■Weather
CWB monitoring storm
A storm that could become the fourth typhoon of the year formed yesterday morning and the Central Weather Bureau is keeping close watch on it. Central Weather Bureau meteorologists said that Tropical Storm Linfa is now located at sea 360km northwest of Manila, or about 750km west-southwest of Hengchun. The radius of the storm is 100km. Linfa is now almost stationary and whether it will impact this country depends on its course, official said, adding that the situation will become clearer in two days.
■ Legislative Yuan
Animal rights law passed
Those who kill animals illegally could face a fine of up to NT$250,000 (US$7,142), according to an amendment to the Animal Protection Law (野生動物保護法), which a Legislative Yuan committee passed yesterday. The amendment states that animals should be protected and not sold illegally or killed. Anyone violating the regulations by killing animals for their meat or fur or to used them as feed, or for scientific research purposes, will be liable for fines ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$250,000.
■ Health
USCDC doctor doing well
The US doctor believed to have developed SARS symptoms while investigating the disease in Taipei is recovering in Atlanta, Georgia health officials said yesterday. Dr. Chesley Richards Jr., an infection control expert with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arrived in Atlanta late Friday and was evaluated at a local hospital, said a spokesman for the Georgia Division of Public Health. A CDC spokeswoman said Richards is in good condition and is in isolation.
Agencies
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all