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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Diplomacy
Chien mulls dual recognition
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) said yesterday that he will not reject new diplomatic ally Kiribati's simultaneous recognition of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Chien made the remarks at the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee. Taipei established diplomatic relations with the Pacific island nation earlier this month. After Taiwan announced the establish-ment of diplomatic relations on Nov. 7, China accused Taiwan of buying diplomatic recognition with cash. Chien said that he would not reject the possibility of dual recognition and added that this could be the beginning of a new phase in the diplomatic tug-of-war between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, although he said that Beijing will not be happy to see "two Chinas" exist simultaneously.

■ Transportation
No chewing gum on MRT
Passengers will no longer be allowed to chew gum on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system after the Cabinet approved draft amendments to the MRT Law (大眾捷運法) yesterday. Currently, a fine of between NT$1,500 and NT$7,500 is imposed on passengers who dispose of chewing gum improperly or who spit, chew betel nut, litter or discard cigarettes. The new regulations would impose the same fines on those caught chewing gum. Under the new amendments, people caught distributing or posting promotional flyers within the MRT system or set up unauthorized booths or using MRT areas to hold open-air banquets would also be subject to similar fines. Those caught walking on the MRT tracks or endangering the life of themselves or others or disturbing traffic would receive a fine of between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000.

■ Defense
Key budget passes reading
The legislature's National Defense Committee yester-day passed the first reading of a confidential budget bill for the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology for the coming year. In order to demonstrate its support for the institute's efforts to upgrade defense technology and weaponry systems, the committee didn't propose a single cut in the budget, a rare phenomenon. Many lawmakers even suggested that the Ministry of National Defense offer more funds to the institute to beef up its research and develop-ment capacity, sources said. According to the sources, the institute's budget for next year is more than NT$9.6 billion, including NT$600 million for develop-ing cutting-edge defense technology, NT$8 billion for weaponry-systems research projects, NT$700 million for electronic-warfare equip-ment projects and NT$200 million for supplementary combat-equipment research.

■ Crime
Illegals intercepted
Aviation Police Bureau officials intercepted 10 Chinese and five Malaysian illegal immigrants who were in possession of forged Hong Kong passports yes-terday at CKS International Airport. The officials said they have stepped up checks on passengers arriving or making transit stops at the airport. The 10 Chinese -- nine women and one man -- and the five Chinese-Malaysians -- four women and one man -- arrived from Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night and police stopped them just before they were due to depart for Vancouver. The police contacted the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and learned that the passports the 15 were traveling on were forged.

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