Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao (
"I am totally against any form of political involvement and interference [in the media] and will definitely do my best to maintain 100 percent press freedom for my fellow journalists," Yao said in response to a question by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Lawmaker Justin Chou (
Yao told Chou that the government has made a lot of progress in protecting the freedom of the press in Taiwan.
"I was a reporter as well. The reason why I left the media was that I could not agree with what those higher up asked me to do. Today, I am the GIO minister. I may not be able to protect the safety of my fellow journalists, but I will definitely be able to protect their rights," Yao said.
During their discussion, a 52-year-old man protested in front of the GIO's offices with a chef's knife and a bottle of gas in his hands.
The man, who was only identified by his surname, Miao, loudly requested to meet Yao in person. He set flame to the gas, but was apprehended by police officers.
The man was arrested and brought to Chungcheng First Precinct for questioning. The police said that a preliminary investigation showed that Miao is passionate about politics and was trying to urge President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to not participate in the March 26 rally to protest China's new "Anti-Secession" Law.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
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