■ Foreign affairs
Legislators leave for India
A group of legislators left for India yesterday on a week-long visit to promote economic ties and to see if the labor-intensive country can replace China as a favorite investment location for Taiwanese businesspeople. "We hope to get a better understanding of the economic and political situations of India during our visit," group leader Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hou Shui-sheng (侯水盛) said before the group's departure. He said the primary aim of the trip is to promote Taiwan-Indian cooperation in various fields. The government hopes that India, with its cheap labor and high level of economic development, will attract Taiwanese investment away from China. The Taiwan-India Cooperation Council was established on Saturday, with DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun serving as council head.
■ Environment
Schools exposed to radiation
A total of 144 elementary and junior-high schools are exposed to dangerous electromagnetic fields, according to yesterday's Chinese-language the China Times. The paper quoted a survey conducted by a professor of public health at Fu Jen Catholic University, under the commission of the Ministry of Education, as warning that the health of more than 18,000 students could be threatened by the electromagnetic fields. Judged by the locations of the schools, the survey found that 95 elementary schools and 49 junior-high schools have part of their campus within 20m of high-voltage power lines or within a 50m radius of a substation.
■ Foreign Affairs
MOFA lauds US appointment
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed the US government's appointment of Stephen Young, a career diplomat with experience in Taiwan and China affairs, as its new representative in Taipei. Washington announced on Friday that Young, a former US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan and currently a member of the Policy Planning Staff under the State Department, will be the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Taipei Office. Young, who joined the US foreign service in 1980, is expected to arrive in Taipei next month to assume his post, replacing Douglas Paal, who returned to the US last month after completing a three-and-a-half-year term in Taiwan. Foreign Ministry officials said they believe that after Young assumes his Taipei post, he will fully reflect the Bush administration's policy toward Taiwan and will help bolster bilateral substantive relations between Taiwan and the US. AIT is the quasi-official US liaison office authorized to handle relations with Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. Young lived in Kaohsiung between 1963 and 1965 as the child of a US military officer stationed there.
■ Health
Tipoff rewards boosted
The maximum reward for reporting smuggled animals or plants will be raised from NT$3.5 million (US$108,700) to NT$5 million in a bid to safeguard the nation against avian influenza, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine announced yesterday. Bureau officials said that in view of the spread of avian flu around the world, they have increased the rewards. Those who report smuggled animals or plants that are later found to be carriers of the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus, the foot-and-mouth disease virus or rabies will receive a reward worth 10 times the value of the smuggled animals or plants.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
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