■ Society
No regrets over Jackson
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Duen-yi (吳敦義) said yesterday that he has no regrets about pre-senting pop star Michael Jackson with a meritorious achievement award back in 1996, when the singer performed in Kaohsiung and Wu was the city's mayor. "We were only honoring his artistic achievements," Wu said in response to Jackson's arrest last week in the US on child-molestation charges. "We weren't honoring him for his morals. We kept the two things separate," Wu said. The award was controversial at the time. Kaohsiung City councilors Huang Chao-hsing and Lin Ti-chuan (林滴涓) burst into the award ceremony, angrily demanding to know what Jackson's qualifications were for receiving the award. According to newspaper reports, Huang kicked over a table in front of Jackson, prompting the singer to ask, "Is that guy all right?" The councilors objected to the award because of allegations Jackson had improper relations with children.
■ Diplomacy
Chien inks pact with allies
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) has signed a joint communique in Belize with his counterparts from seven Central American countries to strengthen cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The communique was signed on Tuesday at the end of the 11th annual conference of foreign ministers of Taiwan and its Central American allies, ministry officials said. The conference agenda included political and econo-mic development as well as trade, investment, education, tourism, agriculture and fishery technology, disaster relief and infrastructure construction. The participants reached agreement on a number of new cooperative programs during the one-day meeting, the officials said. Chien was quoted as saying at the meeting that Taiwan appreciates its allies' staunch support in the international community.
■ Health
Diseases list expanding
SARS, dysentery, dengue fever and anthrax would be listed as statutory diseases under draft amendments to the Communicable Disease Prevention Law (傳染病防 治法) approved by the Cabinet yesterday. The draft also lists measles, acute hepatitis A and hantavirus as statutory diseases. Media reporting false information about outbreaks of such diseases would be subject to a fine of between NT$10,000 and NT$15,000 if they refuse to correct the erroneous information. Doctors or institutions unauthorized to make public verified medical information about a statutory disease would be subject to a fine of up to NT$450,000. The draft would also empower the govern-ment to establish an ad hoc command center to prevent the further spread of com-municable diseases. Local chiefs and law enforcement officers would be required to report to local authorities about suspected statutory disease cases 24 hours after receiving such information.
■ Conservation
Shark info for fishermen
The government will step up its education of fishermen about shark conservation in order to protect fishery resources and the nation's image, the Fisheries Admin-istration said yesterday. The agency said the government has put scientists aboard some Taiwanese fishing boats since 2001 to observe deep-sea operations and collect information on shark catches. It said it has asked fishermen who catch sharks to use the entire carcass. Official said Taiwan will act in step with international convention and practices.
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