■ Transportation
PFP levels charges
The People First Party (PFP) legislative caucus yesterday said that Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (林陵三) might be assisting Canada's Bombardier in winning the contract for the airport mass rapid transit (MRT) system. PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) said that Lin visited Canada during his holiday to examine Bombardier's track and train designs, and Lin approved initiating bidding activities including bidding for the general consultant position for the airport MRT immediately after his return while Bombardier had just won the bidding for the Neihu MRT system and was striving to win the airport MRT contract. The ministry denied the PFP's allegations, and said that Lin did not get in touch with Bombardier employees nor test the MRT system built by Bombardier while he was in Canada.
■ Government
Legislators urge regulations
Legislators are urging the legislature to pass a law regulating the planning and usage of the national territory after Tropical Storm Mindulle devastated central Taiwan. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chuang-chin (邱創進), also the convener of the legislature's Sci-Tech and Information Committee, proposed passing such a law as soon as possible. Chiu said that Taiwan only had laws regulating regional planning and city planning, and the nation was lacking a law regulating the national territory comprehensively. In fact the Executive Yuan has passed a draft for such a law, dividing the national territory into three main areas: nature-preserve areas, agricultural areas and city and country development areas. The draft also imposes harsh punishments on those who attempt to develop the land without permission in the hope of preventing the land from being over-developed.
■ Government
Corruption hotline set up
Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) yesterday announced that a new anti-corruption effort by the ministry's Inspection Department will come into service starting Oct. 1. Chen nicknamed the service "I'll tell." It is a hotline for the public to report tips on bribery involving government officials. The minister said that in addition to vote-buying cases, other types of potential government corruption will be a focus for prosecutorial crackdown this year. Information from the public will help prosecutors, he said. The number of the hotline is (02) 2316-7516. During office hours, prosecutors will answer the phone in person. Outside office hours, callers are welcome to leave voicemail messages and a prosecutor will return calls within 24 hours. When a case is confirmed, prosecutors will visit the tipster to gain more details within 72 hours.
■ Health
Dengue fever strikes
The Department of Health yesterday announced the nation's 36th case of dengue fever this year. Since the 39-year-old male patient lives in Pingtung County's Chang-an Township and has never been abroad, the department judged this to be a domestic case. Thirty-four of the other 35 reported cases this year were infection cases from abroad. Starting yesterday, the department adopted stringent measures to monitor the state of dengue fever in Chang-an Township, asking residents to exterminate mosquitoes and clean water containers. The department also called for residents to go to hospitals once they catch a fever or feel soreness in their bones.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard