■ THSRC to add more trains
The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) will increase the number of southbound and northbound daily train runs to 113 next month, with more than 50 trains in each direction every day, THSRC executive director Ou Chin-der (歐晉德) said yesterday. He said that a train will depart every 10 minutes during rush hours and that they will offer open-seat tickets to serve more passengers. The prices of open-seat tickets have not been determined but it was unlikely they would be substantially discounted, he said. THSRC has also started to map out plans for the phone booking system, but it probably would not be ready before the end of this year. THSRC also plans to begin selling light meals priced at under NT$100, excluding beverages. Lunch boxes are also being considered, he said.
■ CRIME
Punishment a write-off
Tainan prosecutors asked a man to write Buddhism's Heart Sutra (般若波羅密心經) 100 times in return for dropping the charges against him. The man, surnamed Lin (林), was indicted for selling pornographic pictures and comic books over the Internet. Police officers contacted Lin through the Internet and asked for 15 comic books. Lin was arrested on Sept. 15 in Jenteh Township (仁德), Tainan County, when he delivering the comics. Tainan Prosecutor Chang Wan-ning (張婉寧) decided to ask him to "do something" in return for suspension of his charges since this was his first offense. So she asked him to copy out the Heart Sutra 100 times within three months. If Lin fails to finish his task or asks other people to help him, the suspended charges will be reinstated, officials said.
■ POLITICS
DPP and TSU negotiate
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) met Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) to discuss how to prevent their parties from hurting each other's chances in January's legislative elections. Huang dismissed speculation that the DPP would allocate a legislator-at-large seat to a female TSU legislator, saying such rumors only vilified his party's reputation. "The TSU is an independent party and therefore it is not an issue whether it will merge with the DPP," he said. Huang said he and Cho had discussed how to cooperate in eight constituencies and would talk again before Friday. The two men met after President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) met Huang on Oct. 18. Chen and Huan agreed to negotiate cooperative efforts for the legislative elections as soon as possible.
■ EDUCATION
Survey shows stress rising
Junior high school students in Taipei suffer more serious stress than senior-high students, a survey released yesterday by the Taipei City Department of Health showed. The survey was conducted earlier this month among 543 students at a junior-high school and 1,060 students at a senior-high school. Both schools have test-oriented curriculums. The survey found that 30 percent of junior-high respondents described themselves as suffering from serious stress, while 28 percent of senior-high respondents reported serious stress. The two figures were both higher than the 20 percent of working people who claim to suffer from serious stress, said Kao Wei-chun (高偉君), the department official responsible for medical care and health management.
■CLA launches new program
The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) recently launched a program to help young people find jobs amid high unemployment rates among new graduates. Many young people cannot find jobs after they graduate, council Chairman Lu Tien-lin (盧天麟) said, adding that the youth unemployment rate is 11.6 percent, three times the overall unemployment rate. A council survey found that 60 percent to 70 percent of young people said that they had trouble finding their first job, Lu said. The survey also found that up to 40 percent of companies polled have shut out first-time job seekers. The council has allocated NT$250 million (US$7.6 million) for the job-training program. People under the age of 29, with a bachelor's or master's degree are eligible. Participants will receive a monthly subsidy of NT$12,096, he said.
■ EDUCATION
NTU and NTUE to combine
The National Taipei University of Education (NTUE) is expected to be incorporated into National Taiwan University (NTU) in 2010, according to NTU president Lee Si-chen (李嗣涔). Lee and his NTUE counterpart Chuang Chi-min (莊淇銘) said preparations for the merger are under way. The plan to combine the two universities was proposed by the Ministry of Education more than 10 years ago, and the executives of the two schools have been thrashing out differences ever since. The plan will be carried out in three stages, with the first stage integrating libraries and courses, the second stage integrating staff and finally full integration. The 110-year-old NTUE is the oldest academic institution in Taiwan, while NTU, only a few blocks away, is widely considered the nation's best and most prestigious university.
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