■ Culture
Tchen to lead association
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) announced on Monday that he will appoint Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀), a former chairwoman of the Council for Cultural Affairs, as the new secretary-general of the National Cultural Association. Chen made the announcement at a dinner party of the association, of which Chen serves concurrently as president. Tchen is to fill the vacancy left by Su Chin-chiang (蘇進強), who quit the post after being elected chairman of the Taiwan Solidarity Union. Tchen told reporters she is pleased and honored to take Chen's offer and pledged to follow Su's path and promote the nation's culture building on the foundation that Su has laid. Tchen is also an ambassador at large and a presidential advisor.
■ Society
Officials promote childbirth
The government must equally encourage childbirth and the formulation of constructive immigration policies to ensure that the nation is prepared to face changing population demographics, a senior official said yesterday. Research, Development and Evaluation Commission Chairman Yeh Jiuun-rong (葉俊榮) made the remarks at a seminar. Noting that the steady decline in the birth rate and the influx of migrant workers has given rise to very complicated social problems, Yeh said the country must tackle these challenges because of their close relation to social, economic, environmental, medical and educational developments and resources distribution. Quoting the latest official tallies, Yeh said that the average local couple now gives birth to an average of 1.2 children, falling below the ideal number of two children per couple. Moreover, Yeh said that one out of every eight babies were born to a couple with one spouse being a foreigner; one out of every three married couples involves a foreign spouse and one out of every three foreign spouses hails from China. In the 1950s, Yeh said, each couple gave birth to an average of seven children. The number dropped to five in the 1960s and plunged to 2.1 in the 1970s.
■ Diplomacy
Kau illuminating Germans
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) is visiting Germany to explain the nation's stance on China's proposed anti-secession law and the proposal to lift the EU arms embargo against Beijing, an anonymous diplomatic source said yesterday. Kao, traveling at the head of a delegation consisting of Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Huang Wei-fong (黃偉峰) and Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), a former secretary-general of the Executive Yuan, met figures from various German quarters on Monday, the source said. At a news conference, Huang told German journalists that the status quo in the Taiwan Strait is that there are two political entities, one on either side of the Strait. China's proposed anti-secession law, however, would unilaterally change the status quo, because it defines the two sides as a unified nation, he said. Many polls have shown that an overwhelming majority of Taiwanese are opposed to the anti-secession law, Huang said, warning that tension will increase in the Taiwan Strait if Beijing enacts the legislation in March. Taiwan might enact a countermeasure law if that happens, he said. Beijing's hardliners may use the law as a means to legalize the use of force to invade Taiwan, Huang said. He said the EU would be regarded as endorsing Beijing's anti-secession law if it approves the lifting of the arms ban.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
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