■ DIPLOMACY
Chen hopes for US stopover
Taipei is negotiating with Washington for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to make a transit stop on his way to Guatemala later this month, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) Representative in Washington Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Thursday. Wu said TECRO had already made the request and hoped the US could provide necessary assistance according to the principles of "safety, comfort, convenience and dignity." Chen will start his journey on Jan. 13 and hopes to make a stopover in the US on the same day. He will attend the inauguration ceremony of Guatemalan President-elect Alvare Colom on Jan. 14. He is also scheduled to visit Saint Lucia before returning to Taiwan on Jan. 20.
■ DIPLOMACY
Brazil rebuts visa denial
Brazilian representative to Taiwan Sergio Abi-Sad told Formosa TV in an interview at the Brazil Business Center yesterday that his country was just "being selective" in issuing visas during the peak tourism season and had not denied Taiwanese applications because of "political reasons." "It's just we have to be careful. It's the peak of summer in Brazil, and you can imagine there are lots of bad people who like to go there to mingle or do wrong things," he said. Abi-Sad made the remarks in response to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement urging the Brazilian government to resume issuing tourist visas to Taiwanese. The ministry said Brazil had stopped issuing visas to Taiwanese nationals since late last month and the measure only targeted Taiwan. However, in response to a Taipei Times' inquiry by telephone about a visa application, a staffer said that "the center has suspended issuing tourist visas since late December."
■ EDUCATION
MOE warns `China Times'
The Ministry of Education yesterday threatened to sue the Chinese-language China Times unless it runs a correction today on a story about Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng's (杜正勝) bicycle tour. The ministry said that the two-day bike trip led by Tu beginning yesterday morning in Taipei was the first stage in the ministry's effort to promote physical fitness among schoolchildren. Tu is scheduled to ride from Taipei City to Luotung Township (羅東) in Ilan County, stopping at several schools along the way to gain a better understanding of education at the grassroots level, the ministry said. The China Times report yesterday said Tu had ordered each school to dispatch several students to ride with him along part of the route.
■ health
Blood donation month starts
Taiwan Blood Services Foundation yesterday announced the start of its "blood donation month" and urged the public to donate generously to prepare for a period of high demand because of increased surgeries. Foundation chairman Lin Kuo-hsin (林國信) told a news conference that the blood volume in six donation centers in the country was enough for one week. However, he said that the number of donors tends to drop dramatically during the Lunar New Year holiday, winter vacation or cold days -- coinciding with periods when demand is high as doctors perform more surgeries to accommodate their patients' schedule. Chen Dao-yu (陳道怡), who was also at the news briefing, thanked the generosity of past blood donors. Chen, 25, said she has received blood transfusions regularly since childhood because she suffers from Mediterranean anemia.
■ HEALTH
Post-stroke device unveiled
A research team at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan City has developed thermal stimulation devices to aid post-stroke recovery, university sources said on Thursday. The instrument, invented by Shaw Fu-zen (蕭富仁), an associate professor at the university's Institute of Cognitive Science, is said to be capable of providing greater effect than tactile or vibration stimulation therapy in rehabilitating the functions of stroke patents' upper limbs. Shaw said that the thermal stimulation device deploys high and low temperatures alternately to stimulate a patient's hands, revitalizing the areas of the brain that control hand and arm movement. University officials said Shaw deliberately picked low-cost materials when designing his device to make the therapy affordable for people with limited finances. They said a first-generation thermal stimulator is already slated for mass production.
■ LABOR
Employment rules changed
The Council of Labor Affairs on Thursday promulgated an amendment to regulations governing the employment of foreign workers to better protect their rights. Council officials said the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers (外國專業人 員工作�? was amended to require that employers must pay monthly wages in full directly to foreign workers after deducting health and labor insurance fees, room and board expenses and income tax. The officials added that the amendment is also intended to ensure that dormitories provided by employers are safe. A new provision added to the regulations stipulates that employers who hire foreign workers for construction, manufacturing or caretaking work must submit documents to local government authorities within three days of the worker's entry to Taiwan to prove that their lodgings are legally permitted structures. The amendment also relaxes restrictions on foreign students seeking employment by no longer requiring them to complete two semesters of related courses of study or at least one year of related language training.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard