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Taiwan Quick Take

■ EDUCATION
MOE offers subsidy program
The Ministry of Education (MOE) will provide subsidies to 299 college students from nine countries to study Mandarin here this summer. Education officials said the students will stay in Taiwan for six to eight weeks and hoped they would enjoy the nation's excellent Chinese-learning environment as well as its natural beauty and local customs. Each student will be given an allowance of between US$300 and US$500 depending on where they come from and on how long they are staying, the officials said. A total of 124 students from Japan, South Korea and the US have previously studied here under the subsidy program.

■ DIPLOMACY
Cambodia condemns UN bid
Cambodia yesterday condemned Taiwan's bid to join the UN, saying the move threatened regional stability. "This hazardous maneuver constitutes an act of provocation against China and triggers an extremely tense and dangerous situation in the Taiwan Strait," the Cambodian foreign ministry said in a statement. China is one of Phnom Penh's closest allies, giving it hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, while Cambodia has repeatedly backed Beijing's "one China" policy. The ministry reiterated that it considered Taiwan "an integral part of China and supports peaceful reunification of Taiwan to the China mainland." The ministry said Cambodia strongly condemns any dangerous moves in all forms and manifestations which undermine China's unity and territorial integrity.

■ POLITICS
DPP tough on legislators
The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Central Standing Committee (CSC) yesterday reinforced its disciplinary regulations for future legislators-at-large. DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told reporters that the committee agreed the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) could remove legislators-at-large from their positions if they violated the party's values or resolutions. The CSC strengthened disciplinary regulations because legislators-at-large represent the "will of the party," Lin said. The caucus can report a legislator to the CEC; however, the caucus rarely takes such action because "they [legislators] are all colleagues," Lin said. The CSC, however, did not reach a resolution yesterday on details of the punishment, Lin said.

■ SOCIETY
Fishing plan for Aborigines
The government is planning to encourage 200 Aborigines to work on fishing boats, the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) reported yesterday. The CIP is collaborating with the Council of Agriculture to recruit Aborigines in an effort to provide them with vocational training in fishery work and help them secure employment and maritime qualifications, CIP officials said. They said that Aborigines working on fishing boats would be entitled to extra bonus payments besides their salaries -- starting from NT$20,000 per month in the first year of their employment at sea. The plan has been broached to help improve employment opportunities for Aborigines while also helping to alleviate labor shortages that have plagued the fishing sector, the officials said. Aborigines aged between 18 and 50 whose physical condition allows them to work aboard fishing boats are invited to contact the CIP online at www.apc.gov.tw or by telephone at (02) 2557-6000-1609.

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