■ POLITICS
Let Hsieh decide, Chen says
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) is the person best qualified to choose his running mate, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday. Amid speculation that Chen favored former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as a running mate for Hsieh, Chen declined to comment on a Hsieh-Su ticket. While Hsieh has said he would let the matter be decided by opinion polls, Chen said that he disagreed, as he believed Hsieh would make the best decision himself. Chen made the remarks during an inspection trip to Taichung City.
■ ENERGY
Wind-power cable planned
State-run Taiwan Power Co on Monday announced a plan to construct a 60km undersea electric cable linking Taiwan and offshore Penghu County as part of the company's efforts to secure supplies of wind-powered electricity between the two. The NT$14.68 billion (US$445 million) plan is undergoing an environmental impact assessment, a company spokesman said. The project would be completed in November 2012 if the assessment is finished by the end of this year, he said. Once the cable is in place, wind-powered electricity could be produced on a massive scale on Penghu, the spokesman said. The undersea electric cable would serve as a backup system, but one which the spokesman said had to be put in place in advance. Without a backup system, the island's power system would be compromised if the wind becomes unstable, leading to the possibility of a comprehensive shutdown, the spokesman added.
Globally, the Penghu area is one of the most suitable places for generating wind power, the spokesman said.
■ POLITICS
Schriver seeks latest facts
Former US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Randall Schriver arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a five-day visit at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Department of North American Affairs. Schriver hopes to obtain the latest information on the nation's political and electoral situation and will hold a press conference with local media tomorrow, MOFA spokesman David Wang (王建業) said. Schriver will visit the Democratic Progressive Party, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the Environmental Protection Administration and other government departments. Christopher Griffin, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is accompanying Schriver.
■ CULTURE
Festival cancelation possible
An announcement by Ilan County Commissioner Lu Kuo-hua (呂國華) yesterday that the county's annual Children's Folklore and Folk Game festival would not be held next year drew fire from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chin-de (陳金德), who demanded that he consult with local travel companies and county councilors. Lu said that the decision had been made out of cost considerations, but that the county government would immediately begin working on a replacement summer activity. Chen, a legislator from Ilan, released a statement yesterday saying that the festival had a 12-year history and the decision to cancel it should not be taken so lightly. He said that he had not ruled out initiating a recall motion should Lu not reconsider his decision.
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current and former government officials from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing is to hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Republic of China’s victory in the War of Resistance [Against Japan]," MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a regular news briefing in Taipei. To prevent Beijing from using the Sept. 3 military parade and related events for "united
‘OFFSHORE OPERATIONS’: Also in Dallas, Texas, the Ministry of Economic Affairs inaugurated its third Taiwan Trade and Investment Center to foster closer cooperation The 2025 Taiwan Expo USA opened on Thursday in Dallas, Texas, featuring 150 Taiwanese companies showcasing their latest technologies in the fields of drones, smart manufacturing and healthcare. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the event’s organizer, said the exhibitors this year include Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (Foxconn), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer; AUO; PC brand Asustek Computer; and drone maker Thunder Tiger. In his opening speech, TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳) said he expected Texas to become a world-class center for innovation and manufacturing as US technology companies from Silicon Valley and Taiwanese manufacturers form an industrial cluster
A 20-year-old man yesterday evening was electrocuted and fell to his death after he climbed a seven-story-high electricity tower to photograph the sunset, causing a wildfire on Datong Mountain (大同山) in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林), the Taoyuan Police Department said today. The man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), was accompanied on an evening walk by a 20-year-old woman surnamed Shang (尚) who remained on the ground and witnessed the incident, capturing a final photograph of her friend sitting atop the tower before his death, an initial investigation showed. Shang then sought higher ground to call for help, police said. The New Taipei
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