■ Diplomacy
Senegal sends ambassador
Youssou Diagne, Senegal's new ambassador to Taiwan, presented his credentials to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday. Noting that Diagne had served as president of Senegal's National Assembly, Chen said Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade's assigning Diagne to Taiwan represented the great importance Wade has attached to Taiwan-Senegal ties. Chen praised Diagne as the best choice to serve as ambassador to Taiwan. Chen also expressed gratitude to former Senegalese ambassador Adama Sarr for his contribution to promoting Taiwan-Senegal relations, especially for his arrangement of mutual visits of the leaders of the two countries.
■ Diplomacy
Chen meets Liberian officials
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) met with a Liberian parliamentarian delegation yesterday, saying that he hopes he can visit the African nation to express Taiwan's gratitude for Liberia's long-term support in the world community. Chen noted that Liberia, the first democratic republic in Africa, successfully held a national peace and reconciliation conference in August, thanks to the efforts of President Charles Taylor, which Chen said has brought hope for peace in Liberia. Chen said he originally planned to visit Liberia on his African trip in July; however, the plan was canceled because Taylor suggested he put it off for security reasons. Thomas Nimely, chairman of the Foreign Committee of Liberia's Senate, who is heading the parliamentarian delegation, transmitted Taylor's invitation to Chen to visit Liberia.
■ Technology
Pact inked with Berlin school
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and the Technology University of Berlin will cooperate in nanoelectronic quantum dot array research after signing an agreement by representatives of the two establishments in Hsinchu yesterday. Liu Yung-sheng (劉容生), director of ITRI's Institute of Optoelectronics, said that researchers will develop optoelectronic components of reduced sizes and lower production costs for Internet applications.
■ Society
Couple set marriage record
A couple in Taoyung County has broken the Guinness Book of World Records record for the longest marriage by staying together for more than 85 years. Lieu Yong-yang (劉永養) is 103 years old and his wife Lieu Yang-wan (劉楊完) is 102. The previous record for marriage was set by an American couple in Kentucky, who were married for 83 years. Lieu was 27 when he got married in 1917. The Guinness Book of World Records will officially announce that Lieus are the new recordholders on Nov. 4.
■ Employment
Disabled lose out
Although the Job Protection Act for the Disabled has been in force since 1980, disabled persons are not getting sufficient protection in the job market and some government agencies have failed to meet the quota of reserved positions, according to an official of the Central Personnel Administration. The official said that the administration has demanded that government agencies hire designated numbers of disabled in accordance with the quota system, which requires an organization, government or private, to reserve 2 percent of its positions for the disabled when it has 50 or more persons on the payroll. For those establishments with over 100 employees, at least 1 percent of the positions should be reserved for the disabled.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS