■ 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 fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country. Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758. The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia. The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting
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