■ DiplomacyMAC slams `bald-faced lies'
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) lashed out at Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) yesterday for claiming that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) recent remarks about Taiwan's name are promoting Taiwanese independence. Chiu said that the Republic of China is a sovereign state and that Zhang's remarks regarding Chen's explanation about the matter were bald-faced lies. At a regular press conference earlier in the day, Zhang described Chen's recent statement that the Republic of China's best and most precise abbreviated designation is "Taiwan" as an "attempt to promote Taiwanese independence." Zhang also claimed that Chen's promise in his inauguration speech to push for constitutional reform was a "cheating scheme against his own people."
■ Charity
Concert held for school
Last night a charity concert was held by the Friends of Hsing Lin-tzu to raise funds for Chienshih Township's Hsinkuang Elementary School in Hsinchu County, an area which has been flooded a number of times during several typhoons this summer. A number of popular singers were invited to sing at the fundraising event and works by renowned artists were sold. The organizer of the event said the group aimed to raise NT$2 million. Public donations may be made at post offices to the account number 19812746. The account name is "Friends of Hsing Lin-tzu, Republic of China."
■ Culture
Drama festival seeks drama
The second International Stage Reading Festival will be held in November in Taipei and Tainan, Council for Cultural Affairs officials said yesterday. The council is holding a playwriting competition to select the works that will be performed at the festival, with submissions to be accepted no later than Sept. 20, the officials said. The month-long festival will include lectures, workshops, performances and discussions at the Red Theater in Taipei and the National Museum of Taiwanese Literature in Tainan, the officials said. In addition to local playwrights, writers from France, Germany, Japan, the Philippines and China are expected to take part in the festival, they said.
■ Government
Taiwan tops e-poll
Taiwan ranks first in
the world in digitized government, ahead of Singapore, the US and Canada, according to the annual global e-government study conducted by Brown University in the US state of Rhode Island. Taiwan moved up five places from the previous year, according to the study. This year's study reviewed 1,935 government Web sites from June to last month. Among the sites analyzed were those relating to executive, legislative, judicial and Cabinet offices, and major agencies providing other crucial government services, such as health, taxation, education, foreign affairs, tourism and trade. Researchers used a 100-point assessment scale based on the number of services, including access to information, disability access, privacy, security and second-language translation. Taiwan scored 44.3 this year, followed by Singapore (43.8) and the US (41.9). China was placed sixth with a score of 37.3. Its ranking last year was 11th.
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