■ Indonesia
Taipei ends Ramadan
Indonesians across Taiwan yesterday flocked to celebrations in Taipei, organized by the Taipei City Government's department of labor and the Council of Labor's bureau of employment and vocational training, to mark the end of the Ramadan fast on Friday. Lasting for a month, the Ramadan fast occurs on the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. During this month Muslims fast and refrain from sex during the daylight hours, eating only small meals in the evening. The head of the department of labor, Shih Yu-ling (師豫玲) said that out of respect for all religions, the event was organized to provide some spiritual relief following a month's abstinence.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
■ Environment
Make laws: conference
Participants of a conference on environmen-tal protection that was commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday concluded that there was an urgent need for laws controlling the emission of greenhouse gases. The 20-person committee which included lawyers, teachers, laborers, accountants and designers, said that steps to achieve the goals of the protocol included changes in the daily habits of the public. EPA Minister Chang Kuo-lung (張國龍) said that although discussion of draft laws regarding the control of gas emissions has taken place many times internally, it was important to consult professionals from all walks of life to make the laws more complete and to have what he called a "biting force."
■ Diplomacy
Senegal goes after billions
Senegal received more than NT5 billion (US$148.8 million) in aid from Taiwan before switching its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, President Chen Shui-bian was quoted as saying yesterday. Revelation of the amount, which Chen said was paid over the past 10 years, surprised the foreign ministry because the amount of Taiwan's foreign aid has long been confidential, a Chinese-language newspaper reported. Taiwan's foreign ministry spokesman Michel Lu declined to comment.
■ Human rights
Mothers nurse grievance
Thirty mothers gathered yesterday to express their hope of winning some respect for mothers who wish to breastfeed in public places. The mothers, organized by the Taiwan Breastfeeding Association, gathered in the plaza near the Taipei Story House in Yuanshan where they breastfed their infants during a picnic-like event to send a message to the gallery and restaurant, as well as the Taiwanese public, that mothers should be allowed to breastfeed their babies in public or in the workplace. The mothers chose the lawn outside the Taipei Story House to breastfeed after management kicked a breastfeeding mother out of the restaurant last month in the name of "maintaining the place's decency and professionalism." Taiwan Breastfeeding Association Chairwoman Chen Yi-chun and the mothers appealed to the Taiwanese public for a free breastfeeding environ-ment in an effort to protect the human rights of breastfeeding mothers and their babies.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
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