■ Charity
Chens aid flood victims
Concerned over the serious flooding in the center and south, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) have donated NT$2 million to help residents who live in areas affected by recent torrential rains, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The donation was made to the Red Cross Society, which has been providing assistance and relief to flood-hit people. Chen also thanked the police, military personnel and firefighters who have helped provide assistance to flood victims, the Presidential Office said.
■ Environment
Taiwan cherry top flower
The Taiwan cherry has been chosen as the favorite native flower species in the national parks, according to the results of a poll unveiled yesterday. The Taiwan pleione was second and the Taiwan phalaenopsis was third, the poll also shows. The Forestry Bureau conducted the poll in April in the national parks to enhance the public's understanding of indigenous flowers. More than 20,000 visitors to the parks and 10,000 Internet surfers took part in the poll.
■ Cross-strait Ties
Peacetime makes appeal
A civic group yesterday urged China to dismantle its military buildup targeting Taiwan and to understand that military force cannot resolve the problems between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Chien Hsi-chieh, executive director of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan, made the appeal at a press conference at the Legislative Yuan. Quoting statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Chien said China has been the largest importer of traditional arms in the world for the fifth year in a row. China has increased its military spending by a double-digit rate each year, he said and its missiles aimed at Taiwan raise doubts China's claims of "peaceful rise." He said China's military buildup and modernization worry its neighbors. He said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should not return to the era of military confrontation but should strengthen mutual understanding and civic exchanges in order to seek solutions acceptable to people of both sides via peaceful negotiations.
■ Society
World Refugee Day marked
The non-governmental Taipei Overseas Peace Service (TOPS) is preparing a series of activities to mark World Refugee Day on Monday, the group's convener said yesterday. The UN designated June 20 as World Refugee Day in 2000 as part of its efforts to call on the international community to help refugees around the world. This year, the UN will mark the annual event with activities under the theme "Courage of Refugees." Convener Ting Wen-ching(丁文卿) said the theme is to underline that every refugee needs courage to overcome fear and the difficulties they face. Planned activities include a photo exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of TOPS overseas services, a speech to be given by Cynthia Maung, a physician dedicated to refugee camps in Myanmar, a music concert and seminars on refugee affairs. Details are available at the TOPS Web site (www.tops.org.tw).
■ Politics
Su to visit US soon
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) will visit Washington later this month on his first visit to the US since taking the helm of the party early this year. Su will visit Washington from June 30 to July 8. He will meet with political leaders and government officials, as well as Taiwanese expatriates.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods