■ 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.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
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