■ Politics
Former premier dies at 93
Former premier Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿), hailed as the architect of Taiwan's dynamic economic growth since the 1980s, died of heart failure yesterday. He was 93. A senior adviser to the president, Sun was hospitalized for heart and lung complications last month and died early yesterday at the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, his doctors said. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) sent condolences to Sun's family and hailed him as the "creator" of Taiwan's "economic miracle." Born in China, Sun arrived in Taiwan in 1945 and was assigned by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime to rebuild the nation's power supply system. The nation's per capita GNP was US$320 when Sun, an engineer by training, became economic minister in 1969. By the time he stepped down from the premiership in 1984, per capita GNP had risen to US$3,000. Sun is also remembered for his decision to set up a government-funded industrial research institute and develop the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park. He is survived by his wife and four children.
■ Foreign affairs
Diplomat suspected of graft
The Taiwanese representative to New Zealand has been accused of corruption and forgery by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to a statement released last night. Victor Chin (秦日新), a veteran diplomat, has been accused of forging receipts in relation to expenses incurred in the performance of his duties as the director of the ministry's North American Affairs Department. A section chief of the department is also suspected of involvement. The case has been forwarded to the Taipei City branch office of the Bureau of Investigation for possible criminal charges. Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said that ministry personnel must uphold the highest possible ethical standards in the performance of their duties. Huang also reminded ministry officials that they are not allowed to accept gifts while in office.
■ Diplomacy
Don't say `Taiwan': Vietnam
Vietnam's deputy foreign minister warned local reporters yesterday to avoid offending China by not using the name Taiwan when Vietnam hosts the APEC meeting later this year. Le Cong Phung also urged the press not to uses words like "country" or "nation" to describe any member of the group, instead using the agreed-on euphemism "member economies." "The official name for Taiwan in APEC is `Chinese Taipei' and the official name for Hong Kong is `Hong Kong-China,'" Phung said. "At the previous summit in the Republic of Korea, the host country had to abolish about 80,000 booklets, since in those booklets there was a mistake in referring to the APEC economies as `countries' or 'nations' and that was rejected very strongly by China," Phung said.
■ Politics
DPP forms poll task force
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a seven-member task force to handle nominations for the Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral elections. The task force will also serve as a campaign team. DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun will lead the task force, which has been set the goal of defending Kaohsiung and winning Taipei. Yu said that the candidates will be determined by a primary that will include a public poll and a vote among party members. Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) announced yesterday that he will take part in his party's primary in May to vie for its nomination for the Taipei mayoral election.
‘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
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
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