■ CRIME
Seized drugs burned
The Bureau of Investigation yesterday burned 265kg of drugs seized by law-enforcement personnel over the past year as a prelude to this year's National Anti-Drug Conference scheduled for June 3. Minister of Justice Morley Shih (施茂林) presided over a public ceremony at the incineration. The bureau said the drugs included 242kg of heroin, 21kg of marijuana, 691g of morphine and 1,175g of cocaine. It was the largest stash of drugs the bureau had destroyed since 1993, when it opened an office to store and manage narcotics evidence. Drug disposals have been conducted annually to coincide with the anti-drug conference, the bureau said. Bureau analysis on drug offenses shows that the amount of ketamine recovered in the past two years has grown two-fold, while marijuana has gained in popularity among office workers and people in show business.
■ ARTS
Pianist honored in Austria
A talented Taiwanese musician was honored by Austrian President Heinz Fischer in Vienna, Austria, for her achievements in music last Friday. Tsao Hsin-wen (曹馨文), a pianist born and raised in Taiwan, has lived in Austria since she was 17 to pursue her studies at a Vienna conservatory. She was awarded the Theodor-Koerner Award, named after a former Austrian president, which honors individuals for outstanding achievements in various fields including music, arts and sciences, according to documents released for the award ceremony. Tsao's achievements include participation in music events worldwide and winning awards in Sweden, Austria, Italy and Hungary. "It's rare for a Taiwanese person to receive the award," Tsao said, adding that she was the only Taiwanese among this year's recipients. "The award isn't just an honor for me; More significantly, it's an honor for my homeland, Taiwan."
■ CONSTRUCTION
Cabinet approves spending
The Cabinet has approved a public construction budget of NT$131.5 billion (US$4 billion) for next year, a 2.5 percent increase, the Council for Economic Planning and Development said yesterday. The construction budget is part of overall spending for next year that will be forwarded to the legislature for approval in the second half of this year. The Cabinet last August approved the budget for this year with projected spending of NT$1.66 trillion and income of NT$1.51 trillion. This year's budget is still under review by the legislature.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Clear sky days decreasing
Air monitoring data has shown that in a period of about 100 winter days when northeast monsoons prevail in Taiwan, the number of clear sky days has decreased over the past three years, an official of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) revealed earlier this week. Chang Shun-chin (張順欽), who is in charge of pollution monitoring, said there were only 46 days with clean air to breathe during the monsoon season this winter, which lasted 111 days. By comparison, there were 59 "clean days" during last year's monsoon season, which lasted 116 days, while 77 clean days were recorded in the season before that, which lasted 112 days, Chang said. He attributed the situation to pollution by particulate matter carried by monsoon winds to Taiwan from China and Southeast Asia. The pollution coming from overseas was found to be worst in the Taipei area, he added.
■ SOCIETY
Group organizes `Spank Out'
With international "Spank Out Day" next Monday, the Humanistic Education Foundation said it will mark the day on Sunday by organizing activities in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung. According to foundation officials, street parades and garden fairs will be held in the Taiwan's three largest cities on the same day to observe the international movement launched by the Center for Effective Discipline with the aim of raising awareness among Taiwanese parents that corporal punishment is not the only way to discipline children. Foundation officials expressed hope that Taiwanese parents will find ways to teach using their children without physical punishment after attending their activities, which suggest ways for parents to get along with their kids through a wide range of games aimed at improving their interactions.
■ SOCIETY
Violence report released
A recent report by the Ministry of Justice said that 3,114 new cases of domestic violence were reported to prosecutors last year, with abusers, mostly males, coming from all age groups. Most of the offenders and victims were husbands and wives. A vast majority of the abusers were jobless men or laborers with low levels of education, and ranged in age from teens to over 60. Only one in 12 abusers is female. Among male abusers, those aged between 30 and 50 accounted for 67.5 percent; minors below 20 and the elderly over 60 making up 0.1 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, the report said. Some 49 percent of those responsible for domestic violence were illiterate or had only an elementary-level education. Only 29.5 percent were senior high school graduates.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard