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.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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