Mon, Mar 17, 2003 page3

• Taiwan Quick Take

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ Environment
  Two spoonbills return to wild

  Two black-faced spoonbills suffering from botulism at the Chiku Wetland in Tainan early this year were set free yesterday by the Tainan County Government after recovering. The two were among 17 sick birds that were found at the Chiku conservation area early this year, county government sources said, adding that another 15 of the endangered birds were set free Feb. 18 after receiving treatment. Seventy-three black-faced spoonbills that migrated from the Korean Peninsula and northeastern China between early December and early February to spend the winter at the Chiku Wetland have died of botulism. Tainan County Magistrate Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), who presided over a ceremony to set the two birds free, said Tainan County Hall will organize an international seminar on black-faced spoonbills in April. Su vowed to strengthen the management of the main habitat of black-faced spoonbills.

  ■ Shipping

  Chinese vessels collide

  Two Chinese cargo ships have collided near an outlying Taiwanese island, causing one vessel to sink and killing at least three of its crewmen, Taiwanese police said yesterday. The Haugang 508 sank after colliding with the Runda 402 Saturday night in rough waters near Tungyin island, which is close to China's southeastern coast, police said. Taiwanese patrol boats rescued four sailors and were still searching for three missing sailors from the sunken ship, they said. A Chinese patrol boat has also joined the rescue effort, they said.

  ■ Transportation

  Gods say no to rail line

  The nation's high-speed railway has hit a snag. The obstacle? A temple and its 300-year-old camphor tree. Rail engineers had planned for the line from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung in the south to cross three temples. Railway officials may have informed those at the temple of the coming demolition, but they forgot to ask the most important figures -- the temple gods. The railway appeared to be in the good graces of the first two temple gods -- Taoist monks threw divination blocks to ask the gods whether the temple could be relocated. The gods assented. Unfortunately, the last temple god proved to be more stubborn. The divination blocks gave a resounding "no" to the idea of relocation. Unable to trump the temple god, and in their desire to maintain cultural relics, the rail officials conceded defeat and agreed to have the line skirt the temple and its venerable tree.

  ■ Nuclear power

  Former DPP head to fast

  Former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) will stage an hours-long fast in front of the Executive Yuan today to protest the government's failure to hold a referendum on the fate of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Lin, along with a group of anti-nuclear activists, plan to stage the fast from afternoon through late night. Premier Yu Shyi-kun has designated Cabinet Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) to receive the petitioners and discuss the issue with Lin. Reiterating that a nation without nuclear power has been a common goal for the DPP and opposition parties, Cabinet spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the timing of a referendum on the fate of the plant needs further study and that the government will not rule out the possibility of holding a"consultative referendum" before laws governing a vote on the nuclear issue are enacted.
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