■ Military Affairs
EU resolution lauded
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the European Parliament's fourth resolution in just over a year opposing the lifting of an EU arms embargo against China. The European Parliament -- the legislative arm of the EU -- passed the resolution in Strasburg, France, last week, said Wang Yu-yuan (王豫元), director of the ministry's Department of European Affairs. It was the fourth resolution on the matter since Dec. 18, 2003. The latest resolution stipulates that the EU should maintain its ban on arms sales to China until there is a satisfactory improvement in the country's human-rights record. Nevertheless, Wang said that the possibility of the EU lifting its arms embargo against China is increasing given recent developments.
■ Earthquakes
Moderate temblor hits
A moderate earthquake hit central Taiwan yesterday, but no injuries or serious damage were immediately reported, the Central Weather Bureau said. The 5.4-magnitude quake's epicenter was about 31km northeast of Tsaoshan, in a mountainous part of Chiayi County, the weather bureau said. The area is about 200km southwest of Taipei. The tremor was felt across most of central Taiwan, the weather bureau said.
■ Diplomacy
Chen hosts Chadian leader
Chadian President Idriss Deby will arrive in Taipei on Sunday for a three-day state visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. During his visit, Deby will discuss bilateral cooperative projects, African regional issues and the international situation with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the ministry said. The two leaders will sign a joint communique at the conclusion of Deby's visit, the statement said. Deby will travel to Kaohsiung to visit a marine base and Chinese Petroleum Corp's refinery. He will also visit major cultural and economic institutions in the north of the country and meet with local business and industry leaders. Ministry officials said relations with Chad have been cordial since the two countries resumed full diplomatic ties in 1997. Deby has on many occasions spoken out in support of Taiwan's bid to join the UN, the World Health Organization and other major international organizations, the officials said. Deby's trip will be his third to Taiwan.
■ Education
Plan divides universities
A proposal championed by the Ministry of Education's higher education department for universities to be classified into a number
of categories was the subject of heated debate yesterday during a national conference of university heads. Participants in the panel discussion, which was presided over by Mou Tsung-tsan (牟宗燦), chairman of
the Association of Private Universities and Colleges, were divided on the proposal, in which universities would be
divided into four categories -- teaching universities, research universities, professional universities and community universities. Due to a jump in the number of institutions, universities have shifted from providing an elite education to a universal education, which has resulted in financial pressure, lower quality graduates and low competitiveness, an departmental official said. To iron out these problems, the department proposed that universities be classified into the categories and that the government offer them funds based upon specific needs, the official said.
■ Foreign Affairs
Beijing pitches fit on stop
China reacted angrily yesterday to a planned stopover by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in the US territory of Guam, urging nations to be wary of Taiwanese attempts to use them in pushing for independence. "China has made it clear to the international community that the Taiwan authorities are taking advantage of all kinds of opportunities to push for independence," foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan (孔泉) told a regular briefing. "We want to make sure that other countries, particularly countries with diplomatic relations with China, will not let Taiwan authorities take such advantage," he said. Chen will visit the Pacific nations of Palau and the Solomon Islands later this month with a transit stop in Guam.
■ Disaster Relief
Charity walk launched
Several educational institutes and groups under the Buddhist Foguangshan Monastery launched a one-day nationwide fund-raiser yesterday for South Asian children orphaned in the tsunami disaster late last month. A total of 20 Fo Guang teams embarked on the fund-raising walk from 17 locations around the island at 9am yesterday, with the aim of raising at least US$50,000 by nightfall. The Foguangshan Monastery will use the money to establish a foundation for the building of orphanages in areas affected by the tsunami tragedy. In Chiayi City, a group of students and faculty members from Nanhua University, headed by university president Chen Miao-sheng (陳淼勝), embarked on the fund-raising walk from a temple located in the downtown area. They plan to walk at least 8 km around the city during the day.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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