Conservation: County acts to save tree
The Taitung County Government has allocated NT$23,000 to salvage a withering banyan tree, the Chinese-language media reported yesterday. The tree, estimated to be 120 years old, has a trunk measuring 10m in diameter and a canopy of 150m2. The plant is one of 100 ancient trees listed on the county government's preservation list. The county government plans to enact regulations to provide a legal basis for the preservation of ancient trees. Currently 25 of the 100 trees on the county's preservation list have died and more are continuing to wither away from disease, insect attacks or other problems.
National defense: Chen reviewed submarines President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) reviewed the navy's submarine squadron in February this year, according to a report carried in an electronic weekly issued yesterday. The weekly, President A-bian's Electronic Newsletter, said Chen reviewed the submarine squadron at the Tsoying naval base in southern Taiwan on Feb. 22. The report said Chen boarded the Sea Dragon con-ventional submarine to review underwater combat training and crew operations firsthand. This marked the first time that an incumbent president, also the commander in chief of the nation's armed forces, sailed underwater aboard a navy submarine. The paper said Chen was impressed by the high morale, good discipline and outstanding combat skills of the naval personnel aboard the Sea Dragon.
Education: Panel to promote Hakka
Minister of Education Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村) said yesterday that his ministry will set up a special panel to promote Hakka-language education. Huang made the promise while attending an exhibition of the results of Hakka language and culture educational programs organized by the Miaoli County Government. The county government has run a Hakka education program in Miaoli's all-Hakka township of Tunglo for several years. County Magistrate Fu Hsueh-peng (傅學鵬) told Huang that the programs have running smoothly and have achieved encouraging results. Council for Hakka Affairs Chairman Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) also attended the exhibition. She hailed Huang's decision to set up a special panel to promote Hakka-language education. There are 5 million Hakka people in Taiwan, but many of them cannot speak the language, she said. "We must step up efforts to preserve this language," she added.
Justice: Chen calls for reform
The establishment of a fair and efficient judiciary is urgently needed, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday. Speaking at the opening of a training camp for would-be judges and prosecutors, the lawyer-turned president lambasted the current legal system and the organization of courts, saying that they not only fail to meet the needs of the public but also are wearing down the public's con-fidence in the country. While the judiciary has been freed from serving political proposes, there is still a long way to go in terms of legal reform, Chen said, noting that people must still endure the ordeal of troublesome and often-delayed trials. He urged law-enforce officials to live up to public expectations by reforming the judiciary and winning over public confidence.
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