■Protests
Anti-war rally erupts
More than 100 anti-war and anti-US activists clashed yesterday with police in Taipei in what had originally been intended as a peaceful demonstration. Shouting slogans against the US-led invasion of Iraq, protesters hurled red paint at riot police deployed in front of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto of the US. Two students were arrested which triggered further unrest. The two, charged with disrupting social order and attacking the police, were released three hours after their arrest. Yesterday's demonstration was one of a series of small protests in reaction to Washington's attack on Iraq.
■ Diplomacy
US senators to visit Taipei
A group of eight US senators, led by Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, will arrive in Taipei on April 18 for a brief visit. Chen Chien-jen (程建人), representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, said on Friday that the senators are expected to exchange views with the government leaders in Taipei on such topics as anti-terrorism, public health, and other matters of mutual concern. The Senate mission will also visit Japan, South Korea and China during the trip to Asia.
■ United States
US association on track
A preparatory committee for the establishment of The Association for US-Taiwan Sisterly Relations was set to be inaugurated on Saturday at Little Rock, Arkansas. Michael Tsai (蔡明憲), deputy representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, will attend the inauguration ceremony. A spokesman for the preparatory committee said the association will help promote mutual understanding and friendship between the American and Taiwanese people by helping them increase their cultural exchanges and economic cooperation.
■ Crime
Woman cuts off penis
For the second time in a week, a woman cut off her lover's penis yesterday following a quarrel. Lin Hsiu-chan (林秀嬋), 52, severed the penis of her boyfriend Chiang Chin-sheng (江金生), 42, after he fell asleep at their rented apartment in Tucheng, outside Taipei. Police rushed Chiang to hospital. Doctors reattached his penis, but said they did not know if Chiang would retain full use of it. After the attack, Lin locked herself up in a room in the apartment and slashed her wrists attempting to commit suicide. Police broke into the room and rushed Lin, who was lying unconscious in a pool of blood, to hospital. Doctors said Lin is in a critical condition. Chiang told police he and Lin had lived together for many years and often quarrelled. Last Wednesday, a Filipino woman cut off the penis of her Filipino-Chinese husband while he was sleeping and flushed it down the toilet.
■ Iraq
Government donates rice
The government yesterday donated 5,000 tonnes of rice to Iraq and pledged to offer more aid and assist in post war reconstruction. Taiwan hopes to develop ties with a new Iraqi government and maybe open a trade representative office in Iraq. The China External Trade Development Council (CETRA) plans to send a delegation to the Middle East when the Iraq war has ended. "In the aftermath of the war, there will be a great demand in the Middle East for medical equipment, building materials, machinery, hardware, auto parts and other products," CETRA Secretary-General Chao Yung-chuan said.
Agencies
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS