■ Politics
Second Chen summit mulled
The Presidential Office doesn't rule out the possibility of arranging a second meeting between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), an official said yesterday. The Presidential Office staff member was responding to media reports that Chen will meet with Soong again soon. The official said no plans for a second meeting are in the works at the moment. However, if it becomes necessary or if an opportunity presents itself, the office doesn't rule out the possibility of holding such a meeting in the future, he said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun called PFP Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (秦金生) on Monday, the official said, but the phone conversation didn't touch on the topic of a second meeting. On Monday Soong urged Chen to faithfully implement the 10-point consensus reached at their Feb. 24 meeting to avert the possibility of China using "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan as mandated by the Beijing's new "anti-secession" law. "In response to Soong's public appeal, Yu called Chin to affirm Chen's commitment to substantiating the 10 conclusions ... Yu also exchanged views on the `anti-secession' law's impact on Taiwan's domestic political situation, the official said.
■ National defense
Academy mulls fewer trips
The navy is considering adjusting its annual international voyage for Naval Academy graduates since the school has fewer graduates each year. According to high-ranking navy officials, for budgetary reasons the trip may be offered every other year or juniors and seniors may make one joint voyage instead of the seniors only. Officials said not only is the school attracting fewer freshmen, but more students were washing out of the academy. As a result, the fleet is experiencing a severe manpower shortage. There were 850 crew members on this year's trip, which began on Feb. 24 with a sail around Taiwan before heading overseas on March 5. This year's 101-day voyage will be the first time that navy ships will have crossed the three major oceans of the world.
■ Weather
Typhoon to miss Taiwan
The year's second typhoon has formed in the Pacific but poses no threat to Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Typhoon Roke is well southwest of the Philippines and moving westward at 32kph. Roke has a radius of 100km. Roke is expected to pass through the central Philippines.
■ Aid
Group to go to ADB meeting
The government will send a delegation to Manila on Friday to attend the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) meeting to assess the progress in rehabilitating areas in South Asia devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunamis, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Chie Wen-chi (介文汲), deputy director-general of the ministry's Department of International Organization, made the announcement at a news conference. He said the delegation will be headed by Representative to the Philippines Wu Hsin-hsing (吳新興). The ADB has set up a US$600 million trust fund for aid to tsunami-affected Asian countries, Chie said, adding that the Manila meeting will discuss ways to offer more help. In addition to ADB member states, the tsunami-affected countries and international organizations such as the UN and the World Health Organization, as well as major non-governmental organizations, have been invited to take part in the meeting, officials said.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all