■ Education
Tu to take trip to UK, Italy
Education Minister Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) is scheduled to head for the UK tomorrow to attend an international meeting of education ministers, an official with the Ministry of Education said yesterday. According to the official, ministers of education from over 40 nations will take part in the conference on Monday to Wednesday. Asked whether China would be among the participants, the official said he was not sure. Tu will also travel to Italy on Thursday to take part in an executive meeting of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), during which he will back the Kaohsiung City government's bid for the right to host the 2011 Summer Universiade.
■ Customs
New import restrictions
Incoming passengers have been prohibited from bringing any live animals, plants or related products into the nation since the beginning of the year, customs officials said yesterday. The Cabinet approved late last year a new list restricting their entry to protect the local ecology, prevent epidemics and promote public health. The list includes live animals and related products with the exception of dogs, cats and rabbits that comply with the provisions of the animal disease prevention and control law, as well as dried or processed aquatic products. Also on the list are live plants and related products, as well as fresh fruit (plants that meet the flora epidemic prevention and control regulations are exempted). Customs officials said that passengers intending to bring animals, plants and related products not included in the prohibition list should fill out a customs declaration form and have the animals or products inspected upon arrival.
■ Ecology
Mites make right
A research team at National Chung Hsing University in Taichung has devised a new biological control method against the red mite, a common pest that causes serious damage to local fruit and flower crops, university sources said yesterday. The new technique employs Amblyseius womersleyi, a species of predatory mite, to inhibit the spread of the red mite, both reducing the use of insecticides and increasing net profits, the school said. The university said that although Amblyseius have long been known as a natural enemy of the red mite, scientists have had problems cultivating them in sufficient numbers and keeping them alive in containers long enough for transportation to distribution points. Now they have the know-how to keep amblyseius womersleyi alive for at least five days and that the next step of the research is to prolong the period to 14 days, it added.
■ Education
Student to join delegation
A senior high school student from Taipei has been chosen to join a Cabinet-appointed delegation that will attend a UN forum on women's rights in the US late next month. The Foundation of Women's Rights Promotion and Development will send the delegation to take part in a panel organized by the UN's NGO Committee on the Status of Women from Feb. 26 to March 9 in New York City, the officials said. Huang Chih-chi (黃致綺) a student at Taipei First Girls' High School, was chosen by the Taipei Municipal Commission on Promotion of Women's Rights and Interests from more than 20 students in the final round of a competition, the officials said. Huang will give a presentation to share Taiwanese girls' experience growing up and her work in helping victims of the Sept. 21, 1999 quake, they added.
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