■ Health
Chen appeals to voters
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged voters to cast ballots in the referendum to demonstrate Taiwan's commitment to pursuing peace. He made the appeal during an inspection tour of Hsinchu County. "I beg all voters to support
the referendum because it offers a precious opportu-nity for them to express to the world and China their desire for peace," Chen said. "And no matter which candidate you vote for, you should not miss the referen-dum. We should use the referendum to say `no' to Beijing's missile threat and reaffirm our commitment
to pursuing peace and avoiding war. And let's use the referendum to write a new chapter for our national history," Chen said.
■ Health
New cases of bird flu found
The government reported two new outbreaks of the H5N2 bird flu virus yesterday and ordered a cull at the affected farms. A Changhua County farm was ordered
to cull 11,400 chickens after the virus was detected there on Thursday, said Yeh Ying (葉瑩), deputy director of
the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine. The virus was also detected in 64 pheasants which died at a bird farm in southern Tainan, she said, adding that the remaining pheasants and other birds on the farm will be slaughtered.
■ Politics
Yu defends economic record
Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday that the nation's economic performance
had been better than that of Hong Kong, South Korea
and Singapore last year, and the jobless rate was the lowest of the four. He made the remarks during a general question and answer session
in the legislature. People First Party Legislator Ing Nai-ping (殷乃平) claimed that economic indicators have shown a decline in the economy since the Demo-cratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power. Yu
said that Taiwan's perfor-mance had been better than other nations at a time of global deflation. He noted that there was a gap between the figures cited by Ing and those of the government. Yu said that Ing had claimed that total private investment last year amounted to NT$1 trillion (US$30.21 billion), although major construction projects alone amounted to NT$1.5 trillion that year.
■ Politics
Tampering allegations made
DPP Legislator Kao Meng-ting (高孟定) yesterday alleged that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) tampered with justice to help Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Jung-wei's (張榮味) bid for a retrial on bribery charges. The charges stemmed from Chang's campaign for the county council's speaker post in 1994. Kao said that when the legislature was reviewing candidates for the Council of Grand Justices last year, Wang promised
to have all candidates confirmed in exchange for
a retrial for Chang. Kao said that Wang had been seeking Chang's support for the pan-blue's presidential ticket. Chang was sentenced to one year and six months in prison, but is awaiting the verdict of his retrial. Wang has denied Kao's allegation.
■ Diplomacy
Donations for Paraguayans
The government has donated US$300,000 to a humani-tarian group led by Para-guay's first lady Gloria de Duarte Frutos to be invested in social programs, the presidential press office
said yesterday. The funds will be used for recreational facilities and centers for feeding needy children, the statement said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
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