■ Diplomacy
Cash payments denied
The government has denied claims that it donated cash to former Malawian president Bakili Muluzi amid rumors that he had received cash from foreign donors, including Taiwan, during his 10-year rule which ended last year. "Taiwan and Malawi have signed many cooperation programs and our government has allocated funds according to these programs, but has never made personal donations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Ching-lung (呂慶龍) said. Malawi's anti-corruption bureau said it has launched a probe into how US$11 million ended up in Muluzi's private bank account. Muluzi rejected the allegations and has been summoned to appear before the anti-graft body on Monday.
■ Charity
Pakistan trip called off
Members of the private Taiwan Roots Medical Peace Corps decided on Wednesday to abandon plans to travel to Pakistan to provide medical relief to victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake. Taiwan Roots president Liu Chi-hsiang (劉啟群) said that although the Pakistani government welcomes humanitarian relief and medical aid from around the world, it would not issue visas to relief personnel from Taiwan, India, or Israel. According to Liu, Pakistani authorities indicated that if Taiwanese groups plan to enter Pakistan for relief work, they should first obtain permission from Beijing. Liu criticized the Pakistani government for politicizing a purely humanitarian-aid issue, saying that linking humanitarian work to politics is the last thing that his group would like to see.
■ Crime
More women driving drunk
Taipei police statistics have shown that the number of women who have been caught drunk driving in the last three years has increased significantly, in spite of harsher penalties being imposed. Taipei police officers noted that since stiffer penalties were imposed in 2002 for drunk drivers in Taipei, the number of young drunk drivers has increased, with 18 to 20 year-olds accounting for the bulk. Meanwhile, the ratio of women driving drunk rose significantly from 5.9 percent in 2002 to 7.4 percent this year, the police officers said. Police officers expressed concern that the number of drunk drivers will rise further over the next few months as that is the peak season for drunk driving due to several traditional festivals, including Lunar New Year.
■ Culture
President praises winners
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) praised the five winners of the 9th National Culture and Arts awards yesterday as "cultural heroes" who have enriched the nation's cultural environment. Winners of the awards are theater arts professor Wang An-chi (王安祈), choreographer Lin Li-chen (林麗珍), film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), novelist Chen Ching-wen (鄭清文) and composer Chien Nan-chang (錢南章). According to the president, the reputations enjoyed by these artists have helped make the arts achievements of Taiwan known overseas. He said culture is the nutrient that strengthens the development of a country and that society needs arts and culture to shape people's taste and enhance its humanistic values. He said that cultural and artistic creations flesh out the living environment.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
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