■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.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
RSS