■ Foreign affairs
Legislators leave for India
A group of legislators left for India yesterday on a week-long visit to promote economic ties and to see if the labor-intensive country can replace China as a favorite investment location for Taiwanese businesspeople. "We hope to get a better understanding of the economic and political situations of India during our visit," group leader Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hou Shui-sheng (侯水盛) said before the group's departure. He said the primary aim of the trip is to promote Taiwan-Indian cooperation in various fields. The government hopes that India, with its cheap labor and high level of economic development, will attract Taiwanese investment away from China. The Taiwan-India Cooperation Council was established on Saturday, with DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun serving as council head.
■ Environment
Schools exposed to radiation
A total of 144 elementary and junior-high schools are exposed to dangerous electromagnetic fields, according to yesterday's Chinese-language the China Times. The paper quoted a survey conducted by a professor of public health at Fu Jen Catholic University, under the commission of the Ministry of Education, as warning that the health of more than 18,000 students could be threatened by the electromagnetic fields. Judged by the locations of the schools, the survey found that 95 elementary schools and 49 junior-high schools have part of their campus within 20m of high-voltage power lines or within a 50m radius of a substation.
■ Foreign Affairs
MOFA lauds US appointment
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed the US government's appointment of Stephen Young, a career diplomat with experience in Taiwan and China affairs, as its new representative in Taipei. Washington announced on Friday that Young, a former US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan and currently a member of the Policy Planning Staff under the State Department, will be the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Taipei Office. Young, who joined the US foreign service in 1980, is expected to arrive in Taipei next month to assume his post, replacing Douglas Paal, who returned to the US last month after completing a three-and-a-half-year term in Taiwan. Foreign Ministry officials said they believe that after Young assumes his Taipei post, he will fully reflect the Bush administration's policy toward Taiwan and will help bolster bilateral substantive relations between Taiwan and the US. AIT is the quasi-official US liaison office authorized to handle relations with Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. Young lived in Kaohsiung between 1963 and 1965 as the child of a US military officer stationed there.
■ Health
Tipoff rewards boosted
The maximum reward for reporting smuggled animals or plants will be raised from NT$3.5 million (US$108,700) to NT$5 million in a bid to safeguard the nation against avian influenza, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine announced yesterday. Bureau officials said that in view of the spread of avian flu around the world, they have increased the rewards. Those who report smuggled animals or plants that are later found to be carriers of the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus, the foot-and-mouth disease virus or rabies will receive a reward worth 10 times the value of the smuggled animals or plants.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS