President Chen Shui-bian (
"One should replace multifarious governmental formalities with an active and constructive manner" to assist disaster victims, Chen said during a visit in Nantou County to inspect rebuilding work.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
Nantou County was among the areas most damaged on July 2, when floods and mudslides de-stroyed homes and bridges.
In response to disaster-area township wardens' complaints about the slow flow of aid from county governments, Chen said local government chiefs ought to communicate with the central government about disaster relief coordination.
The central government could undertake face-to-face communication with relevant agencies about disaster relief and rebuilding work in order to avoid delays in handling official documents, Chen said. The president also called for more ecological engineering.
Chen's trip also included a visit to congratulate the parents of Yuan Shu-chi (袁叔琪), a member of the nation's Olympic archery team. Although Yuan came in fourth in the individual competition, missing third place by one point, she and two teammates beat France on Friday to gain a bronze medal.
Later yesterday, Chen attended a Taipei performance by the internationally acclaimed Cloud Gate 2 (雲門舞集2) modern dance troupe.
The performance was part of a series of activities organized by the Presidential Office to promote young viewers' appreciation of diverse cultures.
Chen encouraged the nation's young adults to "care for oneself and appreciate others."
Chen was invited to go onstage with the dancers and seemed to enjoy his literally offbeat performance, as did the audience.
Other events scheduled for upcoming weekends include a traditional Taiwanese puppet show, Beijing opera and comic dialogue (相聲). Presidential Office deputy secretary-general James Huang (黃志芳) said that Chen would try to appear at several more of these events if his official schedule allows.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all