■ Culture
Sinfonietta performs in Paris
The Taipei Sinfonietta Philharmonic Orchestra performed classic works by J.S. Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as well as a piece by Taiwanese composer Huang Fou-tong (黃輔棠) in Paris Wednesday. Performing at the 18th-century Saint Roch Church near the Louvre Museum, the orchestra delighted listeners with Bach's Sonata for Violin, Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Huang's Variations on the Theme by Chen Chu-suei (陳主稅). The sinfonietta, headed by violinist Su Shien-ta (蘇顯達), is currently on a European tour which will also take it to Slovakia this month. On Tuesday, the group gave a highly acclaimed performance at the Auvers-sur-Oise Music Festival.
■ Diplomacy
Lin protests to WTO
Taiwan's permanent representative to the WTO Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) has protested to the organization over the omission of Taiwan officials' official titles in its new directory and demanded that the directory be republished, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday. Taiwan's permanent mission to the WTO will also provide a list of its members, including their official titles, to the WTO missions of other countries for their reference, according to MOFA spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍). In the new WTO directory published recently, the official titles of all officials at Taiwan's permanent mission are omitted with the exception of those for the permanent representative and deputy permanent representative. The WTO reportedly made the omission due to pressure from China.
■ Security
Lilley scoffs at report
Former US Ambassador to China James Lilley expressed his disapproval Wednesday of a Washington Times report that Beijing might take military action against Taiwan in two years. Lilley, who is now director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, said China's military buildup over recent years does not necessarily mean Beijing has a military ambition in the near term. In addition, the US military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region and the security cooperation between the US and its regional allies will deter China from making an impetuous move, Lilley said. The close economic relations between Taiwan and China, marked by investments worth US$150 billion in China by Taiwanese businesses, also makes a war unlikely across the Taiwan Strait, he said.
■ Diplomacy
MOFA to monitor ties
Taipei will closely watch trade exchanges between Guatemala and China, although Guatemala's president and foreign affairs minister promised that Taiwan-Guatemala diplomatic ties will remain unchanged, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said yesterday. According to Lu, Guatemala has been seeking to expand its exports to China to offset its long-term trade imbalance, which is the main reason it wants to open a trade office in China. The ministry will continue to monitor expansion in ties between China and Guatemala, even though they are economically oriented for the time being, Lu said. Beijing is very interested in Guatemala's petroleum and natural gas, while Guatemala hopes to export sugar, bananas and coffee to China, the Guatemalan Economic Ministry said recently.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all