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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ DIPLOMACY

Huang presents foreign aid

Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) donated US$30,000 in aid to the Dominican Republic on Friday on behalf of the Taiwanese government for areas devastated by Tropical Storm Olga. Shortly after his arrival in the Caribbean country from Panama, Huang drove to La Varguita, a storm-affected district near the capital city of Santo Domingo. Olga killed at least 22 people, left more than 37,000 people homeless and destroyed thousands of houses across the country. Prior to Huang's visit, Taiwan had donated US$225,000 in aid for post-storm rehabilitation. During his stay in Panama, Huang visited Panamanian President Martin Torrijos. He also stopped by the Rommel Fernandez soccer stadium, the nation's largest stadium which is under restoration -- one of the many Panama-Taiwan collaboration projects.



■ FOOD

Beef and beer in Tainan

An annual "beef and beer" festival kicked off at the Shanghua brewery in Tainan County yesterday. The venue was filled with luscious aromas from 10 food stands selling paper-thin slices of local beef dipped quickly in boiling broth and served piping hot. At the opening ceremony for the nine-day festival, Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) said Tainan is known for having the best-quality beef in the country, adding that the "only way" to capture this quality is to cook it "shabu shabu-style" in clear broth. The festival, organized by the Tainan County Government and the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp, runs through Dec. 23.



■ TRANSPORT

Deaths from accidents down

The number of people who died in car accidents from January to November dropped from the same period last year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Tsai Duei (蔡堆) said. Tsai said the death toll -- specifically, death before arrival at hospital -- from accidents involving small vehicles during the 11-month period totaled 2,329, which represented a decline of 17.8 percent over last year's figure and exceeded the ministry's goal of a 10 percent drop. The death toll from accidents involving large vehicles also reached the ministry's goal, declining about 20 percent from the year-earlier level. Tsai said the ministry would present awards to people who had made great contributions to public traffic safety at a ceremony tomorrow.



■ POLITICS

Lu visits science park

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that the Hsinchu Science Park could play an active role in maintaining cross-strait peace by taking advantage of its cooperative ties with 23 high-tech facilities around the world. Lu made the remarks while attending a food festival organized by Hsinchu City and County governments and the science park's administration office to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hsinchu City's upgrading to a provincial municipality and the park's 27th founding anniversary. Lu described the science park as one of the nation's most important diplomatic resources, citing the park's close connections with many other similar facilities around the world. Lu said that production value at the science park was expected to hit NT$1.25 trillion (US$38.6 billion) this year -- proof that Taiwan's high-tech industry enjoys an influential global position. The vice president said that heightening cross-strait tensions would affect the world, but the science park could help build a peace network through cooperation with its foreign allies.




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