■ Cross-Strait Ties
Beijing says world for war
Any Chinese military action against Taiwan would receive the support and sympathy of the international community because Taipei provoked China, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party said. "Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is pushing cross-strait relations towards war," Outlook magazine said in an edition seen yesterday. "This kind of punishing military operation would receive the support and sympathy of the international community and a majority of neighboring countries," the magazine said. "The Chen Shui-bian administration provoked [China] first. Striking only after the enemy has struck is a just cause to dispatch troops," the weekly said. "The Chinese government is not afraid of a delay in economic development, not afraid of not hosting the Olympics or the World Expo and not afraid of sacrificing [no matter] how many people," it said.
■ Holidays
Chen backs Christmas
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday promised foreign religious leaders that he will ask the government to consider making Dec. 25 a national holiday. "Even Islamic countries set the day as a national holiday. I personally do not oppose setting Dec. 25 as a national holiday, but this proposal needs support of the majority of the country," Chen said. "However, I believe the proposal will meet everybody's expectation," the president added. Dec. 25 was originally a national holiday but due to the reorganization of notational holiday by the government in 2001, the holiday had been canceled. Chen made this remark at the Presidential Office yesterday when receiving representatives of the Catholic mission in Taiwan. His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan, who is bishop of the Diocese of Kaoshiung, was also present.
■ Space
ROCSAT-2 launch delayed
The launch of ROCSAT-2, Taiwan's second satellite, will be delayed from the end of this month to the end of next month because the operator of the satellites' launch vehicle requested more time to fix problems pertaining to the precision of apparatus on the ground, according to the National Science Council (NSC) yesterday. Council officials said that US Orbital Sciences Corp (OSC), the operator of the Taurus launch vehicle, notified them of errors in precision that could be attributed to the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that shook California on Dec. 22. The liftoff might be postponed to March 25 or later, NSC officials said. Meanwhile, electrical circuit problems with the Taurus rocket discovered in December, which delayed the scheduled liftoff on Jan. 17 to the end of this month have already been fixed, NSC officials said.
■ Environment
EPA on spitters' case
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) launched a one-year nationwide crackdown yesterday that will mete out stiff fines ranging from NT$1,200 to NT$6,000 to people who litter or spit betelnut juice on the streets. Officials from the EPA and Taipei City's environmental affairs bureau yesterday issued two tickets after launching an campaign at busy intersections in the city. MRT station entrances, freeway interchanges, overpass entrances and road intersections will be the key spots in the inspection drive. Yesterday's two tickets were issued to motorists who threw cigarette butts out of their cars. Taipei City has been carrying out inspections for some time but did not imposed fines on violators until yesterday.
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