■ Society
Police may get electric prods
Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) yesterday announced that his ministry will consider the idea of equipping the nation's police with electric prods and tear gas. That way, should police need to confront suspects in crowded areas, they would be able to bring them under control without using their guns. The use of electric prods or tear gas could also prevent bystanders from being accidentally injured, the minister said. Lee said the ministry will review the proposal and map out details on the project's budget and whether electric prods should be assigned to all police or just patrol units.
■ Foreign Affairs
Hong Kong praised for rescue
The nation's representative office in Hong Kong conveyed Taiwan's gratitude to the Hong Kong government over the weekend for having rescued three crewmen from a sinking Taiwan freighter in waters off Hong Kong's outlying islands of Kwo Chau (果洲). The Shun Fa No. 16 freighter was hit by rough seas on Tuesday while sailing past the Kwo Chau Islands, suffering serious damage. The three Taiwanese sailors contacted Hong Kong's marine rescue center for help. The center dispatched a helicopter to the scene, rescuing the Taiwanese before the ship sank. The three men all suffered minor injuries. They have returned to Taiwan after receiving medical treatment in Hong Kong.
■ Food
Japan food fair coming up
More than 50 Taiwanese businesses from the food industry will attend this year's Japan International Food Exhibition to be held in Tokyo from March 14 to March 17. Foodex Japan 2006 is the largest food fair of its kind in Asia and the world's third largest, officials from the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday. Foodex Japan, held every two years, is expected to attract the participation of thousands of companies from 80 countries and areas this year. Japan is Taiwan's largest agricultural export market, according to the COA. Taiwan exported nearly US$1.3 billion worth of agricultural products to the country last year, an amount accounting for 36 percent of Taiwan's total agricultural exports for that year. A wide variety of Taiwan-produced premium agricultural goods -- such as tea, fruits and vegetables, rice, frozen foods, as well as processed foods and various meat products -- will be on display at the March fair, COA officials said.
■ Tourism
US tourists on the rise
The number of US citizens visiting Taiwan has been on the rise as efforts to promote such trips in the US have begun to bear fruit, officials from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York reported. The number of US citizens who visited Taiwan in January totaled 31,248, marking an increase of 7.43 percent over the level of the same month a year earlier. Of the total US visitors, 20 percent were tourists, representing a remarkable increase over the average figure of 9 percent seen over the past three years, said Chang Cheng-yuan (張政源), director of the tourism section of TECO's New York office. Chang attributed the growth in the number of US tourists to Taiwan in January mainly to efforts made by Taiwan's government and private sector in attracting US tourists by increasing tourism publicity around the US in the past year. Chang said the TECO's New York office, China Airlines and two Taiwanese travel agencies jointly participated in the recent New York Times Tourism Show.
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