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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ ENVIRONMENT

Taipei County cleans park

Taipei County got a head start on National Cleanup Week yesterday, with County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and Sanchong Mayor Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍) leading more than 100 volunteers, sanitation workers and residents to clean up Sanchong's Datong Park. The Environmental Protection Administration marks National Cleanup Week each year ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays. This year's clean-up week starts on Wednesday. Chou urged county residents to take action to clean up the environment around their neighborhoods. He said Taipei County hoped to create a "garden city" and would plant more trees and flowers.



■ CULTURE

Film subsidies on the way

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said on Friday that the city government would provide subsidies, rewards and other benefits to local filmmakers and TV program producers who help raise the city's profile. The city government will also launch a film festival for students to encourage the participation of young people in the film industry, he said. Lee Yung-ping (李永萍), head of the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, said the department would allocate NT$12 million (US$371,400) to support the film industry and earmark another NT$5 million to publish a guidebook on filmmaking in the city. Guidelines for renting city locations to shoot scenes should be set by the commission within six months, she said.



■ ENERGY

LPG stations planned

The Bureau of Energy has outlined a plan to establish at least one liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fueling station in each county and city in Taiwan, excluding outlying islands, within five years. The plan is part of a project approved by the Executive Yuan earlier this month to increase the number of LPG dual-fuel vehicles to 150,000 units within the next five years and to raise the number of fueling stations for LPG vehicles to 150 by 2012, the bureau said in a news release. There are 20 LPG stations around the country, most of which are in metropolitan areas. Another 17 filling stations are being built. Bureau officials said the reason there are so few LPG stations is because the guidelines for opening them are stricter and the costs are high. To address cost, the bureau will offer generous subsidies, they said.



■ AGRICULTURE

Office promotes marketing

The Council of Agriculture will launch a strategic office for agricultural technology and development tomorrow with the aim of promoting competitiveness on the global produce market, the council said in a statement yesterday. In its first year, the office will work to facilitate the transfer of technology to farmers and help farmers apply the results in their fields. The new office will also offer advanced training and education on marketing products, establishing a nationwide database of produce manufacturers and bringing together agricultural experts to advise farmers, the council said. The council has focused in recent years on helping the sector become more knowledge-based and has seen positive results. The council said 139 patent applications and technology transfer cases were recorded last year, a 50 percent increase over the average between 2002 and 2006, while royalties on agricultural technology topped NT$47.25 million (US$1.46 million), representing a 250 percent increase on the figure for the preceding five years.
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