■ Drugs
Couple caught with heroin
A couple concealing heroin in their bodies were nabbed by agents from the Investigation Bureau at the Hsiaokang International Airport in Kaohsiung Friday. The couple, identified only by their family name of Chen, were returning from Thailand on a China Airlines flight late Friday. Investigators, acting on a tip-off, stopped them at the airport. They searched the couple's luggage and found nothing unusual but a body search of the woman found 168 grams of heroin in condoms concealed in her vagina and bowels. The husband refused to be body-searched and tried to flee but was overpowered by investigators. They took him to a nearby hospital where an X-ray showed three condoms full of heroin inside his body. The two were remanded to prosecutors for further investigation yesterday morning.
■ Think Tank
US should help Taiwan more
The US should help enhance Taiwan's security and continue to support Taiwan on the international stage, John J. Tkacik, Jr., research fellow in the Asian Studies Center of The Heritage Foundation, said in his recent report. When addressing Asian security, Tkacik said that the US should maintain strategic clarity by reiterating its determination to help Taiwan defend itself against military and economic coercion, including assistance in developing a credible deterrent against invasion. He said the US should continue to support Taiwan's involvement in international organizations that accept its membership, such as the WTO. The US should also firmly support opportunities for Taiwan's voice be heard in organizations where its membership is not possible, such as in specialized agencies of the UN, he added.
■ Drunk driving
Forum launches campaign
The Taiwan Beverage Alcohol Forum (TBAF), an organization aiming to promote responsible driving, launched a public-service campaign against drunk-driving yesterday. TBAF has produced a 30-second television commercial, posters and bus panels to promote sobriety behind the wheel. According to statistics released by the National Police Administration (NPA), Taiwan's drunk-driving violations fell by 44,000 cases last year compared to 2001. According to the NPA, drunk driving has been the major cause of fatal traffic accidents in Taiwan this year. Last year, drunk-driving cases account for 15 percent of fatal traffic accidents in Taiwan, the NPA said.
■ Technology
Virus cripples Internet
A computer virus attacked Taiwan's Internet portals yesterday, leaving millions of users unable to browse the Internet. Hardest hit was the state-run Chunghwa Telecom which controls most of the Internet portals. "Clients phoned us in the afternoon that they could not connect to the Internet. We checked and found that we had been attacked by an unknown virus," Chunghwa, Telecom Deputy Manager Lee Yen-song told reporters. "After repairs, some portals are functioning but others are still paralyzed," he said. "We expect all our portals to be back to normal this evening. But for some portals whose anti-virus software is not strong enough, the damage is more serious and will take more time to repair," he said. Lee said the same virus had also attacked and paralyzed some portals in China. The state-run Chunghwa Telecom is the largest telecommunications company in Taiwan. Most of Taiwan's Internet users subscribe to Chunghwa Telecom for their Internet connection.Staff writer, with agencies
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all