■ENVIRONMENT
Fish pass dioxin tests
Following reports last week of dioxin contamination at a duck farm in Kaohsiung County, officials from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) confirmed yesterday that stocks of tilapia found at the farm were within safety limits. The EPA had come under criticism in the legislature earlier for failing to discover that the farm in question was breeding fish in addition to the ducks — which had been found to contain large amounts of harmful chemicals. Officials said analyses showed that the fish had dioxin levels between 0.260 and 0.412 picograms per gram (fresh weight), far below the limit of 4pg/g. However, Kaohsiung County authorities said that thousands of kilograms of tilapia would still be destroyed today as a precaution.
■CULTURE
Kaohsiung to set up zone
A special zone will be established to help preserve Pingpu culture after a park was destroyed by Typhoon Morakot in early August, Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) said yesterday. Yang was referring to the Pingpu cultural park in Siaolin Village (小林), Jiasian Township (甲仙), which was buried under mudslides triggered by the typhoon. The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China has commissioned a consultancy company to plan the new culture park and permanent housing units for the typhoon victims. Yang also said he had asked tax authorities to study the possibility of waiving land and house taxes for the permanent housing units, which are also being built by the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation.
■TOURISM
Janice Lai heads to China
Tourism Bureau Director-General Janice Lai (賴瑟珍) departed for China yesterday at the head of a large delegation to attend an international travel fair. It marks the first time that Lai has led a tourism promotion delegation to attend a travel fair in China in her capacity as president of the Taipei-based Taiwan Strait Tourism and Travel Association. Lai said prior to her departure that the delegation would introduce Taiwan’s natural scenery and other tourist attractions to prospective Chinese and other foreign travelers. The 190-person delegation, composed of representatives of 23 government agencies and business associations, as well as 64 travel agencies and hotel groups, will operate 60 booths in a Taiwan pavilion at the China International Travel Mart to be held in Kunming, Yunnan Province, from today through Sunday.
■EDUCATION
MOE officials visit UK
Ministry of Education (MOE) officials are leading a group of school representatives on a visit to the UK as part of the preparations for an education white paper that is scheduled for release early next year, a ministry official said yesterday. The group, which consists of representatives from graduate schools; senior, middle and vocational high schools; and elementary schools, is being led by Liu Ching-jen (劉慶仁), director-general of the Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations. It will visit schools in London and Edinburgh, as well as attend an international education conference for British primary and secondary schools. Liu said the representatives would hold workshops and demonstrate their UK findings upon their return. The white paper for international education in elementary and secondary schools will be published next year to help lay a solid policy foundation, he said.
‘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 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
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
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