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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Defense
No unusual PLA behavior
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has not been behaving unusually despite the recent saber rattling by Chinese officials over Taiwan's plan to pass a referendum bill, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Major General Huang Suey-sheng (黃穗生) said the ministry is watching the PLA's movements. "We have not detected any abnormal movement of Chinese troops in recent weeks," Huang said, adding that the PLA is only conducting routine training activities at the moment. Huang's remarks came one day after Zhang Mingqing (張銘清), spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said that Beijing will "react strongly" if Taiwan passes a bill giving its people "unrestricted" rights to hold referendums, including a vote on a declaration of independence.

■ Society
Protesters target KFC
Members of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) confined themselves in a cage outside a KFC store in Taipei yesterday, alleging that the fast-food chain was refusing to hold its suppliers to appropriate animal welfare standards. The protest drew the attention of police and a small number of bystanders. The protesters said it was part of an international campaign targeting the organization after two years of failed negotiations with KFC's parent company in the US. A spokesman for the Taipei KFC store said the parent company denied the allegations. He said that KFC neither raises chickens nor processes chicken meat for food, and that the company always asked suppliers throughout the world to improve treatment of chickens and to strictly observe all regulations.

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