■ Politics
Officials vow tight security
Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) vowed yesterday to maintain order at CKS International Airport when Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) returns from a controversial visit to China today. Speaking at the Legislative Yuan, the minister said he could not say how many people would go to the airport for Lien's return, but he was firm in his conviction that anyone who tried to stir up trouble would be dealt with harshly. The minister said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), who said he would greet Lien on his return at the airport with a shower of eggs, will be arrested if he makes good on his threat. Meanwhile, national police chief Hsieh Yin-tang (謝銀黨) said he will be present at the airport when Lien returns, although Chen Tzu-ching (陳子敬), the newly appointed chief of the Aviation Police Office will be in charge of the police force called in to maintain order. Hsieh said prosecutors from the Taoyuan District Court near the airport will also be present to deal with offenders who disrupt the peace at the airport. Besides the aviation officers, 1,462 policemen will be posted on roads leading to the airport, Hsieh said.
■ Foreign workers
Number of laborers rises
The number of foreign laborers totaled 304,833 as of the end of March, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported yesterday. Thai nationals constituted the largest portion with their number totaling about 100,000, or 32.7 percent of the total, followed by Vietnamese, at about 93,000, and Indonesians, with around 20,000, according to DGBAS officials, who quoted tallies from the Council of Labor Affairs. Of the foreign laborers, 53 percent, or 162,000 people, were working in the manufacturing sector.
■ Education
University promotes safety
Campus safety week at the National Cheng Kung University opened yesterday, according to university president Ou Shan-hwei (歐善惠). The opening ceremony was attended by Ou and Wang Fu-lin (王福林), director of the Department of Military Training Education under the Ministry of Education. Campus safety week is aimed at displaying the university's resolve to secure campus safety by promoting safety education, Ou said. To protect students from danger at night, the university has set up a volunteer "escorting angel team" to accompany students home during late hours, Ou said. He said the school has also employed martial arts experts to teach students defensive skills and established mobile scooter and bicycle teams to patrol the campus.
■ Employment
More foreign labor mooted
The Council of Labor Affairs is expected to allow employment of foreign laborers in public con-struction works worth more than NT$10 billion (US$317.46 million) again after a nearly four-year hiatus. The council made the announcement following Premier Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) recent order to review policy on foreign laborers. Kuo Fang-yu (郭芳煜), director-general of the council's Employment and Vocational Training Administration, said that the plan would allow 20 percent of workers on site to be foreign employees. Kuo said the plan would be announced within two weeks. The government suspended the introduction of foreign labor for public works in May 2001 to protect domestic employment.
■ Drugs
Man arrested in Cambodia
Cambodian authorities have charged a Taiwanese man with allegedly trying to smuggle 2.2kg of heroin out of the country, officials said yesterday. Cho Shih-jie, 25, was arrested at Phnom Penh International airport on Friday after checking in to board a plane, said prosecutor Nget Sarath, adding that he did not know the flight's destination. Police searched Cho Shih-jie and found several packs of heroin under his pants and strapped to his legs. The suspect faces a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of 50 million riel (US$12,500) if found guilty. Cambodia is not a major drug producer, but is becoming a transit point for heroin from the nearby Golden Triangle, a region where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet that is known for heroin production.
■ Diplomacy
Concern shown for Maduro
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has delivered his concern for Honduran President Ricardo Maduro, who suffered minor injuries during the forced landing of his plane yesterday. "President Chen has instructed the Taiwan embassy to express concern to Maduro on his behalf," the ministry said. Maduro was on the plane with his youngest daughter, Lorena, headed for Tela, a city 350km north of the capital. Due to engine problems, Maduro's plane was forced to land near Bahiade Tela. Maduro and his daughter were slightly injured but were taken to hospital. The ministry said Maduro delivered a television speech after the accident to inform the public that he was fine.
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
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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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