■ LEGISLATURE
`Lid amendment' passes
Transportation Committee lawmakers yesterday passed the first reading of an amendment to the Highway Law (公路法) which would require Taiwan Power Co and Taiwan Water Corp contractors to bury the lids of sewage or electricity lines under road surfaces. The amendment would require that the lids be installed several centimeters beneath the road surface, and then the road surface evened out with asphalt. The bill was proposed because many motorists have asked for compensation from the government for injuries or deaths caused by uneven roads. Ministry of the Interior officials tried to prevent the reading of the amendment, saying road conditions would worsen if the asphalt-filling work was not thoroughly executed. If maintenance work was needed on the utility lines, the roads would have to be dug up, they said.
■ IMMIGRATION
Lawmaker concerned
A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator expressed concern yesterday that the Nationality Law (國籍法) could provide a fast track for foreign nationals to become Republic of China (ROC) citizens. Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said Item I of Article 3 of the law stipulates that foreigners or non-ROC citizens who remain in the country for more than 183 days per year for five consecutive years are allowed to apply for citizenship. This might open the door to foreign nationals, particularly those hired to work on fishing vessels, or as household helpers and care givers, since these people are now allowed to stay in the country for up to six consecutive years. Wang said the legislature must close this loophole. Members of the Home and Nations Committee said that they would study whether the law needed revising.
■ LABOR
Unions demand wage hike
Trade and teachers' groups yesterday urged the government to raise the minimum wage -- which has been frozen for a decade -- to make it more commensurate with the general economic situation and consumer price index. Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions and National Teachers' Association representatives demanded that the government raise the minimum wage immediately to show that it was concerned about the "survival rights" of low-level workers. Union chairman Shih Chao-hsien (施朝賢) said that enormous amounts of capital have flowed overseas in recent years as a result of the government's liberalization policies. The outflow of capital has compromised domestic workers' rights and interests, he said. Shih said the minimum wage, which has remained at NT$15,840 per month, or NT$66 per hour, for 10 years, does not reflect economic reality, including rising inflation.
■ CRIME
Smuggling still rampant
Kaohsiung customs agents seized contraband products worth more than NT$42 million (US$1.2 million) in 249 cases in the first quarter of this year, according to the Kaohsiung Customs Office. The high value of the contraband highlights the fact that smuggling remains rampant in the first three months of the year despite a drive by authorities to wipe out illicit imports, officials said. Many of the items, including illegal drugs, unlawful chemical substances and firearms were concealed on shipping boats or inside containers. Some pricey contraband goods had also been disguised as cheaper products by smuggling rings in an attempt to import them at lower tariff rates, the customs officials said.
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