■ 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 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
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