■Society
Chen marks 52nd birthday
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) sent his best wishes to all in the country on his 52nd birthday yesterday, saying that it was not just his birthday, but everybody's birthday. "As long as one can breathe, every day can be regarded as birthday," he said. There were no cele-brations at the Presidential Office as per Chen's request and the office turned down a cake bought by DPP staffers. However, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) sent Chen a bouquet of flowers and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) sent him a wine and fruit package. Chen's birthday should be Septem-ber 1950 according to the Lunar calendar. But his parents did not register his birth until Feb. 18 the following year.
■ Examination Yuan
Yao denies media report
Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) yes-terday denied media reports that he favors the abolish-ment of his branch of the government and the transfer of its functions to the executive branch. Yao said the Examination Yuan has no plans concerning its abolishment. He said that it is the legislature's business to decide whether to maintain or abolish the Examination Yuan. He noted that even if the examination branch is abolished, its functions should be trans-ferred to a unit under the jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan or the Presidential Office that has independent budgetary, personnel and policy-making rights. The Examination Yuan oversees the civil service.
■ Cross-strait ties
Koo to attend forum
Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) has accepted an invitation to visit Singapore to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the first cross-strait talks in 1992, said Wang Gungwu, director of the National University of Singapore's East Asia Institute. The institute is sponsoring the event, which begins April 7. It is not yet known whether Koo's Chinese counterpart, Wang Daohan (汪道涵), will also attend. Wang is in charge of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. Wang Gungwu said Beijing will likely wait until after next month's National People's Congress before deciding whether Wang Daohan should attend the Singapore commemoration. "It's nothing political," he said, describing the event, which will attract interna-tional experts to discuss cross-strait relations since 1993 and their future prospects. The 1992 Koo-Wang talks took place in Singapore.
■ Diplomacy
Envoy going to Seoul
DPP Secretary General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) will attend next week's inauguration celebration of South Korean president-elect Roh Moon-hyun. Chang told the media yesterday that he, along with legislators from across party lines, will leave next Monday to attend the ceremony on Tuesday. The government hopes to establish political connec-tions with Roh's administra-tion and improve relations with Seoul.
■ Aborigines
Tribal economy promoted
The Executive Yuan announced yesterday details of a NT$1.074 billion (US$30.8 million) plan to promote traditional Aboriginal industries. A Cabinet official said the project is designed to promote Aboriginal cultural, artifact, entertainment and tourist industries to stimulate the Aboriginal economy and develop their tribes' human resources.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition