■ Politics
DPP to deal with Wu
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is expected to deal with a disciplinary violation involving first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) later this week, with Wu facing at least a suspension of party membership, a DPP official said yesterday. DPP Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said the party's Central Review Committee had scheduled another meeting for Thursday on the matter after a meeting last week was canceled because half of the committee did not attend. Tsai said that the party's Central Executive Committee had stipulated that any members indicted on vote-buying or corruption charges would have their membership suspended and would then be expelled if convicted. Tsai denied that the DPP's decision to handle the matter quickly was aimed at boosting the party's campaign in the Dec. 9 mayoral elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
■ Drugs
Heroin hidden in plums
Two local men were arrested at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday while attempting to smuggle heroin into Taiwan, aviation police authorities said yesterday. The two men, identified by their surnames of Teng and Chen, had hidden the high-grade Cambodian heroin in preserved plums in their checked-in luggage, police said. Customs officials became suspicious after finding the packets of preserved plums in their luggage, since the products generally originate in Hong Kong and would be unlikely to have been brought in from Cambodia. The officials further examined the two men's luggage and discovered 4.6kg of the illicit drug.
■ Economy
Chen urges FTA with Seoul
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that the time was ripe for Taiwan and South Korea to begin talks on signing a free trade agreement (FTA). Chen made the remark while meeting the South Korean delegation to this year's Taiwan-Korea economic conference at the Presidential Office yesterday morning. He said it was time for talks about signing a FTA because South Korea was Taiwan's fifth-largest trading partner, fourth-largest source of imports and sixth-largest export destination. Bilateral trade volume was recorded at US$18.7 billion (NT$584 million) last year and South Korea enjoyed a US$7.6 billion trading surplus, he said. "Based on this solid foundation, it is the right time for the two countries to talk about an FTA," Chen said. In addition to the annual conference, Chen said that he hoped to see top-level officials of the two countries conduct country-to-country consultation meetings on economic and other issues.
■ Environment
EPA scrutinizing batteries
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) announced yesterday that it is examining 500 different types of batteries available locally to check if their mercury content falls within legal limits. EPA officials plan to sample batteries from retail stores as well as those stored in warehouses. The testing began yesterday and will continue until the end of next month. Importers and manufacturers of batteries found to contain more than 5ppm of mercury will be asked to withdraw their products from the market immediately. Meanwhile, they will not be able to manufacture, import or sell these illegal batteries anymore. The EPA in September introduced regulations limiting batteries' mercury content to no more than 5ppm.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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