■ Administration
GIO promotes consultant
William Yi (易榮宗), a consultant to the Government Information Office (GIO), will be promoted to the agency's second-highest post, GIO Director-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in New York on Sunday. Lin and Yi are on a three-day transit stop in New York on their way back to Taipei after accompanying Premier Yu Shyi-kun on his second overseas trip since assuming the premiership in February 2002. Lin told reporters covering Yu's diplomatic tour that he has asked Yi to serve as his deputy. Lin said Yi, who served as the information division chief at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York before becoming a GIO consultant, will be responsible for international publicity affairs after being promoted to GIO deputy director-general. Yi will fill the position left vacant by Hung Chung-chuan (洪瓊娟), who retired last month.
■ Paraguay
Housing complex set to open
A new Taiwan-funded public housing complex for low-income families in the Paraguayan capital will be inaugurated tomorrow, the Taiwan Embassy in Paraguay said on Sunday. The new complex in Asuncion's Ciudad Nueva district has 120 housing units, an embassy staffer said. Each apartment has a bathroom, a living room and two bedrooms, as well as running water and electricity. This will be the third Taiwan-funded public housing complex for low-income Paraguayan people. The first two complexes are located in the Luque and Nemby. Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte and Taiwan's ambassador to Paraguay Yen Pin-fan (顏秉璠) will jointly preside over the inauguration ceremony for the Ciudad Nueva housing complex tomorrow. Construction of housing complexes for low-income families with Taiwanese funds was one of Duarte's presidential campaign promises.
■ Culture
Martyrs' Shrine completed
Officials celebrated the completion of the reconstruction of Kinmen's Tai Wu Shan Martyrs' Shrine yesterday as part of commemorations of the Battle of the Taiwan Strait 46 years ago. More than 500 politicians, military officers, veterans and civilians attended the ceremony at the shrine, where soldiers who died in the battle are remembered. A memorial service for the soldiers was held after the ceremony. Addressing the ceremony, Fujian Provincial Governor Yen Chung-cheng (顏忠誠) attributed the nation's economic prosperity over the past 46 years to the sacrifice of the soldiers who risked their lives to defend the country from attacks by the Chinese Communists. The Battle of the Taiwan Strait began on Aug. 23, 1958, and lasted for 44 days.
■ Taiwan Fair
Headquarters inaugurated
The headquarters for the preparation of the 2008 Taiwan Fair was officially inaugurated yesterday at the county hall in Tainan, which was chosen to host the international event. During the inauguration ceremony, Tainan County Magistrate Su Huan-chih (蘇貞昌) showed how the county will work to make the event a success. The headquarters will be the base for several teams responsible for planning, transportation, construction and publicity. Su said that the first Taiwan Fair was held in 1935 at the site which is the currently the 228 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei. The Taiwan Fair has not been held since. Su said that hotel space for the 2008 event could be a problem, given that an estimated 5 million visitors are expected to attend the fair.
■ Foreign Affairs
Singapore protest urged
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lin Jhih-long (林志隆) urged local people not to visit Singapore or buy its products yesterday as a protest against unfriendly remarks by its leader concerning Taiwan. According to foreign wire services, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said, "if a war breaks out across the strait, we will be forced to choose between the two sides ... but if the conflict is provoked by Taiwan, then Singapore cannot support Taiwan." Lee also said that Singapore will not recognize Taiwan if it declares independence. Lee's remarks are unfriendly toward Taiwan and have repressed the island's development space in the world community, Lin said.
■ Crime
Warrant issued for Chang
District prosecutors in Yunlin County issued a warrant for the arrest of Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味) yesterday after he ignored two subpoenas summoning him to report to prosecutors to assist with an investigation into alleged corruption. Hung Shao-wen (洪紹文), chief prosecutor at the Yunlin District Prosecutors' Office, said Chang will be put on the wanted list unless he shows up in three days. Chang's sister, Chang Li-shan (張麗善), said her brother will appear at an "appropriate time." Chang was absent from hearings held on the alleged corruption scandal surrounding a garbage incinerator project last week and again yesterday. Prosecutors that day opened a safe seized from Chang's residence on Aug. 13 for inspection but found it was empty. Hung said the fact that nothing was found in the safe will not affect the case's investigation, because prosecutors have obtained evidence "through other means."
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
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