■ Energy
Wind-power plant opened
Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday presided over the opening of a commercial wind power plant in Shihmen Township,
Taipei County, calling its operations a display of the government's resolve to make the nation nuclear power-free. In addition to representing a stride toward the government's goal of making Taiwan a nuclear-free country, Yu said, the plant will also be a new landmark in the scenic northeastern coastal area. The Shihmen wind-power plant, the first of its kind
in Taiwan for purely commercial purposes, has six power-generating units with a combined capacity of nearly 100 million kilowatt-hours per year, which will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 8,600 tonnes and replace 3,820 tonnes of fuel coal each year. According to the premier, the government earmarks around
NT$3 billion (US$93.75
million) each year for the development of alternative energy sources in line with a worldwide drive to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.
■ Politics
TSU hopeful signs up
Su Chin-chiang (蘇進強), secretary-general of the National Cultural Association and former National Security Council advisor, plans to register his candidacy for chairman of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) today after asking for an application form from the TSU yesterday. Su, accompanied by TSU acting chairman Huang Chung-yuan (黃宗源) and acting secretary-general Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘), went to the Legislative Yuan to seek support from other TSU legislators for his campaign. Su said that it was former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) who talked him into running for the post and he believed that he would be an able chairman for the party.
■ Politics
KMT flies the flag
To celebrate the New Year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) announced yesterday that it will hold
a flag-raising ceremony
early on New Year's Day. Reflecting a rift in the pan-blue camp, the People First Party (PFP) said yesterday that it would not attend. The public is also welcome to attend, the KMT said yesterday. When asked if
the party had extended an invitation to its coalition allies, the New Party and
the PFP, spokesman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) said that the New Party was planning to make an appearance. While the PFP is not staging any New Year celebrations, its members were allowed to attend "flag-raising ceremonies of the Republic of China," PFP spokesman Hsieh Kung-bin (謝公秉) said. The ceremony will be held at the Zhongshan Hall in Taipei at 5:30am tomorrow.
■ Diplomacy
Regulations to be eased
Restrictions on visiting family members in China using the "small three links" may be relaxed by Lunar New Year, Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said. Wu said that changes would have to be made to provisional policies overseeing travel between the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu, and China. Wu met with Lienchiang County Commissioner Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生), who asked that the council ease restrictions on travel for Chinese firms helping
with the preservation of traditional architecture in Matsu. Wu also said that the council would consider lifting duties imposed on fish products for consumption in Matsu.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
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