■ Society
Lotto winner flees gangsters
A woman recently fled her home because of threats from gangsters after she won a Big Lotto (大樂透) jackpot of NT$262.4 million (about US$8.2 million), local Chinese-language media reported. The winner, from Nanao (南澳) Township in Ilan County, apparently won the jackpot last month. The woman's family used to be dependent on government benefits, but after she won the money, she bought herself a BMW automobile, made donations to the church, and even planned to give NT$10,000 to every resident in her village. But when some gangsters heard about this, they came to her village and attempted to blackmail her, ETTV news cable reported. The woman eventually moved away from her hometown. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
■ Drugs
Two held over airmail dope
Two men were arrested on suspicion of importing 1.6kg of marijuana by airmail from Canada, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The two men, surnamed Wang and Tsai, said they ordered the marijuana from a Canadian man and used Federal Express to import it, the CIB said. The US Drug Enforcement Administration's Hong Kong office was informed on Oct. 21 that US customs officials had found a suspicious parcel bound for Taiwan in a Federal Express station in Memphis, Tennessee, on Oct. 18. The weight and thickness of the parcel attracted the officials' attention, the CIB said. The parcel was described on the bill of lading as a photo album, but a detector needle discovered that marijuana was hidden in the parcel. CIB agents said they will continue to track down the source and the distribution network for the drugs.
■ Education
More get bachelor's degrees
The ratio of 24-year-olds who have bachelor's degrees will increase dramatically in a decade to more than 80 percent, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said on Thursday. Council officials said that among 24-year-olds, 48.3 percent had a bachelor's degree in 2004, but the ratio was expected to balloon to 81.8 percent in 2010. In view of the rapid increase in the number of college students, the CEPD suggested that the government adjust the number and structure of the colleges and universities. The council also suggested the establishment of a fair assessment mechanism for colleges and universities as well as study and research programs for lecturers to ensure teaching quality. CEPD officials predicted that an average of 100,450 students will graduate annually from colleges in the science, engineering, agriculture and medical fields between now and 2015, but the supply of college graduates will outstrip demand from employers by 20,400 every year.
■ Health
Experts attend Tokyo talks
A delegation of three Taiwanese medical experts attended a bird-flu prevention meeting held on Thursday and yesterday in Tokyo after being invited by the World Health Organization (WHO). Taiwan is not a member of the WHO. This is the second time Taiwanese delegates have attended a WHO-sponsored bird flu prevention meeting, and that this reflects the necessity of Taiwan being included in the global epidemic prevention network, as the nation is in close proximity to countries that have reported cases of the H5N1 virus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday in a press release. The Tokyo WHO meeting was to discuss early responses to a potential influenza pandemic in Asia.
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