■ Diplomacy
Singapore ties strong: MND
Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) yesterday expressed the hope that military cooperation between Taiwan and Singapore will continue despite a recent diplomatic row. Taiwan has for years helped Singapore train its soldiers under the "Starlight Project." Although Lee declined to comment on the row triggered by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山), he said he hopes "Singapore will not be influenced" in future cooperation regarding the "Starlight Project." Chen on Monday called Singapore a nation "no bigger than a piece of snot" and criticized the authorities of the city-state of "holding China's balls" after Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo (楊榮文) had spoken out against campaigns seeking membership for Taiwan at the UN. "Holding another's testicles" is a euphemism in Taiwan meaning to curry favor with someone.
■ Health
Hepatitis carriers defended
In an effort to protect hepatitis B carriers' right to work, Taipei City's Bureau of Health will fine the Civil Aeronautics Administration if the agency fails to lift a measure that prohibits the hiring of hepatitis B virus carriers. The administration is recruiting 137 firefighters for the country's airports. Over 600 applicants are scheduled to take written and physical tests in the middle of this month. However, those applicants diagnosed with hepatitis B during a health check will be disqualified. "Hepatitis B is transmitted only through blood transfusion and sexual contact," said Shih Wen-yi (施文儀), deputy director-general of the Center for Disease Control. "Hepatitis B virus carriers pose no danger in a working environment." According to Article 12 of the Communicable Disease Prevention Law (傳染病 防治法), the bureau can fine the administration up to NT$150,000 if it fails to cancel the regulation within 15 days.
■ Society
`English corner' set up
The group Core & Corner yesterday introduced a new way of English learning by holding topical meetings at coffee shops, restaurants and corporate cafeterias. The program, known as English corner, aims to bring people together to practice their English by meeting with native English speakers. Taiwanese nationals who speak fluent English as well as those who wish to perfect their English-speaking skills are encouraged to join in. Practice sessions will be broken down by topics such as wine-tasting, gourmet cooking and scuba diving.
■ Diplomacy
Gambians start classes
Taiwan is helping the Gambia train specialists in crude oil exploration and other areas of the petroleum industry by offering university courses to 25 Gambian citizens. A ceremony marking the beginning of the first semester of the Gambian Petroleum Class at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology's department of materials and resources engineering was held on campus yesterday. Addressing the ceremony, Chang Pei-chi (張北齊), director-general of the foreign ministry's African Affairs Department, said that the Gambian government attaches great importance to the students receiving an education in Taiwan. Gambian Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy met with the students at a reception prior to their recent departure for Taiwan, Chang said. Ministry officials said the students were in a scholarship program set up last month to promote international exchanges.
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The New Taipei City Art Museum this weekend plans to celebrate its first anniversary with a two-day extravaganza featuring live concerts and a large-scale synchronized fireworks and drone display, the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said. The two-day celebrations are to take place in the museum’s outdoor park, with markets and live performances by singers including Ann Bai (白安), Bii (畢書盡) and the Cosmos People (宇宙人), the department said. The highlight on both evenings would be the "Echoes of Light" show, an aerial spectacle combining fireworks and drone performances designed around the concept of "dual stages in the sky," it
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