■ 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.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
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