash from foreign donors, including Taiwan, during his 10-year rule which ended last year. "Taiwan and Malawi have signed many cooperation programs and our government has allocated funds according to these programs, but has never made personal donations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Ching-lung (呂慶龍) said. Malawi's anti-corruption bureau said it has launched a probe into how US$11 million ended up in Muluzi's private bank account. Muluzi rejected the allegations and has been summoned to appear before the anti-graft body on Monday.
■ Charity
Pakistan trip called off
Members of the private Taiwan Roots Medical Peace Corps decided on Wednesday to abandon plans to travel to Pakistan to provide medical relief to victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake. Taiwan Roots president Liu Chi-hsiang (劉啟群) quoted Adam Fields, a US national who is a Taiwan Roots' volunteer, as saying after arriving in Pakistan that the Pakistani government welcomes humanitarian relief and medical aid from around the world, but would not issue visas to relief personnel from Taiwan, India or Israel. According to Liu, Fields was told by the Pakistani authorities that if Taiwanese groups plan to enter Pakistan for relief work, they should first obtain permission from Beijing. Liu criticized the Pakistani government for politicizing a purely humanitarian-aid issue, saying that linking humanitarian work to politics is the last thing that his group would like to see.
■ Crime
More women driving drunk
Taipei police statistics have shown that the number of women who have been caught drunk driving in the last three years has increased significantly, in spite of harsher penalties being imposed. Taipei police officers noted that since stiffer penalties were imposed in 2002 for drunk drivers in Taipei, the number of young drunk drivers has increased, with 18 to 20 year-olds accounting for the bulk. Meanwhile, the ratio of women driving drunk rose significantly from 5.9 percent in 2002 to 7.4 percent this year, the police officers said. Police officers expressed concern that the number of drunk drivers will rise further over the next few months as that is the peak season for drunk driving due to several traditional festivals, including Lunar New Year.
■ Culture
President praises winners
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) praised the five winners of the 9th National Culture and Arts awards yesterday as "cultural heroes" who have enriched the nation's cultural environment. Winners of the awards are theater arts professor Wang An-chi (王安祈), choreographer Lin Li-chen (林麗珍), film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), novelist Chen Ching-wen (鄭清文) and composer Chien Nan-chang (錢南章). According to the president, the reputations enjoyed by these artists have helped make the arts achievements of Taiwan known overseas. He said culture is the nutrient that strengthens the development of a country and that society needs arts and culture to shape people's taste and enhance its humanistic values. He said that cultural and artistic creations flesh out the living environment.
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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
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