■ DIPLOMACY
You Ching may go to Berlin
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator You Ching (尤清) has been tapped to serve as the nation's representative to Germany, Executive Yuan spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said. Shieh, who just ended a two-year stint as representative to Germany, took office as Executive Yuan spokesman and Government Information Office minister on Monday. You earned a doctoral degree in law from Germany's Heidelberg University, Shieh said, adding that his formation of a good social network during his study in Germany was sure to help him. You has been a Control Yuan member, a National Chengchi University associate professor, a Presidential Office national policy adviser and an ambassador-at-large.
■ AGRICULTURE
Produce labels to ease fears
The first batch of Taiwan-grown tomatoes labeled with "produce traceability" recently entered the market, Council of Agriculture (COA) officials said yesterday. The officials said that the tomatoes were cultivated on a farm in Taichung County with the assistance of the council's research center in central Taiwan. Given growing concern among consumers about the hygiene standards of agricultural products, quality inspection labeling on the packaging of such products has become a global trend, the officials said, adding that this was why council Chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) made implementing the "produce traceability" system his top priority when he assumed his post in January last year. The council's efforts in this regard have borne fruit, with more Taiwanese produce bearing "produce traceability" labels.
■ POLITICS
Farmers' party founded
The Taiwan Farmers' Party was established yesterday in Kaohsiung County, with the aim of better representing the rights and interests of local farmers and fishermen, party officials said. Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) attended the ceremony and congratulated Yang Cheng-chi (楊政治), chief of the Kaohsiung Farmers' Association, who was chosen as party chairman by representatives from local farmers' and fishermen's associations across the country. Addressing the ceremony, Yang Chiu-hsing said he was happy to see such a party established -- the first of its kind dedicated to grassroots farmers and fishermen in the country. Yang Chiu-hsing said he hoped that the new party could help the government work out sound policies to attend to the needs of farmers and fishermen. For his part, Yang Cheng-chi said that the party, as a representative of grassroots workers, would work hard to win public recognition.
■ DIPLOMACY
Ties with Nicaragua steady
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday that diplomatic relations with Nicaragua were stable. Huang made the remarks after presiding over a swearing-in ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of new officials and representatives of overseas offices. Commenting on media reports that relations between Taiwan and Nicaragua were shaky, Huang said that given current difficulties, he could not guarantee that relations with every ally would be problem-free. "Taiwan has limited resources and cannot compete with China's checkbook diplomacy," he said. "What we can do is to be on guard and do everything possible to cement ties with our allies," he said, adding that "Taiwan's relations with Nicaragua are solid at present."
■ JUSTICE
Dog owner sentenced
A Taipei County man was sentenced to 30 days in detention for an injury his dog caused to a passerby, Taipei District Court officials said on Wednesday. The 57-year-old dog owner, surnamed Wu, did not have his door completely closed on Jan. 17, when his dog, unleashed and unmuzzled, ran out on to the street and attacked a passing woman. The court ruled that Wu should have been aware that dogs can be aggressive in certain situations, and that owners should leash their dogs or muzzle them to prevent their animals from assaulting others. The sentence may be commuted to a fine at a rate of NT$1,000 per day.
■ POLITICS
Mayor dismisses allegation
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who once served as secretary-general of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China, yesterday dismissed an allegation that the organization had embezzled funds from its government-allotted budget over the past 20 years. Hau, who served as Red Cross Society secretary-general between April 2005 and February, said he had seen to it during his stint that all income and expenses were audited by certified public accountants, making embezzlement impossible at the public-interest organization. Hau termed it as "immoral" that certain people had "fabricated a wholly untrue story" accusing Red Cross Society management of misusing funds allocated to the organization from government coffers. He was referring to a report by the Chinese-language China Times yesterday that quoted Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) as saying that Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) told him recently that an investigation conducted by ministry officials had discovered that the Red Cross Society had misused government subsidies over the past 20 years and that the ministry would work to retrieve the money.
‘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
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
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
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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