■ Politics
Chen comforts losers
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) last night hosted a dinner for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators who failed in their re-election bids in last month's legislative elections. Apologizing for the DPP's failure to obtain a majority in the new legislature, Chen told his guests not to be discouraged by one setback but to learn a lesson from it and move on in a positive spirit. Chen attributed the election results to the party's overly optimistic assessment of the number of seats the pan-green camp could win and overlooking the public's abhorrence of the stand-off between the governing and opposition parties.
■ Diplomacy
Chen's itinerary not set
President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) itinerary for a trip visiting the nation's Pacific allies will be released by the Presidential Office when it is finalized, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said yesterday. Lu made the remarks in response to media speculation that Chen is likely to make a stopover in Guam on his way back from the South Pacific later this month. Asked whether Chen would meet US officials there and exchange views on issues of mutual concern, Lu said that it was a practical possibility. A team from the Presidential Office is currently in the South Pacific discussing technical details of Chen's visit. Chen is scheduled to leave Taipei on Jan. 27 to attend the inauguration of the Palauan president, followed by a visit to one or two other allies.
■ Trade
Dutch push projects
A four-member delegation from the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) paid a visit to the Tainan County Government yesterday to push for agricultural cooperation. NFIA director Harry van Woerden told Tainan County Deputy Commissioner Yen Tsun-chou (顏純左) that there is ample room for cooperation in agricultural development, such as the development of new floral species and production technologies, particularly orchid cultivation. Noting that the Netherlands sells flowers all over the world, Woerden said the global flower market has a ferocious appetite for new floral species. "Take orchids as an example. There are myriad strains. We can cooperate in new orchid species development," he said. After touring an orchid biotechnological park and several other agricultural processing facilities in the county, Woerden said the NFIA will send its staff to Taiwan in April or May.
■ Forensics
Bill passes first hurdle
The Legislative Yuan's Judicial Committee yesterday completed the first reading of a draft law on forensic-medicine personnel. According to the draft, only people from graduate schools of forensic medicine of colleges and universities will be eligible to take the examination for forensic-medicine personnel. The draft stipulates that the examination and the licensing of personnel must be independently determined to distinguish them from physicians. It is hoped that this will ease a shortage of forensic-medicine personnel and upgrade their skills and standards. A forensic-medicine specialist cannot work as a physician, while a physician wishing to specialize in forensic medicine will have to pass the necessary examination, unlike current practice, where there are no restrictions. However, People First Party Legislator Chou Hsi-wei (周錫偉) said that even if the draft was passed into law, it would not attract enough people to the profession.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard