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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Charity
Malawi orphanage begun
The Fo Guang Shan International Organization is building an orphanage and care center in Malawi. The Amito-Fo Care Center being constructed by the Nan Hua Temple in South Africa -- the headquarters of Fo Guang Shan in Africa and the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere -- will also include a health care center exclusively for AIDS patients, said Lin Rui-hsiang, a Fo Guang Shan volunteer. The first-stage development of the orphanage, located in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, is scheduled to be completed in November at a cost of US$1.4 million.

■ Labor
Ground broken for memorial
Officials broke ground yesterday for a memorial for six workers who died constructing the world's tallest building -- the Taipei 101 skyscraper. Five of the workers were killed in March 2002 when an earthquake jolted the building, sending two cranes, steel beams and chunks of cement crashing to the ground. Two were crane operators and the other three were construction workers. "The sixth worker being memorialized was an electrician who was electrocuted while installing wiring," said Huang Hsiao-jun, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Association for Victims of Occupational Injuries.

■ Politics
DPP official slams pan-blues
A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official said yesterday that it is shameful that supporters of the pan blue camp have extended their domestic political battle abroad, as it will seriously harm the nation's image. Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), the DPP's deputy director of communications, was referring to alleged verbal insults by pan-blue camp supporters against Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) at Washington's Dulles Airport on Tuesday as he concluded a two-day visit to the US capital. Chiou remained calm in the face of the demonstrators, who were protesting against what they are calling an "unfair" election, and the election-eve shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮). Chiou received a letter of protest from the demonstrators but did not accept a national flag proffered by them.

■ Politics
Alliance fears DPP `tyranny'
A group of academics and media figures yesterday said it would form a "public action alliance" to counter what it called the government's populist manipulation of democratization. The petition was launched by media commentator Nan Fang-shuo (南方朔), Academia Sinica research fellow Lee Ming-huei (李明輝), National Taiwan University psychology professor Huang Kuang-kuo (黃光國) and acclaimed film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢). The group called on the public to revive the spirit of the May 4th Movement, a 1919 campaign in China that extolled the spirit of science and democracy. The petition said that an era of "populist totalitarian politics is nigh" and urged the people to join the alliance and monitor the Democratic Progressive Party. However, other academics yesterday expressed concern about the purpose of the petition. Academia Sinica sociologist Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said the petition should explain its objectives more carefully, including its support for "one China" and cross-strait dialogue. "Without a clear explanation, we are afraid this activity is likely to degenerate into a dispute over unification or independence," Hsu said.

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