■ DIPLOMACY
You Ching may go to Berlin
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator You Ching (尤清) has been tapped to serve as the nation's representative to Germany, Executive Yuan spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said. Shieh, who just ended a two-year stint as representative to Germany, took office as Executive Yuan spokesman and Government Information Office minister on Monday. You earned a doctoral degree in law from Germany's Heidelberg University, Shieh said, adding that his formation of a good social network during his study in Germany was sure to help him. You has been a Control Yuan member, a National Chengchi University associate professor, a Presidential Office national policy adviser and an ambassador-at-large.
■ AGRICULTURE
Produce labels to ease fears
The first batch of Taiwan-grown tomatoes labeled with "produce traceability" recently entered the market, Council of Agriculture (COA) officials said yesterday. The officials said that the tomatoes were cultivated on a farm in Taichung County with the assistance of the council's research center in central Taiwan. Given growing concern among consumers about the hygiene standards of agricultural products, quality inspection labeling on the packaging of such products has become a global trend, the officials said, adding that this was why council Chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) made implementing the "produce traceability" system his top priority when he assumed his post in January last year. The council's efforts in this regard have borne fruit, with more Taiwanese produce bearing "produce traceability" labels.
■ POLITICS
Farmers' party founded
The Taiwan Farmers' Party was established yesterday in Kaohsiung County, with the aim of better representing the rights and interests of local farmers and fishermen, party officials said. Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) attended the ceremony and congratulated Yang Cheng-chi (楊政治), chief of the Kaohsiung Farmers' Association, who was chosen as party chairman by representatives from local farmers' and fishermen's associations across the country. Addressing the ceremony, Yang Chiu-hsing said he was happy to see such a party established -- the first of its kind dedicated to grassroots farmers and fishermen in the country. Yang Chiu-hsing said he hoped that the new party could help the government work out sound policies to attend to the needs of farmers and fishermen. For his part, Yang Cheng-chi said that the party, as a representative of grassroots workers, would work hard to win public recognition.
■ DIPLOMACY
Ties with Nicaragua steady
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday that diplomatic relations with Nicaragua were stable. Huang made the remarks after presiding over a swearing-in ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of new officials and representatives of overseas offices. Commenting on media reports that relations between Taiwan and Nicaragua were shaky, Huang said that given current difficulties, he could not guarantee that relations with every ally would be problem-free. "Taiwan has limited resources and cannot compete with China's checkbook diplomacy," he said. "What we can do is to be on guard and do everything possible to cement ties with our allies," he said, adding that "Taiwan's relations with Nicaragua are solid at present."
■ JUSTICE
Dog owner sentenced
A Taipei County man was sentenced to 30 days in detention for an injury his dog caused to a passerby, Taipei District Court officials said on Wednesday. The 57-year-old dog owner, surnamed Wu, did not have his door completely closed on Jan. 17, when his dog, unleashed and unmuzzled, ran out on to the street and attacked a passing woman. The court ruled that Wu should have been aware that dogs can be aggressive in certain situations, and that owners should leash their dogs or muzzle them to prevent their animals from assaulting others. The sentence may be commuted to a fine at a rate of NT$1,000 per day.
■ POLITICS
Mayor dismisses allegation
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who once served as secretary-general of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China, yesterday dismissed an allegation that the organization had embezzled funds from its government-allotted budget over the past 20 years. Hau, who served as Red Cross Society secretary-general between April 2005 and February, said he had seen to it during his stint that all income and expenses were audited by certified public accountants, making embezzlement impossible at the public-interest organization. Hau termed it as "immoral" that certain people had "fabricated a wholly untrue story" accusing Red Cross Society management of misusing funds allocated to the organization from government coffers. He was referring to a report by the Chinese-language China Times yesterday that quoted Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) as saying that Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) told him recently that an investigation conducted by ministry officials had discovered that the Red Cross Society had misused government subsidies over the past 20 years and that the ministry would work to retrieve the money.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
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