UN RESOLUTION 2758
Canada backs Taiwan
The Canadian House of Commons on Wednesday unanimously passed a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not establish the People’s Republic China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and does not determine the nation’s right to participate in the UN or other international organizations. The motion was proposed by Bloc Quebecois President Yves Perron, who said it was unanimously agreed upon by all parties before the meeting was convened. Parliament members would speak up with allies around the world to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization, Perron said. China is manipulating the implications of the resolution to legitimize its military actions in Taiwan’s territorial airspace and waters, he said.
LABOR
MOL seeks to raise fines
Upcoming amendments would seek to increase maximum fines for creating an unsafe work environment from NT$300,000 to NT$1.5 million (US$9,305 to US$46,526) in hopes of preventing occupational accidents, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said yesterday. The draft amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法) seeks to prevent construction accidents by strengthening contractors’ safety management, raising the maximum penalty and disclosing more information about businesses that breach safety standards, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Director-General Tzou Tzu-lien (鄒子廉) said. It would also require property owners to implement risk evaluation and prepare a budget for safety measures, he added. Subcontracting is common in the construction industry, yet most contractors do not perform their duty to ensure occupational safety, Tzou said. Renting venues and equipment without disclosing risks could lead to occupational accidents, he added.
DIPLOMACY
Poland, Fiji envoys named
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健) is to be the new representative to Poland, while former ambassador to Nauru Joseph Chow (周進發) is to serve as the envoy to Fiji for the second time. Liu, who has served as the ministry’s spokesman since January last year, would take up his post following envoy Sharon Wu’s (吳尚年) return to Taipei in August, a Cabinet announcement released on Wednesday said. Liu’s previous overseas posts include India, New York, Washington and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Chow worked at the ministry’s Taipei headquarters after diplomatic ties with Nauru were severed. His previous overseas posts include Nauru and Australia.
WEATHER
Heavy rain expected
The northern and eastern parts of Taiwan are expected to experience heavy rain until tomorrow as Typhoon Yinxing approaches, the Central Weather Administration said on Wednesday. As Yinxing was predicted to veer further west and to be closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon to this evening, heavy rain is expected along the Keelung north coast and eastern Taiwan, with isolated instances of extremely heavy rain in Yilan, agency forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) said. Seasonal winds are likely to weaken today, but rain is to persist, bringing down temperatures in the north and northeast until it rebounds to about 27°C tomorrow. The next wave of northeasterly winds is to pick up on Sunday and is expected to bring rain across Taiwan until Wednesday next week, Chang said.
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
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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