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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Currency
Old bills' time running out
Old NT$500 and NT$1,000 banknotes lacking a holographic foil membrane will be pulled from circulation on Aug. 1. A central bank spokesman said the old banknotes should be exchanged for new ones at financial institutions before July 31. After that date, the Bank of Taiwan will be the only place where people will be able to exchange old notes. Most NT$500 and NT$1,000 bills in circulation are of the new variety, the spokesman said. The spokesman said there was a holographic foil membrane on the right side of the new note's front side, while the original color-changing security thread has been replaced with a wider security holographic thread on the back of the note.

■ Culture
SMS literature encouraged
In an effort to promote Chinese literature, the Taipei City Government has joined forces with cellphone companies on a project to encourage residents to submit "text-message articles" about life in Taipei. With text messages becoming one of the more popular means of communication, the "Muse sends text message -- Taipei life 66688" project seeks to combine literature with technology, and invites Taipei residents to write about daily life in Taipei in the form of text messages from 30 to 70 words in length. "Expressing deep thoughts with the least number of words represents the highest level of Chinese literature and the most competitive communication model in this generation," event host and writer Liu Ko-hsiang (劉克襄) said yesterday. The event, which runs through April 18, will select 16 text messages from the submitted works, and winners will receive free cellphones from Nokia. Text messages should be sent to 66688, and are charged at NT$5 each.

■ Society
DPP proposes new holiday
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday resolved to urge the government to make April 7 "Freedom of Speech Day" to commemorate the death of human rights activist Cheng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), Acting DPP Chairman Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) told a press conference. Holidays in memory of dictator Chiang Kai-shek's (蔣介石) birthday and death -- Oct. 30 and April 5 -- should be abolished, DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. There were no dissenting voices from representatives from the Cabinet that were present at the meeting yesterday, but the Cabinet would need time to prepare for the abolishment, Chai added. Cheng was the publisher of the Freedom Era weekly. He immolated himself when police attempted to arrest him in his office in 1989 to protest against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government's oppression.

■ Crime
Chiu told to report to jail
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), who was sentenced to 14 months in prison for public disturbance, will report to prison next Monday. "I received the notice of the coming into force of the sentence from the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office at noon [yesterday], which asked me to report to jail on April 9," Chiu said. The Supreme Court turned down Chiu's appeal on March 22, upholding the Kaohsiung Branch of the Taiwan High Court's ruling sentencing him to jail for 14 months. Chiu was found guilty of leading a group of protesters, hopping on a pickup truck and attempting to break through the gates of the Kaohsiung District Court on March 21, 2004, following the re-election of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

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