■ 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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS