■ 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.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai