■ Diplomacy
EU embargo not on agenda
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday the lifting of the Chinese arms embargo is not on the current working agenda of the EU under the six-month presidency of Austria, which started on Jan. 1. Director of MOFA's European Affairs Department Larry Wang (王豫元) said yesterday in a press briefing that Austria's priority in commanding the EU does not include lifting the arms embargo on China, but the EU has put human rights as a priority for its foreign policy. Wang said the EU will pay particular attention to its dialogues with China regarding the human rights situation there. In addition, Wang said the EU will seek to reinforce cooperative relations with China, India and Japan.
■ Politics
Professors back Wong
A group of female professors visited the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Headquarters yesterday morning to voice their support for the only female candidate in the party's chairperson race, Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠). They wanted to hand the letter, bearing the signatures of a dozen female professors, to acting chairwoman Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), hoping Lu could pass on their letter to all DPP members. But Lu did not show up yesterday morning and DPP Secretary-General Chang Yu-jen (張郁仁) said he would pass the letter on to Lu first. Chiang Wen-yu (江文瑜), associate professor at National Taiwan University's Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, said that there is a growing global trend of women taking up important positions in all walks of life and she hopes the DPP can follow this trend and elect Wong in the chairperson by-election.
■ Transport
Ilan freeway opening soon
Head of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) Lin Ling-san (林陵三) said yesterday that the MOTC aims to have all sections from Nankang to Suao of the Taipei-Ilan freeway open before the Lunar New Year. Lin said that the key to the openings was whether the Hsuehshan tunnel meets safety regulations. Checks will be carried out on the 13th and 14th of January. "If safety checks conform to the regulations, then a date will be set for the opening of the tunnel. If checks don't meet safety regulations, further work will be carried out in relevant areas, and the tunnel will be open at a later date," he said. A number of checks have already been carried out on the tunnel which was originally due to open at the end of last year.
■ Politics
Lu's chiefs meeting delayed
Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) idea of inviting mayors and commissioners to exchange opinions with Cabinet officials tomorrow at the Presidential Office will be not be realized until early next month. The Presidential Office announced yesterday that the gathering for local chiefs would be postponed to after the Lunar New Year holidays because of scheduling conflicts. Some Cabinet members will not be available to meet tomorrow because they have to be present at the legislature to discuss budget proposals. Lu's invitation has been criticized by the opposition, who said Lu may intend to interfere in administrative affairs at local levels. Some local chiefs from opposition parties even wanted to jointly boycott the gathering. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he would be too busy to accept Lu's invitation but would nevertheless send his deputy.
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