■ Earthquake
SEF sends condolences
The Straits Exchange Foundation sent a message to its Chinese counterpart yesterday expressing concern about the aftermath of an earthquake that rocked Xinjiang yesterday. The foundation extended condolences and sympathies for victims of the magnitude-6.8 earthquake, which killed at least 265 people and injured 4,000 others. In its message to the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), the foundation also said the government is willing to offer assistance in post-disaster relief work.
■ Aviation
Man says he has explosives
A Taiwanese man, who was arrested after claiming to be carrying explosives aboard an Air Macau flight, will be deported after he was found to be mentally unstable, the Macau government said yesterday. The 29-year-old man was overpowered by flight crew on an Air Macau plane about to depart the territory for Taipei on Sunday night. No one was injured nor were any explosives found in the whole incident. Macau authorities have said the incident was not an attempted hijacking, but that the man had an emotional fit and had argued with crew members before the incident. Media reports said that the Taiwanese man, who was allegedly drunk, was angered after the flight was delayed. Air Macau Flight 612, with 154 passengers and six crew members, had been due to depart Macau International Airport for Taipei at 9:45pm on Sunday. The passengers on the flight boarded another flight for Taipei early Monday.
■ Society
Locals marry more foreigners
An increasing number of Taipei residents are marrying people from other countries, with more than 4,500 couples tying the knot in 2002, a jump of more than 10 percent over the previous year, Taipei City Government's Bureau of Civil Affairs said yesterday. Among the 4,500 couples, two-thirds of the spouses are from China, Hong Kong or Macau, or about 3,000 couples. Of the other couples, Vietnamese spouses accounted for 44 percent, followed by Indonesian at around 10 percent. In comparison, marriages between Taipei residents and people from China, Hong Kong and Macau increased by 18 percent compared with 2001, while marriages to other foreign spouses increased by 12 percent. In view of the growing number of foreign spouses, the Bureau of Civil Affairs will continue to hold seminars to help them integrate into life in this country. Bureau officials said that the seminars will open between April and July.
■ Diplomacy
Government to give to fund
The government will donate US$75,000 to a trust fund under the Organization of American States (OAS) to help finance young entrepreneurs training program, the ROC representative office in the US said Tuesday. Taiwan Representative to the US Chen Chien-jen (程建人) will donate the fund to the OAS on behalf of the government in a ceremony to be held at the OAS headquarters in Washington tomorrow. Chen will also sign a cooperative agreement with the OAS during the donation ceremony. Under the accord, Taiwan will send experts to assist in carrying out the manpower training program. The Taiwan donation will mainly be used to help enhance leadership and management capabilities of young entrepreneurs of Latin American countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Central and South America and the Carribean have been Taiwan's diplomatic stronghold.
■ Politics
KMT changes the rules
The KMT's Central Standing Committee decided yesterday to call a national congress March 30 to approve the party's ticket for next year's presidential election. The committee made the decision after approving a change to the party's rules on choosing presidential candidates to allow the candidate to choose a non-KMT member as running mate. Although the committee discussed nothing other than the rules governing the selection of party candidate, there is a consensus among the KMT and the PFP that they will field a joint ticket next year, with KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) as the candidate for president, and PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) as candidate for the vice presidency.
■ Culture
French center honored
The Centre France-Asie, a charitable educational service group founded by the French Jesuits in 1920, has won the 2003 Taiwan-France Culture Award for its contribution to helping promote bilateral cultural exchanges. Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀), chairwoman of Taiwan's Cabinet-level Council for Cultural Affairs, presented the award to the center Tuesday in a ceremony held at the Institute of France. Michel Aurillac, chairman of the French-Asian Association, received the award on behalf of the Centre France-Asie. Aurillac said the award marks recognition of the Centre France-Asie's efforts to serve Asian students. The Catholic group has offered scholarships and boarding services for Asian students, including those from Taiwan, over the past eight decades. Many Taiwan students have been able to receive advanced education in France with the assistance of the center. The center will use the prize money from the award to set up scholarships for Taiwan students to study in France.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese