■Defense
Chen urges vigilance
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that there should be no lowering of the country's guard concerning national defense and combat readiness, especially as China refuses to renounce the threat of force against Taiwan. The president made the remarks when he took part in a military service day activity in Kaohsiung. Chen said that since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, a new threat to global security has dawned and that a new style of warfare which seeks to combine all sorts of terrorist tactics has changed the definition of national security. He urged the nation to rally behind the government and remain vigilant so as to ensure an effective national security network.
■ Education
Nation grants scholarships
Minister of Education Huang Jong-tsun announced yesterday that Taiwan's universities will grant 200 scholarships to Malaysian students. Huang, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur a day earlier to attend the 2003 Taiwan Higher and Professional Education Fair, made the announcement at the opening ceremony of the exhibition. Huang said that Taiwan hopes to strengthen cooperation with Malaysia and to form partnerships with Taiwanese businesses operating there to offer jobs to Malaysian graduates of Taiwan universities and colleges. He encouraged Malaysian students to study in Taiwan and to use the fair to evaluate which universities from which they would prefer to receive higher education. Malaysian Vice Minister of Education T. C. Han praised Taiwan's successful vocational education system and expressed his hope for increased exchanges.
■ Politics
Lee blasts former comrade
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said yesterday that his former Taiwanese communist comrade, Chen Ping-kee (陳炳基), was speaking on behalf of Chinese communists and that his words should not be trusted. Lee was responding to an interview on Chen, which appeared prominently in a local newspaper the previous day. Chen and the former president, who was a believer in Marxism in his youth, were both members of a Taiwanese communist group five decades ago which disintegrated in the early 1950s. During the White Terror era following the 228 Incident of 1947, Lee sheltered Chen at his home in Sanchi, suburban Taipei, according to the reports. Chen later fled to China. The reports said that Chen's words prove that Lee had high-level dialogue with Beijing during his term as president.
■ Politics
Yu denies ulterior motive
Premier Yu Shyi-kun denied yesterday that the assessment of national assets is not being carried out for the purpose of raising the ceiling on the government's debts. The premier made the remarks when he presided over a meeting of the National Assets Management Committee. Yu said a recent assessment of national assets put them initially at NT$19.2 trillion (US$548.57 billion), which was a big increase from the NT$6.9 trillion of the previous year and was interpreted by some as an attempt to raise the ceiling for government debts. The premier said that such speculation is unfounded. He explained that unlike the most recent figure, the NT$6.9 trillion figure for 2001 did not take into account the assets that are actually under the jurisdiction of state-owned enterprises, which is why the figures show such a big gap.
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