■ Diplomacy
Nauru embassy opens
Nauruan Foreign Affairs, Trade and Finance Minister David Adeang cut the ribbon to open his South Pacific island nation's newest embassy yesterday in Taipei. The opening was marked with a cocktail party last night. Adeang met President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at the Presidential Office on Monday. Chen said that Nauru had expressed its willingness to set up an embassy during his visit to that country last year. Chen thanked Adeang and Nauruan President Ludwig Scotty for their firm, unstinting support of Taiwan in its attempts to join international organizations such as the UN, the WHO and the Pacific Islands Forum.
PHOTO: LIU HSIH-DEH, TAIPEI TIMES
■ Politics
DPP lawmakers sentenced
Two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators have been found guilty of slandering former DPP Chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) at a press conference last September. The Taipei District Court said DPP legislators Lin Kuo-ching (林國慶) and Huang Chao-hui (黃昭輝) used offensive language against Shih on Sept. 7 last year. The presiding judge ruled that the press conference was not related to their pair's legislative duties, so their legislative immunity did not apply. Lin was sentenced to 50 days detention, while Huang received a 30-day sentence. Both men can avoid jail time, however, by paying a NT$1,000 per day fine. Lin said he would consult his lawyer about what to do next, while Huang said he would consider whether to appeal.
■ Politics
Su slams Chiu over riot
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) should be jailed immediately and that he should be deprived of his civil rights. "Chiu is a disgrace to the legislature," Su said. "As a result of his attempt to ram a vehicle into the Kaohsiung District Court, not only should he serve his 14-month jail sentence, but judges should also strip him of his civil rights ... And yet, he is still out there, in public. This is not right. He should be jailed immediately." The premier made his remarks during conversations with KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) at a legislative meeting. Su said Chiu continued to take advantage of this case to promote himself as a hero being jailed for political reasons. The truth, however, is that he led a riot at the Kaohsiung District Court and sullied the image of the KMT and the legislature, Su said. "What he did ... was very humiliating to the legislature," he said.
■ Diplomacy
Hu happy with Japan trip
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said yesterday that he was pleased with the results of his six-day visit to Japan. He told a press conference in Japan that he had received positive responses from Yasuchika Negoro, head of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) leagues organization, and NPB Secretary General Kazuo Hasegawa, about exchanges between the baseball organizations in Taichung and Japan. Hu said he had also invited Japanese professional baseball teams to conduct training sessions at Taichung's new Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. Hu arrived home yesterday.
■ Welfare
No child care planned
The government does not have any plans to introduce a child care subsidy program next year as reported in a local daily, Interior Minister Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) told lawmakers yesterday during an question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan. In its Tuesday edition, the Chinese-language China Times revealed the contents of a research report by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on the government's population policy. The daily claimed that the MOI plans to provide a "child care subsidy" to families in an effort to stem the nation's declining birth rates. Under the reported "child care program," families with one child will be entitled to a monthly subsidy of NT$2,000 (US$60), while those with two children will receive NT$3,000 per month, and families with three or more children will be eligible for a monthly subsidy of NT$5,000.
■ Diplomacy
China blasts Huang's trip
China criticized St. Lucia yesterday for allowing the foreign minister of Taiwan to visit the Carribean nation and blasted Taipei for trying to split China. Foreign Minister James Huang (黃志芳) visited St. Lucia last week at the host government's invitation, despite the fact that the tiny Carribean island broke ties with Taiwan in 1997 and now has formal diplomatic relations with China. "It is against the principle set in the communique between China and St. Lucia and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (秦剛) said of the visit. "China expressed its strong dissatisfaction and opposition to it," Qin told a news conference. Qin said St. Lucia should respect the "one China" principle and also expressed anger at Taiwan over the visit.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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