■ 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.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
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