■Election
Ethnic conflicts worry voters
More than 40 percent of respondents to two surveys conducted in Taipei and Kaohsiung are worried about ethnic conflicts' potential impact on the 2004 presidential election, according to results released yesterday. The surveys, conducted by the China Times Public Opinion Survey Center, showed that only 16.9 percent of Taipei respondents and 23.3 percent of Kaohsiung respondents said that ethnic conflicts were a serious matter in the Dec. 7 elections for mayors and city councilors. However, 42 percent of Taipei respondents and 43.5 percent of those in Kaohsiung said that ethnic conflicts might become a contentious issue in the 2004 presidential election. More than 1,000 people in both Taipei and Kaohsiung were polled.
■ Japan
Ceremony honors Lee
Nearly 1,500 Japanese people attended an inauguration ceremony yesterday in Tokyo in honor of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). In his congratulatory message to the ceremony marking the inauguration of the "Japanese Association of Lee Teng-hui's Friends," President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said the government has attached great importance to the relationship between the two countries and expressed the hope that they could strengthen their cooperation in economic, cultural and other fields. Lee and Vice President Annette Lu addressed the gathering via video link. Lee talked about the traditional spirit of Taiwanese and Japanese peoples, while Lu expressed the hope that Japan could review its political relationship with Taiwan and negotiate a free-trade agreement with Taiwan as soon as possible.
■ Environment
Bag-ban meets opposition
Lawmakers and labor unions have urged the government to postpone a more stringent ban on the use of plastic bags and disposable food containers and tableware ahead of a demonstration slated for tomorrow by businesses against the decision. Legislator Jheng San-yuan (鄭三元) of the PFP, as well as representatives of a labor union for the jobless made the call at a joint news conference at the Legislative Yuan over the weekend. They suggested that the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) temporarily halt the move -- set to be implemented Jan. 1 -- until complementary measures have been worked out to avoid further job losses. Implementing the ban will lead to more factory closures and layoffs, further worsening the domestic job market, they claimed.
■ Aviation
Carriers cut HK transit times
Some air carriers operating flights between Taiwan and China have cut transit time in Hong Kong to about one hour, in an attempt to attract passengers, industry sources said yesterday. For Air Macau and the Hong Kong-based Dragon Airlines, which are not required to change planes during flights between Taiwan and China, the transit stop in Hong Kong or Macau takes as little as 40 minutes. The other carriers flying the route, such as China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, EVA Air, Cathay Pacific Airways and Trans Asia Airways, all have agreements with mainland carriers, which fly their passengers on to more than 30 Chinese cities, but the stopover time varies from one to two hours, depending on where the passengers are heading.
Agencies
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