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Taiwan Quick Take

PHOTO: AFP

■ Crime
Drug trafficker arrested
Philippines police have arrested a Taiwanese drug trafficker who continued his illegal business in the southern Philippines after jumping bail in Taiwan two years ago, an official said yesterday. Tsai Wen-huang, 24, of Kaohsiung was arrested in Koronadal city in South Cotabato Province on Tuesday at the request of Taiwan's National Police Agency, said Chief Superintendent Geary Barias, commander of the Philippines' anti-drug police unit. Tsai was convicted by the Kaohsiung District Court on charges of selling and using ketamine and sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison, Barias said. He jumped bail and fled to the Philippines in May 2005, where he resumed trafficking with an associate also wanted by Taiwanese authorities, Barias said.
"Their scheme lasted for more than a year and right now, we're investigating Wen-huang's claim that he and his partner managed to smuggle to Taiwan almost 10kg of ketamine via DHL," Barias said. Tsai confessed to Philippine police that he earned nearly 5 million pesos (US$102,000) from selling ketamine in the country, Barias said. Ketamine, a general anesthetic used by veterinarians, can cause hallucinations in humans. It is popular as a "party drug" along with Ecstasy in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. Ketamine has a small market in the Philippines, officials say.

■ Democracy
Journalists talk democracy
Local and foreign media figures met at the Hyatt Hotel yesterday for a conference on the media's role in promoting democracy. Hosted by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the conference brought together journalists and academics from all over the world to discuss the relationship between a free press and democratic development. University of California, Berkeley academic Xiao Qiang (蕭強), head of the popular China Digital Times Web site, said at the conference that the Chinese government was fighting a losing battle to control information on the Internet. The sheer number of Internet and telecommunications technology users in China posed a significant challenge to the country's censors, one that it wouldn't overcome in the long term, Xiao said.

■ Education
Learning program launches
A project which aims to facilitate learning for disadvantaged children in Taipei was inaugurated yesterday. The project is a joint effort by the Daily Volunteer Association and a US children's education research institute. "A teacher cannot possibly look after each student in a traditional classroom setting and not everyone can afford to go to cram schools, so inequality in education is a reality," Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said. The new project aims to use a computerized learning system to bridge the inequality gap. The computerized system assesses each student's level and interests. A personalized learning curriculum can then be created. "We will start with disadvantaged students in Taipei first, but we hope the system will eventually benefit all students in Taiwan," said Peter Poh (柏盛寧), chief executive officer of the association.

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