Print

Mail

wiki links

Taiwan News Quick Take

■ TOURISM

Ministry warns on Kenya

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday advised tourists not to visit Kenya because of the unrest that erupted after allegations of election rigging. The Department of African Affairs said it had issued an orange level alert and advised the nation's citizens to avoid traveling to Kenya until the situation has stabilized. Taiwan does not have diplomatic relations with Nairobi and does not have a representative office there.



■ CULTURE

Arts center gets go-ahead

Pingtung County plans to start building a world-class performing arts complex soon. County government officials said on Wednesday the Council for Economic Planning and Development had approved an NT$1.1 billion (US$33.9 million) budget for the five-year project a day earlier. The performing arts complex will have a main theater with a seating capacity of 1,200 and a smaller theater that can accommodate 300 people. Other facilities include an administrative center, an outdoor amphitheater and a parking lot for 400 vehicles, the officials said. The performing arts center will be located at the former site of the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station next to the Pingtung University of Education.



■ RECREATION

Camping spots to open soon

Taipei City's riverside parks will hopefully open for barbecues and fishing before the Feb. 7 Lunar New Year, Taipei City Government spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung (羊曉東) said. The local government has passed new regulations on outdoor activities in riverside parks, Yang said. The new regulations will allow the public to apply for permits to camp and set off fireworks in riverside parks, Yang said. Applications must be submitted to the Hydraulic Engineering Office of the Public Works Department. Camping and fireworks will be allowed in designated areas only. The new regulations are aimed at encouraging city dwellers to take better advantage of Taipei's recreation opportunities and facilities such as parks, city officials said, adding that the new regulations had been launched initially on a one-year trial basis.



■ POLITICS

Candidates lose deposits

Thirty of 46 legislative candidates in Taipei City's eight electoral districts will not have their NT$200,000 election entry deposits returned because they failed to receive a sufficient number of votes in last Saturday's elections. Huang Hsi-ming (黃細明), deputy secretary-general of the Taipei City Election Commission, said that regulations in the Public Officials Election and Recall Law (公職人員選罷法) stipulate that candidates can only reclaim their deposits if they receive more than 10 percent of the vote in their district. Sixteen Democratic Progressive Party and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) aspirants garnered more than 10 percent of the vote in their respective districts and will have their deposits returned. No candidates from smaller parties reached the 10 percent threshold. The Public Officials Election and Recall Law also stipulates that candidates are entitled to a subsidy of NT$30 from the electoral commission for each vote they receive if they garner at least one-third of the vote, which excludes the majority of candidates, he said.



■ SOCIETY

Spoonbill numbers increase

Bird watchers in southern Taiwan said they counted more than 1,000 black-faced spoonbills, an endangered species, in the Tainan area during a survey last weekend. The census was conducted by members of the Wild Bird Society of Tainan and the Black-Faced Spoonbill Association in Tainan County, as part of a global effort initiated by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society to tally the world population of the rare birds. Also taking part in the global census are bird watchers in China, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Macau. A spokesman for the Wild Bird Society of Tainan said a total of 1,013 of the rare migratory birds was recorded between Jan. 12 and Jan. 13 in Tainan city and county. This was the first time that the number of black-faced spoonbills wintering in the Tsengwen River (曾文溪) estuary had surpassed the 1,000 mark. There were 759 seen in January last year.



■ DIPLOMACY

Taiwan gives aid to Panama

Taiwan has donated US$6 million to Panama to help its diplomatic ally in Central America fund several construction projects, Taiwan's Ambassador to Panama Hou Ping-fu (侯平福) said on Wednesday. The donation will be used to set up an aquaculture fisheries center, build bamboo houses for indigenous people, renovate jails and gyms, and provide counselling services for physically disabled Panamians to help them find jobs, Hou said. The aquaculture fisheries center, with construction expenditure of US$2.5 million, will be located at the Port of Vacamonte in eastern Panama Province, said Reynaldo Perez Guardia, director- general of Panama's Authority of Water Resources.
This story has been viewed 1947 times.