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.
‘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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