■ Cross-Strait Ties
Lien supporters banned
Shanghai yesterday banned a meeting of Taiwanese backers of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), saying no Taiwanese political groups were permitted to hold activities in China. City government spokeswoman Jiao Yang (焦揚) said Chinese law obligated Shanghai not to permit the Feb. 21 rally and banquet by Taiwanese businesspeople who support Lien. Chinese law "does not permit Taiwanese groups of a political nature to register and therefore, [they] cannot hold activities, such as that mentioned," Jiao told reporters. The ban could frustrate the business lobby's efforts to offer a more flattering image of China's communist leaders. Promoters of the Shanghai rally, scheduled for a ritzy hotel in the city's Pudong financial district, had said they hoped to organize a mass migration of voters back to Taiwan for the March 20 election.
■ Politics
Group wants explanations
The Alliance of Fairness and Justice, or the pan-purple Alliance, yesterday urged the two presidential candidates to explain clearly during the TV debates about their financial policies. The alliance demanded the both camps explain how they would reform the tax system, balance national finances, raise money for their platforms and establish an annuity system. The alliance criticized the pan-green camp for not following through on its proposals made during the 2000 election, including the kickoff of an annuity system and the establishment of reasonable care-giving services. It also criticized the pan-blue camp for drawing up various policies without talking about raising taxes or mapping out a plan to raise the funds to carry out its policies.
■ Travel
Taichung charters set
Maiden charter flights from the new international airport in Taichung are slated for early next month, according to Chiang Shao-chi (姜紹基), secretary-general of the Taichung Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is in charge of arranging the charter flights. Chiang said that China Airlines and Far East Air Transport Corp have organized three charter flights to Tokyo, Puget Island and Palau on March 5 from the airport. According to Chiang, public response to the special flights has been warm, as the number of applicants has exceeded the 360 seats available. He said the passengers would be chosen through a drawing in the middle of this month. The airport, which is in its first phase of construction, will only handle outbound charter flights initially. The second phase of its expansion is slated to be completed by 2009.
■ Water
Taipei lifts restrictions
Thanks to abundant rainfall over the weekend, the Taipei City Government suspended second-phase water restrictions in the greater Taipei area yesterday. A city spokesman said the restrictions in areas that rely on the Taipei Water Depart-ment for water would be suspended immediately. "The decision was made based on the fact that the water level at the Feitsui Reservoir has rebounded to 160 meters," he said, adding that water supply for household consumption will not be a problem until May when the north will enter its "plum rains" monsoon season. The second-phase restrictions on large-volume water consumers went into effect in five northern cities and counties last Friday. The restrictions remain in place in Taoyuan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods