■ International Aid
Group urges Bam donations
World Vision Taiwan is urging the public to donate money for the emergency relief program in Iran. The city of Bam, in the south of the country, was devastated by a major earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale on Friday. The death toll is now estimated to be around 40,000. World Vision is set to send relief teams and emergency supplies to Iran tomorrow. The organization estimates the first stage of its relief plan will cost around US$250,000. Hank Du (杜明翰), director of World Vision Taiwan, said Iran had suffered several earthquakes before and there was a lack of general resources in the country. Du said victims of the earthquake would need food, clothing and shelter to make it through the cold winter. Those who wish to donate money to the relief program can call 02-2585-6300 or wire money to World Vision Taiwan's post office account 15752467. They should specify the money is for the earthquake relief program.
■ Filial piety
Chen honors father
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) recalled his own father while honoring seven models of "dutiful sons" in a ceremony in Tainan County. Chen said his father helped his wife, Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍), run for a legislative seat in 1985 when Chen was at the nadir of his political career. At the time, Chen had just been defeated in the Tainan County commissioner's election and had been sentenced to jail for eight months for libel, and Wu was paralyzed from the waist down in a traffic accident. Wu succeeded in the election, but Chen's father was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and died four months after the election. Chen said his father didn't live long enough to see his son elected president. The president lauded the establishment of the prize to honor the models of filial piety, saying that filial piety can improve harmony in society. He said the founder of the prize, business tycoon Wu Hsiou-chi (吳修齊), is himself a well-known dutiful son.
■ Public transit
Special tickets to be released
The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC, 台北捷運公司) will release commemorative tickets for next year at 9am tomorrow on the company's Web site, www.trtc.com.tw, and the MRT gift shop in Taipei Station. The tickets are in memory of pop singer Theresa Teng (鄧麗君). The package includes four tickets with Teng's stage photos, a CD single and a commemorative album, and costs NT$840. The company said it has limited the number of sets to 2,000. Another set celebrating the coming of the year of the monkey, which includes two tickets and three golden envelopes, costs NT$150.
■ Education
NTU program gets top grade
National Taiwan University's (NTU) executive master's business administration (EMBA) program leads the pack among its counterparts in Taiwan, according to a survey released yesterday. The survey, conducted by the monthly magazine Cheers, showed most respondents mentioned NTU's EMBA program as their first choice. The NTU program topped the list in the magazine's survey for the second year in a row. National Chiao Tung University finished second, followed by National Chengchi University, National Sun Yat-sen University and National Tsinghua University. The three leading considerations of respondents in choosing EMBA programs were access to the school, the quality of the faculty and the fame of the school. The survey was based on responses from executives from the top 1,000 companies in Taiwan, with 241 valid responses being collected.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard