■Construction
Freeway to get underway
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is expected to announce that construction of a freeway in eastern Taiwan will begin by the end of next year, a ranking official revealed yesterday. The announcement will be part of the nationwide transportation network plan "Challenge 2008" aimed at strengthening transportation services in the country. The official said that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications submitted three projects on railway and road construction this year that were included in the six-year national development plan, with a total budget of NT$200 billion. The projects include a freeway in eastern Taiwan, including a 86.5km section between Suao and Hualien, and a 173km section between Hualien and Taitung.
■ Conference
Chen mobilizes business
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) urged overseas Chinese businesspeople to participate in the nation's economic development when he addressed an annual conference of overseas Chinese businesspeople yesterday at the Taipei International Convention Center. Chen said his government is doing its best to promote economic recovery and the economy is turning for the better. Citing a report by the Taiwan Economic Research Institute, he said the economic growth rate is expected to jump from -2.18 percent last year to 3.05 percent this year. A recent report by the World Economic Forum also indicated that Taiwan's economic competitiveness in the world is improving. He lauded overseas Chinese businesspeople for their contribution to the development of Taiwan's strength in the world market and urged them to participate in the economic activities of local investors and traders.
■ Diplomacy
Foreign nurses end training
Three nurses from the Solomon Islands completed a three-month professional training program yesterday -- the first foreign nurses to have received professional training in Taiwan under an arrangement by the Department of Health (DOH). "The program has set a model for the DOH to help train foreign medical personnel," a department official said. Starting next year, the official said, doctors and nurses from South Africa and Brazil will come for professional training programs. The official said that Solomon Islands Health Minister Allan Paul asked for help in training medical personnel when he visited Taiwan in November last year.
■ Diplomacy
Chen says farewell to Mejia
Dominican Republic President Rafael Hipolito Mejia Dominguez and his entourage bid farewell to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday. Chen expressed the hope that Mejia would visit Taiwan again, saying the nation cherishes its more than 60-year friendship with the Dominican Republic. Chen noted that Dominican Republic Senate Speaker Andres Bautista and Chamber of Deputies President Rafaela Alburguergue de Gonzalez visited in July and September respectively, while its first lady and vice president will visit early next year. Chen also noted that Mejia has visited twice during his own tenure as president, while he has only been to the Caribbean country once. Chen said he hopes to make another reciprocal visit as soon as possible. Chen reiterated his appreciation for the Dominican Republic's long-term support for Taiwan in the international community. He said Taiwan would like to share its experiences in development and will help push for political and economic improvement in the Dominican Republic.
Agencies
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods