■ Crime
Police seize contraband
Police have seized more than 100,000 pirated discs in a raid on a paint factory in Linkou, Taipei County, officials at the Taoyuan Prosecutors' Office said yesterday. Police said that suspects used the paint factory as a cover for producing pirated movies, music, pornography and software. Police also found various machines in the factory, including copying, molding and pressing equipment. The factory workers were all taken in for questioning.
■ War
Airlines avoid war zone
Taiwan's two leading air carriers have not started using alternative flight routes to Europe because of the war in Iraq, airline executives said yesterday. Both China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways have applied for permission to use several alternative routes for their Europe-bound flights, but are not using them for the time being, as the war in Iraq poses no immediate risk to the routes. In an attempt to play down their plan to reroute Europe-bound flights through Chinese airspace, both CAL and EVA said the detours are a precautionary measure that they have no intention of using for the time being.
■ Security
Nation beefs up security
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) went to a military command post in Taipei yesterday to learn about the combat readiness of the nation as the US-led war on Iraq entered its third day. At the Hengshan Command Post, the president was briefed by Ministry of National Defense (MND) officials about contingency plans amid tension following the outbreak of war. Chen learned that after the US formally launched attacks on Iraq Thursday, the MND started a mechanism to step up the protection of the nation's security, on one hand monitoring any changes in cross-strait relations and on the other maintaining a careful watch to make sure terrorists do not sneak into Taiwan. In a related development, Kaohsiung Harbor authorities reported that they had stepped up security checks. Kaohsiung Harbor Administration and Coast Guard Administration officials said that they are on guard against illegal activities such as infiltration, sabotage and smuggling. Security officials are also stepping up protection of US and Middle East-registered vessels.
■ Society
Chen attends mask festival
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said that "one's imagination can take one to a rich world" when he attended the 2003 Miaoli International Mask Festival in northern Taiwan yesterday. Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) were invited to attend the opening ceremony of the festival, which is exhibiting more than 300 masks from 40 countries and will last until April 27. Noting that the world is like a global village with ever increasing contact, Chen said that in Taiwan, the most obvious examples are the local cities and counties sponsoring international cultural activities, such as the mask festival. Miaoli County Magistrate Fu Hsueh-peng (傅學鵬) announced that the festival, which used to be held every two years, will be held every year from next year, in the hope of putting the festival on the world stage and helping stimulate tourism as part of the government's goal to double the number of foreign tourist arrivals as part of its "Challenge 2008" six-year national development plan.
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