■ Cross-Strait Ties
China urged to improve
The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday urged China to strengthen its human rights protection and make human rights its top national development goal. Council Vice Chairman Johnnasson Liu (劉德勳) made the call after the US State Department's latest human-rights report said human-rights conditions in China have regressed in the past year. Liu said the council hopes that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can make human rights their ultimate national development goal and cooperate in realizing this noble goal.
■ Politics
Vote-buying widespread
Nearly 300 cases of alleged bribery and election-related violence have been reported to authorities ahead of the March 20 election, a high-ranking justice official said yesterday. Ministry of Justice Chief Secretary Wang Tien-sheng (王添盛) told reporters that 294 cases had been reported so far. The ministry is offering a reward of up to NT$15 million (US$455,000) to anybody who can prove a presidential candidate is buying votes. The government is running a series of TV ads to highlight the issue, including warnings to the public not to accept gifts, free trips or meals from anyone linked with a campaign. Publicity packages handed out at political events that include gifts worth more than NT$30 are also considered to be bribery, Wang said.
■ Business
Helicopter parts deal inked
Bell Helicopter Textron of the US signed a contract with two Taiwanese plane makers yesterday to make spare parts for Bell AH-1Z and UH-1Y military helicopters. The contract was signed at the Ministry of Economic Affairs by Bell's chief executive officer Mike Redenbaugh and the chairmen of Aeronautics Industrial Development Center (AIDC) and Topkey Corp. Under the contract, AIDC will make tail booms and Topkey will make engine cowlings for the US Marine Corps' AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters. The two contracts are worth US$10 million. "This is the first time the US government has agreed to outsource military helicopter parts used by US Marines to Taiwanese suppliers. This shows that our capability has been recognized by major aerospace companies," said Chen Chao-yi (陳昭義), director of the Industrial Development Bureau, at the signing ceremony. The deal is the second technology agreement between Bell Helicopter and Taiwanese aeronautics firms. In 1999, Bell moved its assembly line for OH-58D military scout helicopters and commercial Bell 406s to AIDC.
■ Human Rights
US gives Taiwan high marks
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) expressed satisfaction yesterday with a US government report on Taiwan's human rights situation. Chien said that the annual report released Wednesday by the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which gave Taiwan good grades, represents US affirmation of Taiwan's democratic development. It also serves as evidence that Taiwan's democracy and human rights are as mature as those of advanced nations, according to Chien. According to the US State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practice 2003, Taiwan is a multiparty democracy and its authorities generally respect the human rights of the citizens. Taiwan's Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the authorities also generally respect these rights in practice, it states.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese