■Labor
Rules eased on foreigners
Effective yesterday, foreign spouses who have received their Alien Resident Certificate need not apply for a work permit before starting work, the Council of Labor Affairs said. The relaxed measure was part of an amendment to the Employment Services Act (就業服務法), which was passed by the Legislative Yuan recently and promulgated by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Tuesday. Also stipulated in the amendment was that public and private high schools through kindergartens can employ foreign nationals as language teachers. The amendment also relaxed restrictions on foreign blue-collar workers, allowing foreign laborers and household helpers whose visas have expired to re-enter the country after leaving for only one day -- before they were required to leave the country for 40 days before re-entering.The amendment also stipulated that each of the foreign laborers' work periods in Taiwan should not be longer than six years cumulatively, council officials said.
■ Legal system
Fugitive gets SARS reprieve
A Taiwanese fugitive wanted for drug crimes will get to enjoy an extra two weeks of freedom because he was quarantined for possible SARS infection after returning from Hong Kong. The man was convicted two years ago on drug offenses and sentenced to more than seven years in jail, but fled to China, police said. Upon returning to Taiwan, he was immediately identified as a fugitive and taken to the prosecutor's office in Chiayi. But because the man had come from a SARS-affected area, the prosecutor in charge had no choice but to send him home for a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
■ Diplomacy
Lu slams Beijing over SARS
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday blamed Chinese leaders for the worldwide spread of SARS. Speaking to the media after attending a seminar on the aftermath of SARS, Lu said SARS has caused panic around the world, and the danger that the disease could still spread is rising in Taipei. Chinese leaders should be held responsible for the crisis, she said, adding that Taiwan was an innocent victim in this situation. She said Beijing should be condemned by everyone for its senseless opposition to Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization as an observer.
■ WHO bid
Church backs Taiwan
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan pleaded with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches stationed in Geneva, Switzerland, to support and promote Taiwan's entry into the World Health Organization (WHO). The church said in a press release yesterday that even though, as a nation, Taiwan is excluded from the WHO, the government had dutifully and responsibly reported to the WHO and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the SARS situation from March 14, when the first suspected cases were detected here. But it was not until May 3 that two WHO specialists arrived in Taiwan to help the government evaluate and understand the epidemic. The church asked the alliance and its members to support Taiwan's WHO bid, saying the move would not only safeguard the rights of Taiwanese to WHO services but also improve the general health and well-being of all people.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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
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